Dictionary of Pali Proper Names v2.c31.2331

v2.c31.2331

3. Mahāsena.—Younger son of King Goṭhābhaya. He became king of Ceylon (334-361 A.C.), and under the advice of his teacher Saṅghamitta and his minister Soṇa, he despoiled Mahāvihāra and enriched Abhayagiri. He issued a decree that no one should give alms to the monks of Mahāvihāra. But, later, his friend and minister, Meghavaṇṇābhaya, convinced him of his error, and he became a supporter of Mahāvihāra. Soon after, however, he fell under the influence of a monk, named Tissa, and built Jetavanavihāra in the precincts of Mahāvihāra, despite the protests of the monks. Tissa was later expelled from the Order. The king built the Maṇihīra, Gokaṇṇa, Erakāvilla, Kaḷandagāma, Migagāma, Gaṅgāsenakapabbata, Dhātusenapabbata, Kokavāta, Rūpārāma, and Hulapiṭṭhi-vihāras and two nunneries—Uttara and Abhaya. He also built sixteen tanks and a great canal called Pabbatanta.¹