It is commonplace that the disunity among
the natives inevitably makes a state vulnerable, as it keeps them occupied in
their internal struggles which has the result of drawing their attention from
possible external conquests. A similar event occurred in ancient Sri Lanka, to
be more specific, during the Polonnaruwa
kingdom. Sri Lanka was marked by the Kalinga
Magha invasion in 1215 AD which
led to the fall of the Polonnaruwa
kingdom along with several other factors which were equally undesirable to
the continuity of the kingdom. However, the other reasons aside, the Magha invasion alone can be looked on
as a climax point of Sri Lankan history due to two reasons. Firstly, it
operated as the immediate cause among a number of long term causes for the
collapse of the Polonnaruwa kingdom.
Secondly it marked a striking change of the capital of Sri Lanka which was
transferred from Polonnaruwa to Dambadeniya.
It seems that foreign invasions have
emerged as a cause for the fall of the Anuradhapura kingdom just as it was for
the decline of the Polonnaruwa kingdom.
It’s fitting to first identify the long term causes in order to understand how
it exposed the kingdom to the Magha invasion.
More than all these causes Magha
invasion was a disaster for Sri Lanka as its evident when the Mahavamsa describes this invasion as a
result of a massive sin caused by the people of Sri Lanka. This invasion was
carried out during the reign of Parakrama
Pandya who after coming here from Pandi
rata, occupied the throne by removing queen Lilawathi in the seventh month from her third accession to the
throne.
To put it briefly, among the long term
causes which weakened Polonnaruwa,
the internal power struggles, lack of strong heirs to the throne, the power of
the generals who murdered kings in order to bring their preferred ones to the
throne, also formed a part. The generals by this time had acquired an immense
power who acted as invincible forces in appointing the heirs to the throne. For
instance, queen Lilawathi was made
the ruler for the second time by a general named Chamunakka who killed the former king and established Lilawathi on the throne. Further, the short-term
reigns of the kings which were limited to months or even to days can be
identified as another characteristic pertaining to the latter stage of the Polonnaruwa period. For instance, king Dharmashoka’s reign was limited only to
seventeen days. For another instance, Sahassamalla
reigned for one day though he was mentioned as lion like in the Mahavamsa.
The power of such generals and influence
is much clear when observing a line in the Mahavamsa
which mentions that the general Chamunakka
ruled through Lilawathi. Further,
queen Lilawathi was made the ruler
for the third time by a general named Parakrama.
This evidence suggests that the internal condition of Polonnaruwa kingdom was continuously marked by confusion and
instability which opened the kingdom towards enemies due to the disunity of the
kings who came in to power in the latter stage of the Polonnaruwa kingdom. A major reason for this instability was the power
of the generals which was existent mainly after the reign of king Nishshankamalla who was a strong ruler.
On such a condition the kings possessed no power at all but remained a puppet
of the powerful generals. For instance, the Mahavamsa
mentions that a powerful general named Kirthi
murdered king Wodanga who was the nephew
of king Nishshankamalla, by removing
his eyes, who thereby ruled by Lilawathi
(the consort of king Parakramabahu)
for three years. Further, queen Kalyanawathi,
the consort of king Nishshankamalla
was made the ruler by a general named Ayasmaththa,
who ruled for six years.
The account of Mahavamsa follows that the Magha
invasion led Sri Lanka to destruction in every aspect of the kingdom such
as cultural, economic, and social to a condition that a recovery was not possible.
Mainly it disrespected the Buddha Sasana in Sri Lanka which was until then held
in high regard. The Mahavamsa makes
references to the South Indian invaders who occupied Sri Lanka during the Anuradhapura period, such as Sena, Guththika and Elara. The author portrays them as
pious rulers who benefitted Buddhism despite being invaders. Conversely, in the
case of Kalinga Magha the author of Mahavamsa
depicts him as an impious king.
It was a time when humanity no longer
existed and for the most part the Buddha Sasana was not given the due
recognition on the part of the Magha
invaders. The core values were broken which was until then continued with high respect.
For instance, a number of Buddhist premises were set apart for the use of a giant
of king Magha. The so-called giants even
engaged in destroying the Buddhist premises and tortured the laymen. The Mahavamsa mentions that the giants of Kalinga Magha devastated both Loka and
Sasana. This is evident considering that they put down massive temples such as Rathnavali and further made disappear a
plenty of bodily relics of Lord Buddha.
Mahavamsa
presents this invasion as have befallen Sri Lanka when the guardian deities are
not at service. This account suggests the gravity of this situation which was
not equal to former invasions the country underwent. The giants who accompanied
their king to take hold of the land had stolen the possessions and the capital
of people while cutting their hands and legs off. They further harassed the
wealthy community and stole their belongings.
To conclude, during the time of the Magha invasion every aspect of daily
life was in question. More than anything Buddha Sasana was leveled to the very
ground the result being the transference of the capital from Polonnaruwa to Dambadeniya where the Buddha Sasana was reestablished by Vijayabahu III. Kalinga Magha ruled Sri Lanka for 21 years which was a time none of
the aspects of Sri Lanka saw any progress. The last king of Polonnaruwa, Parakrama Pandyan was taken by Kalinga
Magha whose bodily parts such as eyes were said to have removed by the
invaders and all his possessions were taken away. This inhumane fate of the
last king of Polonnaruwa may have
come in the form of a punishment for their own disunity which exposed the
kingdom to the enemies.
Mrs. Karunarathne,
University of Peradeniya,
Sri Lanka
References
Wimalajothi, Ven., (ed.), Mahavamsa, Buddhist cultural
center, Boralasgamuwa, 2003
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