Significance and Legacy
The 20th century Sri Lankan monk Walpola Rahula described Mahinda as "the father of Sinhalese literature" as he had translated and written commentary for the Tripitaka in Sinhalese, turning it into a literary language. He was also credited with introducing the culture of the Mauryan empire to the island, along with its architecture.
Mihintale, the mountain where Mahinda supposedly first encountered King Devanampiyatissa and the site of his funerary stupa, is an important pilgrimage site in Sri Lanka. Pilgrimages are traditionally undertaken in the month of June (Poson in the old Sinhala calendar), when Mahinda is believed to have arrived in Sri Lanka on the full-moon night of the month, a traditional time for religious observances in Theravada Buddhism.
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