Welivita Sri Saranakara Thera | |
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![]() A wall painting which depicts Weliwita Sri Saranankara Sangharaja Thero | |
Title | Sangharaja |
Personal | |
Born | Kulathun Bandara (කුලතුන් බණ්ඩාර) 19 June 1698 |
Died | 18 July 1778 Malwathu Maha Viharaya, Kandy | (aged 80)
Religion | Buddhism |
Nationality | Sri Lankan |
School | Theravada |
Lineage | Siyam Nikaya |
Occupation | Sangharaja, the supreme patriarch of Sri Lanka. |
Senior posting | |
Teacher | Suriyagoda Maha Thero. |
Students
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Weliwita Asaranasarana Sri Saranankara Sangharaja Thero (19 June 1698 – 18 July 1778) or popularly Weliwita Sri Saranankara Thero was a Buddhist monk, who was the last Sangharaja of Sri Lanka.[1] He was the pioneer in the revival of Buddhism in Sri Lanka, after the decline of the religion in the 17th and 18th centuries.[2][3] Saranankara Thero was bestowed with the a title by king Kirthi Sri Rajasinghe in 1753, the same year he received the Upasampada (higher ordination of Buddhist monks) and re-established the Upasampada in Sri Lanka with the help of Mahasangha in Siam.[3] He is also credited with the establishment of Silvath Samagama (pious group), a union of monks who lived in accordance with the Buddhist monastic discipline.[4]