Abhayagiriya Dagoba

The Abhayagiri Dagoba in Anuradhapura is one of the largest ancient monuments in the world — a towering brick stupa rising over 70 metres at the heart of what was once one of South Asia's most important Buddhist monastery complexes. King Vattagamani Abhaya founded the site in the early 1st century BCE as a gesture of gratitude to the monk Mahatissa, who had supported him through a political crisis. Mahatissa had been expelled from the orthodox Maha Vihara order for embracing Mahayana practices, including relic veneration and image worship, making Abhayagiri a deliberate theological counterpoint to the Buddhist establishment of the day. At its peak the monastery complex is said to have housed more than 5,000 monks and attracted pilgrims from across Asia. Today the stupa is part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Ancient Anuradhapura and remains an active place of Buddhist worship.