Why it remains difficult to determine whether Elara was a pious king or not?

Sri Lanka has undergone foreign invasions even from Anuradhapura period as revealed by historical chronicles such as Mahavamsa. Amongst these, the invasion of Elara (from 205-161 BCE) which took place during the reign of king Asela resulted in subjugating Rajarata and remained so during the reigns of Kawanthissa and Dutugamunu during which periods the sovereignty of Sri Lanka was no longer found. Despite the South Indian origin and the Tamil identity of Elara, Mahavmsa contains an account which paints his picture in a favorable light as a pious ruler who followed a healthy policy with regard to Buddha Sasana in Sri Lanka. But determining Whether Elara was a pious king or not has remained a controversial subject due to certain other factors not to mention the disparities found in various primary sources. For instance Pujavaliya reports about Elara as an invader who destroyed Buddha Sasana in Sri Lanka while Mahavamsa portrays him as a pious king who being a Tamil, benefitted Buddhism. Following such available accounts the scholars have divided themselves in speaking for and against the view that Elara was a pious king. For example, most sources assume that Elara was a pious king who is distinguished for his justice, while they identify Elara’s soldiers as the ones who should be held responsible for the damage inflicted upon Buddha Sasana.  Mahavamsa’ description on how Elara punished his own son for a misdeed which reflected his concern for justice has caused many to bear with the assumption that Elara was in fact a peaceful king with the exception of his soldiers whose misbehavior ended up damaging and disrespecting Buddhist temples. Therefore it is due to the number of references Mahawamsa makes about Elara he became well known for his justice despite being an invader.

The difficulty in determining his actual nature with certainty lies in the fact that there is strong evidence in support of the view that Elara was a pious king. To draw an example Elara had the assistance and the support of the Sinhalese Buddhist people who joined Elara’s army aiding him in the war. Scholarly works even contains information about the Sinhala names of those who attended the war siding with Elara. Similarly, at the time Dutugamunu declared war against Elara the loyalty of the Sinhala people was divided between Dutugamunu and Elara which caused the former to initiate war with less resources and aid. Saddharmalankaraya clearly mentions Dutugamunu’s response in observing his army. Further, Elara was said to be a very popular king among the Sinhalese people. Conversely, evidence also suggests that Buddha Sasana at the time was undergoing chaos.

Therefore due to such ambiguities, it requires to critically analyze what is mentioned in historical chronicles to arrive at another possible assumption that Elara followed a very tactical conduct of not being hostile to Buddhism and Buddhist people. Mahavamsa reports that after having settled in Sri Lanka Elara became a Buddhist as in the case of Sena and Guttika whom king Asela fought. This account of Mahavamsa reveals that the foreign invaders after occupying in Sri Lanka undertook measures of a tactical form to win over the support of the Sinhalese Buddhist people. This can be examined along with the fact that in ancient monarchical Sri Lanka the stability and the popularity of a ruler depended to a larger extent on how Buddhism was treated and respected by the ruler. Due to the deep-rooted Sinhalese Buddhist concept of the time religion could exert such an influence over the ruler and the whole community thus functioning as a determining factor. Another description in Mahavamsa shows that Dutugamunu was highly respectful of Elara on whose behalf he had a monument built in memory of his death. Therefore it is more likely that Elara also put in to practice this tactic followed by the former invaders by understanding the nature of the Sri Lankan society and its connection with Buddha Sasana and how benefitting Buddhism in turn had an effect upon the position of the ruler.

Moreover, when Dutugamunu set out to wage war against Elara not only Viharamahadevi but also the Buddhist monks attending the war is a fact that can hardly be left out. This is due to the undeniable truth that the monks would not have participated the war unless the Buddha Sasana was at risk. Though certain scholarly works abstain from directly assuming that the Buddhist temples were damaged by the invasion it nevertheless reports that due to the Tamil invasion Buddhism was deprived of proper treatment that was continued from the time of king Devanampiya tissa. Another important work reveals that when Dutugamunu undertook war against Elara the monks who had a substantial knowledge about war tactics worked together with Viharamahadevi in providing Dutugamunu with useful advices with regard to war tactics. Mahavamsa along with Pujavaliya, and Saddarmalankaraya mentions how 500 monks attended the battlefield on the request of Dutugamunu. In relation to this, most scholarly works hold on to the opinion that   though it is not in agreement with original Buddhist teachings, monks attended the war as it ultimately meant the wellbeing of Buddhism which otherwise would have been completely annihilated.

These facts draws our attention to the most likely assumption that Buddha Sasana was undergoing chaos and it was ill-treated which required the interference of the Buddhist monastic community. Therefore though a majority finds Elara as a pious ruler, it should clearly be understood that during the period under control of Elara, Buddha Sasana was not given the proper treatment it formerly received. However since arriving at a definite conclusion seems to be difficult, all these evidence should be handled with an analytical mind before concluding whether Elara’s reign was favorable to Buddha Sasana in Sri Lanka or not.

Mrs. Karunarathne,

University of Peradeniya,

Sri Lanka 

References

Wimalajothi, Ven., (ed.), Mahavamsa, Buddhist cultural center, Boralasgamuwa, 2003.

Weththamuni., W., Mahavamsaya ha Sinhala Jana Jeevithaya, Tharanji prints, Dehiwala, 2008

Pagngnaloka, M. Ven., (ed.), Saddharmalankaraya, Buddhist cultural center, Dehiwala, 2011.

Amaramoli, Ven., (ed.), Pujavaliya, Rathna book publishers, Colombo, 2005.

Wawwage, S., Duttagamini Abhya Maharaja,  Samayawardana book shop and company, Colombo, 2005.

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