Vijaya
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Vijaya (c. 543 BC-504 BC) was the first king of Sri Lanka. The legends around Vijaya's life constitute what is essentially a creation myth for the Sinhalese people and as such he is a highly-regarded and often-mentioned figure in the history of Sri Lanka. The primary source for his life is the Mahavamsa. It is inevitably difficult, given the dearth of sources, to separate fact from legend in Vijaya's life, and as Codrington puts it, 'It is possible and even probable that Vijaya (`the Conqueror') himself is a composite character combining in his person...two conquests' of ancient Sri Lanka. Archeological findings have, however, indicated that the timing of the Vijaya legend coincides with the arrival of the Aryan ancestors of the Sinhalese on Sri Lanka.
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[edit] Ancestry and arrival in Lanka
According to the Mahavamsa, Vijaya's ancestors hailed from the kingdom of Vanga (in modern Bengal) in India. At the beginning of the chronicle the king of Vanga is married to the daughter of the king of Kalinga. Their daughter, Suppadevi, was not only 'very fair and very amorous', but was also prophesied to consummate a 'union with the king of beasts'[1] - in the Mahavamsa, a lion. When this duly happened, she gave birth to two children - Sihabahu and Sihasivali. 'Sihabahu' means 'lion-armed' and young prince himself is described as having 'hands and feet...formed like a lion's'[2]. The family live together in the lion's cave, blocked in by a large rock the lion had placed to prevent their exit. Eventually however Suppadevi and her two children flee the cave, and Sihabahu kills his father with an arrow. Then, marrying his sister, he establishes a kingdom based on a city called Sihapura. Sihasivali bears him a series of twins; their eldest child is named Vijaya, and his younger twin brother Sumitta.
Vijaya is described as indulging in 'evil conduct[,] and his followers were...(like himself), and many intolerable deeds of violence were done by them'. So antisocial were his activities that the people of the kingdom eventually demanded that the (now aging) king Sihabahu have him executed [3]. Instead Sihabhu has half their heads shaved (a sign of disgrace) and exiled Vijaya with his followers, their wives and children, from the kingdom - traditionally said to 700 souls, though this is not mentioned in the Mahavamsa. After landing in several places they found to be hostile, the wayward prince and his associates eventually 'landed in Lanka, in the region called 'Tambapanni' [4].
Naturally there is much debate over what historical truths can be extracted from the legends surrounding this period. The tale of Suppadevi becoming pregnant by a lion had been interpreted as the princess actually becoming pregnant by a rebel with the name 'Sinha'[5]. Geography is one of the central issues. Vanga is believed to be roughly in the region of modern Bengal, and Kalinga in Orissa, indicating an east-subcontinental origin for the Sinhalese. However the strong relationship between ancient Sinhala and the Prakrit languages of north-west India indicates a strong connection with areas like Gujarat. As Codrington puts it in his 'Short History of Sri Lanka':
- It is obvious that many of these events assigned to the early reigns are purely mythical. Two points call for comment. In the first place, if there is any truth in the account of Vijaya's ancestry at all, it is difficult to admit the probability of any connection between petty kings of Bengal and Gujarat on opposite sides of the Indian continent: the evidence all points to Vijaya having come from the western coast, and it seems likely that the tale of his mixed ancestry is due to the fact that there were two streams of immigration, one from the western and the other from the eastern side of India.
A second geographical issue is the location of Tambapanni, the landing-site of the Vijayan expedition. The Rajaveliya states that the group saw Adam's Peak from their boats and thus landed in southern Sri Lanka, in an area that eventually became part of the kingdom of Ruhuna. British historian H. Parker narrowed this down to the mouth of Kirindi Oya. This is now thought to be a far too southerly location. The more favoured region currently is between the cities of Mannar and Negombo, and Puttalam, where the copper-coloured beaches may have given rise to the name Tambapanni, which means 'copper-palmed'[6].
[edit] Kuveni
Vijaya's arrival in Sri Lanka is said to have coincided with the passing away of the Buddha. Indeed the very first person Vijaya encounters on the island is the 'lord of gods', Vishnu, who is charged by the ailing Buddha with looking after Vijaya and his descendants[7].
The second encounter is far less auspicious - a yakkinni, or demoness, who 'appeared in the form of a bitch'. Vijaya's men, surmising that 'Only where there is a village are dogs to be found', followed the creature, only to come upon the queen of the demons, Kuveni (also known as Kuvanna). Though the protection of Vishnu prevented Kuveni from devouring the hapless man, it did not prevent her from hurling him - and all of Vijaya's other companions - into a chasm [8]
Vijaya eventually comes upon Kuveni and threatens her with death unless she releases his men. When this is done Kuveni supplies them with food and clothing, and, 'assuming the lovely form of a sixteen year old maiden' seduces Vijaya [9]. Then, in a complete reversal of her alliegences, she states that she 'will bestow kingship on my lord (Vijaya)' and thus 'all the yakkhas must be slain, for (else) the yakkhas will slay me, for it was through me that men have taken up their dwelling (in Lanka)'. This Vijaya goes on to do, vanquishing the demons and driving them from the island, all the time with Kuveni at his side.
