Saṅghamittā (
Saṅghamitrā in
Sanskrit) was the eldest daughter of Emperor
Ashoka and his first wife,
Devi. Together with
Mahinda, her brother, 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 King
Devanampiya Tissa (250 BC – 210 BC) who was a contemporary of Ashoka (304 BC – 232 BC). At first she landed in 'Mathagal'. The village Mathagal is situated 16 km away from
Jaffna town, in the north of Sri Lanka, along the shores of the Indian Ocean. Buddhist Emperor Samrat
Ashoka sent her 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 Mahindra converted them to
Buddhism.