The centre of a monastic complex that at its height rivalled the Mahavihara and housed several thousand monks.
Abhayagiri was notably open to doctrinal currents the Mahavihara rejected, including Mahayana influence, and its library and scholarship drew visitors from across the Buddhist world. The Chinese pilgrim Faxian stayed here in the fifth century and left one of the few outside descriptions of the city while it was still functioning.