On the Chronicles of Ceylon

III. Historical Position – 105
missionary work in the country of Malayakūṭa below Drāviḍa before
he went across to the island of Siṁhala. Although the missionaries
were sent on the authority of Moggaliputta Tissa, it is found that the
places within India to which they are said to have gone are places
where Asoka set up his edicts and inscriptions:
1. Kasmīra-Gandhāra Asoka’s Rock Edicts at Mansehra.
2. Yona Rock Edicts at Shahbazgarhi in the district of Peshawar.
3. Mahiṣamaṇḍala Rock and Minor Rock Edicts at Yerraguḍi in the
Karnool District.
4. Mahāraṭṭha Minor Rock Edict at Gavimaṭh and Pālkiguṇḍa.
5. Vanavāsa Minor Rock Edict at Isila.
6. Aparānta Rock Edicts at Sopārā.
7. Himavanta Rock Edicts at Kālsi in the district of Dehra Dun.
The two places or countries which lay according to the chronicles
outside India are Suvaṇṇabhūmi and the island of Laṅkā or
Tambapaṇṇi. It is shown that the country of Tambapaṇṇi which finds
mention in Asoka’s Rock Edicts II and XIII is not necessarily the
island of Tambapaṇṇi. It is apparently the country of Tāmraparṇī,
modern Tinnevelly district, placed by the Mahābhārata, south of
Pāṇḍya or Drāviḍa with Mt. Vaidūryaka as its rocky landmark, in
that case it is no other than Hiuen Tsang’s country of Malayakūṭa.
There existed a land route, even till the time of Hiuen Tsang,
connecting Aparānta and Karṇāṭa with the lower Kāverī Valley. It is
therefore possible that a traveller starting from Vidisā and Ujjayinī
could reach the country of Tambapaṇṇi below Pāṇḍya by following
this land route along the banks of the Kāverī via Mahiṣamaṇḍala or
Mysore. The journey further down to the island of Tambapaṇṇi was
a matter of crossing the ferry.