VIHIRA (which, in Sanskrit, means " walking for pleasure or amusement") is, with the Buddhists (q.v.), the name of their temples and convents. Originally, it designated the hall or halls where the Buddha S'fikyamuni, and the priests by whom lie was accom panied, used to meet: but when these halls gradually were converted into temples, the name of vihdra was applied to them; and when, in time, the temples became the center of a number of habitations in which the priests belonging to the temples resided, the whole monastic establishment was comprised under the same name Properly, therefore, the Vilifira merely designates the Buddhistic temple, and it is generally used in this restricted sense. Such viharas are in Ceylon permanent structures, the walls being plastered, and the roof covered with tiles, even when the dwellings of the priests are mean and temporary. Near the entrance are frequently seen figures in relievo, repre senting the guardian deity of the temple. Surrounding the sanctum there is usually a narrow room, in which are images and paintings; and opposite the door of entrance there is another door. protected by a screen; and when this is withdrawn, an image of
Buddha is seen, which occupies nearly the whole of the apartment, with a table or altar before it, upon which flowers are placed. The walls of the vihera are covered with paintings, and its stories generally illustrate some legend of Buddha's life. Some vilelras are built upon rocks; others, and among these the most celebrated, are caves, in part natural, with excavations carried further into the rock. The cave-temple at Darn btilla is one or the most perfect viharas in Ceylon (see the description of it by Forbes in the Ceylon Almanac (1834). On the continent of Iudia, the finest specimens are those at Ajunta, Ellora, Salsette, and Junir. Sometimes no land is attached to the viharas, but sometimes also they are rich in land; and in the case of one of the viharas in Kandy, there is an area belonging to it, which, under the native government, was regarded as a sanctuary for malefactors. See R. Spence Hardy, Eastern Monachism, and the authori ties quoted there (London, 1850).