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| Pandukabhaya | |
|---|---|
| King of Thambapanni King of Anuradhapura | |
| Reign | 437 BC – 367 BC |
| Predecessor | Tissa |
| Successor | Mutasiva |
| Born | Upatissa Nuwara |
| Died | 367 BC (aged 106–107) |
| Issue | 10 sons and two daughters Mutasiva Suratissa |
| House | Vijaya |
| Dynasty | Shakya |
| Father | Dighagamini |
| Mother | Unmadachithra |
Pandukabhaya was a king of Upatissa Nuwara and the first monarch of the Anuradhapura Kingdom and 6th over all of the island of Sri Lanka since the arrival of the Vijaya; he reigned from 437 BC to 367 BC. According to many historians and philosophers, he is the first truly Sri Lankan king since the Vijayan migration, and also the king who ended the conflict between the Sinha clan and the local clans, reorganising the population.
He was the only child of Princess Unmadachithra (daughter of King Panduvasdew and Queen Baddhakachchana) and Prince Dighagamini (son of Prince Digayu and Princess Disala). Pandula was his teacher and Pandula's son Chandra was his advisor.
Origin
There are two prevailing opinions on his origin.
- In the Mahavansa, his mother is Umaddhanie Chithra and father is prince Digha-Gamini who is a relation of the princess.
- In the Dipavansa, Pandukabhaya is mentioned as Pakundaka chora meaning thief and has no affiliations to the Vijayan clan.
- The name Digha appears in many ancient sinhala rock inscriptions. Although Digha is found in West Bengal and Orissa regions none of these predate the Sinhala inscriptions and the word digha doesn't appear in any ancient inscriptions from these regions so it is clear that Digha has its origins in Sri Lanka.
The exchange of people
Chithra and Digha-Gamini had been made aware of the prophecy at the time of their marriage and had promised, to put to death any son that Chithra gave birth to. However, once Pandukabhaya was born, Chithra was unwilling to kill the infant, and so she decided to exchange babies with another woman who had given birth to a baby girl that same day.
Chithra announced to her father and husband that she had given birth to a girl. Only her mother, Baddha-Kacchayana, knew of the secret exchange.
The woman who gave up her daughter took Prince Pandukabhaya to a nearby village called Doramadalawa where he would be brought up as a herdsman's son.
Assassination attempts
The first threat to Pandukabhaya's life came while he was being transported to Dvaramandalaka (Doramadalawa). The woman who had exchanged infants with Chitra carried Prince Pandukabhaya to the village in a covered basket. Unfortunately, she ran into ten of Chitra's brothers (the ones who had wanted their sister to be murdered for fear that her child would kill them). They asked her what she had in the basket and she replied that it contained food. Not satisfied with the answer, they asked her to open up the basket and show them its contents. Luckily, two wild boars happened to run past them, and they forgot about the basket in their eagerness to hunt the animals down. The baby was delivered to the herdsman safely. (the two wild boars were commanders of yakka tribe named Chithraraja & Kalawela in disguise to protect the prince)
That same year, King Panduvasudeva died and Abhaya became his successor. He was not a great king, but he was certainly a kind one and he was well-loved, especially by the poor.
Several years went by and when Pandukabhaya was about seven years old, rumours reached his ten uncles about a boy in Dvaramandalaka who supposedly was a herdsman's son, but who showed all signs of being of royal background. They suspected that this child may be their sister's son, because they had reason to believe that the little girl who was being brought up as a princess in the palace was not Chitra's daughter. They sent out soldiers to kill all boys in the village who were around the same age as their nephew.
It was known that all the boys of Dvaramandalaka bathed at a certain pond, and it was planned that they should be killed while they were bathing. The boys who were there all took their clothes off, but Pandukabhaya did not and he found a hollow tree and went inside and while he was inside the plan was executed and several young children were murdered. The men counted the sets of clothes and counted the dead bodies and since it was the same amount they thought they had killed Pandukabhaya, however, had been hiding at the time, and so he escaped death.
While Pandukabhaya's uncles were satisfied at the time that they had eliminated their nephew, some years later they became suspicious again when they heard stories of a village boy who looked more like a prince than a herdsman's son. They attempted to have him killed again, and the attempt failed once more.
When Pandukabhaya was about sixteen years old, Princess Chitra, fearing for her son's safety, arranged to have him live with a Brahman named Pandula.
Once he was old enough to become king, Pandukabhaya left Pandula, married his cousin Pali and fought his uncles to claim his right to the throne. Eight of his ten uncles perished in the war, which lasted for seventeen years. Abhaya, who had never fought against Pandukabhaya, and Girikandasiva, who was Pali's father, were not killed.
Pandukabhaya reigned over Sri Lanka for seventy years, leaving the country in a prosperous state when he died.
Services
- Established an organized system of governance.
- Established a post called "Nagara Gutthika" to rule the city and named his uncle Abhaya to the post.
- Ordered the demarcation of all the villages in the island in his tenth year of reign. He was the first king to do so.
- Constructed three tanks, namely Abaya Wewa, Gamini Wewa and Jaya Wewa.
In Media
- Aba, a 2008 film based on the historical legend of King Pandukabhaya
See also
References
- "Chapter 10- The Consecrating of Pandukabaya". Mahawamsa-The Great Chronicle of Sri Lanka. 21 March 2010.
- "Ancient Irrigation-Department of Irrigation in Sri Lanka".
External links
| Pandukabhaya Vijaya Died: 367 BC | ||
| Regnal titles | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded byTissa | King of Anuradhapura 437 BC–367 BC |
Succeeded byMutasiva |
| Monarchs of the Sinhala kingdom | ||
|---|---|---|
| Pre-Anuradhapura period House of Vijaya (543–237 BCE) |
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| Anuradhapura period House of Vijaya (543–237 BCE) Chola dynasty (237–215 BCE) House of Vijaya (215–205 BCE) Chola dynasty (205–161 BCE) House of Vijaya (161–103 BCE) The Five Dravidians (103–89 BCE) House of Vijaya (89 BCE–66 CE) House of Lambakanna I (66–436) The Six Dravidians (436–463) House of Moriya (463–691) House of Lambakanna II (691–1017) |
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| Anuradhapura from Rohana |
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| Polonnaruwa period House of Vijayabahu (1055–1187) House of Kalinga (1187–1197) House of Vijayabahu (1197–1200) House of Kalinga (1200–1209) House of Vijayabahu (1209–1210) Lokissara (1210–1211) House of Vijayabahu (1211–1212) Pandyan dynasty (1212–1215) Eastern Ganga dynasty (1215–1236) |
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| Transitional period House of Siri Sanga Bo (1220–1597) House of Senasammata Vikramabahu (1469–1592) |
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| Kandyan period House of Vimaladharmasuriya (1592–1739) Nayaks of Kandy (1739–1815) |
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Italics indicate regent.· indicate the queen.
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| House of Vijaya | |
|---|---|
| (543 BC–66 AD) | |
| Kingdom of Tambapanni (543 BC–437 BC) |
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| Kingdom of Anuradhapura (437 BC–237 BC) (215 BC–205 BC) (161 BC–103 BC) (89 BC–66 AD) |
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| regent | |