On 8th of December, 1913 a boy named Kingsley Lewis Panditha was born to Mr. P.K. Hinni Appuhamy, who was a businessman in the southern town of Baddegama and to his wife, Mrs. Cecelia Weliwita (Weliwita Hamine). When this boy Kingley Lewis was about twenty years of age, he entered the community of Buddhist monks under the pupilage of Sri Sugatha Vinayalankara Kavidhaja Wipulasenasana Nayaka Thero who was residing at Ode temple, under the name Baddegama Wimalawansa. As he made a very quick progress in learning the required tenets of the Dhamma he received higher ordination after three years of priesthood. Thereafter, having learned oriental languages such as Pali and Logical Theory, Archaeology, History, elegant expressions of poetry (candas sastra) etc. at the Wanawasa Pirivena, Gampola and the Vidyodaya Pirivena, Mligakanda, he passed with distinctions the Pracina Pandita Examination in 1945.

In order to uplift the bhikkhu education, he established pirivenas named Sri Sudarshana Vidyalaya at Kaikawala in Matale and Sri Lanka Vidyalaya in Maradana. Ven. Baddegama Wimalawansa Nayaka Thero made his mark in the field of writing too and wrote number of books on the Sinhalese Language, Pali and Tamil, Inscriptions, Philosophy etc. The number of newspaper articles written by him on such subjects amounts to over 1500. With the intention of improving missionary services both local and foreign he established the Maha Mahinda Dharmaduta Society in 1967 and took steps to send Buddhist missions to the western and eastern countries such as Japan, America, Australia, Singapore, Hong Kong, Malaysia, France, England, Korea and India.

Making the world realize that all conditioned things are impermanent, he passed away on 17th January, 1993 being fully conscious till the last moment.