ABHAYAGIRIYA STUPA

           ABAYAGIRIYA STUPA

The Abhayagiri stupa was built by King Vattagamini Abhaya in 88 BCE after regaining his throne. He constructed it over a Jain monastery, fulfilling a vow made after being mocked by a Jain ascetic while fleeing for his life from South Indian invaders. It was the largest monastery in Sri Lanka for over 600 years and at its peak, housed as many as 5,000 monks.                                                     

                 
Abhayagiri vihāra is situated in Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka. It is one of the most extensive ruins in the world and one of the most sacred Buddhist pilgrimage cities in the nation. Historically it was a great monastic centre as well as a royal capital, with magnificent monasteries rising to many stories, roofed with gilt bronze or tiles of burnt clay glazed in brilliant colors. To the north of the city, encircled by great walls and containing elaborate bathing ponds, carved balustrades and moonstones, stood "Abhayagiri", one of seventeen such religious units in Anuradhapura and the largest of its five major viharas