have long come here and the surrounding islands to buy the conch shells that are harvested in the warm shallow waters in the Gulf., During the Buddha’s eighth week at Bodh Gaya as he sat in the shade of the Rajayatana tree he was approached by the merchants Tapussa and Bhallika. These two men were the leaders of a large caravan that was passing through Magadha. They offered him some food, listened as he explained the Dhamma and then took the two Refuges (there was no sangha at that time) thus becoming the first Buddhists., Tantirimalai is a collection of low rounded hills of naked rock that rise above the utterly flat countryside. It was on or near the highway that led from Anuradhapura to Mannar, ancient Sri Lanka’s main port, and may have been one of the stopping places on the highway.