I am sure it was extremely inspiring for the people of Lanna to have those monks invited to reside there.
“Later, he learned that King Ramkhamhaeng the Great, his friend and ruler of Sukhothai, had sent envoys to invite monks from Sri Lanka, who were residing in Nakhon Si Thammarat, to teach Buddhism to the people of Sukhothai. The Sri Lankan monks were renowned for their profound knowledge of the Tripitaka and strict adherence to the Dharma and Vinaya, surpassing even the existing Thai monks. This inspired great faith in Chiang Mai, and the king desired to have Sri Lankan monks as the center of Buddhism in the city. He therefore sent officials to request five Sri Lankan monks from King Ramkhamhaeng the Great. Upon receiving the five Sri Lankan monks, led by the Venerable Maha Kassapa, the king hesitated, unsure of where to reside them.”
This got me wondering if this was the same Mahākassapa from these historic events in Sri Lanka.
The Lanna king, King Mangrai, lived from 1238 to either 1311 or 1317 (depending on which source is consulted). The famous Sri Lankan Mahākassapa was an adult during the reign of King Parākramabāhu I, who lived from 1123–1186, and reigned from 1153, until his death in 1186. Therefore it seems impossible that this Sri Lankan Mahākassapa is the same one as the Mahākassapa of Mahā-Parakkamabāhu-Katikāvata fame. Nevertheless, without those monastic reforms enacted by Parakkamabāhu the Great—roughly a century and a quarter earlier—this event likely never would have taken place; clearly, the fame and the renown of good Sri Lankan monks spread after that.
R