Dhathopabhuti: (547 AD – 547 AD)
After Silakala, his second son Dhathopabuti captured power. Silakala’s first son Moggallana rebelled
against Dhathopabhuti and defeated him.
Saturday, March 9, 2013
King Dhathopabhuti
KIng Upatissa
Upatissa: (532 AD – 533 AD)
During King Upatissa’s time Silakala (another Lambakanna) brought an army and surrounded the
capital city. Due to the siege, people starved and started to die. King Upatissa fled the city, but was
caught by Silakala and was put to death.
King Kittisena
Kittisena: (523 AD – 532 AD)
After Kumara Dhatusena, his son Kittisena came to power. Kittisena was overpowered by his uncle
Siva.
King Kumara Dhatusena
Kumara Dhatusena: (515 AD – 523 AD)
After, Moggallana his son Kumara Dhatusena became the King.
King Moggallana
Moggallana: (494 AD – 515 AD)
After defeating Kassapa, Moggallana entered the city of Anuradhapura. He went to Mahavihara and
Abhayagiriya and asked his army to stay outside. Moggallana met bhikkus of both Viharas and
honored them.
Rakkhasa Moggallana:
When Moggallana found out that powerful people in the city have been attached to Kassapa who killed
his father, he was angry and gnashed his teeth as a Rakkhasa. (Rakkhasa means “devil” in Pali).
Moggallana had thousands of these high officials put to death, and people named him Rakkhasa.
When Moggallana listened to Lord Buddha’s sermons preached to him by bhikkus he cooled down.
Chariot driver who did a favor to King Dhatusena showed the letter he received from Dhatusena.
Tears came to Moggallana’s eyes and he gave a gate keeper post to the chariot driver.
Moggallana ruled the country for eighteen years.
King Kassapa
King Kassapa (478 AD – 495 AD)
After Kassapa came to power, his brother Moggallana fled to Jambudeepa. (India). Kassapa knew that
Moggallana would come back with an army to fight him.
Treasure of King Dhatusena:
Migara told King Kassapa that huge treasure was hidden by Dhatusena to be given to Moggallana.
Kassapa sent men to his father’s prison to inquire of the treasure. Dhatusena sent the messengers back.
Kassapa sent messengers again and again. Dhatusena thought “He is planning to kill me. Let me go
and meet my teacher and friend bhikku living near Kalavapi and bathe there and die”.
Dhatusena told Kassapa’s men that if he could go to Kalavapi, he would show the treasure. Kassapa
allowed, Dhatusena to go to Kalavapi (Kala Wewa). On his way, Dhatusena asked the chariot driver to
take him to the Vihara where his teacher and bhikku friend lived. Chariot driver took him to the
Vihara. King Dhatusena gave a letter to the chariot driver stating the favor.
Seeing King Dhatusena coming to the Vihara, the Thera was joyful. Two men were happy to see each
other. They felt like they conquered a kingdom and sat next to each other. The Thera preached the
law of impermanence to King Dhatusena.
(Author’s Note: The name of the Thera is not given in Mahavamsa. One may wonder whether it
is Mahathera Mahanama)
Then King saluted the monk for the last time and went to Kalawawa with Kassapa’s men. King
Dhatusena bathed in the reservoir and drank from it. Then he took a handful of water from Kalavapi
and told Kassapa’s men “This is my treasure”. Soldiers went back and gave the message to King
Kassapa. Kassapa was enraged. Kassapa thought if his father lived, he would help Moggallana.
King Kassapa gave the order to Migara to kill his father. Migara was extremely happy since he could
avenge the death of his mother. Migara went to Kalawawa to see Dhatusena. Seeing Migara,
Dhatusena said “I have same feelings towards you as for Moggallana”. Migara laughed and shook his
head. Then he had King Dhatusena killed by plastering him to the bank of the reservoir.
After murdering his own father, King Kassapa decided to build his palace on top of a rock. He built a
staircase in the form of a lion.
King Dhatusena
King Dhatusena (459 AD – 478 AD)
After been consecrated, Dhatusena built many Viharas and reservoirs. His biggest achievement was
magnificent reservoir “Kala Wewa”. King Dhatusena built eighteen reservoirs in the country.
Writing of Mahavamsa:
King Dhatusena ordered to produce an interpretation to the Deepavamsa and spent 1,000 gold coins
(Kahavanu) for the work.
(Author’s Note: Interpretation to Deepavamsa is considered to be “Mahavamsa”. Mahavamsa
is more complete than Deepavamsa since the author Mahathera Mahanama used other older sources
other than Deepavamsa. Hence Mahavamsa was written by Mahathera Mahanama under the patronage
of King Dhatusena. Interestingly Mahathera Mahanama does not write all the way to King Dhatusena.
He stops at King Mahasen’s time period).
King Dhatusena Built a Statue of Mahinda Thera:
King Dhatusena built a statue of Mahinda Thera and brought it where the thera was buried.
(Author’s Note: As per Sri Lankan tradition, Mahinda Thera was buried north of the Thuparama
while his sister Sangamitta was buried east of Thuparama).
