Somawathiya (Somawathi Chethiya) was built in 2nd century BC and this stupa is said to enshrine the right tooth relic of Lord Buddha.
According to chronicles, prince Giri-aba and princess Somawathi (sister of King Kavanthissa) lived on a small community called “Somapura” on the beds of Mahaveli River. Price Giriaba constructed Somawathi Chethiya on the request of his wife who wanted to engage in religious activities. Upon completion of the Stupa, the prince requested a monk named Mahinda for some “dathu” to be kept in the relic chamber of the stupa. Maha Thera Mahinda gave him the right tooth relic of Lord Buddha.
According to history this tooth relic was received by a “Na” (serpent) king Jayasena when the remaining relics from the Buddha”s cremation site were distributed. He took this to the “Naga Lokaya” (the kingdom of serpents) and deposited it in a stupa made out of gold for worship. When the prince Giriaba”s request was made, the maha thero Mahinda visited the “Naga” Kingdom and brought this tooth relic to be deposited in the stupa built by the prince.
Upon completion of the stupa and five viharas the prince and princess handed over the temple to Mahinda maha thero and sixty other monks. Thereafter many kings have contributed to this centre in many ways.
According to the historical documents the Somawathiya was built on the eastern bank of the Mahaveli River. But today it is about ½ km from the west bank of the river. Though this caused confusion whether this is the real Somawathi Stupa described in the chronicles, it was later realised the river has changed course during the last 800 years and in fact the current sandy road leading to the Somawathi was the path of the river some 800 years ago.
The site was rediscovered in 1940’s and in ’48 renovations were started by group of enthusiasts. In 1964 archaeologists started excavating the site. While excavating the main stupa, a smaller stupa at a depth of 5 feet 5 inches in to the main stupa was found. It is believed this smaller stupa was the original Somawathi Chethiya build by prince Giriaba in the 2 nd century BC and the latter stupa build around the original was the work of King Kanittha Tissa in 164 AC.
Archaeologists also found four moonstones and flower pedestals after excavating the earth for 5 ½ feet around the stupa. They also unearthed six 3 ½ feet long “siripa gal” (rocks carved with the bottom of the feet of Buddha). In addition to these many buildings has been unearthed including a wall surrounding the stupa.
Nine stone inscriptions have been found around this site and the most popular is the four inscriptions found on the Eric Swan rock. This rock can be seen few metres away from the gravel road, about 100 metres before the main entrance to the temple. This rock got its name because a photographer called Eric Swan who was killed by a wild elephant near this rock.
Today Somawathi is popular for three main reasons.
- Somawathi holds one of the only two tooth relics of Lord Buddha existing in the world. The other tooth relic is kept at the “Dalada Maligawa” in Kandy.
- Incredible unnatural phenomena which has been accruing around the stupa .These have been witnessed by thousands of pilgrims
- The remoteness of the location. This site is located deep inside the jungle infested with elephants and other wild animals.
