King Asoka and Buddhism - Urban Dharma

The adoption by Tissa of the title of Devānampiya, which isnot known to have been used by members of dynasties otherthan Aśoka’s, would also indicate that kingship was an institutionintroduced to Ceylon under the influence of the Mauryanemperor. Aśoka would have readily agreed to lend his supportto Tissa in the latter’s desire to be proclaimed as king, for by thathe would have brought the island of Ceylon, the southernmostlimit of the Indian world, within the Mauryan sphere of influence.The island also would have served as a base for the extensionof Mauryan influence to the Tamil kingdoms which lay outsidethe borders of Aśoka’s empire. In short, such a request fromTissa of Ceylon would have afforded Aśoka an excellent opportunityto put into practice the policy that he adopted of conqueringnot by force of arms, but by means of the Dhamma. 40Envoys (dūta) were appointed by Emperor Aśoka to spread theDharma, therefore it is quite reasonable to assume that he alsosent envoys to Sri Lanka with the message of his conversion toBuddhism and a request that Tissa adopt a similar course ofaction. Sri Lanka is referred to as Tāmraparṇi in Rock Edicts IIand XIII in connection with Aśoka’s missionary and health-careactivities abroad. The countries already included by Aśoka inthe list are those to which he despatched his envoys to pursuehis scheme of Dharmavijaya or Moral Conquest. Rock EdictII says that when he had been consecrated for thirteen years,religious tours by his officials named Dharma-Mahāmātraswere further expanded. This new department sent out envoysconveying Aśoka’s religious message to foreign countries bothin the north and south and both to neighbouring and distantstates, “as far south as Tāmraparṇi. As the edicts say, the messagewas taken in the dominions of His Majesty the Emperoras well as among the bordering territories (pratyantesu).Rock Edict II itself is dated back to 258 – 257 B.C. and there-128