Question

Whom did king Ashoka send to Sri Lanka to spread Buddhism?
A. Mahendra
B. Sanghamitra
C. Both A and B
D. None of these

Answer 1

Hint: -Through sending monks to nearby regions to share Buddha's teachings, Ashoka encouraged Buddhist expansion.
-A wave of change began, and Buddhism spread not only across India but also worldwide.
-When Ashoka, a Hindu convert to Buddhism, sent his children to Ceylon as missionaries around 251 BC.

Complete answer: To spread Buddhism, King Ashoka sent his son Mahendra and his daughter Sanghamitra to Sri Lanka. In the Buddhist text 'Mahavamsa,' written in Sri Lanka, their names are listed.
The eldest daughter of Emperor Ashoka (304 BC – 232 BC) and his first wife, Devi, was Sanghamitta (Sanghamitra in Sanskrit). She joined an order of Buddhist monks with her brother, Mahinda. At the behest of King Devanampiya Tissa, the two siblings later went to Sri Lanka to spread the teachings of Buddha.
(a)Mahendra:
When Aśoka, a Hindu convert to Buddhism, sent Mahendra and Princess Sa'ghamitthā to Ceylon around 251 BC as missionaries. This is not the correct answer, Hence Option A. is an incorrect option.
(b)Sanghamitra:
Sanghamitra, along with her brother, Mahendra, is known for the proselytizing practice among women she pursued as her lifetime target in Sri Lanka. This is not the correct answer, Hence Option B. is an incorrect option.
(c)Emperor Ashoka, had many wives and children, although different sources vary in names and numbers.
Probably the best known are Prince Mahendra and Princess Sanghamitta, who were his eldest children and converted to Buddhism, leading Buddhist embassies to Sri Lanka (in some sources, Sanghamitra). Both of them were ordained as bhikkhus and bhikkhunis, and it is claimed that Princess Sanghamitra took to Sri Lanka a branch of the Boddhi tree.
(d)None of these,
Mahendra and Sanghamitra both were sent by Ashoka. This is not the correct answer, Hence Option D. is an incorrect option.
Hence, Option C is the correct answer.

Note: There were about five children of King Ashoka: Mahendra, Sanghamitta, Tivala, Kunala, Charumati,
-Mahendra was the son of the Ashoka King and the Devi Queen. In spreading Buddhism, Mahendra played a significant part. In order to spread Buddhism, he went to Sri Lanka. This also led Buddhism to be accepted by the Sri Lankan King Devanampiya Tissa, in turn, he also became a Buddhist.
-Sanghamitta - Sanghamitta was the daughter of King Ashoka and Queen Devi. She was a nun who had distributed the Order to Sri Lanka and took a sapling from the original Bodhi Tree to Bodh Gaya with her. This marked one of the key moments of Buddhism's propagation beyond India.
-Sanghamitta and her brother Mahendra, went to Sri Lanka at the invitation of King Devanampiya Tissa, who was a contemporary of Emperor Ashoka of India, to spread the teachings of Buddha.