Kassapa and Moggallana:
King Dhatusena had two sons (Kassapa and Moggallana) and one daughter. Due to a family problem,
King Dhatusena burnt his own sister alive as a punishment. Son of the dead woman, Migara was
extremely angered by this incident. (Migara is King Dhatusena’s nephew. Mahavamsa does not
provide sufficient information of the family problem that occurred).
Migara, banded with Kassapa and plotted against the King. They overpowered King Dhatusena and
imprisoned him.
King Mahanama
Mahanama: (412 Ad – 428 AD)
King Mahanama built three Viharas and prohibited them to Abhayagiri monks.
King Upatissa
Upatissa: (370 AD – 412 AD)
After King Buddhadasa, his son Upatissa came to power.
King Upatissa was Murdered by His Queen:
King Upatissa’s queen had a secret relationship with King’s brother, Mahanama. They plotted against
the King and murdered him. King Upatissa built Rajappula, Gijjakhuta, Pokkharapasaya, Valahassa,
Ambutthi and Gondigama reservoirs.
Author’s Note: (Thopawewa): As per both Pujavaliya and Rajavaliya, King Upatissa built the
Thopawewa in Polonnaruwa. Later Thopawewa and two other reservoirs (Dumbuthulu Wewa and
Iramudhu Wewa) were connected together by King Parakramabahu to build the Sea of Parakrama.
(Parakrama Samudraya).
King Buddhadasa
Buddhadasa: (341 – 370 AD)
After, Jetta Tissa his son Buddhadasa became the King. King Buddhadasa was known as a good
physician.
Curing of the Sick Snake:
One day when King Buddhadasa was traveling on royal elephant, he saw a sick snake. He knew that
the snake had an illness in its belly. King told the snake “I would like to cure your sickness, but I am
afraid to touch you”. Then the snake inserted its head inside an ant mound. King operated the snake
and cured it.
Curing a Monk Using Horse Blood:
A monk was sick by drinking milk contaminated with worms. The monk was brought into the attention
of the King. At the same time there was a sick horse nearby. King asked an attendant to bring a cup of
blood from the horse. King gave the cup of blood to the monk without telling him what it is. After the
monk had finished drinking the cup of blood, King told him that it was horse blood. The monk was
extremely disgusted and started to vomit. The worms inside the belly of the monk came out as well.
The monk was cured.
King Buddhadasa built viharas and conducted numerous meritorious deeds during his time period.
King Jetta Tissa II
Jetta Tissa II: (332 – 340 AD)
After the death of Siri Mega Vanna his brother’s son, Jetta Tissa came to power. King Jetta Tissa was
a pious King who conducted many meritorious deeds.
King Siri Meghavanna
Siri Meghavanna (Kithsiri Mevan): (304 – 332 AD)
After the death of King Mahasen, his son Siri Meghavanna came to power. He gathered Mahavihara
bhikkus and asked them how he could rectify the damage caused by his father. Mahavihara bhikkus
stated that Mahavihara and magnificent Lowa Maha Paaya were destroyed during his father’s time.
King Siri Meghavanna restored Mahavihara and Lowa Maha Paaya. He made a statue of Mahinda
Thera and placed it in Mihintale.
Arrival of Dhantha Dhatu (Tooth Relic):
During King Sirimegha Vanna’s time, a Brahmin Princess from the Kalinga country brought the tooth
relic of Lord Buddha to Lanka
(Author’s Note: Interestingly, Mahavamsa does not provide a detailed account of this important
event. It is further interesting that Thera Dhammakitthi wrote the “Dhantha Dathu Vamasa” as well as
this portion of Mahavamsa. Rajavaliya account of the arrival of Dhantha Dhatu is provided below.)
Rajavaliya Account of Arrival of Dhantha Dhatu (Tooth Relic):
King Guhasiva, the King of Kalinga country was attacked by an enemy force. King told his daughter
Ranmali (better known as Hemamala) and her husband (Dhantha) to take away the Dhantha Dhatu to
Lanka, if he loses the war. King Guhasiva lost the war and Princess Hemamala and Prince Dhantha
brought the tooth relic to Lanka. The tooth relic was hidden inside Hemamala’s hair during her long
travel from Kalinga country to Lanka..
King Siri Megha Vanna joyfully accepted the tooth relic and built a Vihara for it. Prince Dhantha and
Princess Hemamala were given royal protection and residence in Kirawela (Beligal Korale) for rest of
their lives.
King Mahasen
Mahasen
(275 AD – 301 AD)
After Mahasen was consecrated, his mentor Mahayana bhikku Sanghamittha came back to the city.
Bhikku Sanghamittha convinced King Mahasen that Mahavihara bhikkus were not teaching real
Vinaya (Disciplinary Code of Buddhism).
Penalty for People Who Provided Food to Mahavihara Bhikkus:
King Mahasen established a fine for anyone who provided food to Mahavihara bhikkus. Due to this
reason, Mahavihara bhikkus were unable to survive in the capital city. They abandoned Mahavihara
and went to Rohana. (Southern part of the country).
