King Asoka and Buddhism - Urban Dharma

concluded that the Mahāvaṃsa was an adaptation, a workof eclectic character, the author having obtained his materialsfrom diverse sources and then sifted them with greatcare and attention to accuracy of detail according to hisown views. 2 The oldest chronicle is the Dīpavaṃsa, whichincludes an account of Aśoka and of the introduction of Buddhismto Sri Lanka. This work contains numerous mnemonicverses, which proves that the traditions dealing with the lifeof the Buddha and the history of the Buddhist dispensationwere originally oral accounts that were gradually incorporatedinto the commentaries. 3 To these were added a list ofthe kings of Magadha and legends about King Aśoka. 4 TheSamantapāsādikā, in its introduction (bāhiranidāna), describesin detail the three Buddhist Councils, the patronage givenby Aśoka to the Third Council, and the introduction of Buddhismto Sri Lanka. The Sumangalavilāsinī, the commentaryto the Dīgha Nikāya, gives details of the First Great Council. 5Therefore, scholars are of the opinion that the Mahāṭṭhakathādealt with similar topics and that they were incorporated laterby the authors of the Pali chronicles and still later by commentatorslike Buddhaghosa.A number of Oriental scholars such as Oldenberg, Geiger,Bechert, Malalasekera, Mendis and Godakumbura have expresseddifferent opinions about the identification of thesources of the early chronicles. But despite these differences,all the scholars and historians on the early historiographyof Sri Lanka agree that the early sources have a commontheme: Sri Lanka is the land of Buddhism (dhammadīpa) andthe duty of every Sinhalese is to protect and nourish Buddhism.Dīpavaṃsa, the earliest chronicle, records the triumphsof Buddhism in Sri Lanka. 6114