Decsription

<ul>Hattikuchchi viharaya is an ancient Buddhist monastery located in Mahagalkadawala, Galgamuwa, 43 km south of Anuradhapura. The hermit monks who engaged in deep meditation were a characteristic feature of Buddhism in Sri Lanka. They were called "aranyavasikas". Hattikuchchi viharaya was a monastery where such hermit monks were lived. A few archaeological sites such as Ritigala, Arankele and Western monasteries in Anuradhapura have been identified as the places inhabited by those hermit monks in ancient times.