Chapter 8 - King Dutthagamani of Sinhala (Sri-Lanka) (101 B.C.–77 B.C.)

Dutthagamani, the King of Sinhala (101 B.C -77 B.C), is remembered as a national hero for temporarily ending the domination of the Indian Tamil Hindus over the Sinhalese, most of whom were Buddhists. He is renowned for overthrowing Elara, the usurping Tamil prince from the Chola kingdom. Dutthagamani expanded and beautified the city of Anuradhapura and projected the power of his native Rajarata region across the island of Sinhala. Due to his significance as one of the most potent symbols of Sinhalese historical power, Dutthagamani’s story is swathed in myth and legend. However, many aspects of the accounts of his life have been verified by contemporary inscriptions, and the basic account of his life is generally accepted as accurate. The Mahavamsa constitutes the major source of Dutthagamani’s ancestry and reign. He is described as being descended from the ancient royal family of Rojrata. At the time of his birth, Dutthagamani’s father Kakavanna was the king of Rohana, a small kingdom in South East Sinhala outside the orbit of influence of Rajarata in the North. King Kakavanna is portrayed in the Mahavamsa as a devout Buddhist.

There are various myths about King Kakavanna One such myth says that during the time of “Food feeding” ceremony, King Kakavanna Tissa took a little rice from the plates of every monk and put it into the plates of his two sons, Prince Gamani Abhaya and Saddha Tissa. He asked them to take a mouthful each with a vow to swear to remain respectful to the Buddha Sasana and forbade them to insult their clan deities (monks). Knowing the immediacy of their father’s advice, the two princes are given the food by the father. Then the king gave two spoonfuls of food in the hands of his princes and asked them to swear by a vow that there shall be no quarrel between the two brothers. Considering this to be nectar, the two brothers ate it. The king gave another two spoonfuls (mouthfuls) of rice in the hands of his sons and told them to swear in the presence of the monastic order that they shall never wage wars against the neighbouring Tamilians. Soon after the third vow, rice from the hands of prince Saddha Tissa fell down and prince Gamani threw rice on the floor. Then he got up and went to his bed. He lay down there with his half-stretched hands and feet.

Queen Vihar Mahadevi began to search her son and went to the prince’s bed chamber. She tried to pacify Prince Gamani and said, “My dear son, why don.t you lie on the bed fully stretching your hands and feet?. The prince replied, “Mother, there are beyond Ganga river (Sinhala Ganga) Tamilians and there is a frozen sea here” Where shall I sleep with legs and hands fully stretched?. This very prince who had slept on bed with his hands and legs half stretched became famous in Sinhalese history by the name of Dutthagamani. In course of time, he became a national hero of the Island country of Sinhala”

The battle of Vijithapura was a decisive and major battle in the campaign carried out by Sinhalese King Dutthagamani against the invading South Indian King Elara. The battle is documented in detail in the ancient chronicles on the country. However, they only provide the view point of Dutthagamani’s and his army, and details are source on Elara’s side. After launching a campaign to regain the country from Elara, Dutthagamani captured a number of his strongholds before coming to the fortified city of Vijithapura. A four month seize ensued, followed by a large assault where Dutthagamani’s champions and the royal elephant played a vital role. The chronicles focus a lot on his ten champions, and describe vividly some unusual “tests” that Dutthagamani carried out to find out their skills.

The battle ended in victory for Dutthagamani’s forces and weakened Elara’s army considerably. Ultimately the battle led to the defeat and death of Elara. The exact location of Vijithapura is unknown, but historians have made some speculations on this. The battle is still regarded by Sri-Lankans as a legendary event in the history of the island.

With the entry of Vijay Kumara into Sinhala Island, there were 14 kings in Srilanka. Among them, Dutthagamani was the 14th ruler. There is no doubt that amidst all earlier kings of Sinhala country, Gamani was the greatest and worth the name of “Lankeshvar”. Before Maharaja (Great King) Dutthagamani, and much earlier, prince Vijaybahu, accompanied by his friends, came from North India to Sinhala Island and settled down there. He declared himself as a ruler of entire ancient island, According to a scholar^[1], “Dutthagamani, the son of Kakavanna Tissa of Rohana defeated and killed Elara in battle” He thus became the ruler of the island and established the sovereignty of the Sinhalese rulers. He reigned for twenty-four years. He gave a fresh impetus to Buddhism and advancement of Buddhism became his principal objective in life. He built several sacred edifices like the Maricavatti, Mahathupa and Lohapasada..

The Mahavamsa is an epic poem written in Pali language. In relates the history of Sinhala from the legendary beginning up to the reign of Mahasana of Anuradhapura. Covering the period between the arrival of Prince Vijaya Kumar from India and his reign. It was composed by a Buddhist bikkhu at the Mahavihara temple in Anuradhapura. According to Mahavamsa (treatise), the grandmother of Vijay Kumar was Princess Suppadevi who hailed from Bengal. Due to sex craze, she ran away with some merchants and accompanied them. But due to fear of lions, the merchants fled leaving the princess there in the forests of Utkal provinces. Seeing the princess, the lion began licking her with love. There in the jungle in one of the caves, the princess gave birth to babies who were born out of love with the king of the forest (lion). One of the babies was named Sinhabahu and the other was named Sinhasivali. In course of time Sinhabahu became the king of Utkal country. Later on he married his sister Sinhasivali. Vijayabahu was a son of this brother-sister marital relation. Lanka Dvip (Lanka Island) is so named Sinhala Dvip after prince Sinhabahu. Even the tribes residing there derived the named Sinhala and the language was the country too was named.Sinhalese..

The brave prince Vijay Kumar set his feet on Sinhala island after the Parinibbana (Death) of the Lord Buddha at Kusinara. It is said that the prince and his friends were very rude in their behaviour. To honour the mood of the subject, the king drove the prince out of Utkal country. He was branded as a robber and trouble-shooter for the people. Mahavamsa and other scriptures also support this contention. According to the narration of the epic poem Mahavamsa, the prince and his friends were vicious and vile men and doers of evil deeds. Under the pressure and influence of the subjects, the ministers^[2] advised the king to kill his son. But modern historians and scholars have a new approach towards prince Vijay Kumar. They opine that Vijay Kumar was, no doubt, against his father and his council of ministers. He was one of the revolutionary social reformers of ancient Sinhala. He was greatly influenced by the teachings and philosophy of Lord Buddha. He was against Bramhinical (Vedic) social order based on caste system. Quite evidently, the Brahmins of the country were not prepared to tolerate this. That was why they planned to remove him from their path. That was why they advised King Sinhabahu to do away with the life of Vijay Kumar. When Vijay Kumar became fully aware of the sinister plan of his father, the council of ministers of his father and the Brahmins of the country, he and his friend had to go into self-exile.

According to legends, he and several hundred of his followers came to Sinhala to lead their banished life there. When Vijay’s ship reached Sinhala Island, Gautama Buddha breathed his last in northern India. On reaching Sinhala Island, Vijay Kumar subdued the aborigine native tribes. With the help of demon princess Kuveni, Vijay Kumar became the king of Sinhala Island (483-446 B.C). But it was not a very easy task for Vijay Kumar to bring the demon princess Kuveni under his control. At first, Kuveni tried to devour him, but Vijay’s magical thread protected him. Being unable to kill Vijay Kumar, Kuveni hurled his follower into a chasm. She did the same thing to all the 700 followers. Meanwhile, Vijay came to Kuveni’s place looking for his men. Vijay overpowered her and forced her to free his followers. Kuveni asked Vijay to spare her life, and in return swore loyalty to him. She brought for Vijay and his followers, food and goods from trhe ships of the traders whom she had devoured earlier. Vijay took Kuveni as his consort.

