The Isurumuni Buddhist temple situated near to Tisa Wewa in Anuradhapura This had been built by King Devanampiya Tissa, 2nd century BC. This is known as a first ever build Buddhist temple in the island.
This is a combination of rock and cave temple. The large rock, which has jutted out to the sky, gives the idea of a gloomy rain cloud.
‘Parjanya’, the god of rain on one side of the wall of the rock is depicted., which means the rock temple of rain cloud.
Considering how the name Isurumuniya was formed, A noble, rich person whose name was ‘Aritta’ had been ordained with 500 Children form wealthy families. Rich people were known as people with ‘isuru’ in Sinhalese.
The name Isurumuniya came to be known after that.
After arrived Buddhas’ Tooth relic was placed here 04th century AD. Prince Danta and princess Hemamala brought it to Sri Lanka. At the entrance to the rock temple is a large pond
Above the pond, there are some rare carvings of playful elephants. The elephant with happy faces signified overjoyed in the water.
On the top level of the stairs there is a carving of a person seated in a royal manner.
Next to it a head of a horse is carved. The horse head symbolizes ‘Parjanya’, the god of rain. The mountain represents the clouds. According to that This area dates back to prehistoric times, it is believed to be a place where rituals were made for rain.