Synopsis The history of the Buddhist Sangha and Viharas is of multifarious interest and of much value to the historians and the compilers of folk-lore, as well as Buddhist scholars and students of comparative religion. Sri Lanka is an important center of Buddhism, and is known as the home of orthodox Buddhism, commonly called Theravada Buddhism. This book deals with the early Buddhist Sanghas and monasteries (viharas) and attempts to give a historical account of their origin, growth and development, from the beginning up to the fourth century A.D.