As Vijay and Kuveni were sleeping, he woke up to sounds of music. Singing Kuveni informed him that the island was home to demons (Yakkhas), who would kill her for giving shelter for giving shelters to Vijay and his followers. She explained that the noise was because of wedding festivities in the city of Srisavatthu. With the help of Kuveni, Vijay Kumar defeated the demon tribes. As such he became the first king of that island country. Around this time (483 B.C) Anuraddhapura town was founded. According to a well-known legend, Vijay had no child of his own. He adopted his Panduvasudeva^[3] (444-414 B.C) from India and even handed over the reins of power to him. Prince Panduvasudeva was the king of Sinhala from 504 B.C to 474 B.C. He was the first monarch of the kingdom of Sinhala, succeeding Upatissa who reigned as regent. Panduvasudeva had ten sons and a daughter. After his reign, his eldest son prince Abhaya (414 B.C.–394 B.C) came to throne. In 377 B.C., Abhaya’s nephew prince Pandukabhaya became the king of Sinhala country with his own efforts. He was the first king who transformed Anuradhapura village into a capital town. According to many historians and philosophers, he was the first truly Sri-Lankan king since the Vijayan invasion. He was the king who ended the conflict between the Sinhala clan and the local community, reorganizing the population of the island country. He constructed hermitages, houses for the poor, cemeteries and irrigation tanks. He brought a large portion of the country under the control of the Anuradhapura Kingdom. The chronicle Mahavamsa described his reign with much praise. He is described both as a warrior king and a devout Buddhist. After unifying the country, he helped establish Buddhism on a firm and secure base, and built several monasteries and shrines. His life-story is wrapped in myth and legend.

After this, Pandukabhaya’s son Prince Mutsiv (306 B.C) occupied his father’s seat. He built a large park named Mahameghavan in Anuradhapura and it is the only historical record of his accomplishment. His prolonged rule was an unbroken peaceful era of the island country. He had ten sons and the eldest of them Devanampriya Tissa (247 B.C -207 B.C) became the king of Sinhala country. The regime of King Devanampriya Tissa is considered very important in the history of the island. It was notable for the arrival of Buddhism in Sinhala under the aegis of the Mouryan Emperor Ashoka. The Primary source for the history of his reign is the Mahavamsa, which, in turn, is based on the more ancient Dipavamsa. Mahinda (sanskrit Mahendra), the first-born son of Emperor Ashoka, came to Sinhala for preaching Buddhism. During this period, Sinhalese people accepted a new civilisation, a new way of life and a progressive and a revolutionary religion like Buddhism.

Even though Emperor Ashoka and King Tissa had not seen each other, there was a close bond of friendship between them. Dhammashoka had sent some items of the royal provisions for his Lankeswar friends coronation, while King Tissa, pre-fixed the title.Devanampriya. before his Sinhalese name Tissa in order to make the loving memory of the emperor. King Devanampriya Tissa along with thousands of people had embraced the new religion Buddhism in the presence of Mahamahind, the son of Ashoka. This was the foundation of Buddhism in Sinhala and it has been growing in the island country since then. The Sinhalese king dedicated the Mahameghavan Park, built by his father, to the monastic order Sthavir (elder) Ven. Mahinda ordained many Sinhalese youth as novitiate monks. It is said that even the woman of the royal family and royal harem, too, were eager to get ordained as nuns. For this purpose, Ven. Mahinda’s sister nun Sanghamitra was invited from India. She brought, along with her, a branch of Bodhi tree from Buddha Gaya. The sacred sapling was planted in the Mahameghavan Park. The holy tree stands in the name of Shri Mahabodhi in Anuradhapura even today. This tree is the oldest living tree on planet earth.

After Devanampriya Tissa, his brother Uttiya (207 B.C -197 B.C) became the king of Sinhala island. Then from 197 B.C to 187 B.C, his next brother Mahasiv came to power in Sinhala. Still later from 187 B.C to 177 B.C King Sur Tissa ruled the island country. He was the younger son of Pandukabhaya and the brother of Mutsiv. King Sur Tissa was defeated and killed in battle by two Tamil invaders Sena and Guttika. This period witnessed, for the first time, an aggression on Sinhala Island from the neighbouring South India. Sena and Guttika usurped the Sinhalese throne and became the joint rulers of Anuradhapura. It was the first historically reported account of Tamil rule in Sinhala. They took over the capital Anuradhapura and ruled the country from 177 B.C to 155 B.C. Sena and Guttika were originally two traders who came to Sinhala to sell horses. They, however, killed the king of Anuradhapura and ruled the kingdom for a fairly long time. In 155 B.C, a Sinhalese king named Asel (155 B.C -145 B.C) defeated them and re-established the kingdom as a Sinhalese monarchy. He recaptured the capital of his ancestors from the hands of the enemy. Later on in 145 B.C, Chola prince Elara attacked Anuradhapura for the second time. Elara and his naval forces came through the mouth of Mahaveli River by sea-route. He conquered Anuradhapura and took king Asel as a captive. He ruled Sinhala Island for 44 years (145 B.C - 101 B.C) though he was a Hindu king, he was respectful towards the Buddha Dharma.

Kakavanna Tissa was a prince of the Rohana province in Sinhala. He accepted the supremacy of Elara. He was a prince from Vijay royal dynasty. He was a grandson of Yathala Tissa whose capital was in Kalani. Yathala Tissa’s father Mahanaga was younger brother of Devanampriya Tissa. Mahanaga had established himself in Rohana provincial state^[4]. His capital was at Mahagama, situated to the east of Humbantot. His wife was Vihar Mahadevi, a brave heroine. She was a daughter of Tissa, the King of Kalyani. Her father Tissa murdered a monk^[5]. It was believed that there arose a cyclone in the sea in consequence of such a heinous crime. The country faced a grave danger due to this cyclone. In order to calm down this terrible seacyclone, the king boarded his maiden princess into a boat, stuck the label “Royal Princess” on the boat and allowed the boat to sail. But the prince Kakavanna Tissa saved the princess and married her.

Queen Vihar Mahadevi was the Jijabai of the Sinhala Island. She helped her son Dutthagamani to fight against Tamil invaders in the same manner as Jijabai enabled King Shivaji to fight against the aggression of the Muslims. She used to oppose her husband with regard to battles and took a partisan attitude towards her son. It was mother’s love and inspiration which made Dutthagamani Kumar a national hero of Sri-Lanka. Queen Vihar Mahadevi was, no doubt, a brave mother, but she was equally trustworthy towards the Buddha Sasana. Vihar Mahadevi had a desire of pregnancy when she was carrying Gamani Kumar in her womb. Her desire was “she would collect honey from a comb hung from the height of three^[6] and half feet. Then she would distribute the honey to twelve monks and keep remaining honey under a pillow, and then sleep on a beautiful bed on the right side, and then eat it with happiness. She may lick the bloodsmeared edges of the sword that may be used by the bravest of the brave warrior of King Elara standing on the head of that warrior and she may wear a garland of lotus flowers from Anuradhapura which may not go pale and dry”. When the queen expressed her desire to the king, the king consulted astrologers.^[7] An astrologer forecast that a prince, to be born to Vihar Mahadevi would defeat Tamil and establish a state which would bring bright days to the Buddha Sasana. The king made a public announcement “one who will show this kind of honey comb will be suitably rewarded with wealth”.

