It is said in historical records that Velgam Rajamaha Vihara, which is a major symbol of Eastern Buddhist heritage, was built by king Devanampiyatissa (307- 267 BC) who was one of the greatest kings of the Anuradhapura era. The inscriptions unearthed from the site bear witness that great kings such as Bhatiya 1, Agbo 11, Vijayabhahu 1 and Parakramabahu 1 carried out renovations from time to time. The temple is also known to Hindus as Natanar Kovil.
Rarely did Chola invaders spare Buddhist temples in the course of their invasions (993 AD) at the end of the 10th century. Most of them were partly or totally destroyed. But the Velgam Vehera also known as Vilgam Rajamaha Vihara in Kanniya, Trincomalee was not attacked.
Cholas renovated the temple adding their own structures to it. Later, they renamed the temple after king Rajaraja 1 and it came to be known among Tamils as Rajarajaperumpalli.
Several Tamil inscriptions were found from the site and they record descriptions about the various donations to the temple made during the reigns of king Rajaraja the Great, who was a Chola emperor who reigned the Southern parts of India and the Northern half of Sri Lanka and king Rajendra, who was king Rajaraja’s successor.
The fact that there remained one temple that was safeguarded and renovated by Chola rulers astonished historians, but the fact of the matter was that there were Tamil Buddhists in the Velgam Fort close to the Velgam Rajamaha Vihara.
During the Polonnaruwa era, the Velgam Rajamaha Vihara had become one of the most prominent temples in Sri Lanka, but following the collapse of the Anuradhapura and Polonnaruwa kingdoms, the population migrated to the Southern part of the country, which resulted in the temple being abandoned and falling into ruin. During the Kotte period, the Rajarata area including Velgama had become an oasis for elephants, tigers and bears.
The Department of Archaeology discovered this site in 1929 and declared it an archaeological site in 1934. Among the ruins scattered throughout the site are a standing Buddha statue made of granite, stone inscriptions some of which are in Tamil, brick foundations of ancient buildings, a crumbling stupa, guard stones, moonstones, parts of image houses and many other ruins, most of which have been influenced by Tamil architecture models and designs.
