A celebrated monastic establishment on the north side of Anurádhapura, consisting of a vihára and a mighty thúpa. Only the thúpa now stands. It was built by King Vattagámani Abhaya on the site of the ancient Tittháráma, 217 years, 10 months and 10 days after the founding of the Mahávihára (Mhv.xxxvii.78-83). Tradition states that when the king was fleeing from the Tamils he passed the Tittháráma on his way, and the Nigantha Giri, who then lived there, made insulting remarks about him. The king vowed, if he were returned to the throne, to build a vihára on that spot (Mhv.xxxvii.43-4); he fulfilled his vow, and the name of the vihára was a combination of his own name and of that of the Nigantha. The monastery was given in charge of the Thera Mahátissa of Kuppikala and of two other monks, Kuppikala having befriended the king in his misfortunes.
The vihára advanced rapidly in wealth and in power, but quite soon the monks seceded from the Mahávihára fraternity because, according to the Mahávamsa (Mhv.xxxvii.95ff), an incumbent of the Mahávihára, Mahátissa by name, was expelled from the monastery for frequenting lay families. His disciple, Bahalamassutissa, went in anger to Abhayagiri and formed a separate faction.
A Sinhalese chronicle, the Nikáya Sahgraha (pp.11, 12; also P.L.C.42), states that these dissentients were soon after joined by a body of Vajjiputtaka monks from the Palláráma in India, under the leadership of a teacher called Dhammaruci, and the sect which they together founded in Ceylon became known as the Dhammaruci Nikáya, with headquarters in Abhayagiri.
For quite a long while the two fraternities, that of the Mahávihára and that of the Abhayagiri, seem to have lived in amity, alike enjoying the munificence of patrons (Ibid., 52f.; Mhv.xxxv.20, 57, 119-22; xxxvi.7-14). Thus, Gajabáhukagámani raised the height of Abhayuttara-thúpa (as the thúpa at Abhayagiri seems to have been called) and made the Gámanitissa-tank to be used for the cultivation of land for the maintenance of the vihara (Ibid., xxxv.119-22); Kanitthatissa built a splendid structure in the same vihára for the Thera Mahánága; it was called the Ratanapásáda (xxxvi.7, 8.).
But in the reign of Vohárakatissa, the Abhayagiri monks openly adopted the heretical Vaitulya Pitaka (of the Maháyánists see Mhv. trans. 259, n.2). An inquiry was held by the king with the help of his minister Kapila, the heretical books were burnt and the monks of Abhayagiri disgraced (Mhv.xxxvi.40-1).
Soon afterwards, however, the heretics won over the king Mahásena to their side and destroyed the establishment of the Mahávihára, carrying away all the materials to Abhayagiri (P.L.C. 53; Mhv.xxxvii.10-16). Later, Mahásena repented of his ways, burnt the books of the Abhayagiri monks and transferred his patronage to the Mahávihára. But the Abhayagiri fraternity must soon have recovered its prestige, for we find Mahásena's successor, Sirimeghavanna, planting a bodhi tree (called Tissavasabha) (Cv.trans. i.9, n.3) in Abhayagiri and surrounding it with a stone terrace ((Cv.xxxvii.91)). A few years later both Mahánáma (409-31) and his queen became active supporters of Abhaya Giri (Cv.xxxvii.212). Dhátusena is stated to have enlarged the Abhayuttara-vihára (Cv.xxxviii.61), and Silákála is credited with several benefactions to the vihára and its bodhi tree (Cv.xli.31-2); Mahánága gave the weaver's village of Jambela to the Uttaravihára (another name for Abhayagiri; see Cv. trans. i.8, n.2; 61, n.6.); Aggabodhi I. built a bathing-tank there (Cv.xlii.28), while his successor, Aggabodhi II., built the Dáthággabodhi house, so called after himself and his queen (Cv.xlii.63-5).
In the monastery at Abhayagiri there seems to have been a stone image of the Buddha, referred to under various names, Silásambuddha, Kálasela, Kálasatthá, Silásatthá and Silámayamuninda. Cv.xxxix.7; xxxviii.65; 61.2; see also vv.51, 77, 87. There was also in Abhayagiri another image called the Abhiseka (q.v.).