On the Coast of Gotha Sea, a honey comb was found to gather on a 3½ meter sized reversed boat that lay there. The town-dwellers brought this matter to the notice of the king. He escorted the queen there and arranged her stay in a beautiful tent. He fed her the honey of this comb as per her desire for pregnancy. With regard to the fulfillment of her remaining desires, the king appointed a brave warrior named Velusuman. He went to Anuradhapura and became friendly with King Elara’s faithful horse-keeper (stable keeper) and accepted a permanent job there. Gradually he gained his confidence. One day, early in the morning, he plucked lotus flowers and kept the sword on the bank of Kadamba River. He, then, took the horse, mounted on it with lotus flowers and the sword. King Elara heard of this incident and deputed his bravest warrior. Elara’s great warrior mounted on another favourable horse chasing the brave warrior of King Kakavanna Tissa. After some time, Velusuman hid himself in a thick forest. He kept his sword ready to behead the chasing horseman. The brave Tamil warrior coming on horse-back was unmindful of a spread-up sword which he held fast by mounting on horse-back. Thus the enemy got easily beheaded. Sinhala warrior took two horses and the head of a warrior and reached Mahagama. The queen fulfilled her desire for pregnancy to her satisfaction. Hence the king honoured^[8] Velusuman appropriately.

The birth of Gamani Kumar is swathed in myth and legend. It is said that seven boats full of diamond came from different places with pious feelings for a royal child on the day Gamani Kumar was born. By the power of purity of Prince Gamani, a she elephant^[9] of Chandat species delivered a baby in the forest. Seeing the elephant calf in the forest, a fisher-man named Kundul came there and reported the matter to the King. The king sent a messenger to the forest and arranged to capture the elephant calf. He got it tamed in the royal elephant stable. Since fisher-man named Kundul had first seen it, the king named the elephant calf Kundul.^[10] This elephant calf, nurtured in the royal elephant stable, grew into a strong war elephant which helped Gamani. The king named the prince Gamani Abhaya by joining together the word Mahagama (leadership of Mahagama) with a word from his father’s name.

As with his son Gamani Kumar, King Kakavanna’s Tissa’s figure is mostly swathed in myth and legend. The main source of information on his life in Mahavamsa, the historical poem about the kings of Srilanka. It is learnt from Mahavamsa, that besides Vihar Mahadevi, King Kakavanna had one more queen. A son from her named Deerghabhay was sent by the king to protect the Kuchakut(ghat) on the river. In order to prevent the Dravidians, the king built check-posts all over the river^[11] ghat.

Mahavamsa, writers have described King Kakavanna Tissa as a coward and his policies^[12] as that of traitors. This may be true to a certain extent, because a small ruler like Kakavanna was not capable of fighting with a powerful king like Elara. He knew his strength. He made full preparations of future war. He was quite confident that his brake son Gamani would, certainly, fight with the Dravidians, as foretold by the astrologers.

When prince Gamani was twelve years old, his father chose ten powerful and brave warriors. In addition to this, entrusted Kundul elephant to Gamani Kumar, because this elephant was a combination of strength, speed, alertness, vigour, beauty etc. The ten great warriors at the service of prince Gamani were:. Nandimitra, Surnimal, Mahasone, Gothambar, their putta Abhaya, Bharan, Velusuman, khanjaev, Fussadev and Labhiyevasabha. A detailed description to the effect as to how the king procured these ten brave warriors is available in Mahavamsa. The review of the characters of these ten warriors reveals to us that they were neither wonderful member of their respective families nor were they beloved of their brothers. We gather various episodes about these ten warriors in Mahavamsa. They are as follows:.

(1) Nandimitra was a nephew of a friend of the general of King Elara. It is said that his anus was covered with his testicles. His physical strength was equal to that of ten elephants. Later on he began to live with his maternal uncle in the city. According to Mahavamsa, he had no regards for stupas and harassed Dravidians. In a later period, he went to Gamani on the advice of his mother. Prince Gamani welcomed Nandimitra and kept him with him.

(2) Surnimal was the seventh son of the Sangha Kalapati of Kandakvittik village in Kothiwal district. He possessed the strength of ten elephants. His brothers preferred him to go away from house. His parents were, of course, not in favour of his leaving the house. He was extremely disgusted with his brothers. He left his paternal house and joined prince Gamani.

(3) Sone Kulambarik^[13] Vannik was the eighth son of Tissa, a resident of Hundervapi village. It is stated in Mahavamsa that he was believed to have uprooted a palm tree to know of the wonderful feat of the boy. He called the boy and entrusted him with prince Gamani. He too possessed the strength of ten elephants.

(4) Gotthaka was e youngest among six brothers. As he was a dwarf, his elder brothers made mockery of him. He was a son of Mahanaga, a resident of Nitthal-vitthal village in Giri block. On one occasion, his brothers cut the trees of a forest to get the land prepared for cultivation. They sought to grow black gram in that land. They kept Gotthika’s share of the forest uncleaned. They did not cut the trees of that portion of the forest. Gotthika came to know this and went to the forest. Within no time, he uprooted timber trees and levelled the land. It was for this reason he was named^[14] Gotthavimber. King Kakavanna called him and sent him to prince Gamani.

(5) Gotthakabhaya was a son of a householder Rohan, a resident of Kitti village near Kot Mountain. There was a rock which even five to six persons could not lift. But he used to throw in away like a playball. For the use of this sixteen-year-old boy his father had prepared a hammer shield which was a few feet long and 38 fingers in diameter. With the help of this hammer shield, he used to fell down coconut and palm trees. He became a warrior by virtue of his extra-ordinary physical stamina and vigour. His father was a special devotee of Mahasumma Sthavir. He entrusted his son to prince Gamani and he himself became a monk. In his monk life he was named Sthavir Dutta Abhaya.

(6) Bharan’s father^[15] used to stay in Kappakandar village. At the age of sixteen, he went to a forest and easily killed deer, bears and wild cows. Due to this feat Bharat became a prominent warrior. Later on he joined the band of Gamani’s warriors.

(7) Vasabha was born to a family of a clan of the then Sinhala. He spent his childhood in a village called Kutumbuyangam. This village (216) was situated in a block named Giri. The officers^[16] of the block patronised him in various ways. Giribhojak Suman kept a son of Vasabha Mitra in their house. He was given a saindhav horse seeing the brave acts of the childhood, he was sent to the king.

(8) Khanjdev was the last powerful son of Abhaya, a resident of Mahisdonak village near the Nakul Mountains. He was a little lame. He caught many wild buffaloes who he accompanied the villagers on their hunting expeditions. He was so strong that he caught the legs of these wild buffaloes and whirled each of them around and smashed them after their bones got crushed. After knowing this feat of bravery, the king sent him to Gamani Kumar so that he may join the band of brave warriors under his leadership.

(9) Father of Phussadev^[17] used to stay in a village near the mountain of Utpal-Chital. Like all other boys of the village he went to a Buddha Vihara. He blew up a conch shell that was hung on the Bodhi-tree. At the time of lighting, the sounds of that conch shell became a great word. All boys around that place ran away. But Phussadev’s father was an archer. His expertise in the art of archery became known to all the people in the country. It was due to his great archery skill and bravery, they asked him to give his son Phussadev to the royal archery force. Thus Phussadev joined the army of Prince Gamani.

