Eleven kilometers to the East of Anuradhapura is where,in 247 B.C.,King Devanampiyatissa was converted to Buddhism by Mahinda,son of the Emperor Ashoka of India.Together with a group of his followers,the now missionary established himself in a hilltop hermitage to which he gave his name Mihintale,where the new religion soon spread in all directions.On full Moon Poya Day in June each year,a great Poson festival is held here to commemorate the introduction of Buddhism to the Island.
Mihintale is a place of calmness and tranquility,particularly suited to religious meditation.It is dominated by a gleaming white Dagaba on highest point of a cluster of hills,which is approached by a massive granite processional stairway.There are 1,840 steps,they say,but wide and shallow and protected by overhanging frangipani trees.It is not a difficult ascent.The top most Dagaba, the Ambastala,contains relics of Mahinda.It is ringed with delicate pillars and has a spectacular view over the surrounding country side.As befits the cradle of Sinhalese Buddhism,Mihintale is alive holiness,its Dagabas,monasteries,caves,rock temples and pobls forming an island sanctity for all followers of one of the World's Great Religions.
Reported by Lahiru Ilankoon
