Sovereigns of Sri Lanka: King Mittasena [432-433 CE]

Predecessor		Successor
King Chattagahaka Janthu [432 CE] -House of Lambakanna I-	King Mittasena [432-433 CE]	Chola Invaders [433-459 CE]
COMPLETE LIST OF RULERS OF SRI LANKA

About King Mittasena

After King Chattagahaka Janthu’s death, which occurred after about a year of rule, King Mittasena ascended to the throne. Mittasena was an imposter who was installed as king by one of Chattagahaka Janthu’s ministers, who effectively controlled the kingdom behind the scenes.

The Culavamsa, Sri Lanka’s historical chronicle, refers to Mittasena with the derogatory moniker “rice thief” or “plunderer of crops,” highlighting his unpopularity and misrule, particularly his exploitation of the kingdom’s resources. Pujavaliya, the 13th-century manuscript, calls him by the name “Mit Sen Karalsora”

While King Mittasena remained hidden within the palace walls, the minister effectively ruled the kingdom. The people grew restless and impatient as they had not seen the king. During a public feast, the crowd demanded proof that the king was indeed in the palace. Hearing their cries, King Mittasena emerged dressed in royal attire, mounted an elephant, and rode to the Temple of the Tooth Relic.

According to the Rajavaliya, on his return from the Temple, the king ordered the royal elephant to be brought for his journey back to the palace. When the elephant did not arrive on time, the king commanded a stucco (clay) elephant to take him instead. Miraculously, the clay elephant came to life and carried the king back to the palace on its back.

The Chola Innovation and the Fall of Anuradhapura Kingdom

Amid this turmoil, an army from the Chola Kingdom invaded Anuradhapura with a force of 7,000 soldiers. They killed King Mittasena and, one after another, ruled Anuradhapura for the next 27 years. The first to rule Anuradhapura was a Tamil named Pandu. During this period, the nobles and kinsmen of the kingdom fled to the Rohana Kingdom in the south.

King Mittasena‘s reign lasted approximately one year before he was overthrown and killed by the Tamil invaders.

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

Blaze, L. E. (2004). History of Ceylon. Asian Educational Services. (Original work published 1933)
Geiger, W., & Rickmers, C. M. (1929). Culavamsa: Being The More Recent Part Of The Mahavamsa: Vol. Part I–II. Pali Text Society.
Gunasekara, B. (1895). A Contribution to the History of Ceylon: Translated from Pujavaliya. H.C. Cottle.
Nicholas, C. W., & Paranavitana, S. (1961). A Concise History of Ceylon : From the Earliest Times to the Arrival of the Portuguese in 1505. University of Ceylon.
Paranavitana, S. (1959). History of Ceylon (University of Ceylon): Vol. 1 (part 1)–3. Ceylon University Press.
Suraweera, A. V. (2014). රාජාවලිය. Education Publication Department of Sri Lanka. (Original book published in 1976 from the original documents from the 17th century)
Fa-Xian, & Legge, J. (1965). A record of Buddhistic Kingdoms: Being an account by the Chinese monk Fa-hien of his travels in India and Ceylon, Ad 399-414, In search of the Buddhist Books of Discipline. Paragon Book Reprint Corp. and Dover Publications, Inc. (Original work published 5th century)

Also See

Full list of Sovereigns of Sri Lanka

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