කදිරගාමර්|KADIRAGAMAR Epe: 04

 කතරගම වැඩසිටි කන්ද 



කතරගම වැඩසිටි කන්ද යනු ශ්‍රී ලංකාවේ දක්ෂිණ ප්‍රාන්තයේ කතරගම නගරයට ආසන්නව පිහිටි, ආගමික වශයෙන් මහත් වැදගත්කමක් ඇති ශක්තිමත් භක්ති ස්ථානයක් වේ. "වැඩසිටි කන්ද" යන නාමය ලැබී ඇත්තේ මෙය කතරගම දේවියන් වහන්සේ වාසය කළ බවට විශ්වාසය පවතින බැවිනි. මෙය "වෙහෙරහිටිකන්ද" හෙවත් "වෙදසිටි කන්ද" ලෙසද හඳුන්වයි.

බෞද්ධයන්, හින්දු ආගමිකයන් සහ මුවර්තු ආගමිකයන් යන බොහෝ ආගම් වලින් වූ ජනතාව කතරගම දේවියන් වහන්සේට විශේෂ භක්තියක් දක්වති. විශේෂයෙන්ම, වැඩසිටි කන්ද නැගීම ආගමික ව්‍රතයක් ලෙස සලකනු ලබයි. මෙය භක්තිමත් කාර්යයක් ලෙස පවතින අතර, බොහෝ පූජකයන් තම මනෝබලය, ශරීර බලය සහ විශ්වාසය එක් කරමින් මෙම කන්ද නගිති.මෙම කන්ද නැඟීම විශේෂයෙන්ම උත්සව කාලයෙදී, එසේත් නැත්නම් පුනරුත්ථාපන, ව්‍රත පූජා හෝ පින් වැඩ සදහා සිදු කෙරේ. 

කන්ද මතුබැසීමෙන් පසුව ඉහළින් පළමු දක්නට ලැබෙන්නේ කුඩා පන්සලක් සහ කතරගම දේවියන් වහන්සේට අනුයුක්ත මූර්ති පූජා ස්ථානයකි. පූජකයන් මෙහිදී පහන් දැල්වීම,  දිව්‍ය ආශිර්වාද ලැබෙන්නට වෑයම් කරති. සමහර අය නිවන් සන්සුන් සිතක් සදහා  භාවනා කරති.

වැඩසිටි කන්ද නැඟීම ආගමික වටිනාකමක් පමණක් නොව, භක්තිය, අධිෂ්ඨානය සහ මනෝබලය දැක්වීමකි. විශේෂයෙන් දැනට සිටින තරුණ පරපුර අතර මෙය ආදරණීය ආගමික උත්සාහයකි. විශාල වශයෙන් කතරගම උළෙලේදී මෙය බහුලව දක්නට ලැබේ.අවසන් වශයෙන් කියන්නෙ නම්, කතරගම වැඩසිටි කන්ද යනු ශ්‍රී ලංකාවේ ආගමික සහ සංස්කෘතික වශයෙන් මහත් වැදගත් තැනක් වන අතර, එය විශ්වාසය, ආගමිකත්වය සහ එකමුතු භක්තිය නිරූපණය කරන ස්ථානයකි.


Katharagama Wedasiti Kanda 


A Sacred Mountain of Faith and Legend

Katharagama Wedasiti Kanda, located in the deep south of Sri Lanka near the sacred city of Katharagama, is a spiritually significant mountain revered by devotees of various religions. Also known as Vedihitikanda, this mountain holds a prominent place in the hearts of thousands who climb it with deep faith, seeking blessings, healing, and spiritual purification.

The name "Wedasiti Kanda" means "the mountain where the God resides." It is believed to be the meditation site of God Skanda or Kataragama Deviyo, who is highly respected in both Hindu and Buddhist traditions. According to legend, Lord Skanda descended upon this mountain after his victorious battle against demons, and it became his spiritual abode. Many devotees believe that God Kataragama still watches over the land from this mountain.The pilgrimage to Wedasiti Kanda is not just a physical journey but a spiritual one. Devotees of all ages begin their climb—often barefoot—before dawn, carrying offerings such as fruits, flowers, incense, and camphor. The path to the summit is steep and rocky, yet it is filled with chanting, prayers, and the sounds of devotion. Each step is taken with the hope of cleansing the soul and receiving divine blessings.

At the summit, a small shrine dedicated to Kataragama Deviyo awaits. From there, pilgrims can witness a breathtaking view of the surrounding forests and the sacred Menik Ganga flowing below. Many sit in silent meditation or prayer, while others light lamps and reflect on their wishes and gratitude.Wedasiti Kanda is especially crowded during the Esala Festival, when thousands gather in Katharagama for processions, rituals, and to fulfill vows. However, pilgrims visit year-round, drawn by the power of faith and the promise of inner peace.

In conclusion, Katharagama Wedasiti Kanda is not only a natural landmark but also a symbol of unity, spirituality, and tradition in Sri Lanka. It represents the deep-rooted cultural harmony where people of different faiths come together, walk the same path, and share the same belief in divine guidance. Climbing this sacred mountain is a journey of hope, discipline, and devotion.


Article By:- Dilini Madhushika


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