Vihāra
The Sanskrit word vihara means a form of rest house, temple or monastery in ascetic traditions of India. It particularly referred to a hall that was used as a temple where monks met and some walked about. In the context of performative arts, the term meant the theatre, playhouse, convent or temple compound to meet, perform or relax in. Later it referred to a form of temple or monastery construction in Buddhism and Jainism. The design has a central hall and attached separated shrines for residence either for monks or for deities and sacred figure such as Tirthankaras, Gautama Buddha. The word means a Jain or Buddhist temple or dwelling waiting place in many medieval era inscriptions and texts from vi-har which means to construct. It contrasts with aranya which means forest. In medieval era, the term meant any monastery, particularly for Buddhist monks. Matha is another term for monastery in the Buddhist tradition today normally used for Hindu establishments. The eastern Indian state of Bihar derives its name from vihara due to the abundance of Buddhist monasteries in that area. The word has also been borrowed in Malay as biara denoting a monastery or other non-Muslim place of worship. It is called a wihan in Thai and vihéar in Khmer. In Burmese, wihara means monastery but the native Burmese word kyaung is preferred. Monks wandering from place to place preaching and seeking alms often stayed together in the sangha. In the Punjabi language an open space inside a home is called a chowk. In Korea Japan Vietnam and China the word for a Buddhist temple or monastery seems to have a different origin. The Japanese word for a Buddhist temple was anciently also written phonetically tera and it is cognate with the Modern Korean Chollo from Middle Korean Tiel the Jurchen Taira and the reconstructed Old Chinese dēia. These words are apparently derived from the Aramaic word for monastery dērā dairā dēr from the root dwr to live together rather than from the unrelated Indian word for monastery vihara. They may have been transmitted to China by the first Central Asian translators of Buddhist scriptures such as An Shigao or Lokaksema.
During the 3rd-century BCE era of Ashoka vihara yatras were travel stops aimed at enjoyments pleasures and hobbies such as hunting. These contrasted with dharma yatras which related to religious pursuits and pilgrimage. He now undertook what were described as dharma yatras instead of the usual royal vihara yatras. Vihara yatras were marked by pleasures such as the hunt. After Ashoka converted to Buddhism states Lahiri he started dharma yatras around mid 3rd century BCE instead of hedonistic royal vihara yatras. The early history of viharas is unclear. Monasteries in the form of caves are dated to centuries before the start of the common era for Ajivikas Buddhists and Jainas. The rock-cut architecture found in cave viharas from the 2nd-century BCE have roots in the Maurya Empire period. In and around the Bihar state of India are a group of residential cave monuments all dated to be from pre-common era reflecting the Maurya architecture. Some of these have Brahmi script inscription which confirms their antiquity but the inscriptions were likely added to pre-existing caves. The oldest layer of Buddhist and Jain texts mention legends of the Buddha the Jain Tirthankaras or sramana monks living in caves. If these records derived from an oral tradition accurately reflect the significance of monks and caves in the times of the Buddha and the Mahavira then cave residence tradition dates back to at least the 5th century BCE. According to Allchin and Erdosy the legend of First Buddhist Council is dated to a period just after the death of the Buddha. It mentions monks gathering at a cave near Rajgiri and this dates it in pre-Mauryan times. However the square courtyard with cells architecture of vihara state Allchin and Erdosy is dated to the Mauryan period. The earlier monastic residences of Ajivikas Buddhists Hindus and Jains were likely outside rock cliffs and made of temporary materials and these have not survived. The earliest known gift of immovable property for monastic purposes ever recorded in an Indian inscription is credited to Emperor Ashoka and it is a donation to the Ajivikas. According to Johannes Bronkhorst this created competitive financial pressures on all traditions including the Hindu Brahmins. This may have led to the development of viharas as shelters for monks and evolution in the Ashrama concept to agraharas or Hindu monasteries. These shelters were normally accompanied by donation of revenue from villages nearby who would work and support these cave residences with food and services. The Karle inscription dated to the 1st century CE donates a cave and nearby village states Bronkhorst for the support of the ascetics living in the caves at Valuraka without any distinction of sect or origin. Buddhist texts from Bengal dated to centuries later use the term asrama-vihara or agrahara-vihara for their monasteries.
The only substantial remains of very early viharas are in the rock-cut complexes mostly in north India the Deccan in particular but this is an accident of survival. Originally structural viharas of stone or brick would probably have been at least as common everywhere and the norm in the south. By the second century BCE a standard plan for a vihara was established; these form the majority of Buddhist rock-cut caves. It consisted of a roughly square rectangular hall in rock-cut cases or probably an open court in structural examples off which there were a number of small cells. Rock-cut cells are often fitted with rock-cut platforms for beds and pillows. The front wall had one or more entrances and often a verandah. Later the back wall facing the entrance had a fairly small shrine-room often reached through an ante-chamber. Initially these held stupas but later a large sculpted Buddha image sometimes with reliefs on the walls. The verandah might also have sculpture and in some cases the walls of the main hall. Paintings were perhaps more common but these rarely survive except in a few cases such as Caves 2 10 11 and 17 at the Ajanta Caves. As later rock-cut viharas are often on up to three storeys this was also probably the case with the structural ones. Harle page 48 54, 56 119, 120 Michell page 67. As the vihara acquired a central image it came to take over the function of the chaitya worship hall and eventually these ceased to be built. This was despite the rock-cut vihara shrine room usually offering no path for circumambulation or pradakshina an important ritual practice. Harle page 132 Michell page 67. In early medieval era Viharas became important institutions and a part of Buddhist Universities with thousands of students such as Nalanda. Life in Viharas was codified early on. It is the object of a part of the Pali canon the Vinaya Pitaka or basket of monastic discipline. Shalban Vihara in Bangladesh is an example of a structural monastery with 115 cells where the lower parts of the brick-built structure have been excavated. Somapura Mahavihara also in Bangladesh was a larger vihara mostly 8th-century with 177 cells around a huge central temple. Usually the standard form as described above is followed but there are some variants. Two vihara halls Cave 5 at Ellora and Cave 11 at Kanheri have very low platforms running most of the length of the main hall. These were probably used as some combination of benches or tables for dining desks for study and possibly beds. They are often termed dining-hall or the Durbar Hall at Kanheri on no good evidence. Michell page 359 374. Cave 11 at the Bedse Caves is a fairly small 1st-century vihara with nine cells in the interior and originally four around the entrance and no shrine room. It is distinguished by elaborate gavaksha and railing relief carving around the cell-doors but especially by having a rounded roof and apsidal far end like a chaitya hall. Michell page 351, 352.
