The Early History of India, from 600 B.C. to the Muhammadan Conquest, including the Invasion of Alexander the Great c23.64

c23.64

When Asoka determined some years later to extend his propaganda to Ceylon, he selected as head of the mission his monk brother, who presumably was already settled at his monastery in Southern India, and thence crossed over to Ceylon with his four colleagues. The teaching of the preachers, backed as it was by the influence of a monarch so powerful as Asoka, was speedily accepted by King Tissa (Devānampiya Tissa) of Ceylon with the members of his court, and the new religion soon gained a hold on the affections of the people at large.³ Mahendra spent the rest of his life in Ceylon, and devoted himself to the establishment and organization of the Buddhist church in the island, where he is revered as a saint. His ashes are said to rest under a great cupola or *stūpa*, called Ambustāla, at Mihintalē, one of the most remarkable among the many notable Buddhist monuments which are the glory of Ceylon.¹