Though Kuveni bears him two children, a son and a daughter, Vijaya eventually rejects her with the words 'Go now, dear one, leaving the two children behind; men are ever in fear of superhuman beings'[10]. Despite begging Vijaya not to send her away, a broken-hearted Kuveni eventually leaves the palace, taking the two children despite being ordered not to. Arriving in one of the few surviving Yakka cities she is killed by her own people for her betrayal. One of her uncles takes pity on her children and tells them to flee before they, too, are killed. They eventually flee to Malaya where they settle and become the ancestors of the Pulinda. And alternative tale is that Kuveni flung herself from Yakdessa Gala, imploring the gods to curse Vijaya for his cruelty - which they do by preventing any of Vijaya's children from ever sitting on the throne of Rajarata[11]. Interestingly 'Vijaya's curse' is held by some to still hold sway over Sri Lanka's troubled politics.
The Kuveni myth is remarkable for being so violent and tragic. Both the demon queen and Vijaya are portrayed as being deeply trecherous and unfeeling - the former in betraying her entire people, the latter in betraying her so callously. Indeed Vijaya's reason for rejection Kuveni is his desire for a 'a maiden of a noble house' to be consecrated queen with him. This desire could have had a political aspect - in marrying a princess of an established noble house he would essentially have established himself as a legitimate monarch in his own right, on a par with the other rulers of the subcontinent's kingdoms.
Kuveni, on the other hand, is regarded as a descendant of the demons of the Ramayana and of Ravana, who also dwelled in Lanka. A common folk tale was that her children did not, in fact, flee to Malaya, but instead remained in Sri Lanka's jungles and became the veddas - Sri Lanka's aboriginal population. This may indeed be the explanation for Kuveni and her people, as early Indian settlers would almost certainly have come into contact and conflict with indigenous Sri Lankans. The Yakkas are referred to occasionally as 'invisible' [12], and indeed would have appeared so to the newcomers unused to Sri Lanka's jungles, through which the Veddas even today can move in near-silence and with barely a trace.
Interestingly the Dipavamsa, on which the Mahavamsa is based, makes no mention of Kuveni whatsoever[13]
[edit] Reign and death
Vijaya's ministers in the meanwhile had set about securing a princess for their leader to marry, and found one in the form of the daughter of the king of Pandu in southern India. Not only did the king despatch his daughter, but he also decreed that 'Those men here who are willing to let a daughter depart for Lanka shall provide their daughters with a double store of clothing and place them at the doors of their houses. By this sign shall we (know that we may) take them to ourselves'[14]. Thus every male in Vijaya's crew received a wife (their original wives had been separated from them on their voyage to Sri Lanka).
The ministers also appear to have been quite intrepid in founding their own towns and cities around Tambapanni - Ujjeni, Uruvela, Upatissagama, Vijita, and Anuradhagama [15]. Anuradhagama ('Anuradha's village') in particular was a significant foundation - under the name Anuradhapura (Anuradha's city) it was to become capital of Rajarata for over a thousand years.
Following the arrival of the princess of Pandu, 'the ministers in full assembly consecrated Vijaya king and appointed a great festival'. Age and marriage appear to have had a profound impact on Vijaya, who changed his way of life and ruled 'in peace and righteousness' for thirty-eight years. [16].
The events surrounding Vijaya's death provide an interesting insight into the standards of government - or at least the ideals of government - during this time. As seen before it was the ministers of Vijaya who took the initiative in finding a bride for the king and in founding cities, indicating a considerable amount of independence and authority. Similarly when Vijaya dies, 'the ministers ruled, dwelling in Upatissagama...for a year'[17] whilst Vijaya's chosen successor, Sumitta, was summoned from Sinhapura. In the event it is not Sumitta but his son Panduvasdeva who arrives and takes up the reins of government, thus ensuring that the direct line of Vijaya's house is broken.
[edit] Significance
Vijaya's reign is of immense importance to the Sinhalese people as it forms the core of their cultural identity. As the Sinhalese kingdom developed into something of a south Asian anomaly - a Buddhist, Aryan kingdom in a largely Hindu, Dravidian area - the Vijaya legend reiterated that which differentiated the Sinhalese from their neighbours. The clear association of Vijaya with Buddhism, though he is not Buddhist himself, foreshadows the kingdom's conversion in Devanampiyatissa's time. Vijaya's relationship with Kuveni explains the presence of the Veddas, and his marriage to the Pandu princess establishes a precedent for the often cordial relations between the Sinhalese and the various kingdoms of south India.
Vijaya himself, however, is fascinating for being wayward, and on occasion even cruel and callous. Though he is consistently shown deference as leader of the embryonic Sinhalese polity, the Mahavamsa does not shy away from his more immoral acts. As such he is not held in the kind of awe and respect afforded to Devanampiyatissa, Dutugemunu, or Parakramabahu the Great.
The Sri Lankan Navy, for a considerable amount of time, consisted of only one battle ship, named the 'Vijaya'.
| Preceded by Kuveni (Queen of the Yakkas) |
Ruler of Sri Lanka 534 BC–504 BC |
Succeeded by Regent Upatissa |
