this council or the schism. According to Theravāda sources, the Theravāda school maintains the Vibhajjavāda doctrines that were agreed upon during the putative Third Buddhist council held around 250 BCE under the patronage of Ashoka and the guidance of the elder Moggaliputta-Tissa. A record of their doctrinal position survives in the Kathavatthu ("Points of Controversy"), a refutation of various opposing views of various schools at the time. The Vibhajjavādins, fueled by Mauryan patronage (as can be seen in Ashoka's edicts), spread throughout South Asia, forming different groups and communities. In South India, they had an influential center at Avanti, as well as being active in Andhra, Vanavasa (in modern Karnataka), Amaravati and Nagarjunakonda. As they became established in Sri Lanka (at Anuradhapura), they also started to become known as the Tambapaṇṇiya (Sanskrit: Tāmraśāṭīya, Tāmraparṇīya), the name refers to a red copper-like colour. The name Tāmraparṇi also became a name for Sri Lanka itself. Introduction of Buddhism to the island According to traditional Sri Lankan chronicles such as the Mahavamsa and the Dipavamsa, Buddhism was introduced into the island in the third century BCE after the Third Buddhist council by the elder Mahinda and by the elder nun Sangamitta. According to the Sri Lankan chronicles, both were children of the emperor Ashoka. Although Ashoka's Edicts mention sending a Buddhist mission to Sri Lanka (among many other places), nowhere does the edicts mention specifically about Mahinda or Sanghamitta. Thus, The claims aren't fully accepted by modern scholars. According to the Mahavamsa, they arrived in Sri Lanka during the reign of Devanampiya Tissa of Anuradhapura (307–267 BCE) who converted to Buddhism and helped build the first Buddhist stupas and communities. Tissa donated a royal park in the city to the Buddhist community, which was the beginning of the Mahāvihāra tradition. Mahinda is associated with the site of Mihintale, one of the oldest Buddhist site in Sri Lanka. Mihintale includes numerous caves which may have been used by the early Sri Lankan sangha. According to S. D. Bandaranayake, the spread of Buddhism in this period was promoted by the state as well as by lay persons. While there is few artistic or architectural remains from this initial period, there are hundreds of Buddhist caves that have survived that contain numerous Brahmi inscriptions which record gifts to the sangha by householders and chiefs. Bandaranayake states that the religion seems to have achieved "undisputed authority" during