The first temple we come across along this road is called the Gadaladeniya Raja Maha Viharaya built on rock. According to the inscription there, this temple was built by Bhuvanekabahu IV and completed in the Sake year 1266 which is 1344 A.D. The chief Architect was Ganesvaracri, a South Indian. The temple is thus essentially of South Indian Design with a Devale attached to it. Though this temple is known today as Gadaladeniya, the inscription names it as Dharmakirti Viharaya after name of the founder monk. The Nikaya Sangrahaya named it Saddharmatilaka, and the Saddhamalankarya as Gadaladeniya Viharaya after the name of the village. There is no uniformity with regard to its name. The main shrine room has a seated Buddha under a Makara Torana with many gods on either side. The chamber within the sikhara or dome of the structure had an image of the Buddha but it had been destroyed by the Buddha but it had been destroyed by the portuguese. The Viharaya remained neglected till the time of Ven. Valivita Sangharaja. King Narendrasimha dedicated it to him and it has been looked after ever since by his pupillary succession. The roofed dagoba on the rock fulfils a requirement of a temple. The protecting roof is held on four pillars over the dagoba; tradition has it that it was constructed by Parakramabahu V and it is now called Vijayotpaya or Vaijayanta prasada so named after the mythical palace of India. Images of the Buddha are placed on the four sidea of the cube of stone masonry and enclosed within shrine rooms rectangular in shape.
Gadaladeniya also became noted for the celebrated scholarly monks such as Ven. Dharmakirti II and Vimalakirthi I who resided there and contributed much towards the literary development of the country.
The image of the Buddha in the garbhagrha or sanctum, according to the inscription was executed on the Vajrasana
The main shrine has all the features of a patimagara or image house with mandapa, antarala and agarbhagrha or sanctum. The Devale and the Mandapa, and the deity worshipped there is described as devaraje,identified today as Visnu. But he must have been known as Upulvan. The construction of Devales within Buddhist temples could have originated in the mediaeval period.
The edifice consists of three storeys and a sikhara or dome rising over the Devale. The structure is of stone. The mouldings of the adhisthana or podium are similar to other Hindu Devales. The basement panels have figures of dancers and musicians. The two stone pillars in front have the figures of a Siva Nataraja and Krsna and both the base and the capitals are in the form of seated lions, reminiscent of the architecture of Vijayanagar.
The image of the Buddha in the garbhagrha or sanctum, according to the inscription was executed on the Vajrasana or adamantine seat under a sacred Bo-tree here symbolized by a floral design. The Makara torana is decorated on both faces with a host of gods such as Sakra, Brahma, Suyama, Santusita, Natha and Maitri, and two attendants. The two upper storeys are non-functional and from the stone base for the sikhara is found in the Natha Devale as well as a Gedige Viharaya at Adahana Maluwa. This hollow type of sikhara is not found in South Indian shrines - hence it may be taken as a modification of the Dravidian plan to suit those of the Buddhists.
The Devale also has a similar sikhara. According to the Gadaladeniya inscription, the garbhagrha and the stupa were decorated with paintings. Only fragments of these remain; but there is an extant scene from Vesantara Jatakaya in the garbha of the sikhara. The colours used are red, yellow and black. The incompetent restoration carried out in the recent past has completely defaced these paintings The valuable standing Buddha on a lotus in bronze, belonging to the same period, which was in the Viharaya until recent times is now lost.
