Maha Vihara Type Monasteries in Sri Lanka

Among the Buddhist monasteries in Sri Lanka, it can be said that the Maha Vihara type monastery was the first type of Buddhist monastic organization established by King Devanampiyatissa in the third century BC according to the instructions of Arahath Mahinda. According to the system and spatial organization of this first Sangharama established in Maha Meghawana Garden with Anuradhapura Maha Vihara as the center, Buddhist monastery of the Maha Vihara system were born in Tissamaharama’s Magama Kingdom and then in Polonnaruwa, Padduvas Nuwara and Ramba Vihara. The expansion of monasteries of the Anuradhapura Maha Vihara system is notable from Abhayagiri Vihara and Jethavana Vihara, as well as sub-monasteries such as Thuparamaya and Lankaramaya. The main characteristic of this monastery type is that it is located in the plains outside of a major city. We have shown here how the Anuradhapura Maha Vihara monastery had first shaped the spatial organization according to the Theravada philosophy and how the buildings on the Maha Vihara site had been organized according to the plan called Sinha Wickrantha according to a Mahayana context from the 5th century AD.