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Thūpavaṃsa Composed in Sinhala by Parakama Pandita in thirteenth-century Sri Lanka, this work contains a vivid description of how Buddhism spread outside of India, abounding with poetic embellishments and interpolations not found in other accounts of those happenings. Notwithstanding its being a significant literary composition, the Sinhala Thūpavaṃsa is a manuscript of substantial historical and religious import. It encompasses numerous narrative strands that recount the life story of the Buddha and the method by which Buddhist teachings and bodies were established on the island of Sri Lanka in ancient times. The chief concentration of this work concerns the assortment of relics associated with Gautama Buddha, principally how the relics were attained and the reputed benefits of their veneration. The manuscript also recounts the epic history of the Buddha's previous lives as a bodhisattva and closes with a prophecy concerning the future Maitreya Buddha. Consideration regarding Buddhist ethics and instruction on the Dhamma, or the Buddha's teaching, are found throughout the manuscript, demonstrating that this historical chronicle was intended to serve both to remember the past and to inspire religious practice among present-day readers and listeners.
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