(10) Labhiyavasabh was the member of a potter’s family. This family used to reside in Vihar Vapisi village near Tuladhar Mountain. He was name so because of his royal charm and beauty. He, too, joined the warrior force of prince Gamani by virtue of his superb bravery.

We learnt from the above strange stories of ten warriors that King Kakavanna made use of them to train his son in the arts and skills of warfare in the Tissa company of exceptionally brave men of physical prowess. Prince Gamani acquired a complete art and skill in contemporary warfare at the age of only sixteen. Likewise, he mobilised a strong armed forces and trained them thoroughly.

The Sinhala forces were guarding their motherland day night on border areas near Mahaveli River at Dighavapisi. River Mahaveli divided the Sinhala country and Dravidian-occupied areas. King Kakavanna Tissa desired that there should be no quarrel and fighting between the people of his country and the Dravidians. In order to prevent any possible war, he deputed his war-like prince Gamani to Dighavapi for keeping vigil on the border areas. Finding suitable opportunity, Dravidians used to sneak into Sinhala country through the rivulets and ravines of Mahaveli River. Even today, many South Indians get into Shri-Lanka after crossing the sea.

King Elara is described in the Mahavashtnsa as being a Tamila of noble descent from the Chola country. Little is known about his early life. Elara is a peculiar figure in the history of Sinhala. Though he was an invader, he is often regarded as one of Sinhala’s great rulers. King Elara had to be kept contended by giving either presents or taxes. Prince Gamani did not approve of this cess^[18] and taxes. He tried to obtain permission from his father to wage a war against Elara. But his father thought that Gamani was not yet capable of fighting in a war. He asked Gamani to keep quiet for this time being. He thought that the time was not yet opportune for his son. But prince Gamani’s blood was boiling to fight against the enemies. He sent a woman’s garment as present to his father to make him understand that keeping quiet at palace was nothing but wearing garments and ornaments of women. The king got very angry with his son at his defying attitude. He ordered that prince Gamani should be arrested with the help of golden sword. Queen Vihar Mahadevi got frightened when he came to know the royal order. She immediately went her son and gave him some wealth. She advised her son run away in the darkness of night and hide himself somewhere to escape arrest by the royal force. The prince was beginning to be called Prince Dutthagamani for his act of daring wickedness.

Around this time King Kakavanna Tissa had started the work of building Mahanggal Stupa. On completion of the stupa, the king invited a meeting of monastic order. After worshipping the stupa, the king called Gamani’s warriors in the presence of monastic order and asked them to take a vow,. “We shall not take part in a battle between two brothers”. They took the above pledge.

Due to his significance as one of the most potent symbols of Sinhalese historical power, Dutthagamani’s story is swathed in myth and legend. However, many aspects of the accounts of his life have been verified by contemporary inscriptions and the basic account of his life is generally accepted as accurate. The Mahavamsa, describes how as a youth he mocked his father Kakavanna Tissa for refusing to wage war against the powerful invading Eara, the Chola King of Anuradhapura who usurped the throne by killing the native kings. The prince mocked his father for refusing to wage war against such an enemy. The resulting fury of the king caused many of his friends to flee to Malaya region. The prince himself being a dubbed Dutthagamani meaning “disobedient” fled away to that region. There in the valley at Kotamalle Mountain he began to live with a peasant’s family in the guise of a farmer. Mahavamsa, chronology is silent about Prince (219) Gamani’s exile in Malaya. He seems to have lived in the guise of a farmer for a very short period. His father King Kakavanna Tissa is said to have passed away within a short span of time after he had left his country. There is no historical record of how the Sinhala prince had spent his time in exile. But various anecdotes about his life in exile have become the legends and folklores which form the heritage of Shrilanka.

Gamani Kumar started working and staying in a farmer’s family. The farmer had two daughters named Kaluetana and Ranyatana. As the head of the family, the farmer was very much pleased with the young man who had come uninvited. But all of a sudden, he wanted to get his eldest daughter married to the youth. Kaluetana, the eldest daughter refused to marry such an unknown youth who does not belong to their clan. But the youngest daughter was very eager to marry this young man who has taken shelter in his family. In fact, this girl fell in love with Gamani Kumar since he first met her. She began to take active interest in Gamani after his father had thought of getting his daughter married to this young man. Like any other farmer, Gamani used to work in the farm whole day and return to the farmer’s house in the evening.

One day, Ranyatana as usual brought the mid-day meal for Gamani in the farm. They sat under the shade of a tree. After the meal was over, Gamani was taking rest and thinking of his future life. Ranyatanna, the farmer’s daughter, was resting on the lap of her beloved. Gamani came back to the world of reality as soon as his daydream was over. He looked at the face of sleeping Ranyatana and lovingly placed his palm on her forehead. Ranyatana got frightened and woke up. She began staring at the prince with curiosity. Gamani was curious to know the cause of her wonder. She told him that she had a dream. On the request of Gamani, she narrated her dream to him. In her dream, “A young farmer is proclaimed a king by the people and is being taken in a procession on elephant. By his side Ranyatana herself was sitting as his queen”. As soon as the dream story was over, a sound of riding and hoofs of the horses was heard from bushes. Attention of both of them was drawn towards the sound. A horseman came in front of the prince and saluted him. He conveyed the message of the king’s death. The prince looked at the farmer’s daughter and told, “Your dream has become true. I am the dream king and you are my dream queen”. Gamani came to the farmer’s house and thanked him for providing work and shelter to him. Then he took leave of the farmer and started for his country. He along with Ranyatana reached Mahagama.

Soon after reaching Mahagama Gamani coronated himself as a king. His younger brother Saddha Tissa had come to the capital for father’s last rituals. After the last rites of the king, Saddha along with queen mother and Kundal elephant (royal tusker) returned to his provincial capital Dighavapi and stayed there. Gamani sent a message to Saddha Tissa saying that he should return the queen mother and Kundal elephant to Mahagama. But Prince Saddha Tissa allowed neither the mother queen nor Kundal to leave Dighavapi for Mahagama. This refusal on the part Saddha Tissa deepened hatred and animosity between two brothers. This incident brought them to the battle field. It is due to his foresight Kakavanna Tissa could anticipate this fight between the two brothers. He knew for certain that someday or other these two brothers would fight for worldly gains and supremacy. It was for his reason that he had taken a pledge from his general before his death. He made the army personnel commit that they should not interfere into the dispute between two princes, and should not take any partisan attitude. They should be given small contingents of armed forces to fight out for the crown.

The first day’s fight between the two brothers took place in the battle field of Chulanganiyapitthi^[19] suagunapitiye. First half day’s war went in favour of Prince Saddha Tissa. With the help of single and honest warrior companion Prince Gamani had to run away from the battle^[20] field. The next day he came to the battle field to fight with the renewed strength. It was a brave battle between the two brothers. On the second day also, Prince Gamani saw no ray of hope and throw down his female horse on his brother’s elephant’s cross. The elephant thought that due to the carelessness of a rider, a female horse had crossed and became furious. Shaking off the saddle of Saddha Tissa, the elephant came near a tree. In order to save himself, he climbed the tree. After this the elephant came to prince Gamani. The prince mounted the elephant and chased his brother who was trying to run away. In fear of his brother, Saddha Tissa took shelter in a Buddha Vihara. He went to the room of a Mahasthavir and hid under his bed. Dutthagamnini reached the Vihara immediately, and asked the Mahasthavir, “Where is Saddha Tissa?. The Mahasthavir of the Vihara replied, “O King! Tissa is not on the bed”. But Dutthagamani could understand that Tissa hid himself under the bed. He surrounded the Vihara from all sides. Saddha Tissa lay on the cot and covered himself with the monastic robes. He was being carried on a bed by the monks” Seeing his brother going under the cover of a monk’s dress, Prince Dutthagamani said, “Tissa, you are going over the head of our clan deities (monks)” I do not like to catch hold of the clan deities forcibly. Will you ever recite their qualities and memorise their blessings?^[21]. King Dutthagamani went back to Mahagama. Then he went to Dighavapi and brought the queen mother Vihar Mahadevi.

