Muthiyangana Raja Maha Vihara is an ancient Buddhist temple located in the Badulla District

Badulla District

Badulla is a district in Uva Province, Sri Lanka. The entire land area of the Badulla district is 2,861 km² and total population is 837,000. The district is bounded by the districts of Monaragala and Rathnapura on the East & South, by Ampara and Kandy districts on the North and by Nuwara...

 of Sri Lanka. Buddhists believe that this site has been visited by Gautama Buddha

Gautama Buddha

Siddhārtha Gautama was a spiritual teacher from the Indian subcontinent, on whose teachings Buddhism was founded. In most Buddhist traditions, he is regarded as the Supreme Buddha Siddhārtha Gautama (Sanskrit: सिद्धार्थ गौतम; Pali: Siddhattha Gotama) was a spiritual teacher from the Indian...

, and it is regarded as one of the Solosmasthana

Solosmasthana

Solosmasthana are 16 sacred places in Sri Lanka, believed by Buddhists to have been hallowed by visits of Gautama Buddha. These places of worship are among the most important religious locations in Sri Lanka, and are located throughout the country. Ancient Buddhist and historical sources of Sri...

, the 16 sacred places in the country. During this visit, a local chieftain named Indika had wanted something to worship in memory of the visit. The Buddha is said to have gifted him a few drops of sweat that turned into pearls. Indika had enshrined the pearls in a stupa

Stupa

A stupa is a mound-like structure containing Buddhist relics, typically the remains of Buddha, used by Buddhists as a place of worship....

, believed to be the Mahiyangana stupa located in the temple.