About Sri Lanka - Mihintale

Legend has it that the sacred mountain of Mihintale, situated 13 kilometres east of Anuradhapura, was sanctified by the Buddha. Therefore it is considered one of the 16 holy places - solos mastana - in the island. It was here in the year 247 BC that the Sage Mahinda, son of Emperor Asoka of India, converted King Devanampiyatissa to Buddhism. H. G. Wells, writing in Outlines of History (1961), hails Emperor Asoka as one of the greatest monarchs in history because he was the only military monarch on record who abandoned warfare after victory. Asoka's patronage of Buddhism contributed greatly to the spread of the religion throughout Asia, for he dispatched many missionaries to lands both near and far.

The fact that Asoka's son headed his mission to Lanka suggests he had some knowledge of King Devanampiyatissa (307 - 247 BC), who is considered to have been the first consecrated Sinhala king. Performed according to Indian customs, Devanampiyatissa's consecration marked the beginning of a new era in the political and spiritual life of the island. Curiously, he was given the title Beloved of the Gods, a title that Emperor Asoka himself used in edicts.

The story goes that Devanampiyatissa, while on a hunting expedition in the forests around the Mihintale mountain (then known as Mishrakakanda), came across a deer, and being the sportsman that he was, warned the animal of his presence by twanging his bowstring. Moments after giving chase, the king was amazed to see that the deer mysteriously changed into a personage in yellow robes. It was Sage Mahinda, who introduced himself as a disciple of the Buddha and said he had come on a special mission to Lanka with his followers. Sage Mahinda, wishing to gauge the intellect of the King, posed him several riddles.

The king was so inspired by the new doctrine that he, his queen and his followers were converted to Buddhism. It was not long before his subjects followed his example, and so Lanka's association with Buddhism began. Mahinda was 32-years-old when he came to Lanka, and he is said to have spent 48 years in the island during the third century BC preaching the teachings of the Buddha. Since that time the mountain has been known as Mihintale, or the Plain of Mahindu, the Sinhala name by which the Sage was known. Mihintale soon became a great monastic city encompassing the three main summits that comprise the mountain range. These are Ambastala, Plateau of the Mango, Rajagiri, Mountain of the Kings and Anaikutti, Mountain of the Elephant.