Abhayagiri Monastery of Anuradhapura

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Abhayagiri Monastery is situated in the ancient city of Anuradhapura and is credited to King Vattagamini Abaya popularly known as King Walagamba ( 103 BCE, 89-77 BCE). Proof has been found that a Jain temple existed on this land in the 5th century BCE during the rule of King Pandukabaya (437-367 BCE).

In 104 BCE, the youngest son of King Saddhatissa (137-119 BC), Prince Vattagamini Abaya came to the throne in Anuradhapura. Soon after a Tamil invasion took place. The new king unable to withstand the attack, was retreating from the capital. At this time a Jain monk was residing in the area where Abhayagiri stands today. When the king was passing this area the Jain monk named “Geri” shouted insultingly “Lo the great black Sinhala king is in flight”.

The king ignored this comment but when he came back to Anuradhapura after 14 years after defeating the invaders, he has not forgotten this incident. The king razed this hermitage to the ground and built a massive stupa and 12 buildings and offered it to Kuppikala Mahathissa Thero. The stupa was named by coining the two rivals’ names “Abaya” (The king’s name) and “Geri” (The Jain monk) – The “Abayagiri”. The stupa is also believed to have been built by the same king.

The circumference of this Dagaba may be roughly put down as 1,150 feet and its original height was 400 feet. This gigantic solid work of bricks had been plastered with a thick coating of lime mortar. There were still parts of this plaster to be seen over the Dagaba at certain spots in the early 20th century. This Dagaba has an extensive square Salapatala Maluwa which is 600 ft. by 600 ft. This raised ground laid with slabs is enclosed by a half wall on all the sides. There is a rampart around the Weli Maluwa that adjoins the platform, and the width of this compound is 50 feet. There are four entrances where guard houses had been put up, through which the pilgrims and visitors had to gain admission into the sacred premises.

Until this time the center of Sri Lanka Buddhism was Maha Viharaya which followed the purest form of Theravada Buddhist teaching. The priests of this institute accused Mahatissa Thero of accepting a personal gift and was expelled from Maha Viharaya.

Mahathissa Thero broke away with a following of monks to establish Abhayagiri. Even though these two temples didn’t have any differences in Buddhist practices, a group of disciples of a Dhammaruchi Thero of India introduced some practices that were quite different from Theravada teachings to Abhayagiri Viharaya. With this, the Abhayagiri Vihara Bhikkus were called Dhammaruchi Nikaya (sect). Later Abayagiri became a great rival of Maha Vihara and became the seat for Mahayana Buddhism in Sri Lanka.

The peak of this rivalry was during the reign of King Mahasen (276-303) when the king dismantled great buildings of the Maha Viharaya Complex including the Lova Maha Prasada to be used as raw material for buildings of Abayagiriya. According to the famous Chinese travelling monk Fa-Hsien, over 5,000 monks were residing at Abayagiri Viharaya, exceeding the count at Maha Viharaya in the 5th century.

……. Over the footprint at the north of the city the king built a large tope, 400 cubits high, grandly adorned with gold and silver, and finished with a combination of all the precious substances. By the side of the top he further built a monastery, called the Abhayagiri, where there are (now) five thousand monks. There is in it a hall of Buddha, adorned with carved and inlaid works of gold and silver, and rich in the seven precious substances, in which there is an image (of Buddha) in green jade, more than twenty cubits in height, glittering all over with those substances, and having an appearance of solemn dignity which words cannot express. In the palm of the right hand there is a priceless pearl. ………..

According to The Great Chronicle of Sri Lanka – The Mahavamsa, The Buddha visited a place called “Seela Chetiya” in Anuradhapura on his 3rd visit to Sri Lanka. Deepawamsa connects the Seela Chetiya and Abhayagiriya together and the records of Fa-Hien, the stupa of Abhayagiri is built upon a footprint of Buddha. Therefore it is believed by some that the Seela Chetiya has been located where the current Abhayagiri Stupa stands.

Thus this site lies on the 13th position of Solosmasthana, The Sixteen Buddhist Sacred Sites hollowed by Buddha, and also one of Atamasthana, one of the eight most sacred holy sites of Anuradhapura.

Until the beginning of the 20th century, there was confusion about which was what, and the historians had mixed up Abhayagiri Stupa and Jethawana Stupa. But this mistake was corrected after the inscriptions were found in 1909 and after. The Aramaic Complex covers approx. 500 acres (200 ha) and a large number of ancient structures can be found on this site.

Abayagiri Stupa — photos from late 1800’s and early 1900’s

Abayagiri Stupa under restoration in 1995 — photos from late 1800’s and early 1900’s

Some of the popular structures belonging to the Abhayagiri Monastery are

References

B.W. Harischandra, 1908. The Sacred City of Anuradhapura. With Forty-six Illustrations. 1st ed. Colombo: Brahmachari Walisingha Harischandra.
Senevirathne, A. (1994) Ancient Anuradhapura: The Monastic City. Colombo: Archaeological Survey Department.

Also See

Anuradhapura – The city of the God Kings
Solosmasthana – The Sixteen Buddhist Sacred Sites hollowed by Buddha
Atamasthana – The Eight Sacred Sites in Anuradhapura

Map of Abayagiri Monastery

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Driving Directions to Abhayagiri Monastery at Anuradhapura

Anuradhapura can be reached through many routes from Colombo. The two main routes are through Puttalam (Puttalama) and through Kurunegala. Travelling from Puttalam, you will pass the scenic Wilpattu area. From Kurunegala, there are two main routes to Anuradhapura. The most common route is through Dambulla. The other route is through Galgamuwa. Out of all the routes, the most commonly used is the Kurunegala-Dambulla route (Route 2).

Route 01 from Colombo to Anuradhapura	Route 02 from Colombo to Anuradhapura
Through : Negombo – Chilaw – Puttalam Distance from Colombo : 210 km Travel time : 4.30- 5.00 hours Driving Directions : see on Google map	Through : Katunayake Expressway – Central Expressway – Kurunegala – Dambulla Distance from Colombo : 223 km Travel Time : 4.30- 5.00 hours Driving Directions : see on Google maps
Route 03 from Colombo to Anuradhapura	Route from Kandy to Anuradhapura
Through : Katunayake Expressway – Narammala – Wariyapola – Padeniya – Thambuthegama Distance from Colombo :203 km Travel Time : 4.30- 5.00 hours Driving Directions : see on Google map	Through : Katugastota – Matale – Dambulla Distance from Colombo :136 km Travel Time : 3.5 hours Driving Directions : see on Google map