 Periodic South Indian invasions, especially in the 9th century in the reign of Sena I, almost half a century of Chola rule and the subsequent abandonment of the capital, Anuradhapura, led to the disintegration of the Abhayagiri Vihara.Despite efforts by Vijayabahu I and Parakramabahu I in the 13th century to renovate and resurrect the temple, its gradual destruction in the course of time could not be averted, particularly after the final transfer of the capital from Polonnaruwa in the Rajarata, or King's Country, to an alternative location in 1215 as a result of repeated Maga invasions.A dark era of eight hundred years engulfed Abhayagiri Vihara until its rediscovery in the 1880s awoke scientific and scholarly interest in the abandoned and vandalized ruins.