Warakagoda Sri Gnanarathana Thero

Warakagoda Gnanarathana Thero (born 18 March 1942) is a Sri Lankan Buddhist monk who is the present Mahanayaka Thero 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. He is also the Chancellor of the Buddhist and Pali University of Sri Lanka of Sri Lanka.

Gnanarathana thero 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. At a public event in 2019, Gnanarathana thero endorsed the views of those who called for the stoning of a Muslim doctor accused of sterilization of Sinhala women as well as the boycotting of Muslim businesses, stating that Muslims are sterilizing Sinhalese through food sold in their shops. At the same event, he endorsed the purported presidential candidacy of Chamal Rajapaksa. The ensuing public backlash forced Gnanarathana thero to deny his previous statements.