Destruction of Mahavihara and Lowa Maha Paaya:
Bhikku Sanghamittha advised the King, that since Mahavihara is abandoned by bhikkus, the land now
belongs to the King himself. King gave permission to destroy Mahavihara. Bhikku Sanghamittha sent
soldiers and destroyed Mahavihara and Lowa Maha Paaya. The building materials obtained from two
buildings were used to build more buildings in Abhayagiri Vihara.
(Author’s Note: Original Mahavihara was built by King Devanam Piya Tissa for the use of
Mahinda Thera. Now almost six hundred years later it was destroyed during the time of King
Mahasen).
Rebellion by Minister Maghavannabaya:
King Mahasen’s destruction of Mahavihara and Lowa Maha Paaya distressed many people in the
country. One minister (who was a good friend of the King) named Meghavannabaya went to Rohana
and gathered an army. King Mahasen came with the state army to fight the minister. Two armies
camped on either side of Duratissa reservoir. During the night, minister thought I should have dinner
with my good friend, King Mahasen, who is camped on other side of the reservoir. (Two were about
to fight with each other next morning). The minister went to King’s camp and introduced himself and
the King let him come to the camp. Two had dinner together. King asked why, he (the minister)
became a rebel. The minister stated that destruction of Mahavihara by the King made him a rebel.
King apologized for the deed and promised to reconstruct Mahavihara.
Death of Sanghamitta:
After destroying Mahavihara, bhikku Sanghamittha came with men to destroy Thuparama. At that
time one of King’s wives provided money to workers to kill Sanghamittha. The workers killed
Sanghamittha and saved Thuparama from destruction.
As promised, King built the Mahavihara. Bhikkus who left Mahavihara came back to dwell there.
Construction of the Jethavana Vihara:
A friend of Sanghamitta, Thera Tissa was the Mahathera or the chief monk of Dakkinarama. He
convinced the King to build a huge Thupa in the land belonging to Mahavihara. Mahavihara bhikkus
tried to stop this action but was unable to do so. Jethavana Vihara was built on the land belonging to
Mahavihara.
King Mahasen built Manihira (Minneriya) reservoir and fifteen other reservoirs and the Pabbathantha
canal.
Sixteen reservoirs built by King Mahasen are; (Manihira, Mahagama, Challura, Khanu, Mahamani,
Kokavata, Dhammarama, Kumbalaka, Vahana, Ratmalakandaka, Tissavadamanaka, Velangavitthi,
Mahagallaka, Cira, Mahadaragallaka, Kalapasana).
As per Mahavamsa, he gathered much merit and much sin.
Author’s Note: Ratmalakandaka is identified to be Padawiya reservoir, Tissavadamanaka as
Kaudulla reservoir, Mahadaragallaka as Nachchaduwa reservoir.
Author’s Note: King Mahasen’s time period was a golden era in Lanka but not for Buddhism.
King Mahasen was the first to destroy Mahavihara yet after his death, people made him a god. Even
today, almost two thousand years later people in Sri Lanka call him Mahasen Deviyo or Minneri
Deviyo).
King Jetta Tissa
Jetta Tissa: (253 AD – 263 AD)
After the death of Gothabhaya, Jetta Tissa became the King. Jetta Tissa was a cruel man. He had
ministers of his father’s court killed during the funeral of King Gothabhaya and had the bodies impaled
around the pyre.
Bhikku Sanghamittha left the country, knowing that he was hated by Jetta Tissa..
King Jetta Tissa increased the Lowa Maha Paaya to seven stories. After King Jetta Tissa’s death, his
brother, Mahasen became the ruler.
King Gothabhaya
Gothabhaya: (240 AD – 253 AD)
After King Siri Sangha Bo left city, Gothabhaya became the new King. He was suspcious that Siri
Sangha Bo would come back with an army. Gothabhaya promised to provide huge sum of money to
anyone who would bring Siri Sangha Bo’s head.
Siri Sangha Bo Giving His Head to a Poor Man:
One day in the jungle, Siri Sangha Bo met a very poor man. King removed his head and gave it to the
poor man so that he could claim the prize. The homeless man took the head to King Gothabhaya.
King was not sure whether it belongs to Siri Sangha Bo. At this point, the head started to talk and
confirmed that it is really Siri Sangha Bo and Gothabhaya should provide the promised prize to the
poor man. King Gothabhaya gave the promised prize to the poor man.
King Gothabhaya renewed stone pillars at Lowa Maha Paaya.
(Author’s Note: Mahavamsa provides a detailed list of meritorious acts conducted by King
Gothabhaya. He is the father of one of the greatest Kings of Lanka, King Mahasen).
King Githabhaya’s Two Sons: (Jetta Tissa and Mahasen):
King Gothabhaya had two sons. Jetta Tissa was the older son and Mahasen was the younger son. A
Chola monk named Sanghamittha was the mentor of two young boys. Thera Sanghamittha was against
Mahavihara (Theravadha) bhikkus. King Gothabhaya was closer to Thera Sanghamittha and obtained
advice from him against the wishes of Mahavihara bhikkus. Two sons grew up under Sanghamittha.
Bhikku Sanghamittha was more fond of Mahasen than Jetta Tissa. Due to this reason, older son Jetta
Tissa was not happy with bhikku Sanghamittha.
