SSC
Ashoka sent his son Mahendra and daughter Sanghamitra to spread Buddhism to:
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Answer: Option B — Sri Lanka (Ceylon)
Detailed Solution
According to Buddhist tradition, Ashoka sent his son Mahendra (Mahinda) and his daughter Sanghamitra to Sri Lanka (Ceylon) to spread Buddhism.
Mahendra's mission:
- Mahendra became a Buddhist monk and went to Sri Lanka in the 3rd century BCE, after the Third Buddhist Council.
- He met the Sri Lankan king Devanampiya Tissa at Mihintale (near Anuradhapura), where, according to tradition, the king was hunting.
- The king and his court were converted to Buddhism.
- The "Poson" festival in Sri Lanka, on the full moon of June, celebrates the arrival of Buddhism with Mahinda.
- Mahinda founded the Mahavihara monastery at Anuradhapura, which became the centre of Theravada Buddhism.
Sanghamitra's mission:
- Sanghamitra, a Buddhist nun, went to Sri Lanka later, at the request of the king, to ordain women as nuns.
- She founded the order of nuns (bhikkhunis) in Sri Lanka.
- She took with her a sapling (branch) of the Bodhi tree from Bodh Gaya.
- It was planted at Anuradhapura and is known as the "Jaya Sri Maha Bodhi"; it is believed to be the oldest living human-planted tree in the world with a known planting date.
- Her arrival is celebrated as "Sanghamitta Day" (Unduvap Poya) in Sri Lanka.
Ashoka's missionaries:
- After the Third Buddhist Council, missionaries were sent to many places, including Kashmir, Gandhara, the Himalayan region, the Deccan, Suvarnabhumi (Myanmar or South-East Asia), and Sri Lanka.
- Ashoka's Major Rock Edict XIII mentions sending Dhamma messages to Greek kings, such as Antiochus II of Syria, Ptolemy II of Egypt, and others, and to the Cholas, Pandyas and Tamraparni (Sri Lanka).
Relations with Sri Lanka today:
- Sri Lanka is a predominantly Theravada Buddhist country.
- India and Sri Lanka share deep cultural and religious ties.
Why not the other options?
- ✗Myanmar (Suvarnabhumi) received missionaries named Sona and Uttara, according to tradition.
- ✗Nepal (Lumbini) was within or near Ashoka's empire.
- ✗Afghanistan was part of the Mauryan empire.
Quick tip
Remember: Mahendra and Sanghamitra = Sri Lanka (king Devanampiya Tissa; Mihintale; Bodhi tree sapling at Anuradhapura = Jaya Sri Maha Bodhi); Sona and Uttara = Suvarnabhumi.
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Mahajanapadas & Mauryan Empire — Preparation
This question tests your understanding of Mahajanapadas & Mauryan Empire, a key topic in the General Knowledge section. The detailed solution above uses a step-by-step approach to show the reasoning, and where available, a shortcut that helps you solve similar questions in under 90 seconds during the actual exam.
This topic covers the sixteen Mahajanapadas, the rise of Magadha under the Haryanka, Shishunaga and Nanda dynasties, Alexander's invasion, and the Mauryan Empire under Chandragupta Maurya, Bindusara and Ashoka, including Mauryan administration, Ashoka's dhamma and his edicts. Questions often ask about the capital of a Mahajanapada, the founder of a dynasty, or details of Ashoka's rule, such as the Kalinga war and his rock and pillar edicts. Key sources include Kautilya's Arthashastra and Megasthenes' Indica. James Prinsep first deciphered Ashoka's Brahmi inscriptions in 1837. Practise the Mahajanapadas and Mauryan Empire questions below, written in the style of the general awareness sections of exams such as SSC, banking, railways, CUET GAT, MAH CET and CLAT. Each question comes with a detailed explanation that adds related facts, so every question helps you revise more than one point.