Seetha Amman Temple, Sri Lanka Virtual Tour

Take the 360-degree virtual reality tour of the Seethai Amman Temple, Nuwara Eliya, Kandy, Sri Lanka. The only Rama Sita temple in the world.

There is growing traffic of visitors to what tourist brochures term “the only Rama Sita temple in the world”. The temple is patterned on the modern south Indian temple and is set in the idyllic countryside beside a clear stream. The Rama Sita Temple is at a spot believed to be the exact place where Sita was held captive by the demon-king Ravana in the Lanka of the epic, Ramayana. Myth has it that Sita, the wife of King Rama, was imprisoned in the Ashoka forests of the region. The temple trustees believe that this is no myth and that Sita’s imprisonment at this spot is a historical fact.

The two new temples exist on a quarter-acre strip of land. One temple is dedicated to Sita, and the other to Hanuman. The Sita temple looks like any modern-day temple with a multi-coloured dome filled with mythological figures. Three new statues – of Rama, Sita, and Laxman – have been installed in the new structure. On the side closer to the river bank is a small shrine with the three darkened idols which were found a century ago.

“There is a rock on the opposite bank where Sita sat and meditated. Ashoka forest is a clear indication that she came here when she was brought to Lanka,” according to the trustees of the temple. There is also a belief that at a particular point in the stream, the water has no taste. “This is the spot she cursed. You cannot drink the water. Drink it further downstream,” one temple worker said. Temple workers are keen to show visitors the spot where Sita bathed, the stone she sat on, and where she prayed. Beliefs here are evidently strong and devotees are convinced that this episode of the Ramayana epic did indeed take place here.

Watch the amazing places in Sri Lanka on 360-degree virtual reality tours.