Mahinda (1-24)
1. Mahinda Thera. Son of Asoka and brother of Sanghamittā. He was fourteen at the time of the coronation of his father and was ordained at the age of twenty, his preceptor being Moggaliputtatissa. The ordination was performed by Mahādeva, while Majjhantika recited the kammavācā. Mahinda became an arahant on the day of his ordination (Mhv.v.204ff.; Dpv.v.24 f ; Sp.i.51). He spent three years in study of the Doctrine under his preceptor, and, later, when the latter retired to Ahogangā, he left his one thousand disciples for seven years under the care of Mahinda (Mhv.v.233; Sp.i.52). When the Third Council was held, Mahinda had been for twelve years a monk and was charged with the mission of converting Ceylon. But he delayed for six months, until Devānampiyatissa became king. He then went to Dakkhināgiri and from there to his birthplace, Vedisagiri, staying in Vedisagiri vihāra and visiting his mother, the queen Devī. Still one more month he tarried, teaching the Doctrine to Bhanduka, and then, on the full moon day of Jettha, at the request of Sakka, he went, in company with
- Itthiya,
- Uttiya,
- Sambala,
- Bhaddasāla,
- Sumanasāmanera and
- Bhanduka,
to Ceylon, where he converted Devānampiyatissa by preaching to him the Cūlahatthipadopama Sutta. Later, on the same day, he preached the Samacitta Sutta. The next day, at the request of the king, he visited Anurādhapura, travelling through the air and alighting on the site of the (later) Pathamacetiya. After a meal at the palace he preached the Petavatthu, the Vimānavatthu and the Sacca Samyutta, and Anulā and her five hundred companions became sotāpannas. Later, in the elephant stables, he preached the Devadūta Sutta to the assembled people, and, in the evening, the Bālapandita Sutta, in Nandanavana. The night he spent in Mahāmeghavana, and on the next day the king gave the park to Mahinda, on behalf of the Order.
Mahinda pointed out to the king various spots destined to be connected with the growth of the sāsana in Ceylon, offering flowers at the same, and at the site of the (later) Mahā Thūpa, he described the visits of the Four Buddhas of this kappa to Ceylon. On the fourth day he preached the Anamatagga Sutta in Nandanavana and helped the king in defining the boundaries of what later became the Mahāvihāra. On the fifth day he preached the Khajjanīya Sutta, on the sixth the Gomayapindī sutta, and on the seventh the Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta.
The pāsāda first built for the residence of Mahinda was called Kālapāsāda parivena. Other buildings associated with him were the Sunhātaparivena, the Dīghacanka parivena, the Phalagga parivena, the Therāpassaya parivena, the Marugana-parivena, and the Dīghasandasenāpati-parivena.
Twenty six days Mahinda stayed in Mahāmeghavana, and on the thirteenth day of the bright half of āsālha, after having preached the Mahāppamāda Sutta, he went to Missakapabbata, to spend the vassa. The king had sixty eight rock cells built in the mountain and gave them to the theras on the full moon day. On the same day Mahinda ordained sixty two monks, who attained arahantship, at Tumbarumālaka. After the full moon day of Kattika, at the conclusion of the pavārana ceremony, Mahinda held a consultation with Devānampiyatissa and sent Sumanasāmanera to Pātaliputta to bring the relics of the Buddha from Dhammāsoka and other relics from Sakka. These relics were brought and placed on the Missakapabbata, which from then onwards was called Cetiyegiri. The collar bone from among the relics was deposited in the Thūpārāma (q.v.), which was built for the purpose. It was at Mahinda's suggestion that Devānampiyatissa sent an embassy headed by Mahāarittha to Asoka, with a request that Sanghamittā should come to Ceylon with a branch of the Bodhi tree. The request was granted, and Sanghamittā arrived in Ceylon with the branch. Devānampiyatissa, during the later part of his reign, acting on the advice of Mahinda, built numerous vihāras, each one yojana from the other; among them were Issarasamanaka and Vessagiri.
Mahinda is said to have taught the Commentaries to the Tipitaka in the Singhalese language, after translating them from the Pāli (Cv.xxxvii.228ff).
The Samantapāsādikā (pp. 102ff ) mentions a recital held by Mahinda under the presidency of Mahāarittha.
