The story of the arrival of God in Devinuwara in the traditional folklore of the Devunuwara area

Legend has it that King Dappula and the Kapurala (priest) of the Seenigama Devalaya had a dream about the arrival of a divine log into Devinuwara beach and they both went to Devinuwara in a grand procession. Also, according to the legend, the god Upulvan is said to have arrived not to the western shore (Magulwella) first at Devinuwara but to the eastern shore (Kirala Wella). But it was too late for the procession to reach Kiralawella. So the sacred tree trunk floated and passed the Western shore and Southern shore (Sinhasana Wella) and reached eastern shore of Magultota Well in the west.
There the Seenigama Kapurala went down to the sea and reverently brought out thr sacred log. Then he went in procession carrying the sacred log in to the newly buillt temple for the god, and sought a suitable person to build a statue of God.

But no Sculptor was able to do that. But miraculously one day an old man appeared in Devinuwara and asked the kapurala the permission to carve out the statue, in a pavilion covered with curtains and sandalwood milk. He was allowed to stay alone by the permission from King Dappula.

The next morning, everyone, including Seenigama Kapurala, who came to the pavilion and removed the white curtain, was amazed! An old man was not there. Only the statue of Godking Sri Utpalavarna was proudly there. Legend has it that the Vishwakarma Divya came and did this work. A similar legend exists with the images of the Jagannath Sri Maha Vishnu Devalaya in Orissa, eastern India.