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Sri Siddhartha Thero, born in 1811 in Walana, Sri Lanka, became a Buddhist monk at the age of twelve. He played a key role in reviving Buddhist education. He established Parama Dhamma Chetiya Maha Pirivena in Ratmalana, which fostered influential monks over the years. He also led significant religious events, including the first low-country higher-ordination.
Chief Incumbent
1841 - 1868
Sri Siddhartha Thero, born in 1811 in Walana, Sri Lanka, became a Buddhist monk at the age of twelve. He played a key role in reviving Buddhist education.
He established Parama Dhamma Chetiya Maha Pirivena in Ratmalana, which fostered influential monks over the years. He also led significant religious events, including the first low-country higher-ordination.
In March 1811, Siddhartha Thero was born into a noble family in the prosperous village of Walana, located in Panadura Thotamuna, Kalutara District, in Sri Lanka’s Western Province.
For centuries, since the arrival of Arhat Mahinda Thero in the 3rd century BCE, village temples had been the center of Sri Lanka's education system. However, by the time of Siddhartha Thero's birth, three centuries of foreign rule and missionary activities had weakened the Buddhist temple-based education system. Many Buddhist monks had fled to the upcountry, where the old education system still survived, to escape political unrest and instability in the low-country.
Before his ordination, young Siddhartha Thero would eagerly accompany his grandmother to a small peaceful hill in Walana. There, under the ancient Na tree, she would lovingly offer flowers and light lamps, continuing a tradition of veneration that had been passed down through the ages. The young boy shared his grandmother's devotion and would diligently sweep and clean the area around the sacred Na tree while she prepared the flowers and lamps for offering. During these visits, he befriended a monk who lived in a simple "avasa" nearby. Impressed by the boy’s respectful behavior and gentle way of speaking, the monk suggested to his grandmother that he should be ordained. With the blessing of his parents, the boy was ordained by Giddawe Gunarathana Thero and given the name Siddhartha at the age of 12.
This Siddhartha novice monk studied Dhamma under Gunarathana Thero and Nedivatha Revata Thero. At the age of twenty, he obtained Upasampadā, the higher ordination at Malwathu Maha Vihara, Kandy.
In 1700s, through his unwavering dedication and with the support of King Sri Veera Parakrama Narendrasingha, King Sri Vijaya Rajasingha, and King Keerthi Sri Rajasingha, Weliwita Asaranasarana Sri Saranankara Sangaraja Thero successfully restored education and Buddhism in the kingdom of Senkadagala (Kandy). His relentless efforts culminated in the establishment and revitalization of the Buddhist order in Sri Lanka once more, marking a significant achievement in the nation's history.
Sri Saranankara Sangharaja Thero founded the first Pirivena at Niyamakanda Viharaya in Kandy, where he resided. Sitinamaluwe Dhammajoti Thero was a disciple of Sarankara Sangharaja Thero. Kandurupokune Suvannajoti Thero studied under Sitinamaluwe Dhammajoti Thero. Karathota Dhammarama Thero, in turn, was a student of Kandurupokune Suvannajoti Thero. Dhammarama Thero's disciple, Galle Medhankara Thero, established Sri Lanka's second Pirivena at Raja Maha Vihara in Palmadulla, Ratnapura.
Seeking further knowledge, young Siddhartha Thero journeyed to Pelmadulla Raja Maha Vihara to master Dharma, Discipline, and Phonetics from esteemed Pandita Medhankara Maha Thero who descended from the student generation of the Asarana Sarana Saranankara Sangharaja Thero, the saviour of the Buddha-Sāsana (Buddha's Dispensation) in Sri Lanka.
During that period at the Pelmadulla Vihara, he had the opportunity to meet George Turnor, the Government Agent of Ratnapura who visited to Pelmadulla Vihara to study Sinhala and Pali and Siddhartha Thero learned English from him.
Returning to Walane temple in 1838, he began teaching Dhamma to both monks and lay students.
Ven. Walane Sri Siddhartha Thera was often described as a towering figure standing at an impressive 6 feet 4 inches, his physical presence was as remarkable as his spiritual stature. In May 1841, Sri Siddhartha Maha Thero, renowned as a religious learned monk, arrived in Ratmalana. His visit came in response to an invitation extended by several devout noble families from the capital who were deeply impressed by his fame and his great personality.
Among this elite group were notable figures like Don Jeranimus Seneviratne Ralahami, also known as Arachchi Mahathmaya or Panagoda Arachchi, Jayasuriya Arachchige Thedonis Prera Appuhami, Don Philip de Silva Epa Appuhami, and Don Prolis Lekam Ralahami of Ratmalana. They had a collective intention to establish a prestigious college near Colombo under the guidance of Walane Siddhartha Thero, who was renowned for his dedication to dharma, discipline, and linguistic scholarship aiming to foster intellectual pursuits and acquire knowledge.
