Geography of Early Buddhism c8.38

c8.38

The Yonaka or Yona country was visited, according to the Dīpavaṃsa and Mahāvaṃsa (Chap. XII) by the Thera Mahārakkhita. According to the Sāsanavaṃsa (p. 12) the Yonaraṭṭha is the country of the Yavana or Yona people. The Rock Edicts V and XIII of Asoka mention the Yonas as a subject people, forming a frontier district of Asoka's Empire. The exact situation of the Yonaka country is difficult to be determined. According to the Mahāvaṃsa, its chief city was Alasanda identified with Alexandria near Kabul in the Paropanisadae country (Mahāvaṃsa, tr., p. 194; Trenckner, Milindapañho, p. 82).