Warakagoda Gnanarathana Thera | |
|---|---|
 Warakagoda Sri Gnanarathana Mahanayake Thera presented with a publication. | |
| Title | Mahanayaka of the Asgiriya Chapter of Siyam Nikaya |
| Personal life | |
| Born | 18 March 1942 |
| Nationality | Sri Lankan |
| Occupation | 22nd Mahanayke Thera of Asgiriya Chapter, The Venerable Chancellor of the Buddhist and Pali University of Sri Lanka |
| Religious life | |
| Religion | Buddhism |
| School | Theravada |
| Lineage | Asgiriya Chapter of Siyam Nikaya |
| Senior posting | |
| Based in | Kandy |
Warakagoda Gnanarathana Thera (born 18 March 1942) is a Sri Lankan Buddhist monk who is the present Mahanayaka Thera of the Asgiriya Chapter of Siam Nikaya. He was appointed as the 22nd Mahanayake Thera of the Asgiriya Chapter on 7 April 2016, by the Karaka Sangha Sabha of Asgiriya Chapter, after the demise of Galagama Sri Aththadassi Mahanayaka Thera. [1] [2] [3] [4] He is also the Chancellor of the Buddhist and Pali University of Sri Lanka of Sri Lanka.
Gnanarathana Thera is known for voicing his right-wing political proclivities in public. In 2017, he issued a statement condoning the views of the hard-line nationalist monk Galagoda Aththe Gnanasara. [5] At a public event in 2019, Gnanarathana Thera endorsed the views of those who called for the stoning of a Muslim doctor accused of sterilisation of Sinhala women as well as the boycotting of Muslim businesses, stating that Muslims are sterilising Sinhalese through food sold in their shops. [6] At the same event, he endorsed the purported presidential candidacy of Chamal Rajapaksa. [7] [8] The ensuing public backlash [9] forced Gnanarathana Thera to deny his previous statements. [10]
