Nagadeepa Purana Vihara is situated on the island of Nainativu, off the coast of Jaffna, and is a part of the Solosmasthana, or sixteen sacred sites of veneration in the country. It was here that Lord Buddha on his second visit to the island, five years after his enlightenment intervened and averted imminent war between two feudal Kings, over a disputed throne of gold studded with gemstones. In gratitude for having mediated the conflict, both Kings pledged the throne to the Buddha and enshrined it in a stupa at this location. Future kings maintained the sacred site, but most of what is seen today was constructed in the 1950s, with a unique silver gilded stupa being the focal point of veneration. One of the Bodhi trees within the temple precincts is one of eight saplings grown from the Jaya Sri Maha Bodhi in Anuradhapura, which itself was from the original tree under which the Buddha attained enlightenment.

Written by Jonathan Roelofsz for Travel Lanka Compass