A wealthy and devout man named Thedonis Appuhami in Colombo expressed interest in purchasing vacant land in front of the "Norman School" to build a monastery as a generous offering. However, Siddhartha Thero, with foresight, declined the offer, foreseeing the potential urban development of Colombo over the next fifty years. He believed that a bustling city environment would not be conducive for the peaceful training of young student monks.
However, Don Jeranimus Seneviratne Ralahami invited Siddhartha Thero to offer a piece of land to make a monastery in the village of Ratmalana, which was the home of a few wealthy elite families with a rural environment at that time but was also home to a few philanthropic wealthy elite families.
Upon arriving in Ratmalana, Siddhartha Thero initially lived in a small abode made of coconut branches, supported by the said virtuous and pious individuals. This marked the humble beginnings of Parama Dhamma Chetiya Maha Pirivena.
From this small abode, teaching began with two or three students, and the main purpose of Pirivena was to teach the threefold Buddhism correctly to the student monks. In a very short period of time, its fame grew and it grew to seventeen student monks, and among those seventeen, the most prominent monks were Sri Sumangala Thero of Hikkaduwa, Sri Dhammaloka Thero of Ratmalana, Sangharakkhita Thero of Denipitiya, Atthadassi Thero of Morapitiya, Devarakkhita Thero of Batuantuda, Sarankara of Baddegama. Thero, Koggala Kavithilaka Thero, Udugampola Ratanapala Thero, Medagama Sumana Thero, Ganegama Upananda Thero, Labugama Thero and Suriyagoda Sonuttara Thero.
Those student monks from Parama Dhamma Chethiya Maha Pirivena went on to play significant roles in the Buddhist renaissance of Sri Lanka. Among them, Sri Sumangala Nahimi of Hikkaduwa distinguished himself by supporting the Buddhist side in pivotal religious debates such as the Panadura Controversy and Baddega Controversy. He later founded Vidyodaya Pirivena in Maligakanda in 1873. Similarly, Sri Dhammaloka Nahimi of Ratmalana established Vidyalankara Pirivena in 1875, which evolved into Kelaniya University. Thus, Parama Dhamma Chethiya Maha Pirivena is celebrated as the cradle of numerous Buddhist educational institutions, including Vidyodaya Pirivena in Maligakanda, Colombo, and Vidyalankara Pirivena in Peliyagoda.
However, Siddhartha Thero maintained his connection with Walana temple and continued to reside both in Walana and Ratmalana. A group of devotees, led by Don Prolis Lekam Ralahami, approached Siddhartha Thero and urged him to permanently settle in Ratmalana. In 1849, Siddhartha Thero accepted their invitation and moved to Ratmalana Parama Dhamma Temple for permanent residence.
In June 1855, several head monks, including Walane Siddhartha Maha Thero, gathered at Kotte Raja Maha Viharaya for a meeting where they decided to hold a higher ordination ceremony in the low-country. They established the "Sri Kalyani Samagri Parama Maha Sangha Sabha" and conducted the ordination ceremony at the Kelani River in 1856. It was the commencement of the Upasampadā, the higher ordination of Siamese Chapter of the low country.
The first Sinhalese paper "Lakminipahana" was initiated under the guidance of Walane Sri Siddhartha Maha Thero with the leadership of Gunathilaka Athapattu Salpiti Korale Mudali of Galle and the renowned scholar, Koggala Pandit. It was first published on 11th September 1862.
The first Dharma Sangayana of the colonial era took place at the Pelmadulla Purana Vihara in the late 1860s, presided over by Ven. Walane Sri Siddhartha Thero. In 1865, the Tripitaka, the Pāli Canon, was rehearsed under the guidance of Most Venerable Siddhartha Maha Thero. The chief sponsor of this important council was Iddamalgoda RM, the Basnayaka Nilame of the Maha Saman Devala in Ratnapura. The purpose of the Sangayana was to revise the Pāli texts, correcting discrepancies and errors in spelling that had been unintentionally introduced by scribes. Esteemed monks from both the Siamese and Amarapura Chapters participated in this significant event.
While diligently working on the final revisions of the Vinaya Pitaka, Sri Siddhartha Thero fell ill and made the journey back to Ratmalana. Sadly, his health continued to decline, and he breathed his last on February 13, 1868, leaving behind a legacy of profound scholarship and spiritual dedication.
