Giribhanda Pooja is a unique indigenous ceremony among material meritorious ceremonies which not found in any other country in the Word. This ceremony has been founded by Sri Lankan King ‘Mahadathita Mahanaga’ who lived in First Century A.D. Giribhanda Pooja, as its name signifies is because of essential material needs offered to a size of a mountain.
According to the ancient sources, the special features of the Pooja are as follows;
Selected Photos of Giribhanda Pooja Pinkama
Thalagala Sri Siddhartha Foundation revived the Giribhanda Pooja in the year 2003 keeping the ancient traditions of offering a heap of Pirikara to temples in rural areas in Sri Lanka and all of the above special features are conducted symbolically.
Giribhanda Pooja is one of the major programs initiated to uplift the standards of needy temples. This Pooja is conducted biennialy by the Foundation and it was able to cater to very many monastic requites of temples in various rural districts of the country where monks protect the teaching of Buddha and regulate spiritual disciplines even under threat to life. Todate this program has benefited over 820 temples in 6 districts namely; Anuradhapura, Trincomalee, Polonnaruwa, Ampara, Badulla and Monargala. The details of the 6 Giribhanda Pooja programs conducted by the Foundations are as follows:
Year |
Location |
No. of Temples Benefited |
Value of each Offering of Items |
Total Value of Offering of Items |
2003 |
Anuradhapura District – Selected Temples in Rural Areas. |
25 |
150 |
3,750 |
2006 |
Trincomalee District – All the Temples |
80 |
200 |
16,000 |
2008 |
Polonnaruwa District – Selected Temples in Rural Areas |
110 |
300 |
33,000 |
2010 |
Ampara District – All the Temples |
180 |
300 |
54,000 |
2012 |
Badulla District – Selected Temples in Rural Areas. |
200 |
400 |
80,000 |
2014 |
Monaragala District – Selected Temples in Rural Areas. |
225 |
450 |
101,250 |