Mahinda and Sanghamitta

History glossary

Also called: Mahendra and Sanghamitra · Topic: The Mauryan Empire · NCERT: Beyond NCERT

Meaning

Mahinda and Sanghamitta (also called Mahendra and Sanghamitra) were, according to the Sri Lankan Buddhist chronicles, Ashoka's son and daughter. Both became Buddhist monks or nuns and took Buddhism to Sri Lanka. Mahinda went first, as a monk. Sanghamitta followed him as a nun, carrying a sapling (a young plant) of the Bodhi tree to Anuradhapura.

They matter because they are the best-known face of Ashoka's effort to spread dhamma (his moral code) beyond his borders. Their mission is also why Sri Lanka still traces its Buddhism directly to Mauryan India.

Explanation

Background: why Ashoka looked beyond his borders

  • War first, then a change of policy.
  • Ashoka conquered Kalinga (coastal Odisha) in his eighth regnal year. Britannica dates the campaign to 260 BCE [2].
  • His own edict says 150,000 were deported, 100,000 were killed, and many more died.

  • After this he took up dhamma and the Buddha's path of non-violence.

  • Victory through dhamma, not arms.

  • In place of conquest by armies, he sent emissaries (messengers) to Sri Lanka, Thailand, Central Asia and beyond.

  • He also gave medical aid to the southern kingdoms outside his empire: Cholas, Pandyas, Keralaputras, Satiyaputras.

  • Mahinda and Sanghamitta's journey fits into this wider push outward. In the Buddhist tradition it is the most famous part of it.

Mahinda's mission

  • According to the chronicles, Mahinda became a Buddhist monk and led a small group of monks to Sri Lanka.
  • Tradition links the sending of missions to the Third Buddhist Council at Pataliputra, held under Ashoka's patronage (support) and led by the monk Moggaliputta Tissa.
  • In Sri Lanka he is said to have met the king Devanampiya Tissa at Mihintale, a hill near Anuradhapura, the capital.
  • The king and his court accepted Buddhism. Monasteries were set up, and the Sangha (order of monks) took root on the island.

Sanghamitta's mission

  • According to the same chronicles, Sanghamitta became a Buddhist nun. She came to Sri Lanka after Mahinda.
  • Why she came: women of the Sri Lankan royal household also wanted to join the order. Only a nun could ordain (formally admit) other women.
  • What she brought: a sapling of the Bodhi tree. This was the tree at Bodh Gaya under which the Buddha gained enlightenment.
  • The sapling was planted at Anuradhapura. Sri Lankan tradition holds that the sacred Bodhi tree still growing there comes from it.
  • She set up the order of nuns (bhikkhunis) in Sri Lanka.

Results

  • Buddhism became the main religion of Sri Lanka and has stayed so for over two thousand years.
  • Sri Lanka kept the Theravada tradition, along with its Pali texts and chronicles.
  • Lasting ties between India and Sri Lanka. The Bodhi tree at Anuradhapura is a living link to Bodh Gaya.

Time, place and evidence

  • Period: Mauryan Empire, during Ashoka's reign. Class 7 gives 268–232 BCE. Class 12 gives c. 272/268–231 BCE. The mission came after Ashoka turned to dhamma, so probably in the mid-3rd century BCE. The exact year is not certain.
  • Key people: Ashoka (the father in this story), Mahinda, Sanghamitta, and the Sri Lankan king Devanampiya Tissa.
  • Places: Pataliputra (the Mauryan capital), Bodh Gaya (where the Bodhi tree stood), Mihintale and Anuradhapura (Sri Lanka).
  • How we know:
  • Sri Lankan Pali chronicles, the Dipavamsa and the Mahavamsa. Monks wrote them several centuries later. They are our main source for these two people.
  • Ashoka's own edicts do mention sending envoys and dhamma to Sri Lanka. However, they do not name Mahinda or Sanghamitta.

  • The edicts are mostly in Prakrit in Brahmi script. They were first deciphered by James Prinsep in the 1830s [1].

  • Even Ashoka's own name is not always on his inscriptions. Most edicts call him only Devanampiya ("Beloved of the Gods") and Piyadassi ("pleasant to behold"). This is why scholars had to work to match the edicts with the Ashoka of the texts.

Don't confuse with

  • Devanampiya (Ashoka's title) vs Devanampiya Tissa: "Devanampiya" is the title Ashoka uses in his edicts. Devanampiya Tissa is the Sri Lankan king whom Mahinda converted.
  • Moggaliputta Tissa vs Devanampiya Tissa: Moggaliputta Tissa was the monk who led the Third Buddhist Council at Pataliputra. Devanampiya Tissa was the king of Sri Lanka.
  • Dhamma mahāmattas vs Mahinda's mission: Dhamma mahāmattas were state officers who spread dhamma within the empire, among all sects. Mahinda and Sanghamitta were Buddhist monk and nun who carried Buddhism outside it, to Sri Lanka.
  • Mahendra (Mahinda) vs Mahendravarman: Mahendra is Ashoka's son of the 3rd century BCE. Mahendravarman I is a much later Pallava king of south India.

Prelims Hooks

  • Mahinda and Sanghamitta: Ashoka's son and daughter, according to the Sri Lankan chronicles (Dipavamsa, Mahavamsa).
  • Sanghamitta carried a Bodhi tree sapling from Bodh Gaya to Anuradhapura.
  • Sri Lankan king converted by Mahinda: Devanampiya Tissa. They met at Mihintale.
  • Mission traditionally linked to the Third Buddhist Council, Pataliputra, led by Moggaliputta Tissa.
  • Trap: Ashoka's edicts mention Sri Lanka, but they do not name Mahinda or Sanghamitta.
  • Trap: Devanampiya = Ashoka's title, meaning "Beloved of the Gods". Devanampiya Tissa = the Sri Lankan king.

Mains Points

  • Dhamma-vijaya in practice (victory through dhamma).
  • After Kalinga (260 BCE per Britannica [2]), Ashoka sent influence abroad through envoys, medical aid and religious missions, not through armies.

  • The mission to Sri Lanka is the clearest example. It shaped the island's religion and culture without a single war. This makes it an early case of a state spreading its influence through ideas and culture ("soft power").

  • How reliable is the source?

  • The story of Mahinda and Sanghamitta comes from monastic chronicles written centuries later. These monks wanted to show Sri Lankan Buddhism had a royal and Indian origin.
  • The edicts are from Ashoka's own time and confirm contact with Sri Lanka, but they name neither of the two.

  • A good answer accepts the broad fact of a Mauryan-era mission but treats the personal details with caution. NCERT gives the same warning about taking Ashoka's own claims literally.

  • Continuity in India–Sri Lanka ties.

  • The Anuradhapura Bodhi tree, the Pali Theravada tradition and shared pilgrimage sites have kept a cultural link alive for over two thousand years.
  • This is useful for GS-I answers on the spread of Indian culture abroad.

Related concepts

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Sources

  1. 1Sarnath — Archaeological Survey of Indiaasi.nic.in · tier 1
  2. 2India — Ashoka's Edicts, Mauryan Empire, Buddhism / Rock edicts / Brahmi — Serial nomination for Ashokan Edict sites along the Mauryan Routes — Mansehra Rock Edictsbritannica.com · tier 2