Elara (King)

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Elara (c.235BC - 161BC), also known as Elalan, or Élaezha Chola, was a Tamil king who ruled Sri Lanka from c.205 B.C.E. to 161 B.C.E. from the ancient capital of Anuradhapura. Sometimes referred to as 'the Just King'. Elara is a peculiar figure in the history of Sri Lanka and one with particular resonance given the ongoing ethnic strife in the country. On one hand he was an invader and usurper, and was eventually slain by the traditionally heroic king Dutugemunu. On the other hand he is often regarded as one of Sri Lanka's wisest and most just monarchs.

1 Birth and early life
2 Administration
3 Defeat and death
4 References

[edit] Birth and early life

Elara is described in the Mahavamsa as being 'A Damila of noble descent...from the Chola-country'; various other sources name him as the son of a Chola queen and brother of the king Ellagan. Little is known of his early life. In around 205 B.C.E. Elara mounted an invasion of the kingdom of Rajarata based in Anuradhapura in northern Sri Lanka and defeated the forces of incumbent king Asela, establishing himself as sole ruler for the nothern part of sri Lanka.

[edit] Administration

Elara is traditionally presented as being a just king despite his status as an ethnic outsider. The Mahavamsa states that he ruled 'with even justice toward friend and foe, on occasions of disputes at law'[1], and elaborates how he even ordered the execution of his son the basis of a heinous religious crime. The same chronicle relates that the king had a bell with a rope attached at the head of his bed, so that all who sought redress might ring it.In particular he is presented as a tireless defender of the native faith and of pointedly treating native Sinhala nobles with the same dignity as his Tamil associates. As such Elara is often held as the archetype of the Dharmaraja, or 'just king' of Buddhist tradition, all the more remarkable for not being a native son of the kingdom he governed.

[edit] Defeat and death

Despite Elara's famously even-handed rule, resistance to him coalesced around the figure of Dutugemunu, a young Sinhala prince from the kingdom of Mahagama. Towards the end of Elara's reign Dutugemunu had strengthened his position in the south by defeating a challenge from his brother Tissa. Confrontation between the two monarchs was inevitable and the last years of Elara's reign were consumed by the war between the two.

The Mahavamsa contains a fairly detailed account of sieges and battles that took place during the conflict [2]. Particularly interesting is the extensive use of war elephants and of flaming pitch in the battles.

The climactic battle is said to have occurred as Dutugemunu drew close to Anuradhapura. On the night before, both Elara and the Sinhala rebel are said to have conferred with their counsellors. The next day both kings rode forwards on war elephants, Elara 'in full armour...with chariots, soldiers and beasts for riders'. Dutugemunu's forces are said to have routed those of Elara, with killing in such numbers that 'the water in the tank there was dyed red with the blood of the slain'. Dutugemunu, declaring that 'none shall kill Elara but myself', chased him to the south gate of Anuradhapura, where the two engaged in an elephant-back duel and the aged king was finally felled by one of Dutugemunu's darts.

Following his death Dutugemunu ordered that Elara be cremated where he had fallen, and had a monument constructed over the place. The Mahavamsa mentions that 'even to this day the princes of Lanka, when they draw near to this place, are wont to silence their music'. Unfortunately the location of the shrine is lost - the Elara Sohona ('Tomb of Elara') in Anuradhapura today is in fact a stupa constructed under Elara's orders.