Sino-Sri Lankan Relationship and Trikayastava in an Inscription at Mihinthale

Abstract

History of Sino-Sri Lankan relationship goes back to a remote past even up to 2nd millennia B.C. Therefore, evidence Can be traced from the Sri Lankan, Chinese and other sources for the religious, commercial and diplomatic relations between the two countries developed by leaps and bounds during the past 4 millennia. Trikåyastaoa in an Inscription at Mihintale, Sri Lanka is a unique piece Of evidence related to Trikåyastavn concept. It eulogizes the Trikäya or the three bodies of the Buddha, developed by Mahayana tradition, in Sanskrit language and Srtagdharci metre. Applicability of the topic mentioned above arises through two ways: (1) Trikäynstava has been restored into Sanskrit from Chinese transliteration and from a Tibetan codex. NO Other country than these three, viz. Sri Lanka, China and Tibet has so far presented TrikAyastava in the equal form. (2) Trikäynstaoa too being a Buddhist concept found in both countries and common in the sense too. Therefore, it is certain that Bladdhism is the bridge between the two countries relationship through more than two millennia.