Mahinda continued to live for the first eight years of the reign of Uttiya, who succeeded Devānampiyatissa. Then, at the age of sixty, he died on the eighth day of the bright half of Assayuja, in Cetiyagiri, where he was spending the rainy season. His body was brought in procession, with every splendor and honour, to the Mahāvihāra and placed in the Pañhambamālaka, where homage was paid to it for a whole week. It was then burnt on a pyre of fragrant wood on the east of the Therānambandhamālaka, to the left of the site of the Mahā Thūpa. A cetiya was erected on that spot over half the remains, the other half being distributed in thūpas built on Cetiyagiri and elsewhere. The place of cremation was called Isibhūmangana, and there for many centuries were cremated the remains of holy men who lived within a distance of three yojanas.( For details of Mahinda see Mhv.xiii. xx; Dpv.vii.57f., xii., xiii., iv.: xv.; Sp.i.61, 69ff., 79ff., 83ff., 90ff., 103, etc.)
Later, King Sirimeghavanip had a life size image of Mahinda made of gold; this he took to the Ambatthalacetiya. For eight days a festival was held in its honour; on the ninth day the image was taken from Ambatthala, carried by the king himself at the head of a large and splendid procession, and placed for three days in Sotthiyākara vihāra. On the twelfth day it was taken with all splendours to Anurādhapura, to the Mahāvihāra, where it was left for three months in the courtyard of the Bodhi tree. From there it was removed to the inner city and deposited in a magnificent image house to the south east of the palace. An endowment was set up for the annual performance of ceremonies in honour of the image, and this custom was continued for many centuries. The image was brought from the inner town to the (Mahā)vihāra on the pavārana day, and every year an offering was made on the thirteenth day (Cv.xxxvii.66ff).
Dhātusena had the image brought to the place where Mahinda's body was cremated and there held a great festival (Cv.xxxviii.58), while Aggabodhi I. set up the image on the banks of the tank called Mahindatata, and ensured that the special task of carrying the image to the dyke of the tank was the task of the Taracchas. Cv.xlii.30.
2. Mahinda. See Indra (=Sakka).
3. Mahinda. King, father of Phussa Buddha (AA.i.165; SA.iii.4; DhA.i.84). Elsewhere he is called Jayasena. See Phussa.
4. Mahinda. A king of old, descendant of Mahāsammata, and last of a dynasty which ruled at Rojanagara. Twelve of his sons and grandsons ruled in Campā. Dpv.iii.28.
5. Mahinda I. Brother of Kassapa III. and king of Ceylon (724 27 A.C.). He refused to be crowned, out of sorrow for the death of his friend Nīla, and administered the government as ādipāda. He thus came to be known as Adipāda Mahinda. His brother's son, Aggabodhi, was his viceroy, while his own son was made ruler of Dakkhinadesa.
He gave ten cartloads of food to the Mahāpāli and would eat nothing without first giving of it to beggars. He built a nunnery for the bhikkhunīs (called Mahindaupassaya) and gave to it the village of Nagaragalla. He also built the Mahindatata vihāra. Cv.xiviii.26ff.
6. Mahinda. Son of Aggabodhi VII. He was made viceroy, but died young. Cv.xlviii.69, 75.
7. Mahinda. Son of Silāmegha (Aggabodhi VI.) (Cv.xlviii.42, 76). Aggabodhi made him senāpati and gave over the government to him. But when Aggabodhi VI. died and Aggabodhi VII. came to the throne, Mahinda went to Mahātittha. Later, on the death of Aggabodhi VII., Mahinda quelled all disturbances and put the queen in chains because she conspired to kill him. His cousin Dappula rose against him, but was defeated after much fighting. Mahinda then married the queen of Aggabodhi VI. and became king as Mahinda II., when a son was born to him. Dappula again rose in revolt, but Mahinda made a treaty with him and gave him part of Rohana with the Gālhagangā as boundary.
Among Mahinda's benefactions was the erection of the Dāmavihāra-parivena and the Sannīratittha vihāra in Pulatthipura, also the costly Ratanapāsāda, containing a golden image of the Buddha. To the Silāmegha nunnery Mahinda gave a silver Bodhisatta statue. He had the Abhidhamma recited by the monks of Hemasāli Vihāra, and built many shrines and helped those who were poor or in trouble. To the lame he gave bulls and to the Damilas horses. He strengthened the weir of the Kālavāpi. He reigned for twenty years (772 92 A.C.) and was succeeded by his son Udaya I. (Cv.xlviii.83ff).
