Mihintale
mountain
Mihintale is a mountain peak near Anuradhapura in Sri Lanka. It is believed by Sri Lankans to be the site of a meeting between the Buddhist monk Mahinda and King Devanampiyatissa which inaugurated the presence of Buddhism in Sri Lanka. It is now a pilgrimage site, and the site of several religious monuments and abandoned structures.
History
Approximately 12.5 km (7.8 mi) east of Anuradhapura, close to the Anuradhapura - Trincomalee Road is situated the "Missaka Pabbata" which is 1,000 feet (300 m) in height and is one of the peaks of a mountainous range.
According to Dipavamsa and Mahavamsa, Thera Mahinda came to Sri Lanka from India on the full moon day of the month of Poson (June) and met King Devanampiyatissa and preached the Buddhist doctrine. The traditional spot where this meeting took place is revered by the Buddhists of Sri Lanka. Therefore, in the month of Poson, Buddhists make their pilgrimage to Anuradhapura and Mihintale.
Mahinda was the son of Emperor Ashoka of India. King Ashoka embraced Buddhism after he was inspired by a monk named “Nigrodha.” The King was in great misery after witnessing the devastation caused by expansionist wars. Meeting this peaceful young monk was a turning point in his life, thereafter, he renounced war.
“Mihintale” enters the record as mountain. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Mihintale and mountain can confirm, complicate or overturn.
Why this record matters
“Mihintale” is worth following because a concise public description often conceals a longer documentary argument. Here, Mihintale and mountain provides the most credible route into that argument.
Maps, plans, fabric surveys and administrative records can establish how the site’s name, extent and function changed over time. The source revision retrieved here is dated Oct 29, 2025. The linked authority identifier is Q1478212. VIAF identifies the subject as 157106100. The Library of Congress control number is n80102395. Authority coordinates are 8.351, 80.517. 2 of 3 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank.
Modern boundaries and familiar names can conceal earlier jurisdictions or structures that do not align with the present site. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
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Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.
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This entry incorporates text from “Mihintale” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.