Weliwita Sri Saranankara Thero

Welivita Sri Saranakara Thera
A wall painting which depicts Weliwita Sri Saranankara Sangharaja Thero
Religion	Buddhism
School	Theravada
Lineage	Siyam Nikaya
Dharma names	Asarana Sarana Welivita Sri Saranakara Sangharaja Thera
Personal
Nationality	Sri Lankan
Born	(1698-06-19)19 June 1698 Weliwita, Kandy District
Died	18 July 1778(1778-07-18) (aged 80) Hantana, Kandy
Senior posting
Title	Sangharaja

Weliwita Sri Saranankara Thero (19 June 1698 – 18 July 1778) was a Buddhist monk, who was the last Sangharaja of Sri Lanka. He was the pioneer in the revival of Buddhism in Sri Lanka, after the decline of the religion in the 17th and 18th centuries. Weliwita Sri Saranankara Thero was bestowed with the Sangharaja 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 Thailand. 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.

Welivita Sri Saranakara Thera was born on June 19, 1698 to the Kulathunga family of Welivita in Tumpane, about 24 km from Kandy. His father was a chieftain and was a descendant of an influential family. His lay name was Kulathunga Banda and he had a brother by the name of Kulatunga Patabendige Mudiyanse. Though his parents initially opposed his idea to enter the Buddhist monastic order, later he was granted permission by the parents and was ordained as a 'samanera’ at the age of 16, under the scholar monk, Suriyagoda Rajasundara thera, who was the incumbent of Sri Narendraramaya at Yatinuwara. After the ordination as a novice monk, young boy Kulatunga was known as Welivita Sri Saranakara Samanera.

His teacher, Suriyagoda Rajasundara thera, who had received upasampada ordination from the Arakanese monks (Burmese) in 1679, exercised considerable influence within the Kandyan Kingdom and had the patronage of King Vira Narendrasinghe (1707–39). He was the last Sinhala king, after whom Nayakkar dynasty succeeded to the throne of Kandyan kingdom. In 1715, Suriyagoda thera was charged with treason by the king and executed. Thus young Saranankara Samanera left on his own, took up residence in the mountainous region of Alagalla (Kadugannwa) a few miles away from Kandy and devoted his early years to learning Pali language. Saranakara Samanera lived in a cave at Alagalla and the villagers provided him with alms food.