8. Mahinda. Son of the Adipāda Dāthāsīva of Rohana. He quarreled with his father, took service under Udaya I. and married his daughter Devā. He was later sent to Rohana, where he drove out his father. His two sons revolted against him, and, with Udaya's help, led an army against him. Mahinda defeated them, but was killed in a fight with another kinsman. Cv.xlix.10ff.; 66ff.
9. Mahinda. Son of Udaya I.; he was, however, known by the name of Dhammikasilāmegha and was a very pious man. He gave the income from the Getthumba Canal to be used in repairs of the Ratanapāsāda. He became king as Mahinda III. and reigned for four years (797 801 A.C.). Cv.xlix.38ff.
10. Mahinda. Son of Mahinda III. When Aggabodhi IX. came to the throne, contrary to the laws of succession, Mahinda fled to India (Cv.xlix.84f). He was afterwards slain by Sena I. (Cv.l.4).
11. Mahinda. Younger brother of Sena I. and his viceroy. He quelled the rising of Udaya against the king, his brother. When the Pandu king invaded Ceylon, Mahinda led an army against him, and, on the defeat of his forces, he cut his own throat. Cv.l. 6, 10, 21ff.
12. Mahinda. Eldest son of Kittaggabodhi, ruler of Rohana. He was killed by Kittaggabodhi's sister. Cv.l.51.
13. Mahinda. Son of the Adipāda Kassapa and brother of Sena II. He married Tissā and Kitti. He became viceroy under Sena II. and ruled in Dakkhinadesa. Later he was discovered guilty of an intrigue in the king's harem, and fled, unrecognized, with his family, to Malaya. Afterwards, however, he regained his honors and continued as viceroy, his daughter Sanghā being married to Kassapa, son of Sena II. Mahinda built a temple under the Bodhi tree, and, in the course of its construction, a workman discovered that one of the beams would harm a branch of the tree. Mahinda, on being informed of this, came and made a saccakiriyā, as a result of which the branch of the tree straightened itself during the night, leaving the building free. Mahinda also built the Mahindasena parivena, and died in the twenty third year of Sena's reign (Cv.l.59; li.7, 13, 15ff., 53ff). Adipāda Kittaggabodhi was his Son. Ibid., 94.
14. Mahinda. Son of Kassapa V., and brother of Sena II. and Sanghā. When the Adipāda Kittaggabodhi raised a rebellion in Rohana against Udaya II., the latter sent Mahinda to quell it with the help of the general Vajiragga. The expedition was completely successful and Kittaggabodhi taken prisoner. Mahinda stayed in Mahāgāma and ruled over Rohana justly and well. Among his works was the construction of a dam across the Mahānadī (Cv.li.99ff). When Kassapa IV. became king, Mahinda revolted against him, but the king, through the influence of Mahinda's father, persuaded him to desist. Later, Mahinda returned to Anurādhapura at the request of the monks, and, after having married the king's daughter, went back to Rohana, where, evidently, he died. Cv.lii.4ff.
15. Mahinda. Viceroy of Sena IV. and probably his brother. He afterwards became king as Mahinda IV. (956 72 A.C.). He married a Kālinga princess. During his reign, the Vallabha king invaded Ceylon, but was defeated by the general Sena and entered into a treaty with Mahinda. Mahinda showed great favour to the Pamsukulikas and the Lābhavāsins and decreed that the incomes derived from vihāras should not be taxed. His good acts were many. He had a Commentary to the Abhidhamma written by the Thera Dhammamitta in the Sitthagāma-parivena and the Abhidhamma recited by the Thera Dāthānāga.
He made great offerings at the Mahā Thūpa and started to build the Candanapāsāda, where he had preserved the Hair Relic of the Buddha. He restored the temple of the four cetiyas in Padalañchana as well as the Temple of the Tooth, the Dhammasanganigeha and the Mahāpāli. He built the Mahāmallaka for the Theravāda nuns and completed the Manipāsāda. Mahinda's wife was Kittī (q.n), who, herself, engaged in various works. Their son was Sena (Sena V.). Cv.liv.1ff.; Cv. Trs.i.178, n. 2; 179, n. 2; 183, n. 2.
