Abhayagiriya Alms-Hall

Abhayagiriya Main Alms-Hall or The Main Refectory of Abhayagiriya (Sinhala: අභයගිරිය ප්‍රධාන දාන ශාලාව, බත් ගේ) is a ruined building located in the ancient monastery premises of Abhayagiriya in Anuradhapura District, Sri Lanka. It was the place where the daily alms were provided for the monks who lived in the monastery.

History

Remains of four phases of construction from the 1st century B.C. have been identified from the building premises. The Chinese monk Fa-Hsien who came to Sri Lanka in the 5th century A.D. (probably in 411-413 A.D.) records that there were 5000 monks resided in the Abhayagiri monastery during his time (Jayasuriya, 2016; Nicholas, 1963). The large stone trough (Bat-Oruwa) which is found to the east of the refectory exceeds the capacity of 5000 alms bowls and therefore, it could hold sufficient rise for such a number of monks (Jayasuriya, 2016; Wikramagamage, 2004). Stone troughs similar to this have also been found from the alms halls at Inner City, Jetavanaramaya, Maha Viharaya, and Mihintale.

The Abhayagiriya Slab Inscription of King Kassapa V (914-923 A.D.) has mentioned this refectory (Jayasuriya, 2016; Nicholas, 1963; Wickremasinghe, 1912). The smaller stone boat found here has an inscription of the late 8th or early 9th century A.D. (Nicholas, 1963; Paranavitana, 1934).

The building

A large rice trough, kitchen, a sun-dial, courtyard, dining area, storerooms, stone canoe, and underground water conduits are found within the building premises. The rice trough is 19 m long and is believed to be used to cater to about 5000 monks who lived at Abhayagiriya at the time. There is another small trough alongside which is probably for water (Jayasuriya, 2016).

A sun-dial used to measure the time has been discovered from the eastern section of the refectory building (Jayasuriya, 2016; Wikramagamage, 2004). It is presently on the display in the Abhayagiri Museum (Jayasuriya, 2016; Wikramagamage, 2004).