A range of monasteries grew up during the Pāla period in ancient Magadha modern Bihar and Bengal. According to Tibetan sources five great mahaviharas stood out: Vikramashila the premier university of the era; Nalanda past its prime but still illustrious, Somapura Odantapurā and Jagaddala. According to Sukumar Dutt the five monasteries formed a network were supported and supervised by the Pala state. Each of the five had their own seal and operated like a corporation serving as centers of learning. Other notable monasteries of the Pala Empire were Traikuta Devikota identified with ancient Kotivarsa modern Bangarh and Pandit Vihara. Excavations jointly conducted by the Archaeological Survey of India and University of Burdwan in 1971, 1972 to 1974, 1975 yielded a Buddhist monastic complex at Monorampur near Bharatpur via Panagarh Bazar in the Bardhaman district of West Bengal. The date of the monastery may be ascribed to the early medieval period. Recent excavations at Jagjivanpur Malda district West Bengal revealed another Buddhist monastery Nandadirghika-Udranga Mahavihara of the ninth century. Nothing of the superstructure has survived. A number of monastic cells facing a rectangular courtyard have been found. A notable feature is the presence of circular corner cells. It is believed that the general layout of the monastic complex at Jagjivanpur is by and large similar to that of Nalanda. Beside these scattered references to some monasteries are found in epigraphic and other sources. Among them Pullahari in western Magadha Halud Vihara 45 km south of Paharpur Parikramana vihara and Yashovarmapura vihara in Bihar deserve mention. Other important structural complexes have been discovered at Mainamati Comilla district Bangladesh. Remains of quite a few viharas have been unearthed here and the most elaborate is the Shalban Vihara. The complex consists of a fairly large vihara of the usual plan of four ranges of monastic cells round a central court with a temple in cruciform plan situated in the centre. According to a legend on a seal discovered at the site the founder of the monastery was Bhavadeva a ruler of the Deva dynasty.
As Buddhism spread in Southeast Asia monasteries were built by local kings. The term vihara is still sometimes used to refer to the monasteries/temples also known as wat but in Thailand it also took on a narrower meaning referring to certain buildings in the temple complex. The wihan is a building apart from the main ubosot ordination hall in which a Buddha image is enshrined. In many temples the wihan serves as a sermon hall or an assembly hall where ceremonies such as the kathina are held. Many of these Theravada viharas feature a Buddha image that is considered sacred after it is formally consecrated by the monks. The word has also been borrowed in Malay as biara denoting a monastery or other non-Muslim place of worship. It is called a wihan in Thai and vihéar in Khmer. In Burmese wihara means monastery but the native Burmese word kyaung is preferred. Monks wandering from place to place preaching and seeking alms often stayed together in the sangha. In the Punjabi language an open space inside a home is called a chowk. In Korea Japan Vietnam and China the word for a Buddhist temple or monastery seems to have a different origin. The Japanese word for a Buddhist temple was anciently also written phonetically tera and it is cognate with the Modern Korean Chollo from Middle Korean Tiel the Jurchen Taira and the reconstructed Old Chinese dēia. These words are apparently derived from the Aramaic word for monastery dērā dairā dēr from the root dwr to live together rather than from the unrelated Indian word for monastery vihara. They may have been transmitted to China by the first Central Asian translators of Buddhist scriptures such as An Shigao or Lokaksema.
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Common questions
What does the Sanskrit word vihara mean in Buddhist and Jain traditions?
The Sanskrit word vihara means a form of rest house, temple or monastery in ascetic traditions of India. It particularly referred to a hall that was used as a temple where monks met and some walked about.
When were rock-cut cave viharas first dated to exist in Indian history?
Rock-cut architecture found in cave viharas from the 2nd-century BCE have roots in the Maurya Empire period. Cave residence tradition dates back to at least the 5th century BCE according to legends derived from oral tradition.
Which five great mahaviharas stood out during the Pāla period in ancient Magadha?
According to Tibetan sources five great mahaviharas stood out: Vikramashila the premier university of the era; Nalanda past its prime but still illustrious, Somapura Odantapurā and Jagaddala. Each of the five had their own seal and operated like a corporation serving as centers of learning.
How did Emperor Ashoka influence the development of viharas through property donations?
The earliest known gift of immovable property for monastic purposes ever recorded in an Indian inscription is credited to Emperor Ashoka and it is a donation to the Ajivikas. This created competitive financial pressures on all traditions including the Hindu Brahmins which may have led to the development of viharas as shelters for monks.
What are the standard architectural features of a vihara established by the second century BCE?
By the second century BCE a standard plan for a vihara was established consisting of a roughly square rectangular hall off which there were a number of small cells. Rock-cut cells are often fitted with rock-cut platforms for beds and pillows while the front wall had one or more entrances and often a verandah.