It was evidently held peculiarly sacred. Buddhadása placed a nágamani in its eye (Cv.xxxvii.123); this was soon lost, and we find Dhátusena replacing it, adorning and decorating the statue in various ways (For details see Cv.xxxviii.62ff). Silámeghavanna had it restored and redecorated and made provision for its maintenance (Cv.xliv.68). The same king, we are told, attempted to carry out a reform of the Abhayagiri monks, but this attempt ultimately brought disaster on him (Cv.xliv.75ff). Jetthatissa gave to the vihára the village of Mahádáragiri (Cv.xliv.96). Dáthopatissa built the Kappúra-parivena attached to the vihára, and also a monastery Tiputthulla, encroaching on the precincts of the Mahávihára, notwithstanding the protests of the monks belonging to the
Latter (Cv.xlv.29ff). Aggabodhi VII, added the Sabhattudesabhoga (Cv.xlviii.64), and Mahinda II. the Mahálekha-parivena as well as the many-storeyed Ratanapásáda with its costly ornamentation (Cv.xlviii.135-40; see also Geiger's trans. 123, n.2).
Sena I. built the Virankuráráma and gave it to the Mahásanghikas (Cv.l.68-9), while his consort, Sanghá, erected a dwelling house, Mahindasena (Cv.l.79), and his courtier, Uttara, yet another dwelling house, called Uttarasena, for the maintenance of which he provided. Two other courtiers, Vajira and Rakkhasa, built two dwelling houses, called respectively Vajirasenaka and Rakkhasa (Cv.l.83).
In the reign of Sena II. the Pamsukulika monks, who till then had evidently lived in Abhayagiri (Cv. trans. i.108, n.1), separated and formed special groups. Sanghá, queen of Udaya II., erected and endowed the building known as the Sanghasenapabbata (Cv.li.86-7). Kassapa IV. built a pásáda bearing his name and assigned to it a village (Cv.lii.13; Cv.trs. i.162, n.4), while his successor, Kassapa V., erected the Bhandiká-parivena and the Silámeghapabbata, endowing each with a village (Cv.lii.58-9).
Sena III. spent 40,000 kahápanas for a stone paving round the cetiya. The Abhayagiri monks befriended both Vijayabáhu I. (then known as Kitti) and his brother, and out of gratitude Vijayabáhu built the Uttaramúla-parivena, which was probably attached to the vihara itself (Cv.lvii.18, 23).
In the reign of Parakkamabáhu I., when that monarch had established himself on the throne, it is said that he tried to reform the monks of the Abhayagiri, but he found the task hopeless (Cv.lxxviii.21ff). He found that the Abhayagiri-thúpa had been destroyed by the vandalism of the Tamils, and he had it restored to a height of 160 cubits (Cv.lxxviii.98). When Anurádhapura was finally abandoned, Abhayagiri fell into ruin and decay, the monastery being completely destroyed.
It is clear that even at the outset there was considerable rivalry between the monks of Abhayagiri and those of the Mahávihára. The rivalry seems originally to have been mainly personal, but it later developed into differences in doctrinal opinion. Of the exact nature of these latter we have no information, owing, chiefly, to the book-burnings carried out by pious kings in the excess of their zeal for the purity of the Faith. For the same reason we are unable to ascertain what part, if any, the Abhayagiri fraternity played in literary activity. It has been suggested, however, that both the Játakatthakathá (P.L.C.124, 125) and the Sahassavatthuppakarana (P.L.C.128), another compilation of tales, were the work of the Abhayagiri monks.
Fa-Hsien evidently spent the two years of his stay in Ceylon with the Abhayagiri fraternity because the books he took away with him were those of the unorthodox schools. According to him, there were, at this time, 5,000 monks in Abhayagiri (Fa Hsien's Travels, 67ff).
In the chronicles Abhayagiri is referred to under several names Abhayuttara, Abhayavihára, Abhayácala and Uttaravihára.