MAHAVIHARA

Buddhist monastery founded in the late 3rd century BC in Anuradhapura, the ancient capital of Ceylon (modern Sri Lanka). The monastery was built by the Sinhalese king Devanampiya Tissa not long after his conversion to Buddhism by the Indian monk Mahendra. Until about the 10th century, it was a great cultural and religious centre and the chief stronghold of orthodox (i.e., Theravada) Buddhism. Because of the extreme importance of Buddhism in Ceylon, the prestige of the monks of the Mahavihara was such that their power and influence often extended well beyond religion into the realm of secular politics. The religious authority of the Mahavihara was first challenged in the late 1st century BC by a heterodox group of Buddhist monks who broke away and formed the Abhayagiri-vihara. Although an ever-present rival, this monastic ordersave for brief periods of royal patronage, notably in the 3rd and 7th centuriescould not permanently usurp the favoured position of the Mahavihara order. The centralized authority and preeminence of the Mahavihara, however, gradually disintegrated until, by the 11th century, it had ceased to be a force in the religious life of Ceylon.