Ancient Ruhuna as a base for the resistance movements and as a place of refuge.

Every action has a counter reaction which is equally strong and opposite. Similarly, in ancient Sri Lanka especially during the Anuradhapura kingdom Ruhuna remained to be the area from where counter reactions against the occupation of foreign invaders were much heard. Magama is known to be the capital of Ruhuna encompassing the present Thissamaharama territory. Ruhuna holds its importance not for a single reason. Conversely, Ruhuna took on different roles in the history of Sri Lanka which is marked by constant conquests, mostly South Indian. Ruhuna still carries its significance as a place which provided refuge for the ancient Sinhala kings, mostly as a defensive territory to organize the army in hiding, and occasionally as a place from where even the resistance against the ruling native kings had taken place.

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Viharamahadevi, a military woman, driven by patriotism.

It is characteristic that someone who carries in to effect something which is hard to perform in general becomes an important individual in the history. The same holds true for queen Viharamahadevi to whom most scholars attribute the victory of the war campaign undertaken by Dutugamunu in his pursuit of freedom from the South Indian invasion. Viharamahadevi being the noble mother queen of her son made herself extraordinary on account of her military performance in particular and due to her noble character in general. She occupied herself in a military task which was not something much heard of a woman of her contemporary time. In contrast, Viharamahadevi became well known for her role as the military supervisor of her son while being noted for bravery and endurance which enabled her to accompany her son to the battle field regardless of the danger she becomes exposed to. Given that, her role shouldn’t let go unrecognized considering her outstanding acts of bravery. All those who were present at the war by the side of Dutugamunu were males with the notable exception of Viharamahadevi. Saddaramalankaraya mentions the manner the mother queen arrived at the battle field as, “at this moment the king headed by the monks carrying his mother Viharamahadevi set forth in his war campaign.” Other primary sources including Mahavamsa report this in the same way. Consequently, it becomes evident that it was the king himself who decided to take his mother to the battlefield which at first sight seems to be something that can hardly be expected from a son.

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The heroic role of the Buddhist monastic community as the protector of both the monarch and the Buddha Sasana in ancient Sri Lanka.

In ancient Sri Lanka, especially during the Anuradhapura kingdom period Buddhism formed an important portion of the responsibilities of the monarch. This is particularly due to inseparable connection maintained between the ruler and the Buddhist monastic community which has its roots back to the period of king Devanampiyathissa. It was the duty of the monarch to preserve Buddha Sasana under any circumstance. What was characteristic of Sri Lankan culture and society is that the ruler and the Buddhist monastic community operated as the protector of each other without which neither was possible. Further, the monastic community had a substantial part to play in the consolidation of power of the king which was peculiar for the Sri Lankan setting. At first glance it would appear that it is not possible for the bhikkhus to maintain such an influence over the power of the ruler since these two don’t reveal any visible connection on the surface. Therefore, to acquire a better understanding this aspect should be examined along with the cultural and religious influences of the time.

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Feminine role in politics and war in ancient monarchical Sri Lanka with special attention to Anuradhapura and Polonnaruwa period.

Though the roles ancient monarchs came to play in Sri Lankan history is a much discussed subject, an equal attention has not been paid to observe the role of their female counterparts. What is noteworthy in this regard is though infrequently, women have advanced to power more commonly owing to a critical political condition mostly followed by an assassination of a king, when the kingdom has fallen in to decline. However, while some queens in power acted with altruistic intentions, some other queens’ actions were driven by egoism which made them strikingly different from each other. Therefore it is observable that while the former operated in favor of the common well-being, the latter functioned overwhelmed by sheer desire for power. Therefore history of Sri Lanka is made of women of both kinds, generous and vicious. Unlike certain countries in the world’s history, in ancient Sri Lanka, women were allowed to lay hold of power. But it should be noted that by tradition, the kingship passed by inheritance which was passed either from father to the elder son or from the elder brother to the younger brother. According to this tradition peculiar to ancient Sri Lankan monarchical period, women had no opportunity to become a ruler. However as revealed in history, depending on the circumstance women had the chance to take hold of power. For instance queen Anula of Anuradhapura was able to seize power owing to the death of her husband, king Choranaga

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