Ceylon and the South-East Asian countries:

Ceylon is one of those countries where the impact of Buddhism had been greatest. Asoka's contemporary in Ceylon was Tissa who sent a diplomatic mission under the leadership of his nephew, Arittha to the Mauryan court. The mission returned with the gift of the doctrine of the Buddha and a personal message fr9m Asoka to Tissa exhorting the latter to become a follower of the Faithful. Asoka's son Mahendra, accompanied by four sthaviras went "to Ceylon for this purpose. Later, Sanghamitra, the daughter of the Mauryan emperor, was taken to Ceylon by Arittha for the specific purpose of the ordination of queen Anula and her companions. A branch of the Bodhi tree was also planted in the Island.10 Besides, the numerous Brahmi inscriptions found in the Island bear witness to the cultural impact of India in the field of writing. Again, it is quite likely that the many viharas and dagobas now in ruins, particularly at Anuradhapura, might originally, have been influenced by their Indian prototypes.

The South-east Asian countries are collectively known as Dvipantara and here the impact of the Indian religions and culture was the greatest. The countries included are Malaya, Indonesia, the erstwhile Indo-china, Siam, Cambodia, etc., "To these islands, culturally regarded as integral parts of Bharatavarsa, extended the specific Indian religious ceremony or institution known as Ijya or sacrifice. As stated in the Vamana-purii1)Q, they were sanctified by the performance of pious deeds like sacrifice (ijya), by righteous war (yuddha), by trade (vanijya) and other deeds (karmabhih)")l After the Third Buddhist council, sometime in the third century B.C., missions were sent to Suvarnabhumi, Lanka and to the Yavana country. Dipavamsa and Mahaamsa credit Thera Sona and Utar to have converted sixty thousand people to the Buddhist faith; fifteen hundred of both sexes became bhiksus or bhiksunis and entered the Samgha According to Mahakarma-vibheda, Gavampati was responsible for the propagation of Buddhism in Suvarnabhumi. The Allahabad pillar inscription of Samudragupta also mentions that the rulers of Simhala and other islands recognized his suzerainty and applied for the imperial charters bearing the Garuda insignia, besides offering military help when required.13 There are a few later inscriptions as well attesting to the extent of cultural contacts of India with these nations. Let us consider them country wise.