Mihinthalawai Lyrics by Sanuka Wickramasinghe

It is Mihintale, the shade of the mango trees,
Poson dawns, the full moon’s light
it is Mihintale, the shade of the mango trees,
Poson dawns, the full moon’s light

The day Arahat Mahinda came, bearing the Buddha’s teaching,
the day Prince Tissa was out at the deer hunt,
the day the prince was turned from sin and set firm in virtue,
this Poya day he answered the mango riddle and preached the Dhamma

It is Mihintale, the shade of the mango trees,
Poson dawns, the full moon’s light

This Poson Poya day, when beings wandering in samsara
received the light of the Dhamma that leads to deathless Nibbana,
the day the land of Lanka shone with the light of the true Dhamma,
on this noble Poya day, with hands cupped and raised, I worship

It is Mihintale, the shade of the mango trees,
Poson dawns, the full moon’s light
it is Mihintale, the shade of the mango trees,
Poson dawns, the full moon’s light

This is a Poson devotional, celebrating the day Buddhism first came to Sri Lanka, and it is soaked in a sense of place. Its refrain sets the scene at Mihintale, the mountain near Anuradhapura, in the shade of the mango trees, as Poson dawns under the light of the full moon. Every Sri Lankan Buddhist knows this is where the whole story happened.

The verses retell that story plainly. It was the day Arahat Mahinda, the son of Emperor Ashoka, arrived bearing the Buddha’s teaching, and the day King Devanampiya Tissa, here simply the prince, was out on a deer hunt. The song remembers how the prince was turned away from sin and set firm in virtue, and it recalls the famous amba pena, the mango riddle, the gentle test of wit Mahinda posed before he preached the Dhamma.

The last verse lifts the moment to its meaning. On this Poson Poya day, beings wandering in samsara received the light of the Dhamma that leads to Nibbana, and the whole land of Lanka shone with that light. The singer ends in worship, hands cupped and raised, honouring the noble day. It is a piece of sung history and devotion at once, keeping alive the memory of the moment that shaped the island’s faith.