The Aranthalawa massacre was the massacre of 33 Buddhist monks, most of them young novice monks, and four civilians by cadres of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam organization (the LTTE, commonly known as the Tamil Tigers) on June 2, 1987, close to the village of Aranthalawa, in the Ampara District of Eastern Sri Lanka.

The massacre is among the most notorious and devastating atrocities committed by the LTTE during the history of the Sri Lankan Civil War, and continues to be commemorated 35 years on.

They then ordered the driver of the bus, which was carrying the monks on a pilgrimage from their temple in Mahavapi to the Kelaniya Raja Maha Vihara,[2] to drive into the nearby Aranthalawa jungle to a site where other LTTE members were waiting for them.

The chief priest of the Vidyananda Maha Pirivena, Hegoda Sri Indrasara Thera, permitted the cadres to kill him but asked them to spare the novices.

[8] Three monks who survived the massacre, sustaining critical injuries, continue to require medical assistance.

[9] Home guards at Nuwaragalatenna heard the gunshots of the massacre in the distance and were concerned that the monks were in danger.