Abhayagiri vihara..
Anuradhapura,one of the most extensive ruins in the world,and one of its most sacred pilgrimage cities,was a great monastic center as well as aroyal capital,with magnificent monasteries rising to many stories,all roofed with glit bronze or tils of burnt clay glazed in brilliant colours. To the north of the city,encircled by great walls and containing elaborate bathing pounds,carved balustrades and moonstones,stood abhayagiri,one of seventeen such religious units in Anuradhapura and largest of its five major surroundings the humped dagaba, Abhayagiri vihara was a seat of the Northern Monastery, or Uttara vihara.
The term Abhayagiri Vihara means not only a complex of monastic buildings,but also a fraternity of Buddhist monks, or Sangha, wich maintained its own historical records,traditions and way of life.founded in the second century B.C, it had grown into an international institution by the first century of this era,attracting scholars from all over the world and encompassing all shades of Buddhist philosophy.its influence can be traced to other parts of the world,through branches established elsewhere.Thus, the Abhayagiri Vihara developed as a great institution vis-a-vis the Mahavihara and the jetavana Buddhist monastic sects in the ancient sri Lankan capital of Anuradhpura.
thanks to mr. T.G Kulatunga and Athula Amarasekra
