Solosmastana

The Solosmasthana are 16 sacred places scattered across Sri Lanka, believed by Buddhists to have been hallowed by visits of Gautama Buddha himself. Revered as some of the most spiritually significant religious locations in the country, these sites draw pilgrims from across the island and beyond, united by a shared devotion to the Dhamma that is said to have taken root here long ago.

Ancient Buddhist and historical sources assert that the Buddha visited Sri Lanka on three separate occasions. The ancient chronicle Mahavamsa describes his journeys to eleven of the Solosmasthana in some detail, while other texts — the Pujavaliya, Samantapasadika, and Butsarana — also record these visits, together forming a rich body of traditional knowledge around these hallowed places.

The Three Visits of the Buddha

According to the Mahavamsa, the Buddha's first visit took place in the ninth month after he attained enlightenment, when he came to Mahiyangana. There, tradition holds, he conquered the yakshas and sent them to an island named Giri, setting the stage for Buddhism to flourish in the land. The chronicle records that the Buddha foresaw the Dhamma would prevail here "in all its glory." Today, the Mahiyangana Vihara Stupa stands at this historically charged location.

The second visit came in the fifth year after enlightenment, when the Buddha is said to have travelled to Nagadipa to settle a dispute between two Naga kings, Chulodara and Mahodara, over a jewelled chair. The Nagadeepa Viharaya now marks this sacred spot. In the eighth year after enlightenment, the Buddha made his third and final visit, accompanied by 500 bhikkhus, to Kelaniya, at the invitation of a Naga king named Maniakkika. The Kelaniya Raja Maha Vihara Stupa is venerated today at the site of that momentous arrival.

The Sites of the Third Visit

After delivering a discourse on Dharma at Maniakkika's abode, the Mahavamsa records that the Buddha proceeded to Samantakuta — the sacred summit known today as Adam's Peak — and to Diva Guhava, the cave sanctuary now associated with Batatotalena Cave. He also visited Dighavapi, the ancient tank and temple site remembered today as Deegavapiya, and the Muthiyangana Raja Maha Vihara, the latter mentioned specifically in the Samantapasadika as part of this same journey.

The chronicle further records that the Buddha visited the places where the Jaya Sri Maha Bodhiya, the Ruwanweliseya Stupa, and the Thuparamaya Stupa now stand — sites that would later become cornerstones of Anuradhapura's sacred landscape. Among the other revered stupas associated with the Solosmasthana are the Abhayagiri Stupa and the Jetavanaramaya Stupa, two of the most monumental structures of the ancient world, as well as the Mirisawetiya Stupa, also within Anuradhapura. The Tissamaharama Raja Maha Stupa and the Kiri Vehera Stupa in the south of the island are likewise counted among these sixteen places, believed by tradition to owe their sanctity either to direct visits of the Buddha or to the great monumental stupas erected by Buddhist kings at locations he is said to have blessed.

Decline and Renewal

With the decline of the ancient kingdoms of Anuradhapura and Polonnaruwa, most of the Solosmasthana fell into neglect and were largely abandoned. It was not until the 20th century that all sixteen sites received renewed attention from the Sangha and the broader Buddhist community, and systematic renovation was undertaken. A Pali gatha — a devotional verse — praising the Solosmasthana remains in use among Buddhists to this day, keeping the memory and reverence for these places alive across generations.