(Shamila Rathnayake, a medical doctor, former Deputy Director of the National Hospital, Kandy, explores the facts behind the interesting myths in the History of Sri Lanka.)

Mythical History

Vijaya’s Arrival– Vijaya, the eldest son of King Sinhabahu, and his 700 followers engaged in behaviour that went against the moral and ethical norms of society. Although Vijaya was advised on three occasions, he failed to reform and was eventually deported. They arrived at Thambapanni on Vesak Poya day, which coincided with the day Lord Buddha attained Parinibbana. Lord Buddha entrusted Shakra Deva with the protection of Vijaya, and this duty was later assigned to God Upulvan.

Vijaya and Kuweni– Upon Vijaya’s arrival in Sri Lanka, God Upulvan appeared disguised as a paribbajaka (holy man), blessed him with pirith water (holy water) and protective threads, and disappeared. One of Vijaya’s followers later followed a dog, became separated from the group, and encountered Kuweni, a yakkini (yakka tribe-female), near a pond. Unable to harm him due to the pirith thread, she hid him in a cave. Other followers were trapped in the same manner until Vijaya arrived, understood the situation, and rescued them. Kuweni later supplied them with rice.

Vijaya the Ruler– Vijaya gave Kuweni an agrabhāgaya   and began a relationship with her. With her help, he defeated the Yakka tribe and became the ruler of Thambapanni. They had two children together. However, under pressure from his ministers to marry a Kshatriya princess from Madurapura, Vijaya abandoned Kuweni. She fled with her children but was killed by her own tribe, though her brother managed to save the children. After marrying the Indian queen, Vijaya was crowned king and paid tribute to Madura.

Postscript – A realistic interpretation.

This story was captured from Chapter Seven of the Mahawansha.

Vijaya arrived in Sri Lanka approximately in 543 BC, and the story was written about 850 to 900 years later; therefore, verbal stories and existing written sources would have helped. Moreover, the writer might have included his own ideas.

• At the beginning of the story, it was stated that Vijaya engaged in unethical and immoral activities and, due to this, he was subjected to expulsion from the country. Some historians argue that Vijaya was expelled due to his revolutionary ideas against Brahmanical concepts prevalent in India at that time.
• Others argue that Vijaya’s story explains an Indo-Aryan invasion that occurred long ago through metaphor.

However, this was the origin of the Sinhawanshaya, the oldest Sri Lankan written royal lineage. It is evident that the author of the Mahawansha wrote it in favour of the Sinhawanshaya. Therefore, he always tried to describe the locals as non-human beings to highlight the primitiveness of the society at Vijaya’s arrival, which could not be realistic.

• There were other occasions where attempts were made to disrespect the Yakka tribe, even using concepts strongly rejected by Lord Buddha. Scholars argue that these metaphors were created due to resistance to the Indo-Aryan invasion.

When examining the Mahawansha deeply, some controversies can be observed.

• Seeing a dog represented human inhabitants. The rice provided by Kuweni reflects a paddy-cultivating community.
• Additionally, spinning wool, and Shirshavasthupura and Lankapura inhabited by the Yakka show the existence of an advanced local civilization.
• There were incidents where migrants tried to enter the land dressed as paribbajaka to avoid attacks from locals. This reveals the spirituality of the local people.

The relationship between Kuweni and Vijaya initially developed in a romantic manner. Vijaya was said to have used agrabhāgaya to arouse desire in Kuweni, which made her appear younger and enter into a relationship.

• Based on this, some historians argue that Indo-Aryans were able to integrate peacefully with certain local communities while facing resistance from others.
• Furthermore, Kuweni was described as a powerful local queen with strong capabilities. Her portrayal as sexually expressive may have contributed to her acceptance as Vijaya’s partner and symbolically as a queen.

Vijaya lived with Kuweni for several years and had children, but later, as he grew older, a request for a proper coronation arose.

• This might have been due to Vijaya initially rejecting Brahmanical concepts but later adopting them, or due to Aryan resistance to a king mixed with a local tribe.
• This reflects the influence of caste-based Brahmanical ideology on political legitimacy in Sri Lanka.
• Another reason may have been political threats from neighbouring India, requiring stability through traditional coronation.

Prof. Raj Somadeva

Recent findings by a group led by Professor Raj Somadeva in Udaranchamadama, Rathnapura District, revealed archaeological evidence of an advanced civilization more than 500 years before Vijaya’s arrival.

He suggested that Vijaya’s story was a metaphor used by the author of the Mahawansha to describe a mass Aryan invasion. He further argued that, though some locals mixed with invaders, others moved into mountainous regions, with sociological differences still observable today in isolated mountain villages as evidence of developed civilizations before Vijaya’s arrival.

By Dr. Shamila Rathnayake – Palmerston North