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{{Short description|Indian Buddhist monk and son of the Mauryan emperor Ashoka}}
{{Multiple issues|
{{external links|date=June 2023}}
{{more citations needed|date=August 2022}}
}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2016}}
{{Use Indian English|date=January 2016}}
{{Infobox religious biography
| image = Arhat Mahinda Thera (Son of Emperor Ashoka).jpg
| honorific-prefix = [[Arahat]]
| alt = Prince Mahinda
| caption = An Arhat Mahinda Statue at a Monastery
| birth_name = Prince Mahinda Maurya ([[Pali]])
| birth_date = 285 BC
| birth_place = [[Ujjain|Ujjeni]], [[Ashoka]]n Period, [[India]]
| death_date = 205 BC
| death_place = [[Anuradhapura]], [[Sri Lanka]]
| death_cause = [[Senescence]]
| resting_place = [[Sri Lanka]]
| nationality = [[India]]n
| known_for = Establishing Theravāda Buddhism in Sri Lanka
| education = Buddhist religion
| religion = [[Buddhism]]
| sect = [[Theravada]]
| parents = [[Ashoka]] (father)<br/>[[Devi (Ashoka's wife)|Devi]] (mother)
| native_name = මිහිඳු මහ රහතන් වහන්සේ
}}
[[File:Mihintale Mahindas bett 2017-10-16 (28).jpg|thumb|Bed of Mahinda in Mihintale]]
'''Mahinda''' ({{lang-si|මිහිඳු මහරහතන් වහන්සේ}}) was an Indian [[bhikkhu|Buddhist monk]] depicted in Buddhist sources as bringing [[Buddhism]] to [[Sri Lanka]].<ref>{{cite news | title=Ashoka's son took Buddhism outside India | newspaper=The Times of India | date=16 March 2015 | publisher=Nirmukta | url=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Ashokas-son-took-Buddhism-outside-India/articleshow/46578312.cms}}</ref> He was the first-born son and Prince of the third [[Mauryan empire|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 [[arhat]]ship and resided at [[Mihintale]]. He played an important role in proliferating Buddhism throughout the Indian subcontinent.

== Historical sources ==
[[File:Rajagala Archaeological Site 5.jpg|thumb|center|Mihindu (Mahinda in [[Pali]]) Seya at [[Rassagala|Rajagala]], the place where the inscription commemorating [[Arahat]] Mahinda was found]]
The [[Dipavansa|Dipavamsa]] and the [[Mahavansa|Mahavamsa]], Sri Lanka's two great religious chronicles, contain accounts of Mahinda travelling to Sri Lanka and converting King [[Devanampiyatissa]].<ref name="Macmillan1">{{citation
| last = Holt
| first = John Clifford
| contribution = Sri Lanka
| year = 2004| editor-last = Buswell, Jr.
| title=Encyclopedia of Buddhism
| editor-first = Robert E.
| pages = 795–99
| place= USA
| publisher = Macmillan Reference USA
| isbn = 0-02-865910-4}}</ref> 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.<ref name="Macmillan1"/> The inscription in [[Rassagala|Rajagala]] monastery confirm the fact that Thera Mahinda came to Sri Lanka to propagate Buddhism and lived there until his death.<ref name="sp">{{Cite book|title=An inscription of circa 200 B.C. at Rajagala commemorating saint Mahinda|last=Paranavitana|first=Senarath|publisher=University of Ceylon review by Ceylon University Press|year=1962|location=Colombo|pages=159–162|language=en}}</ref>

{{Blockquote|'''Period''': Circa 200 BC, '''Script''': Early [[Brahmi]], '''Language''': Old [[Sinhala language|Sinhala]]<br>'''Transcript''': ''Ye ima dipa paṭamaya idiya agatana Iḍika-[tera-Ma] hida-teraha tube''<br>'''Translation''': "This is the [[stupa]] of the elder Ittiya and the elder Mahinda, who came to this Island by its foremost good fortune."<ref name="sp" />}}

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.<ref>{{cite web | title=Asoka's Missions | url=http://www.ancient-buddhist-texts.net/Texts-and-Translations/Asokan-Missions/index.htm}}</ref>

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. The party left from Vedasagiri [[vihara]], believed to be modern-day [[Sanchi]].

Mahavamsa and Dipavamsa, the chronicles of Sri Lanka, record the arrival of the party on the full moon of [[Jettha]], a national festival. At the time, King [[Devanampiyatissa]] was participating in a hunting expedition in the [[Mihintale]] hills. It is said that Ashoka and Devanampiyatissa were previously acquainted and on good terms, having exchanged royal gifts upon their respective ascensions to the throne. Upon meeting the shaven-headed monks Devanampiyatissa was taken aback by their appearance and asked who they were. After exchanging greetings, Mahinda preached the [[Chulahatthipadopama Sutra]], and the royal hunting party converted to Buddhism. The party was subsequently invited to [[Anuradhapura]], the seat of the throne for a royal reception and to give further [[dharma]] talks. Mahinda subsequently gave two public talks sanctioned by [[Devanampiyatissa]], in the Royal Hall and in the Nandana Garden in the Royal Park, leading to the start of the public embrace of Buddhism in Sri Lanka. The royal park [[Mahamegha]] was then set aside as the residence for Mahinda's party, and in later times became the [[Mahavihara]], the earliest centre of Buddhist culture and scholarship Sri Lanka. The [[Chetiyagirivihara]] monastery was then established in [[Mihintale]].

