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The 'Mahavihara' (Pali for "Great Monastery") was for several centuries the center of Theravada Buddhism in Sri Lanka. It was founded by king Devanampiya Tissa (247-207 BCE) in his capital Anuradhapura.
The term was also applied to a number of the larger monasteries in India, among them Nalanda, Vikramashila, Odantipura, Somapura, Ratnagiri, and others.^[1]
The Mahavihara was destroyed during sectarian conflicts between Buddhists during the 11th century, and was left as such following the abandonment of Anuradhapura in the 13th century. After Mahayana monks incited a king to destruct the Mahavihara, a later king expelled the Mahayana monks from Sri Lanka.