With the help of the monks of the Buddha Vihara, prince Saddha Tissa came out of the Vihara and went to Dighavapi stealthily. He confessed his guilt before Ven. Gotthaka Tissa Sthavir. He asked the monk to blame himself and wanted to beg pardon of his brother. The Sthavir accompanied by some other monks took Prince Saddha Tissa to Mahagama so that he might beg pardon of King Dutthagamani. Keeping the Prince in standing position on a ladder, Sthavir Ven. Gotthaka entered the royal palace. The king made all monks sit comfortably and then ordered for Yagu and other eatables. The Sthavir closed his bowl. When asked by the king, Ven. Gotthaka replied, “We have come along with Prince Saddha Tissa”. King Gamini promptly asked, “Where is that rebel thief?” Ven. Gotthaka Sthavir told the name of a place where Prince Tissa stood. Queen mother Vihar Mahadevi stood along with her son Saddha Tissa. The face of Tissa was covered. King Dutthagamani squarely blamed the monastic order for the fight between the two brothers. He said, “You have now understood our duty towards monks” Had you sent even a seven-year-old Shramnera (novice), our dispute would have stopped without any quarrel.. Ven. Gatthaka Sthavir admitted the fault of the monastic order and assured the king that the order would mind its mistake. The king said, “The purpose of your coming will now be fulfilled. Please have Yagu etc”. Then Dutthagamani called his brother and asked him to sit in the presence of the monastic order. They ate food from a single plate. He, then, sent Prince Saddha Tissa to Dighavapi and he himself got involved in a strategy of food grains production. This was a preparation before prewar departure.

Some time before his death King Kakavanna had captured a neighbouring provincial state of survival. The ruler of that state had to concede his sovereignty to Kakavanna. But when two brothers were busy fighting the war of succession, Dravid King Elara’s forces occupied Rohana region in the Valley of Mahaveli River, which was a border of Kakavanna’s territory. It was known later that Elara’s secret agents had a role in making two brothers fight between themselves.

A rock inscription^[22] of Kushalank and Betikola narrates two dynastic traditions of Rohana history. This inscription is originally in Bramhi script. According to this inscription, Rajabhay was a son of Governor Naga, and his son was Gamani Tissa. If we consider Governor Naga as governor Mahanaga, as is a prefix.Maha. is optional, we may recognise King Kakavanna Tissa as governor Rajabhay. Alohaya was the father of kakavanna. Gotthakabhaya was brother of Yattabhaya^[23] and not a son. Before translation into Pali, the inscription was originally in Sinhala language. Due to ignorance a word “But” would have been read for “brother” and a word “put” for.putra (son)..

According to Kushalakand inscription which comes under Mahavamsa chronology, Naga or Mahanaga was appointed as a governor. A cave inscription of Kalladeniya in Uva state narrates that the cave was dedicated to the monastic community. Thus governor Naga began to live in the state of Rohana by ignoring the supremacy of King of Anuradhapura. The ancient sources of material state that, “Naga and Mahanaga have one and the same meaning” During the reign of Devanampriya Tissa, Prince Mahanaga, his brother fled from Anuradhapura and founded a kingdom in Rohana with his capital at Mahagama. Even in Katadeimuhel inscriptions^[24] of Gotthakabhaya (Gotthaka King), he is called “Shasaka Abhaya”. Again in KushalanaKand inscription Abhaya is a synonymous word for.King.. Along with Kakavanna, Gamani Tissa is also mentioned likewise in Mahavamsa. A designation Gamani and its suffix “Tissa” might have been an imitation word for Kakavanna Tissa. In this inscription, Abhaya is used for Gotthakabhaya and for his son the word.Kakavanna. has been used. No separate name is given here. In Katadeimuhel inscription, the designation “Aay” is used for “Kakavanna”. In this manner, the designation like “Aay”, “Raj” and Gamani have been used in the inscription. He is never called a Maharaja as he is called in the Mihihtale inscription. A younger brother of Devanampriya Tissa is mentioned as “Uttiya” We learn from the important events in his time that he never ruled under the sovereignty and supremacy of any power. He did not use the word.Maharaja. for the very reason of absence of some monastic rituals and ceremony. But in the inscriptions and literature engraved^[25] during 3rd and 4th century, King Yattal Tissa, Gotthakabhaya and Kakavanna Tissa are deserved as.Maharaja..

We have noticed earlier that king Dutthagamani’s ten generals were exceptionally brave warriors of whom Nandimitra was the chief. Before waging a war the king made alternative provision of food stock in Dighavapi region. The war that Dutthagamani sought to wage was not meant for the expansion of his kingdom or for any personal gain, but it was meant for the protection of Buddhism. The king made it very clear very before his soldiers that he was even staking his life for the sake of the future of the people. It was neither for any material gain nor for the increase in his royal title and strength. It was not even for the provision of his sons. His sole aim was to enhance the pride and prestige of the Buddha Sasana. He considered Buddhism more valuable than his own life and that was why he was involved in a war. King Dutthagamani and his advisors knew it very well that any person can sacrifice his life not for any narrow personal interest, but for the sake of some sacred and virtuous cause. From this point of view, Gamani’s war can be called a crusade^[26] (religious war).

According to the account of Mahavamsa, King Dutthagamani arrived at Tissa Mahagama. He wrapped the Buddha’s reliefs on his forehead and urged the monastic order to accompany him to the battle field along with five hundred monks to perform prayers. The king said “The appearance of monks would prove auspicious for the protection of the soldiers and the country”. Dutthagamani marched with chariots, troops and beasts for riders and prayed for the accompaniment of the monastic order once again. The order of monks admitted their fault in getting involved in the war of succession between the two brothers. Responding to the earnest cal of the king, five hundred monks accompanied him. The queen-mother Vihar Mahadevi who had nurtured her son in Aryan tradition, volunteered to accompany her son to the battle field. This incident helped to boost the morale of the Sinhalese soldiers.

The force of Gamani left Mahagama for Mahiyangan. It marched from the highway towards the north. On way to Mahiyangan,^[27] the Sinhalese forces rested at the places like Kuluwal, Ehal, Geekit, Gutthal, Girigam, Niyamulla, Maingan, Uyantot and Kasotpitil. The names of these resting places are found in the 13th and 14th century literature. But these names have been changed to some extent. Some place-names are identifiable even today. Out of these names only the name of Gutthal is found with a little change. “Wut” is perhaps the changed form “Gutthal” Girigum may perhaps be the modern Yundagnava^[28].

