Ancient Sri Lanka's extremely cordial relations with Mauryan India would have considerably helped facilitate the dissemination of the great Indian medicinal tradition amongst the local population.

King Asoka"s (3rd century B.C.) Girnar rock edict states that he provided medicines and medical aid for both men and animals as far as Tambaparni (The old Indian name for Sri Lanka). However, in spite of the profound Indian influence, Sinhalese medical knowledge has developed on is own course with the passage of time and we note a number of distinctive features, which mark it out from other medical systems.

We come across a number of references to medicines and medical treatment in the ancient Sinhalese chronicles. According to the Mahavansa, prior to the birth of her son Dutugemunu, Queen Viharamahadevi gifted medicines to the Buddhist clergy in order that she may conceive.
The same work alludes to King Dutugemunu having donated food and medicine to the sick.
 
King Buddhadasa (340-368 A.C.) the country"s renowned physician- king was adept in general medicine, surgery, midwifery and veterinary medicine.
The king"s surgical operation on an outcaste (Chandala) woman in order to deliver her child and the surgical removal of a lump in the belly of a snake are some of the feats narrated of this remarkable monarch in the sequel to the Mahavansa, Chulavansa.

The chronicle states that the king constantly carried a set of surgical instruments with him on his journeys. It speaks well for the nobility of this king who casting aside ancient prejudices " unimaginable in those caste-ridden days " to have attended on an untouchable female.

This in itself shows that the Sinhalese medical establishment of yore considered service to humanity to be such a sacred and estimable duty as to even transcend caste barriers, which were otherwise strictly observed at the time.
The king"s surgical feats on a helpless serpent also shows that not only humans, but also other creatures benefited from the medical skills acquired by the ancients.

The king is also stated to have given medical professionals due remuneration for their services to the people. The Chulavansa states that the king "gave the physicians the produce of ten fields as livelihood."
The compilation of the "Sarartha Sangraha", a comprehensive medical treatise in Sanskrit is also attributed to King Buddhadasa. Although this work is similar in arrangement to the Sanhita of Shushruta, it contains much original information as well.

The work deals with the preparation of drugs, clinical diagnosis, surgical instruments and operations, ear, nose and throat diseases, eye diseases, tuberculosis, insanity, epilepsy and obstetrics, besides a number of other subjects of medical importance.

King Aggabodhi VII (766-772 A.C.) even went to the extent of undertaking fresh research pertaining to medicinal substances. According to the Chulavansa, the king "studied the medicinal plants over the entire island of Lanka to ascertain whether they were wholesome or harmful to the sick."
King Mahinda IV (956-972 A.C.) is said to have distributed beds and medicines to all the hospitals of his realm.


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