The Buddha and his disciples had spent most of their year travelling and teaching but during the rainy season they remained in one place, often occupying simple huts on land donated by lay followers of Buddhism.
Through time, donations from many wealthy patrons transformed these from temporary shelters into permanently occupied monasteries. The majority of these were constructed of stone or wood - traces of these survive at towns like Nagarjunakonda. But some were cut from the easily carved laterite stone of the Western Ghats mountain range in western India; Ajanta is the most famous of these.
Typically monasteries consisted of monks' individual cells and many communal facilities such as dining hall and bathing places; larger establishments could include a hospital.
Shrines were also an essential feature: these were usually in the form of a pillared hall containing a statue of the Buddha or a stupa (relic mound). Guest houses were an important feature of many monasteries, which were often located at ports or on major trade routes.
Merchants who lodged there during their travels were themselves often lay devotees of Buddhism and proved generous patrons; local rulers, guilds of craftsmen and devotees from all walks of life also donated goods, lands and revenues to monasteries.