This first direct fight of Gamani’s forces with the enemy forces took place at Mahiyangan. It is considered to be one of the most sacred Buddhist shrines in Sri-Lanka. Its maritime importance was no less than at that time. Mahiyangan was not very far away from Mahaveli river Dravidians had a fort there and the commander of that fort was Cehatra. After defeating the king, Dutthagamani stayed there for some time. During that period time, King Dutthagamani renovated and extended the Stupa of Mahiyangan.

The second battle field was towards the north at.Ambateerth. (Ambutu) which was an exceptionally strong fort^[29]. It was protected from all sides. It was guarded by a river on one side and the other sides were protected by canals which originated from the same river. Gamani’s armed forces stormed this well-protected for four months but the strength of his opponents did not deplete. Ultimately, Gamani started using women to weaken the hold of the Dravidians. It is said that Queen-mother Vihar Mahadevi herself was present when the decision for this novel war strategy was adopted. Quite naturally, it may be presumed that she approved of this vital decision. According to the critic of Mahavamsa, King Dutthagamani is believed to have sent the proposal of his mother’s marriage with a Dravidian general. After this, the powerful bastion which was in the hands of seven Dravidian brothers was brought under control. This fort was known as the Satvaikote (fort of seven brothers). Inside this well-constructed fort a lot of wealth was found and it was distributed among the soldiers who took part in that battle.

Dutthagamani’s army marched ahead towards the north from the right bank of the river Mahaveli. In Mahavamsa, we get the names of the places where the forces of Dutthagamani were obstructed or a battle had to be fought. The names of those places are as follows: Antarsobh (Aturob), Dona (Dergama), Halkol, Balisobha, Poviatta, Dighabhayagalla, Kutech Teertha (Kasatod), Kotnagar, Vahitta, Gamani, Kunbhagama. Nandigama, Khangama, Tamba (Tambu Nagan), Unam and Jambu (dammur). Most of the forts in these places were known by the names of their general. At present the location of Kutech Teertha only is known for certain. This fort was at Mahanaga, a ghat on the Mahaveli River near Pollannaruv^[30]. Polvatta is perhaps the present Foll attavile which lies between Mahiyangan and Pollannaruv.

After crossing the river, Dutthagamani’s forces marched ahead with vigour and valour. At last they reached Vijitpur. The soldiers of Gamani tried their utmost to break the fort. On the south gate, there was Kundal (elephant), Nandimitra and Surnimal. There were Mahasona Gottha and Sthavirputra on three other gates. Kundal knet down and reached up to the gates by breaking the structure made of stones, lime and bricks.

Age-keeping forces began throwing hot iron balls from inside. Kundal, the elephant was hit on the bank by a burning iron ball. Terrible pain made elephant restless and it ran into war for relief. Gothambar could not understand the cause of such erratic behaviour on the part of the elephant. He shouted, “Ye elephant, this is not the time of your drinking. Go back and break the Iron Gate”. With great effort the elephant rose from the muddy water and came to the ground. A veterinary doctor applied some medicine. Then Dutthagamani himself spoke to him, “Tat (Kundal) I shall offer you the kingdom of Lankadvip”. In this way he pacified the elephant Mahavamsa narrates, “The entire body of this elephant was covered with seven layered armour of buffalo leather”. After this, he ran with a rocket speed towards the gate and smashed it by breaking all hurdles. He used his tusks to break the door blades and used legs to smash the door frames. The Sinhalese forces entered the fort. The king was cleaning off the undesirable elements for four^[31] months.

After this victory, he could win over Givilak fort very easily. But the fort of Mahetangar was quite difficult one. King Dutthagamani’s forces continued to attack this fort for four months but could not succeed. The king left the path of war and tried some other means. This was also a battle of tricks (Mantra Udha) by use of which the Sinhalese forces occupied the fort. King Dutthagamani went on capturing fort after fort by hook or by crook. His last and most difficult battle was in Anuradhapura. He fought this crucial battle with king Elara. King Dutthagamani’s forces reached Anuradhapura to fight with the Dravidian King and put up his tents near the Kash Mountain. The battle of Anuradhapura was a decisive and major battle in the campaign carried out by Sinhalese King Dutthagamani against the invading Dravidian King Elara. The battle is documented in detail in the ancient chronicles of the country. However, these chronicles provide only the view point of Dutthagamani and his army, but details on Elara’s side are scarce.

King Dutthagamani did not make haste in attacking Anuradhapura. He allowed sufficient time to his opponent to make preparations for war. He was confident enough that sooner or later Anuradhapura would be his capital. The ancient capital Anurdhapura was only 18 miles away from the place where the tents had been put up in the south-east direction. King Dutthagamani stayed there for quite some time. He excavated a lake around the tents and celebrated a water sport. He did not want to attack he enemies on his own accord. By that time, he had own many forts by attacking his opponents. It was as if he was them expecting attack from the enemy^[32] side. Another reason for this prolonged stay in the tents might have been the fact that the forces of Dutthagamani needed some rest after continued warfare for a long time. He had, by that time, acquired vast and desired amount of land under his command. He began to induct new Sinhalese soldiers in his army.

Elara was a member of the Tamil Chola dynasty. He captured the throne of Anuradhapura and became the ruler of that kingdom. He, too, was waiting for attack from King Dutthagamani. He knew for certain that his fresh and powerful member of army would, in no time, destroy the fatigued forces of King Dutthagamani. The powerful Dravidian forces did not appear in the battle field until then. This was a decisive battle between two forces. At last, huge number of soldiers of the army of Elara moved towards Kash Mountain. Due to this movement of enemy forces, Dutthagamani’s forces got a natural advantage of fighting the battle in a favourable battle-ground. In the war tactics of ancient India and Sinhala, the aggressor’s main target was to search out and get hold of the leaders (generals) on enemy forces on each side. They intended either to take them as captive or to kill them. The opponents, too, followed the same tactics. The forces of both sides were trying to protect the life and honour of their respective leaders (Senapatis/ Nayakes). That was why King Dutthagamani consulted his queenmother and built thirty two battle field riddles (war-tricks). In the battle-field maze, he had put his own statues with attendants holding umbrella over head and mounted them on each war elephant, and himself was in the inner-most war-maze. All those statues were meant to befool and deceive the enemy forces. Dighajantu, the general of King Elara, broke into the first battle-maze of the sinhalese forces, destroyed and ransacked king Dutthagamani’s bust and moved to search for the real king. No doubt, the sinhalese forces suffered badly in the first battle-maze. Breaking into battle-maze after battle-maze in the same manner, Dighajantu, the Dravidian general, reach towards the innermost battle-maze where King Dutthagamani was staying. Sinhalese general Surnimal was ready there to protect his master. Seeing Dighajantu going fast towards his king, general Surnimal shouted his name loudly. Dighajantu gave a sword hit on Surnimal. In protection he moved his shield forward but he removed his fist from the shield handle and kept the shield hanging. Hitting on an empty and broken shield, the Dravidian general lost his balance and fell on the ground. Then General Surnimal gave a powerful hit on Dighajantu and it was fatal enough to end his life. Phussadev blew up war conch-shell. Witnessing the end of their general, Dravidian soldiers ran amok here^[33] and there. Sinhalese forces chased them from the battle-field. Defeated enemy forces suffered^[34] badly. It is said that the blood of Dravidian soldiers killed in this battle made the neighbouring lake water red. It was due to this defeat and retreat that the name of the battle-filed “Vapi”^[35] became.Kulatyavapi..

