Most Venerable Mataramba Hemarathana Thero, the Chief Incumbent of Sithulpawwa Rajamaha Viharaya, has passed away at the age of 83.
Born in 1941 in Unawatuna, Galle as Nelson Nanayakkara, he was ordained as a Buddhist monk in 1955 at the historic Yatagala Rajamaha Viharaya and took on the ordination name ‘Mataramba Hemarathana Thero’.
The most venerated monk had authored a number of books including, Usaspela Baudhdha Dharma Sanghaya, Lekhana Rekha, Hindu Arya Sanskruthiya, Wandana Gatha, Aithihasika Magul Maha Viharaya.
In 2020, Hemarathana Thero was elevated to the status of Upadhyaya of Uposathagaraya of Malwatta Maha Vihara and inducted as the Chief Sanganayaka of Southern Sri Lanka.
He had supervised as many as eight historic temples as the chief incumbent including Yatagala Rajamaha Viharaya, Sithulpawwa Rajamaha Viharaya, Magulmaha Viharaya.
In 2022, Hemarathana Thero was conferred ‘Agga Maha Paṇḍita’ – an honorific Burmese Buddhist title conferred by the Myanmar government – for the service he rendered for the sustainability of Buddhism.
