Buddhist India c19.72

c19.72

So Asoka mentions a mission to Ceylon. But it is *his* mission. No credit is given to any one except himself. He merely says it was successful, and gives no details. As we might expect, the Chroniclers of the island give names and details, which they work up into a picturesque and edifying legend. Its central incident is the transplanting to Ceylon of a branch of the tree at Bodh Gayā under which the Buddha had achieved enlightenment.