Courtesy Hiru News

Chief Incumbent of the Hunupitiya Gangaramaya Temple, Ven. Galboda Gnanissara (81) Thera, also known as “Podi Hamuduruwo,” has passed away.

Galboda Gnanissara Thera, a highly esteemed Buddhist prelate, served as the chief incumbent of the Gangaramaya Temple in Colombo, Sri Lanka. He was appointed as the Sanghanayaka of the Western Province in Sri Lanka by the Malwatta Chapter in 2003. Additionally, he was once the Sanghanayaka of Sri Lankan Buddhist temples in the United States but later renounced that position. Thera was widely recognized for his various community service initiatives.

Early Life:
Galboda Gnanissara Thera was born in 1943 in the village of Galboda, Matara Municipal Council, Sri Lanka. At the age of eight, he was brought to the Gangaramaya Temple to be ordained and was given the name “Podi Hamuduruwo” (Little Monk).

Ordination & Consecration:
At the age of eight, Galboda Gnanissara Thera was ordained at the Gangaramaya Temple. Dewundara Ratanajothi (Devundara Vaccissara Thera), then the Chief Incumbent of the temple, was one of his teachers. By 1959, with Devundara Vaccissara Thera ailing, visually impaired, and disabled, the temple leadership, including Vaccissara Thera himself, requested Galboda Gnanissara Thera to assume the administration of the temple. He was just 16 years old at that time.

In 2003, Galboda Gnanissara Thera was appointed by the Malwatta Chapter as the Sanghanayaka of the Western Province in Sri Lanka. He was also the Sanghanayaka of Sri Lankan Buddhist temples in the United States but later renounced the position.

The Asgiriya Chapter awarded him the Darshana Visharada, equivalent to a doctorate degree.