Mahinda then sent for his sister [[Sanghamitta]] from Magadha, who was a [[Bhikkuni|nun]], to start a female Buddhist order after local women had expressed a desire to join the [[Sangha (Buddhism)|Sangha]]. Mahinda also arranged for a [[bodhi]] sapling from the original tree in [[Bodh Gaya]] to be sent to Sri Lanka, where it was planted in the grounds of the Mahavihara and is still visible today.

After a month spent delivering discourses to Sri Lankans who had ventured to the capital, Mahinda retreated to [[Mihintale]] to spend the [[vassa]] during the monsoon season. As a result, a second royal-funded monastery was built there. Later, Mahinda organised for a stupa to be constructed, and a part of the bodily relics of [[Gautama Buddha]] were transferred from the Maurya Empire to Sri Lanka. Mahinda then had [[Arittha]], Devanampiyatissa's nephew, a [[bhikkhu]], expound the [[Vinaya]] monastic code of discipline to further Buddhism in Sri Lanka.

Mahinda outlived Devanampiyatissa and died at the age of 80 in [[Sri Lanka]]. King [[Uttiya]], who succeeded his brother, organized a state funeral for Mahinda and constructed a [[stupa]] to house his relics at [[Mihintale]].

== Significance and legacy ==
The 20th century Sri Lankan monk [[Walpola Rahula]] described Mahinda as ''"the father of [[Sinhala language|Sinhalese]] literature"'' as he had translated and written commentary for the Tripitaka in Sinhala, turning it into a literary language. He was also credited with introducing the culture of the [[Mauryan empire]] to the island, along with its architecture. More recently, Suwanda H. J. Sugunasiri, a Canadian scholar, has identified him as the Redactor of the oldest Buddhapuja in the world (247 BCE).

[[Mihintale]], the mountain where Mahinda supposedly first encountered King Devanampiyatissa and the site of his funerary [[stupa]], is an important pilgrimage site in Sri Lanka.<ref name="Macmillan2">{{citation
| last = Walters
| first = Jonathan S.
| contribution = Festivals and Calendrical Rituals
| year = 2004
| title = Macmillan Encyclopedia of Buddhism
| editor-last = Buswell, Jr.
| editor-first = Robert E.
| pages = 284–88
| place= USA
| publisher = Macmillan Reference USA
| isbn = 0-02-865910-4}}</ref> Pilgrimages are traditionally undertaken in the month of June ([[Poson]] in the old Sinhala calendar), when Mahinda is believed to have arrived in Sri Lanka on the full-moon night of the month, a [[uposatha|traditional time]] for religious observances in Theravada Buddhism.<ref name="Macmillan2"/>

==See also==
* [[Sri Lankan Buddhism]]
* [[Ashoka]]
* [[Theravada]]
* [[Devanampiya Tissa of Anuradhapura]]
* [[History of Sri Lanka]]

==References==
{{reflist}}
Sugunasiri, Suwanda H. J., 2012, Arahant Mahinda - Redactor of the Buddhapujava in Sinhala Buddhism (with Pali Text, Translation and analysis), Nalanda Publishing Canada, {{ISBN|978-0-9867198-4-4}}

== External links ==
* [http://www.palikanon.com/english/pali_names/ma/mahinda.htm Mahinda Thera]
* [http://www.ancient-buddhist-texts.net/Texts-and-Translations/Asokan-Missions/index.htm Asoka's Missions from the Extended Mahāvaṁsa]
* [http://www.lankalibrary.com/geo/ancient/bud.htm The arrival of Buddhism in Sri Lanka]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20160119152254/http://www.lakehouse.lk/mihintalava/index.htm The Birthplace Buddhism in Sri Lanka]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20041014144954/http://www.metta.lk/temples/historical-temples/Historical-details.htm Historical Buddhist details of Sri Lanka]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20070929122759/http://www.buddhismonline.info/index.htm Buddhism, The Buddha and what are His Teachings? ]

{{Buddhism in Sri Lanka}}
{{Anuradhapura period topics}}

{{authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mahinda}}
[[Category:Mauryan princes]]
[[Category:Indian Buddhist monks]]
[[Category:Sri Lankan Buddhist monks]]
[[Category:People from Ujjain]]
[[Category:3rd-century BC Indian monks]]
[[Category:3rd-century BC Sri Lankan people]]
[[Category:280s BC births]]
[[Category:Year of birth uncertain]]
[[Category:205 BC deaths]]
[[Category:3rd-century BC Buddhist monks]]
[[Category:Children of Ashoka]]

Mahinda (buddhist monk) - Revision history