SACRED ISLAND

Mihintale

In about the fifth decade of the 2nd century BCE King Asoka held a great council in his capital Pataliputra. Disputes over points of Dhamma were settled, corrupt monks were expelled from the sangha and a decision was made to send missionary monks to the different regions and even beyond. Mahinda, King Asoka’s son, was selected to head a mission to the southern regions. The princely monk and his companions left Pataliputra for Videsha where they stayed for a while, probably at the great monastery at Sanchi. Legend says Mahinda flew from there to Sri Lanka but a very ancient tradition from south India attributes the introduction of Buddhism to that region to Mahinda so it is likely he was active there for some time before going to Sri Lanka. Whatever the case, the mission probably landed at Gokanna (ancient Trincomalee) and eventually stopped at a mountain just out of Anuradhapura. The king Devanampiya Tissa together with some of his courtiers were hunting on the mountain when they quite suddenly saw the yellow robed strangers. The king was somewhat taken aback by the monks but Mahinda reassured him saying; ‘Oh great king, we are monks, disciples of the King of Truth. We have come from India out of compassion to you’. Having put the king at his ease Mahinda then asked him a series of questions meant to test his powers of comprehension. Having passed this test Mahinda then taught the king and his retinue the Dhamma. Having invited the monks to come to Anuradhapura the next day the king returned to the city to make preparations for their arrival. The next day Mahinda preached to the royal household but the common folk who had of course no access to the palace were clamoring to hear the new teaching as well. So later huge crowds assembled in the elephant stables and Mahinda taught the Dhamma to them there.

Mahintale’s original name was Missaka Pabbata, then it was called Cetiyagiri (The Mountain of Stupas) and its present name is of course derived from Mahinda. When Fa hien visited Mihintale there were 2,000 monks living on the mountain. For at least a thousand years the monasteries on Mihintale were affiliated to the Abhayagiri. During most of the time one of the monks he met was particularly revered for his holiness. A mouse and a snake shared his cave with him but lived in harmony with each other because they were influenced by the monks great metta. Mahinda spent the remaining years of his life in Mihintale and died there in 202 and after a grand funeral his ashes were enshrined in stupas throughout the country including one on Mihintale itself. The king prepared 68 caves on the mountain. This is confirmed by an inscription on one of the caves near the Kantaka Stupa which says it was prepared for by who is known to have been one of the king’s brothers.

Hospital

Soon the pilgrim will see the ruins of an ancient hospital surrounded by lovely mango trees. The entrance is on the southern side where a gatehouse leads to an outer courtyard. On the right is the remains of what was probably a hot water bath or perhaps a steam bath. Beyond this a flight of stairs leads to the accommodation area. There are rooms for 27 patients and four larger rooms for other purposes all built around a courtyard with a small shrine in its middle. In the large room on the north east is a stone medical bath. The bottom of this bath slopes feetwards and there is a depression for the buttocks. The purpose of such baths is not certain but they were probably used for immersing patients in medicinal oils. Hospitals like this one were not meant for the general population but for the monks and staff of the main monastery. During excavations a clay jar with a blue glaze similar to that known from Iran was found. The Culavamsa mentions that a hospital was built at Mihintale.

The Great Stairway

Leaving the hospital and walking towards the foot of the mountain the pilgrim will arrive at the great stairway that leads up Mihintale. This stairway is 1000 feet long with 1840 steps and is one of the largest and most impressive flights of stairs to be seen anywhere. As you ascend notice the length of some of the stone steps and imagine the labor needed to cut, dress, transport and place them. Halfway up on the left are the numerous pillars of a ruined monastery. Towards the top another stairway on the right leads to the Khantika Stupa. Reaching the top of the stairs and passing through the gatehouse the pilgrim will enter Mahintale’s first level.

Refectory

Turning left the pilgrim will come to the main refectory. Along the north and east walls of the refectory are two stone rice troughs the larger one being 23 feet long. The size of these troughs suggest that they provided rice to a very large numbers of monks, certainly more than could have been accommodated in the modestly sized refectory itself. It seems likely therefore that monks received their meals here and then took it somewhere else to eat. Note also the elaborate drainage system, the overhead water pipes and the small game boards calved on the paving stones where the kitchen staff would have played some sort of game in their spare time. An inscription tells us that there were 12 cooks who were employed in this refectory, as well as a warden and several servants whose job it was to provide firewood.

The Main Shrine

Directly above the refectory but approached by a flight of stairs is the Mahintale’s main shrine. On either side of the door are two huge slabs of stone with a long inscription on them. The surface of these slabs is polished and the letters on it are beautifully inscribed. The inscription, by King Mahinda IV, is one of the longest and most interesting from ancient Sri Lanka and tells us a great deal about what life was like at Mihintale.