The Mahavamsa contains a fairly detailed account of siege and battles that took place during the conflict between King Elara and King Dutthagamani. The climactic battle is said to have occurred as Dutthagamani drew close to Anuradhapura. On the night before both King Elara and King Dutthagamani are said to have conferred with their counsellors. The next day both kings rode forward on war elephants. King Elara who was with his special royal forces mounted on his war elephant named Mahaparbat and began to run away. His forces also stood defeated. Hence the Sinhalese generals were to kill King Elara before taking him to Anuradhapura. But King Dutthagamani prevented them from doing this act. Dutthagamani declared in a confident voice, “None shall kill Elara but myself”. He was determined to fight with his Dravidian counterpart. King Dutthagamani mounted on his war elephant Kundul and chase King Elara. When King Dutthagamani obstructed the way of King Elara, the later had entered into town area. Dutthagamani asked to fight a battle. As per the war ethics, King Elara had to accept the challenge of King Dutthagamani. Thus, these two King warriors met at the ground outside the southern gate of Anuradhapura. Both the kings mounted on their war elephants. This decisive battle between the two kings ended very soon. Elara threw a hand grenade on Dutthagamani who allowed it to fall without causing any harm to him. Then he told his war elephant Kundul to fight with Elara’s war elephant Mahaparbat. Dutthagamani then threw a hand-grenade on King Elara. The Dravidian King along with his war elephant Mahaparbat^[36] collapsed.

Following the death of King Elara, Dutthagamani ordered that Elara be cremated where he had fallen. With this end in view, Dutthagamani collected people from the four quarters up to the distance of one yojana (5 kilometre). He then performed the last rites of King Elara’s dead body with religious solemnity. The mortal remains of King Elara were cremated with full military and religious honours. Dutthagamani built a chaitya over the spot where he was cremated. He performed puja (worship) in that memorial structure. He ordered that no sound instrument should be played while passing through the Chaitya. This tradition continued for seven hundred years, i.e. up to the publication of Mahavamsa (5th century A.C)

Dutthagamani entered the town (Anuradhapura) of his ancestors and celebrated his victory over the alien King. But before he could rest quietly, he had to fight one more enemy. After his loss of Vijitpur to Dutthagamani, King Elara had sent for Dighajantu’s nephew Bhalluk to come with forces from South India. In order to take part in the decisive battle, Bhalluk and his forces had reached Sinhala Island seven days after the cremation of King Elara’s body. In spite of the sad news, Bhalluk decided to attack Anuradhapura from Mahateerth and Tirukketiswaram. He camped his forces at a place called Kolambhalak. Dutthagamani along with his forces marched there and fought with Bhalluk. In this battle Phussadev, one of the generals of Dutthagamani, played a major part and compelled the South Indian forces to return to their motherland. Bhalluk himself was killed in this battle. After this King Dutthagamani became the lord of Sinhala Island. In this way his childhood dream of recapturing the mass of land to the north of Mahaveli River became true.

Emperor Ashoka had greatly repented for the bloody war carnage in the battle of Kalinga. King Dutthagamani, too, was, more or less, in the same state of mind. He felt that he had killed thousands^[37] of soldiers in order to fulfill his purpose. A high monastic body had sent eight Arhants in a bid to acquaint the monastic order with the state of the mind of the king. They came through the sky-way and reached the royal doors at midnight. The king offered seats to them and paid his respects to them. He urged them to tell him the reason of their sudden appearance. They replied, “Beloved king! The monastic order of Piyang Island has sent us to console you, cleanse your mind and enthuse confidence in you”. Then the king asked, “Venerable sirs, how shall I get peace of mind? I have killed innumerable soldiers^[38] in wars”. The Arhants replied, “Dear king.there is no hurdle in your way to Nibbanic peace due to your deeds in war” You have personally killed only one and a half soldiers. Of them one had taken refuge in the Triple Gem, and the other had taken refuge in the five precepts. The rest of the charge is only a myth and illusion, because the soldiers who have personally killed many enemy soldiers are bound to die like animals. O King! You have to brighten the Buddha Sasana. Therefore get rid of the guilty^[39] consciousness.. King Dutthagamani felt consoled and satisfied at their understanding.

During his 24 years rule (101-77 B.C) Dutthagamani did many works for the spread and protection of Buddha Sasana. Mahavamsa, the Sinhalese Buddhist chronicle, played a pivotal role in the creation of Sinhalese Buddhist nationalism and militant Buddhism. Mahavamsa writes that the Buddhist warrior King Dutthagamani with his army and 500 Buddhist monks defeated the Tamil King Elara. After the defeat and the death of Bhalluk, there was, practically, no adversary to Dutthagamani. It was because of his exclusive power and supremacy, he could devote more time and energy for the revival and consolidation of Buddhism. He constructed many Viharas, Chaityas and other huge buildings. Following the consolidation of his position, Dutthagamani began a series of huge construction projects many of which still survive in Anuradhapura. As with everything in Dutthagamani’s life, each foundation comes with its own legend, many of which reveal the preoccupations and inclinations of ancient Sinhalese society. The first foundation mentioned in the Mahavamsa is the Maricavatti Vihara. Legend has it that travelling to the shore of the tank of Tissa with the “woman of the harem” for a water festival, Dutthagamani planted his spear in the soft ground. While preparing to return to the palace, he found that neither he, nor anyone in his retinue, could pull it out. Taking this as a sign, he ordered the construction of a stupa over the spear. Dutthagamani also ordered the construction of the Lohapasada or brazen Palace, a nine-story house for monks. It derived its name from its bright copper-tiled roof. Legend goes that the design of the palace was based on a building seen in one of the heavens by a group of monks who drew the design with “red arsenic on linen” and despatched it to the king. Perhaps his most famous creation was the great stupa to house the begging bowl of the Buddha. The construction was started on the full moon day of the month of Vaisakha (traditionally the date of the birth, enlightenment and passing away of the Buddha) with the creation of a foundation of crushed rock. Dutthagamani is said to have overseen the work personally, being present at the construction of the relic chamber. Other notable works include the construction of a stupa in Mundeshiwari. The stupa Ruwaanwelisaya, a hemispherical structure containing relics of Buddha was built by Dutthagamani.

According to Mahavamsa, Dutthagamani coroneted himself after his work for Buddhism (Dhamma Vjaya). In Buddhism.coronation. refers to ceremonial bathing in sacred water. After the birth, the king descended from his seat, cast off wet clothes, put on his regal dress including hog skin shoes, and then took three steps forwards, symbolically to represent the subjugation of the religions, repeating for each act a separate mantra. After the ceremonial rituals to coronation were over, Dutthagamani rewarded his ten warrior friends with positions suitable to their bravery. Theraputrabhay did not accept any post and sought the permission to get himself ordained. The king had to agree with his solemn desire and thus Theraputrabhay got ordained as a monk.

After defeating his rival Tamil King Elara, Dutthagamani devoted himself to the service of Buddhism in various ways. First of all, Dutthagamani built Mirithavate Stupa. It is said in Mahavamsa that the king had, inadvertently eaten chillies without offering them first to the monastic order. As a penalty for this moral lapse, the king built this stupa along with a Vihara which was dedicated in the service of a monastic body. After this, Dutthagamani constructed a wonderful and amazing palace of iron (Lohapasada). This palace was surrounded by the walls of iron bricks, the colour of which looked like red copper. Because of this fact, the palace was called Lohamahaprasad, which stood on 1600^[40] rock pillars. It was a nine-storied building. There were lotus pictures studded with diamonds at different places on the walls. The floor were made of gold and decorated with different scenes from Jataka stories. The palace had nine^[41] hundred rooms. The glory of ancient Sinhala can be found on the standing rock pillars of the palace. It is to be voted here that this gorgeous and glorious palace was built by Dutthagamani not for himself but for the use of the monastic order.

