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Concept
Mahinda (Buddhist monk)
Summary
Mahinda (මිහිඳු මහරහතන් වහන්සේ) was an Indian Buddhist monk depicted in Buddhist sources as bringing Buddhism to Sri Lanka. He was the first-born son and Prince of the 3rd Mauryan Emperor Ashoka The Great from his wife and Empress Devi and the elder brother of Princess Sanghamitra.
Mahinda was sent as a Buddhist missionary to the Anuradhapura Kingdom in Sri Lanka. Mahinda attained arhatship and resided at Mihintale. He played an important role in proliferating Buddhism throughout the Indian subcontinent.
The Dipavansa and the Mahavansa, Sri Lanka's two great religious chronicles, contain accounts of Mahinda travelling to Sri Lanka and converting King Devanampiyatissa. These are the primary sources for accounts of his life and deeds. Inscriptions and literary references also establish that Buddhism became prevalent in Sri Lanka around the 3rd century BCE, the period when Mahinda lived. The inscription in Rajagala monastery confirm the fact that Thera Mahinda came to Sri Lanka to propagate Buddhism and lived there until his death.
Period: Circa 200 BC, Script: Early Brahmi, Language: Old SinhalaTranscript: Ye ima dipa paṭamaya idiya agatana Iḍika-[tera-Ma] hida-teraha tubeTranslation: "This is the stupa of the elder Ittiya and the elder Mahinda, who came to this Island by its foremost good fortune."
The Mahavamsa says that Mahinda, the son of Ashoka, came to Sri Lanka and that Ashoka's daughter became a nun and brought the Bodhi Tree.
Though Ashoka wanted his prodigal eldest son Mahendra to succeed him and made several attempts to bring him out of renunciation, due to the orthodox Hindu community's refusal to accept a Buddhist Crown Prince from a Vaishya mother as well as Mahendra's own lack of enthusiasm to take over an empire, he gave up. Though texts describe Mahendra's motive in leaving for Sri Lanka as spiritual, historians have argued that it was more of a political motive. Ashoka had feared that Mahendra would be killed just like Sushima, so to keep him safe and to avoid any succession war, he sent him to Sri Lanka.
Official source
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