King Vijaya [543-505 BCE] | AmazingLanka.com

Prince Vijaya and his 700 followers meeting Kuveni, a young woman from the demon tribe on a copper-colored beach in Sri Lanka.

Predecessor		Successor
	King Vijaya [543-505 BCE] – House of Vijaya –	Regent Upatissa [505-504 BCE] – House of Vijaya –
COMPLETE LIST OF RULERS OF SRI LANKA

On the day the Buddha passed away in Kusinara Nuwara, Vijaya, a prince from Singhapura in the Lala country, arrived on the shores of Sri Lanka with 700 followers.

As the Buddha lay on his deathbed, he entrusted the protection of Sri Lanka to the deity Vishnu (Upulvan). He called upon Vishnu to safeguard the island, where the Buddha’s teachings would be preserved and protected for millennia to come.

“When the Guide of the World, having accomplished the salvation of the whole world and having reached the utmost stage of blissful rest, was lying on the bed of his nibbana; in the midst of the great assembly of gods, he, the great sage, the greatest of those who have speech, spoke to Sakka’ who stood there near him: `Vijaya, son of king Sihabahu, is come to Lanka from the country of Lala, together with seven hundred followers. In Lanka, O lord of gods, will my religion be established, therefore carefully protect him with his followers and Lanka.
“When the lord of gods heard the words of the Buddha he from respect handed over the guardianship of Lanka to the god who is in colour like the lotus. “
Mahavamsa (Chapter VII, Verses 1-5)

Sinhabahu and Sinhaseevali

Vijaya was the prince regent of King Sinhabahu and Queen Sinhaseevali of Sinhapura. He was the eldest of the sixteen pairs of twins they had. King Sinhabahu and Sinhaseevali were brother and sister born to a lion and Princess Suppa Devi (this name is disclosed only in the Mahavamsa-tika, probably derived from the original Attakatha – Paranavitana), a Vanga kingdom princess.

According to the Mahavamsa (Chapter VI), Suppa Devi was born to the king of the Kalinga kingdom and his queen, Suppadevi, who was the daughter of the king of Vanga. While travelling through the jungle with a caravan of merchants, Suppa Devi was attacked and abducted by a lion. The lion took her to a cave, where they lived together, and their union resulted in the birth of two children: a son, Sinhabahu, and a daughter, Sinhaseevali.

At the age of sixteen, Sinhabahu managed to escape with his mother and sister and reached the kingdom of Vanga, where they encountered a general who happened to be a cousin of Suppadevi. The general later married Suppadevi.

Since the king of Vanga had no heirs, he entrusted his kingdom to Sinhabahu. However, Sinhabahu passed the throne to his uncle, Suppadevi’s husband, and departed with his sister Sinhaseevali to establish a new kingdom in the land of his birth, called Sinhapura. Sinhabahu made Sinhaseevali his queen, and she bore sixteen pairs of twins, a total of thirty-two sons.

Birth of Prince Vijaya

The eldest son, Prince Vijaya, became notorious for causing unrest in the kingdom with his companions. The citizens, weary of Vijaya’s conduct, urged King Sinhabahu to take action. Yielding to public pressure, Sinhabahu had Vijaya and seven hundred of his followers placed on a ship and set adrift. Their wives and children were dispatched on a separate vessel.

Arrival of Vijaya to Thambapanni

On the day of the Buddha’s demise, a ship carrying Prince Vijaya and his followers landed on the western shores of Sri Lanka, at a beach with copper-coloured sand, which they named Thambapanni. Upon arrival, they discovered that the island was inhabited by the Yaksha tribe.

Kuveni, a member of the Yaksha (daemon) tribe, assisted Vijaya in killing the other Yakshas and became his consort. Vijaya settled in Thambapanni, which was located south of the river, possibly the Malwathu Oya. Kuveni bore two children, a son and a daughter, to Vijaya.

Consecration

Later, Vijaya’s followers urged him to formally assume the crown as ruler of the new land, which led to his marriage to the daughter of the King of Madura. Consequently, Kuveni and her children were abandoned and left to wander in Lankapura. The present-day Veddha tribe of Sri Lanka is believed to be descended from the two children of Kuveni.

However, the Dipavamsa, which predates the Mahavamsa, makes no mention of Kuveni or the Yaksha tribe.

According to Codrington (1926), other Indian legends involving a princess and a lion present a different version of the story. In these accounts, the prince is exiled from his kingdom and seeks refuge in Ratnadvipa (the Island of Gems). A merchant who arrives in search of precious stones is killed, and his wife is held captive. Over time, their descendants multiply, a community forms, and a king is eventually chosen. The country is then named Sinhala, derived from the name of its original founder.

Last Days

King Vijaya did not have any children from his marriage to the daughter of the King of Madura. Therefore Vijaya sent a letter to his twin brother, Sumitta, requesting him to take over the kingdom, but he passed away before receiving a reply. In the interim, Vijaya’s ministers, based in Upatissagama, governed the kingdom for a year while awaiting a response. Sumitta, who had become the king of Sinhapura, had three sons. When Vijaya’s messengers arrived, Sumitta, being too old, asked one of his sons to go to Lanka. His youngest son, Panduvasdeva, volunteered. Panduvasdeva, along with 32 sons of Sumitta’s ministers, travelled to Lanka, where he became the new ruler.

Ancient Manuscripts Detailing the Sovereigns of Sri Lanka

Sovereigns of Sri Lanka are chronicled in several ancient manuscripts. These texts not only record the lineages of kings but also the significant events and developments of their reigns. Some of the most significant ancient sources are:

Dipavamsa: compiled between the 3rd and 4th centuries CE, and the earliest known historical chronicle
Mahavamsa: Initially compiled by Mahanama Thero in the 5th or 6th century CE, this chronicle was later expanded upon by other authors who added additional chapters. Covers events up until the reign of King Mahasena of Anuradhapura
Culavamsa: Starts where the Mahavamsa stops and records the history of Sri Lankan rulers from the 4th century to 1815. Mahavamsa and Culavamsa are often seen as one extended chronicle, commonly referred to simply as the Mahavamsa.
Pujavaliya: Written by a monk in or around 1266 during the reign of King Panditha Parakrama Bahu of Dambadeniya Kingdom
Rajavaliya: A 17th-century historical chronicle of Sri Lanka, covering the history of the island from its beginnings up to the accession of King Vimaladharmasurya II in 1687.

References

Codrington, H. W., & Hocart, A. M. (1926). A Short History of Ceylon. Mac Millan and Co Limited.
Mahanama, Geiger, W., & Bode, M. H. (1912). The Mahavamsa or the Great Chronicle of Ceylon. Translated into English by Wilhelm Geiger. For the Pali Text Society by Henry Frowde.

Predecessor		Successor
	King Vijaya [543-505 BCE] – House of Vijaya –	Regent Upatissa [505-504 BCE] – House of Vijaya –
COMPLETE LIST OF RULERS OF SRI LANKA