King Pandukabhaya

 

FROM THE PAGES OF HISTORY

King Pandukabhaya

At her touch, these leaves, it is said, turned into golden vessels. Remembering, a prophesy of his teacher, Pandukabhaya carried her away to be his consort. She was named Pali, but due to her golden touch, she was surnamed Suvannapali.

Having heard of this happening, her father sent his soldiers against Pandukabhaya, but the latter routed them. Five of her brothers who came to avenge the insult, lost their lives in an encounter with Canda, son of the Brahmana Pandula. Though victorious in these encounters, Pandukabhaya thought it prudent to withdraw across the Mahaweli Ganga and set up his camp at the Dola Mountain, where he remained four years. His uncles came forward against him, and from their camp at Dimbulagala conducted operations against the rebel. They were not successful, and Pandukabhaya captured their stronghold at Dimbulagala which he turned into his own headquarters, having driven them across the river. After the failure of his attempt to put down his insurgent nephew, Abhaya wished to come to terms with him by conceding to him the districts beyond the river. But his brothers strenuously opposed this measure and deposed Abhaya. He had been ruler for twenty years. The prince named Tissa was entrusted with the government. Omitting the fairy-tale episode of how Pandukabhaya came to acquire a mare which was in reality a Yaksini, we pursue the progress of the prince’s campaign to gain the sovereignty over the Sinhalese. After four years’ sojourn in the natural fortress of Dimbulagala, Pandukabhaya felt himself strong enough to advance against his uncles. With his men, he moved to another mountain fortress in closer proximity to Upatissagama. This was Ritigala with its rugged terrain, and from this stronghold he no doubt extended his influence over the neighbouring countryside. For eight long years he tarried there, apparently not molested by the rulers at Upatissagama. At last, his uncles came forth to give battle to the rebel, and they set up their own camp in the vicinity of Ritigala. The forces of Tissa and his brothers invested Ritigala on all sides and it appeared that there was no escape for Pandukabhaya. At this critical juncture, Pandukabhaya had recourse to a stratagem. He sent a messenger to the uncles offering submission and while they were elated at what they thought was the discomfiture of the rebel and were apparently not suspecting any attack, Pandukabhaya made a sudden sally, mounted on his favourite mare, and accompanied by the pick of his soldiers. Taken by surprise, the royal forces yielded ground and Pandukabhaya caused great havoc to them. All the eight uncles of Pandukabhaya lost their lives in this decisive battle which was fought at the place now known as Labunoruva.

After seventeen years as an insurgent, Pandukabhaya thus emerged victor in a struggle against his own kindred, towards whom, however he had no reason for affection. He was acknowledged undisputed sovereign in the regions which were under the rule of his grandfather. He, however, did not wish to reside at Upatissagama which probably had unpleasant memories for him and his mother. With his victorious forces, he proceeded to the village of Anuradha, where lived his great-uncle of that name. The latter gave up the province to the victorious prince, and Pandukabhaya made the place the seat of his government. Thus emerged into political prominence a place which was to remain the seat of Sinhalese royalty for over a millennium, which in later times was adorned with numerous monuments of great architectural magnificence and religious sanctity, which witnessed the efflorescence of the culture of the Sinhalese and which, as the centre of art and of religion, acquired a fame not restricted to the limits of this Island.

Having selected the site as his capital, Pandukabhaya engaged himself in making it into a city worthy of the status newly bestowed on it. Apparently he raised a wall around it, for he is said to have founded the four ‘gate-villages,’ i.e. suburbs. He made suitable provision for the sanitary services of the capital. He is said to have appointed five hundred chandalas for cleaning the streets of the city, two hundred for cleaning the sewers, one hundred and fifty chandalas to bear the dead and as many chandalas to be watchers in the cemetery. A separate cemetery was also laid out for the use of these men. These figures, if true, speak of an immense population in the capital. They are no doubt exaggerated, but the very mention of these sanitary measures is significant. The water supply for the city and the rice fields adjoining it was ensured by the construction of the Abhayavapi, the modern Basavakkulama. In the capital, the king is said to have built a lying-in-home and a ‘hall for those recovering from sickness,’ i.e. a hospital. The planning of the city provided also for the place of execution and the common dwelling place of the Yonakas (Greeks). The administration of the capital city was entrusted to an officer called nagaraguttika, and his eldest uncle, who took his side on many occasions when the others proposed to deal with him summarily, was appointed to this office with the title of night king. The uncle who survived the catastrophe, his father-in-law, was allowed to remain in the lordship which he held previously.

Pandukabhaya also established shrines for gods, Yaksas and other spirits held in veneration in the cults that were in vogue in this time, and celebrated festivals connected with these religious beliefs. He also provided dwelling places for the Niganthas, Ajivakas and such other sects. Ten years after the inauguration of his rule, Pandukabhaya is said to have established the village boundaries over the whole of Lanka. His consort was Suvannapali, whom he won in the romantic circumstances already narrated. He appointed Chanda, the son of his teacher Pandula, as his chaplain. Having come to the throne at the age of thirty-seven, he is said to have reigned for seventy years.

In spite of the legend and folk-lore which have gathered around his name, there is no justification to doubt the historicity of Pandukabhaya. It is also not reasonable to assume, as some critics do, that these legendary elements have been lifted by the chroniclers from the Jatakas and woven into a narrative of their own. These folk-tales, which formed a common heritage of the Indo-Aryan peoples, could have been attached to the name of one hero in one place and of another in another place, before they were enshrined in literary works where we find them at present. The narrative of the campaign of Pandukabhaya, with the limited numbers of men taking part therein, the general absence of superhuman deeds of valour performed by the hero and the probability of the strategy and tactics deducible therefrom, inspire one’s confidence. The space allotted to the story of Pandukabhaya, in the chronicle indicates that his name was held in high esteem by the ancient Sinhalese. His career probably echoes a struggle for power between the colonists from ancient India and the early arrivals from the west, in which the former prevailed. But the two factions thereafter appear to have forgotten their differences and merged themselves into one people. Some even see Pandukabhaya as an aspirant to power who mobilized on his side the indigenous non-Aryan elements of the population. Whatever may be the element of truth in these views, Pandukabhaya can be called without any hesitation the founder of the Anuradhapura kingdom. As such, he deserves an important place in the history of this Island.

Pandukabhaya was succeeded by his son Mutasiva, who is credited with a reign of sixty years. It need hardly be said that these lengths of reigns given in the chronicles, of Pandukabhaya as well as of Mutasiva, have been grossly exaggerated, probably with a view to make the arrival of Vijaya coincide with the Parinirvana of the Buddha. The establishment of the sacred grove of Mahamegha is the only event recorded in the reign of Mutasiva. His son was Devanampiya Tissa whose contemporaneity with Asoka Moriya of India places the subsequent history of the Island on a firm chronological basis. This event necessitates a retrospect of the rise of Buddhism in India and its history in brief up to the time of its introduction to the Island, says Prof. S. Paranavitana in University of Ceylon - A Concise History of Ceylon.

 

Buddhism I

Before the rise of Buddhism in the sixth century B.C., India had gone through a long process of religious thought and philosophical speculation; the formulation of the doctrines of Buddhism and the beliefs and practices of the early Buddhists were in great measure due to the religious milieu in which this faith was first preached to the people. A review, perforce very brief, of the religious thought and life in India before Buddhism arose, is therefore necessary for the student of history to appreciate the great spiritual and intellectual upsurge created by that religion, says Prof. S. Paranavitana.