The nature of the foreign invasions during the Anuradhapura period.

Sri Lanka has met with foreign invasions in the Anuradhapura  kingdom which either resulted in the death of the native king or causing the ruler to withdraw from the capital seeking for refuge. However, both had equally disastrous outcomes such as the instability of the kingdom and the ill-fated condition of the Buddha Sasana in the face of foreign occupations. Besides the arrival of Vijaya in Sri Lanka, which cannot be entirely assumed to be an invasion but more likely a migration as Vijaya grasped the throne thanks to the aid of the local queen Kuweni which is a feature absent in the cases of later foreign occupations. King Surathissa’s reign was marked by the invasion of the two horse traders named Sena and Guththika who were said to be pious rulers and adopted Buddhism. Sena and Guththika marked an end to the ten year rule of Surathissa. The Mahavamsa mentions them as in possession of a great power whose reign lasted for twenty-two years.

The subsequent ruler Asela ascended to power after he defeated Sena and Guththika. He reigned for ten years and was captured by the Chola king Elara.The latter ruled Anuradhapura for forty four years who was characterized as a pious ruler in the Mahavamsa. Despite the depiction of Elara as a pious ruler the evidence suggests that the Buddha Sasana at this time was unable to meet the proper treatment it formerly received from the time of king Devanampiyathissa. He was defeated by king Dutugamunu with the aid of the background preparations ensured by his father Kawanthissa and with the proper guidance of his mother Viharamahadevi.

Saddhathissa, the successor and the brother of Dutugamunu had four sons namely, Thulaththana, Lajjithissa, Kallatanaga and Vattagamini Abaya. Though Vattagamini Abaya (Walagamba) had assured the stability of the kingdom by defeating the general named Maharaththaka who had taken the throne forcefully from Kallatanaga, what was come to pass was far more dangerous.  Seven Tamils from overseas occupied Anuradhapura while a local riot against the king was in operation leaving the king with no alternation other than withdrawing himself to Ruhuna. This local resistance and the Tamil invasion which was to follow in the fifth month from his accession to the throne had the result of making Valagamba’s reign much chaotic. The local support for the king by the time was no good as besides the riot led by a Brahmin named Thissa, the local resistance is implied by the behavior of the Giri Niganta. The Mahavamsa mentions that when the king was defeated by the Tamils and was making his way to Ruhuna the Giri Niganta shouted in out loud "the great black Sinhalese king is escaping".

The Pali chronicle also mentions that when the Tamils invaded the territory, the Brahmin Thissa who was responsible for the local resistance against the king, received letters from the king telling that “ now the kingdom is yours, you will be taken by the Tamils’’. As warned, Brahmin Thissa was defeated and captured by the Tamils. In the meantime, One of the Tamils had taken Soma (the queen consort of Walagamba) and flew overseas while another left the country by taking the Buddha materials found in Anuradhapura. The remaining Tamils namely, Pulahaththa, Bahiya, Panayamara, Piliyamara, Datiya ruled one by one by murdering each other. However the king after regaining his power reestablished his position as the king along with the stability of the kingdom.  Another foreign invasion marks the period of king Mithsen during whose reign a king named Pandu from overseas became the king after murdering the native king. This caused the people to lead themselves to Ruhuna for safety. Consequently, the Tamils ruled beyond the Mahaweli river.

The reign of king Dathusena was known for his resistance movement against the Tamil invaders. Dhatusena claimed the kingship of the country in 455. By the time Dhatusena initiated the rebellion, three of the six Pandayn invaders were already dead, and in the battles that occurred during the rebellion, two more were killed. The final battle took place in 459, where the last king, Pithiya, was killed. Having thus defeated the Pandyan invaders, he was crowned as the king, taking Anuradhapura as the capital.

Even the end of the Anuradhapura period and the transition of the capital from Anuradhapura to Polonnaruwa was a direct result of the Chola invasion led by Rajaraja Chola I which resulted in the destruction of Anuradhapura which was no longer used as the capital and smashed its former importance. These instances point to the fact that Anuradhapura kingdom from its very outset has been an object of foreign invasions from different parts of the world which highly required the precautions of the native kings to preserve the land. The outcome of the foreign invasions was altogether negative on the continuity of the kingdom.

 

Mrs. Karunarathne,

University of Peradeniya,

Sri Lanka

References

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

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

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