Mahāvaṃsa
The Mahāvaṃsa is a Pali chronicle of Sri Lanka, composed by Buddhist monks and recounting the island’s rulers alongside the history of Buddhism there.
Dīpavaṃsa: A Pali chronicle of Sri Lanka, probably compiled in the fourth century CE and among the island’s earliest surviving historical texts. The Mahāvaṃsa draws on and reworks this earlier chronicle.
Pali metrical verse: Poetry composed in Pali using patterned syllable counts and metrical forms. The chronicle’s verse form makes its long historical narrative recitable and memorable.
Devanampiya Tissa: A ruler of Anuradhapura traditionally dated to the third century BCE and associated with Buddhism’s establishment in Sri Lanka. His conversion and royal patronage anchor the chronicle’s account of Buddhism’s arrival.
Mahānāma (monk): A Buddhist monk traditionally credited with composing the Mahāvaṃsa in Sri Lanka around the fifth or sixth century CE. Later tradition names him as the author of the chronicle’s original portion.
Sri Lankan nationalism: Political movements and ideas that define Sri Lanka as a nation and debate its identity, sovereignty, and communities. Modern political readings have drawn on the chronicle’s accounts of island unity and Buddhist kingship.
Pali literature: The body of literary works composed in Pali, including Buddhist scripture, commentary, poetry, and historical writing. The Mahāvaṃsa belongs to Pali historical writing and uses its literary conventions.
Buddhist historiography: The writing of history through Buddhist concepts, institutions, lineages, and accounts of the teaching’s preservation. The Mahāvaṃsa orders political events around the fortunes of Buddhism.
Mahinda (Buddhist monk): A Buddhist monk revered in Sri Lankan tradition as the missionary who brought Buddhism to the island during Ashoka’s reign. The chronicle makes Mahinda’s mission a turning point in Sri Lankan religious history.
Mahāvihāra: A major Buddhist monastery in Anuradhapura and a leading center of Theravāda learning in ancient Sri Lanka. The chronicle is associated with the monastic tradition centered at this monastery.
Sinhala-Buddhist nationalism: A political ideology that identifies the Sinhala people and Buddhism as central to Sri Lanka’s national identity. Selective readings of the chronicle have been used to support this island-centered historical narrative.