Anuradhapura Pilgrimage l With Me l Abhayagiriya Sthupa l insta 360 l අභයගිරිය චෛත්‍යය වන්දනාව.

Abhayagiri Vihāra was a major monastery site of Theravada, Mahayana, and Vajrayana Buddhism in Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka. It is one of the most extensive ruins in the world and one of the nation's most sacred Buddhist pilgrimage cities. Historically it was a great monastic center and a royal capital, with magnificent monasteries rising to many stories, roofed with gilt bronze or tiles of burnt clay glazed in brilliant colours. 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. One of the focal points of the complex is an ancient stupa, the Abhayagiri Dagaba. Surrounding the humped dagaba, Abhayagiri Vihara was a seat of the Northern Monastery or Uttara Vihara, The term "Abhayagiri Vihara" refers not only to the complex of monastic buildings, but also to a fraternity of Buddhist monks, or Sangha, which maintained its own historical records, traditions, and way of life. Founded in the 2nd century BC, it had grown into an international institution by the 1st century AD, attracting scholars from distant locations 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 Jetavanavihara Buddhist monastic sects in the ancient Sri Lankan capital of Anuradhapura.