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Sanghamitta
Saṅghamittā (
Saṅghamitrā in
Sanskrit, nun's name
Ayapali; 282 BC – 203 BC) was an Indian Buddhist nun and believed to be the eldest daughter (Sri Lankan Tradition) of Emperor
Ashoka (304 BC – 232 BC) from his first wife
Queen Devi (302 BCE – 242 BCE). Together with her brother
Mahinda, she entered an order of
Buddhist monks. The two siblings later went to
Sri Lanka to spread the teachings of
Buddha at the request of Sri Lankan King
Devanampiya Tissa (250 BC – 210 BC) who was a contemporary of Ashoka. Ashoka was initially reluctant to send his daughter (Sri Lankan Tradition) on an overseas mission. However, because of the insistence of Sangamitta herself, he finally agreed. She was sent to Sri Lanka together with several other nuns to start the nun-lineage of
Bhikkhunis (a fully ordained female
Buddhist monastic) at the request of King Tissa to ordain queen Anulā and other women of Tissa's court at
Anuradhapura who desired to be ordained as nuns after Mahinda converted them to
Buddhism.
After Sanghamittā’s contribution to the propagation of Buddhism in Sri Lanka and her establishing the ''Bhikkhunī Sangha'' or ''Meheini Sasna'' (Order of Nuns) there, her name became synonymous with "Buddhist Female Monastic Order of Theravāda Buddhism" that was established not only in Sri Lanka but also in
Burma,
China and
Thailand, in particular. The day the most revered tree, the
Bodhi tree, a sapling of which was brought by her to Sri Lanka and planted in
Anuradhapura, and which still survives, is also celebrated every year on the
Full Moon day of December as ''Uduvapa Poya'' or ''Uposatha Poya'' and Sanghamittā Day by Theravāda Buddhists in Sri Lanka.
Provided by Wikipedia