Deegavapi Ancient Temple

With the end of violence in Sri Lanka we are once again able to visit the Deegavapi Temple located in the eastern province of Sri Lanka. The history of this site goes back to the 6th Century B.C. around the time when the Lord Buddha lived. He visited this shrine on his third visit to Sri Lanka. It is believed that one of his fingernails is enshrined here. Lord Buddha had visited 16 sites in Sri Lanka, thus making them sacred, and Deegavapi is one of them. After the arrival of King Vijaya, his Indian Princess's brother Digayu constructed an elongated tank on the Galoya River and named it Digawewa. The temple which bore the name Nagha Vehera, soon came to be known as Deegavapi. The tank and the temple were highly developed during the reign of King Saddatissa and this became a very important area in the eastern province. There are three Bo trees in the premises and the one further away from the entrance is a sapling of the holy tree located at Buddhagaya – India. The temple is considered a place of great spirituality and the Hindu Kovil there attracts not only Hindus but devotees of other religions too who seek blessings from deities like Vishnu and Ganesh. The shrine is located in a remote area away from civilization. Many pilgrims come here on pilgrimages to perform religious observances. This is the only shrine off the beaten track with Ampara being the closest town.