Later on King Dutthagamani completed his most important and impressive task. It was the construction of Runavali Sai (Chaitya), where the relics of Lord Buddha were enshrined at that time. Its height was 120 riyam, and even today it is in its proper condition. In India a chaitya equal to the height and size of Runavali Sai was Ujjain Chaitya. A story about the construction^[42] of this stupa is found in detail in Mahavamsa. It is said even before the completion of this chaitya King Dutthagamani was struck with a deadly disease. He immediately summoned his younger brother Saddha Tissa from Dighavapi and urged him to complete the work without much delay. King Dutthagamani wanted to see the stupa completed, but this was not possible. But his brother Saddha Tissa erected over the half-completed structure a bamboo poles and thatching and covered it with a white cloth. Tissa made such arrangements so that his king-brother may see its shape and size.

King Dutthagamani came in a palanquin to see and worship the stupa. Lying in the palanquin, he went around the chaitya and offered prayers on the southern doors. He was surrounded by the order of monks. Reclining in the palanquin on his right side, he saw this Mahastupa and reclining on the left side he looked at the Lohaprasada for the last time and satisfied his conscience.

Sthavirputra Abhay accompanied Dutthagamani in 28 battles. The king desired to see him before his death. The king thought, “Now I am near a battle of death, perhaps seeing my defeat he has not come to see me”. But the Sthavirputra came well before time. The king was pleased and asked him to sit in front of him. Then the dying king said, “I fought wars by taking two warriors, now I am struggling alone in a war of death. I could not defeat an enemy called death”. The Sthavirputra consoled the king saying, “Great king, don't be afraid. Without overcoming the enemy called guilty conscience, one cannot defeat the enemy called death. All phenomena (sankhara) are subject to death. All phenomena are subject to impermanency”. This was the advice of the Sastha Lord (Lord Buddha). Even the Buddhas too are subject to some death and fearless nature of impermanency..Think here itself before death that all worldly phenomena are illusory and impermanent, and therefore sorrowful and soulless..

King Dutthagamani was for his virtuous life and sacrifice, described as a Bodhisatva and even as a future Maitreya Buddha. According to Mahavamsa, Dutthagamani lived for 99 years and built same number of Viharas.

Dutthagamani had a son named Prince Saliya. He fell in love with an extremely beautiful outcast girl (Chandala Kannya) named Ashokamala Devi, and gave up throne for her. Therefore, after the death of king Dutthagamani, his younger brother Saddha Tissa became the king of Sinhala country. In Mahavamsa much information is not available about the relation between Saliya and Ashokamala Devi. But the Sinhalese folklores and folk songs are replete with their love and romance.

King Dutthagamani was a national hero of Sinhala Island. He was not a mythological figure, but a historical hero personality. In the history of Shrilanka, his life and mission has its own importance. He was the first Sinhalese King who enabled the Sinhalese people and Buddha Dhamma to rise above the grass-root level. He brought both the Sinhalese people and Buddhism to their climax of prosperity. A scholar of the history of Sinhala comments, “Many learned monks flourished during his reign under his patronage” This clearly shows that Ceylon became a popular centre of Buddhism during his reign.^[43].

Footnotes and references:

[1]:

Buddhism in India and Abroad, A.C. Banerjee, pp. 186-87.

[2]:

Mahavamsa (Hindi Tr.), B.A. Kausalayan, p. 39.

[3]:

Mahavamsa (Hindi Tr.), B.A. Kausalayan, p. 41.

[4]:

The revolt in the Temple, p. 56.

[5]:

Mahavasha (Hindi Tr.), B.A. Kausalayan, p. 106.

[6]:

A measurment called Usabha which according to Abhidhanapadika is equal to 20 feet (Patti).

[7]:

Mahavamsa, P.T.S., p. 107.

[8]:

Mahavamsa, P.T.S., p. 107.

[9]:

Name of the most Superior elephant Species.

[10]:

Mahavamsa (Hindi Tr.), B.A. Kausalayan, p. 109.

[11]:

Ibid, p. 122.

[12]:

History of Ceylon, (Ed.), H.C. Ray, Vol. I, Part I, p. 151.

[13]:

Journal of the Ceylon Branch of the Asiatic Society (New Series) 11, Inscription No. 21, p. 130.

[14]:

The Test of Strength of Gothambar in Rasavahini different from this.

[15]:

In Mahavamsa Chapter. 24: 22, The description of this revier also is found.

[16]:

Janpadik is a designation of officer wherein he/she is in-charge of a group of village. The highest officer of village was called Grambhojak.

[17]:

Mahavamsa (Hindi Tr.), B.A. Kausalayan, p. 122.

[18]:

Great Men of India, (Ed.), L.F. Rushbrook Williams, p. 461.

[19]:

32 miles north of Mahagama and at Udanghav near modern Buttal.

[20]:

History of Ceylon, (Ed.), H.C. Ray, Vol. I, Part I, p. 152.

[21]:

History of Ceylon, (Ed.), H.C. Ray, Vol. I, Part I, p. 153.

[22]:

History of Ceylon, (Ed.), H.C. Ray, Vol. I, Part I, p. 153.

[23]:

Ibid, p. 153.

[24]:

Inscription No 1007 in the Register of Archaeological Dept., Archaeological Survey of Eastern Region, (ASER) 1934, p. 48. This epigraph reads: Parumak Pushdevasya zag Parumkalu Shonaya lene Tagmaharaz Yahi Kate Shagsha (The cave lady sona, wife of Lord Pushadeve, founded in the reign of Prince Naga is given to Sangha).

[25]:

Cf. Rugam Inscription, University of California Riverside (UCR), p. 3281.

[26]:

The History of Ceylon, (Ed.), H.C. Ray, Vol. I, Part I, p. 156.

[27]:

Sinhalese Thupavama, Part II, p. 40.

[28]:

Mahavamsa (Hindi Tr.), B.A. Kausalayan, pp. 119-120.

[29]:

Mahabali is one of the ghats of Mahaveli river.

[30]:

The History of Ceylon, (Ed.), H.C. Ray, Vol. I, Part I, p. 175.

[31]:

Mahavamsa, P.T.S., p. 123.

[32]:

The History of Ceylon, (Ed.), H.C. Ray, Vol. I, Part I, p. 158.

[33]:

Mahavamsa, P.T.S., p. 124.

[34]:

The History of Ceylon, (Ed.), H.C. Ray, Vol. I, Part I, p. 160.

[35]:

Mahavamsa, P.T.S., p. 124.

[36]:

Mahavamsa, P.T.S., p. 125.

[37]:

The History of Ceylon, (Ed.), H.C. Ray, Vol. I, Part I, p. 162.

[38]:

Mahavamsa, P.T.S., p. 127.

[39]:

Ibid, p. 132.

[40]:

Great Men of India, (Ed.), L.F. Rushbrook Williams, p. 52.

[41]:

Sinhala Viswakosha, Vol. I, p. 381.

[42]:

Bauddha Sanskriti, Rahul Sankrityayan, p. 40.

[43]:

Buddhism in India and Abroad, A.C. Banerjee, p. 187.