16. Mahinda. Younger brother of Sena V. He succeeded Sena as Mahinda V. and ruled for ten years at Anurādhapura under great difficulties. He was weak and powerless, and the Kerala soldiers in his employ mutinied for better salaries. Mahinda escaped to Rohana by means of an underground passage, and lived at Sīdupabbatagāma with his brother's wife as queen, later marrying his brother's daughter. Their son was Kassapa, and afterwards they lived in Kappagallaka. In the thirty sixth year of Mahinda's reign, the Colas, taking advantage of the discontent in Ceylon, invaded the country, capturing the king, the queen, and all the royal regalia. They ruled for many years with Pulatthinagara as base, and Mahinda died in Cola after a captivity lasting for twelve years (Cv.iv.1ff). Lokitā and Devalā were his maternal cousins. Cv.lvii.27.
17. Mahinda. Son of Moggallāna and Lokitā and brother of Kiti (afterwards Vijayabāhu I.). Cv.lvii.42.
18. Mahinda. Son of Vikkamabāhu II. and brother of Gajabahu. He fought against Deva, general of Parakkamabāhu I,, at Hedillakhandagāma, but was defeated, and fled to Billagāma. From there he went to Vallitittha, and was again defeated. Later he joined Mānābharana, and was sent by him to Moravāpi, thence to Anurādhapura, where he defeated Mahālekha Rakkha and Bhandārapotthakī, who marched against him. From Anurādhapura, Mahinda proceeded to Kālavāpi where, for three months, he fought against Bhandārapotthakī Bhūta, and was finally defeated by him. This is the last we hear of him. Cv.lxii.59; lxxii.46, 82, 123ff., 176ff., 191f., 198ff.
19. Mahinda. An officer of Kittisirimegha, sent by him to fetch the young Parakkamabāhu. Cv.lxvi. 66.
20. Mahinda. A Lambakanna in the Morya district, an officer of Parakkamabāhu I. He was a Nagaragiri, and was sent by Parakkamabāhu to Mallavālāna, where he conducted a victorious campaign against Uttararattha. Later he took Anurādhapura, and was one of those responsible for the capture of Gajabāhu at Pulatthipura. Cv.lxix. 13; lxx. 89, 146ff.; 158, 199ff.
21. Mahinda Mahālekha. An officer of Mānābharana. He was defeated by the Kesadhāttu Rakkha at Sarogāmatittha and again by the troops of Parakkamabāhu I. at Janapada. Cv.lxxii.Iff., 166.
22. Mahinda. A minister and kinsman of Parakkamabāhu I. He lived in the palace and erected at Pulatthipura a pāsāda for the Tooth Relic. Cv.lxxiii.124ff.
23. Mahinda. A man of the Kulinga clan, whose wife was a cowherd's daughter called Dīpanī. He killed Vijayabāhu II. and reigned for five days, but was slain by Kittinissanka. Cv.lxxx.15ff.
24. Mahinda. Son of Sumanadevī and Bodhigutta. He came among the escort of the Bodhi tree. Devānampiyatissa conferred on him the rank of Cullajayamahālekhaka. Mbv.169.
Mahinda
(c.282-222 bce)
monk son of Emperor Aśoka of Magadha and brother of the nun Saṇghamittā. He was ordained at the age of 20 and on the same day is said to have become an Arhat. After some years spent in the study of the Dharma he took over the duties of his retiring preceptor who had left 1,000 disciples. At the ‘Third Council’ (see Council of Pāṭaliputra II) held in 250 bc under Emperor Aśoka, Mahinda was charged with the mission of bringing the Buddha's teachings to Sri Lanka. Once he reached the island he began his mission by first converting King Devānampiya Tissa, to whom he preached the Cūlahatthipadopama Sutta. Later, he sent an embassy to his father requesting some relics of the Buddha. At Mahinda's suggestion, Devānampiya Tissa sent another embassy to Aśoka, asking for Saṇghamittā to come to Sri Lanka with other nuns so that female converts could be ordained in the Saṃgha, and requesting a branch of the Bodhi Tree. The request was granted, and Saṇghamittā and other nuns arrived in Sri Lanka with the branch. During the last part of Devānampiya Tissa's reign, Mahinda is said to have advised the king to build several monasteries (vihāras). He is also said to have taught the commentaries to the Tripiṭaka in the Sinhalese language, after translating them from Pāli. Mahinda continued to live in Sri Lanka after the death of Devānampiya Tissa and he died there at the age of 60. His body was cremated and a cetiya was erected on the cremation spot over half of his remains, the other half being distributed in stūpas elsewhere.
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