Elephant Den
Elephants have a special place among the rituals of Kataragama Temple. Accordingly, King Dutugemunu was assisted in temporarily building the temple out of leaves for the sake of God by the King's friend Kadol, an elephant. Even today, remembering that custom, on the seventh day of the Esala Festival, elephants bring green leaves to renew the branches in front of the temple. King Dutugemunu has ordered that the pair of tusks be donated to the temple after the death of the Kadol elephant.
In recent times, history mentions several elephants belonging to the class of elephants in Kataragama temple. In the 19th century, an elephant named Vela was fed by Thevani Amma Temple, and after that, the merchants of Markanda donated an elephant for these duties.
After that elephant died in 1948, Leo Fernando donated an elephant during the era of Chief Custodian J A Rambukpotha. After the elephant died in 1956, an elephant named Kadira was also brought from the Karawila area, so the elephant named Karawilaya also worshipped the deity.
After the death of this elephant in 1977, as a donation from the then government, an elephant was obtained from the Pinnawala Elephant Conservation Center through the intervention of Minister Wimala Kannangara, and the elephant was named Vasana. In 2005, Vasana, who had the privilege of leading the procession in the Esala Festival at the Temple of Tooth, is currently a senior member of Sri Lanka’s household elephant squad. These elephants, who have exceptional qualities, saved the deity and monks even in the bombing of the Kataragama Esala Festival in 1989.
Apart from Vasana, Kataragama Temple also owns Maddu and Taridu, Saliya, and Banu, which belong to Kiri Vehera. Asela belongs to Kataragama Abhinavarama Temple.
Wasana
Bhanu
Maddu
