Venerable Kahapola Sugarathana Panditha Thera was born in Kahapola in the village of Kesbewa in the Colombo District. He received his primary education at a rural school. He was ordained as a monk at the age of 11 under the tutelage and guidance of the Venerable Moratuwe Sansanaratana Anunayake Thera, the Head of the Department of Philosophy at the University of Kelaniya. He initially received his ecclesiastical education at the Sri Saugata Vidyalaya Pirivena at Rankoth Viharaya and obtained the Rajakeeya Pandiya title in 1974, undergoing his “upasampadawa” or higher ordination in July 1975. Largely self-taught, the Thera learnt Sinhala, Pali, and Sanskrit under Venerable Sasanaratana Thera.