Among the 33 crore gods and goddesses, Lord Sumana Saman gets a special place. Samantha Koota Rock is known as the abode of Lord Saman, and as soon as Sri Patula was kept sacred, the place came to be known as Sri Padaya.
When talking about Lord Saman, the construction of Saman temples and the offering of sacrifices to God begins after the Polonnaru era. The main temple is built on Samanala hill and four corners of it are Mahianganaya Saman Temple in the east, Boltumbe Saman Temple in the south, Deraniyagala Saman Temple in the north and Sabaragamuwa Maha Saman Temple in the west. Here Sabaragamuwa Maha Saman Temple takes a special place because this temple is considered as the most important temple among these temples. This temple is considered to be a place where many amazing miracles happen.
According to the order of King Parakramabahu, a scholar of Kalikala literature who reigned in the Dambadeni era, he sent his chief minister Arya Kamadeva to Ratnapura to mine gems in order to strengthen his great treasury. The historical news that a temple with a three-storied mansion was built at this place with the support of the state after receiving the gem and fulfilling his wishes is a fact confirmed by the poetry anthology ‘Saman Sirita’.
That historical information clearly testifies that Saman Temple was famous as a temple full of miracles in the past. Sabaragamuwa Maha Saman Temple is found after about two and a half kilometers on the Panadura road below Moragaha in Ratnapura town. At present, the temple site, which shows an ancient and mighty power, is filled with devotees who come from all directions to pay homage, fulfill their vows, etc.
It is a wonderful thing to be able to see Saman Dev coming near to the presence of the devotees raising their feet in the midst of such expressions of respect and devotion. It is because its doors and windows are amazingly made of granite. This is an extremely beautiful design, created with minimal details that will amaze the beholders. On the left side, some very ancient inscriptions were kept safe and some very ancient paintings were also seen on the wall of the temple without being reformed.
Going further through the ivory, Uduvian, one can see another surprising thing. It was a sprouted stone that was contained in a beautiful vase made of glass about 3 meters high. The root is usually a piece of granite about 6 x 6 inches in size. The black stone that emerged from there grew up to a height of about 3 meters like a fat vine and will amaze every eye that sees it. Some special offerings were also tied there.
Mr. Gunaratne, who works at the temple, said something like this about the history about the strange stone that was covered so that no one could touch it.
This is the sprouting stone that can be seen in Sumana Saman temple. This stone used to be inside the idol of God. This was shown to special people in those days. But it was difficult to continue doing it, so it was later buried next to the door where the statue of the temple is located. According to the history of this place, when preparing to build a temple here with the patronage of King Maha Parakramabahu, a part of the stone that was brought as the foundation stone was offered to the god in the hope that this work would be successful. Anyway, while the temple was built and the puja was being held, a part of the foundation stone was handed over to the said god in honor of the statue of the priest Saman. Safely kept as an offering.
After some time, this stone has started sprouting. This kind of situation has been written up to now only after 2-3 years. When our ancients came to worship the Saman temple, this stone was not so high. Every devotee who comes to Saman temple does not forget to worship this Vishwakarma stone. This is a perfect example that God is alive and working in this place, something that happens only because of God’s miracle. But there is something sad to say. It was about 40 years ago that a planter from Ayagama side had planted the cuttings to see if this black stone would actually sprout.
It is said that the growth of this stone has stopped since the day that sin was committed. Sabaragamuwa Maha Samandewala has such a sprouting stone that cannot be seen anywhere in the world. I say again that this happened by the miracle of our God.