GREATEST KING DUTUGEMUNU

The king Dutugemunu’s “spirit lived on and manifested itself continually in the religious and architectural activity of successive kings to the very beginning of the 19^th century “-and it remains so to the present day. Dutugemunu the warrior king dominates Sri Lanka’s history just as Asoka shines in Indian history as a symbol of its glory and greatness. Dutugemunu is important to Sri Lanka’s history not so much as a hero who spearheaded the move against a northern foe, but as afar seeing ruler who prevented this island from losing its national identity by being absorbed into the framework of the economic and cultural expansion of the cholas in south India.

Anuradhapura has flourished as a great city reflecting the heritage of the early kings, Pandukabhaya, Devanampiyatissa and their successors, until a wave of south Indian invasion led to its neglect. Sri Lanka did not have to face many dangers from the Indian subcontinent during the first few centuries of settlement. Relations were cordial between the two countries as recorded in the Mahavamsa and earlier chronicles of the ancient Sinhalese, as well as in the Asokan inscription of India. Trade between Sri Lanka and India ports had been there since prehistory, and Greek and roman trading vessels plied between the far East and West Asia carrying exotic goods to Europe from collection centres as Indian oceans ports. Indian merchants would have been involved in this trade between Sri Lanka ports and West Asia.this is confirmed in many ancient documents such as the periplus of the Erythraean sea, a 1^st or 2^nd century A.D manuscript, which records the voyage of a Greek navigator who sailed to these lands of the Indian ocean region. He mentions Sri Lanka as aport of call. These merchants were mainly interested in trading with the island during those early years, and did not pose a political threat. Although Rome controlled the economic activities of the Mediterranean and the orient to a great extent, it was not interested in sending its legions beyond West Asia.

Towards the 3^rd century B.C South Indian kingdom began to look on this island as an extension of their trading ventures. The friendly relation between the maurya kings and Sri Lanka has protected the island from hostile forces elsewhere in the Indian subcontinent. The South Indian state had not been completely under the sway of Asoka’s empire and had preserved their own cultural traditions since the day of Alexander and Chandragupta Maurya. Asoka’s edicts proclaimed his suzerainty over the whole of the subcontinent, but the southern states were independent to a great extent and subsequently they emerged as power to be reckoned with after the disintegration of the Mauryan Empire.

In 177 B.C South Indian adventures who may have been traders ruled in Anuradhapura for numbers of years. They were followed by the Chola King Elara who ruled for approximately 44 years. Sri Lanka had now become important to the trading interest of South India.

The Sinhalese people accepted Elara’s rule as no strong ruler had emerged among the Sinhala clans to counteract the force of the Cholas. According to the Buddhist chronicles Elara was just ruler, but the country began to be restive under the yoke of a king  who was Hindu by religion and was of the Chola race. Elara’s  connection with other chola groups in South India endangered the future independence of the island. The firm commitment to Buddhism by the Sinhala rulers of Anuradhapura was not easily forgotten. The memories of king Dewanampiyatissa and the monument built to house Buddhist relics, and the presence of the past heritage of the early Sinhalese settlers. The rulers of Rohana, where the Sinhalese royal family continued the traditions of Anuradhapura, awaited a time when they could regain their lost capital. These kings came under the sway of the king of Anuradhapura-in this case the chola king Elara. The Sinhalese people intermingled with the armies and administration of the northern king, but the Buddhist and Sinhalese traditions were still alive and the island awaited a leader who could rally these force around him to confront the north. The Mahavamsa gives much prominence to the story of king Dutugemunu and his life history is presented in great detail as an inspiration to all other kings who followed him. In a similar vein, Geoffery of Monmouth wrote his Arthurian saga in the middle ages, which led to other epic poems such as Tennyson’s ldylls of the king, where romantic literature is woven around ancient tales of folk heroes.

Tracing Dutudemunu’s origins, the Mahavamsa story unfold in the South Western coast of Sri Lanka where king Kelanitissa sacrifices his daughter to the angry gods of the ocean who had devastated the land with a tidal wave. Kelanitissa had offended the god and his people by killing a saintly monk due to palace intrigue. His daughter, who was set adrift in a golden barge to appease the gods of the sea. Drifted to the Southern Kingdom of Rohana-where Kavantissa ruled at Magama. Shrines situated along the south east coast of Sri Lanka such as Muhudumahavihara are associated with vihara maha dewi’s historic sea voyage. Kavantissa married the princess who  came to be known as Vihara Maha Dewi in the legends of the old. Kavantiss and Vihara Maha Dewi had two sons- Dutugemunu being the elder, and Tissa, the younger son.

Kavantissa was a quite man who used statecraft to expand his kingdom of Rohana by annexing the settlements of minot rules so that the rule of the king at Magama extended almost to the northern boundaries of Anuradhapura, where Elara ruled. Magama and Anuradhapura had the same Buddhist traditions of Maurya India in many ways, as they had both been in existence since the day of the first kings of Anuradhapura, Dutugemunu in his youth had offended his father Kavantissa by taunting him about his slow political scheme of unification. He was banished from the kingdom for this, and lived in the hill country forests in the kotmale district gathering an army around him.

After the death of Kavantissa, Dutugemunu became the ruler of Rohana and planned his campaign Against the northern kingdom. His rallying call to the Sinhalese was answered by the chieftains and leaders of various settlements, as well as by members of the Buddhist clergy, some of whom donned armour for the duration of the war and reverted to their saintly lives after the wars were over. Nandimitra, Suranimala, Mahasona, Gothabaya, Teraputta were some of the larger than life heroes of Herculean stature who followed Dutugemunu inti battle. Elara’s commander-in-chief, Dighajantu, is cast in the same mould. At the beginning of this long campaign, the king had to subdue some of the local rulers including his brother, Tissa, who did not wish to be subservient to the Rohana king. The army of Dutugemunu on its way from Rohana in the south to Rajarata in the north,  camped at many sites which are still a part of the folk lore of the island. From Mahiyangana to Vijithapura a long line of enemy forts succumbed to the southern forces.

Dutugemunu’s historic battle against Elara, with both kings on elephants, seems almost Homeric in aspect and was fought according to all the laws of chivalry extolled in great Indian epic poems such as the Mahabaratha. Elara was killed by Dutugemunu in this battle, but was given all the honors due to him in funeral rites according to royalty. Before he was finally vanquished, Elara had asked for aid from South India, and Dutugemunu had to once again face an army which landed at Mahatitta, led by a chief named Bhalluka, who advanced upon Aniradhapura. In the battle which ensued, Dutugemunu gained another victory destroying Bhalluka and his chola forces. Once all his rivals were subdued and the chola power in the north vanquished, Dutugemunu began to rule the kingdom from Anuradhapura. The wars were over and a great future lay ahead for this city. Dutugemunu commenced his greatest work-the building of the great stupa- the ruwanweli seya and also numerous other monuments, such as the Lovamahapaya or Brazen place which was nine storeys high, and the Mirissa stupa. The Ruwanweliya seya is one of the three great stupas of Anuradhapura and dwarfs the stupas of South East Asian in size. The nine storeyed Lovamahapaya is described as a royal monastery to accommodate monks according to their levels of enlightment. Much later, South Indian structure such as the Dharmaraja Rath at Mahamallapuram could have been built on similar lines. It was earlier thought that the description of the Lovamahapaya in the Mahavamsa may have exaggerated the splendor of the Buddhist monuments in the Anuradhapura to impress rulers who succeeded to the Sinhala throne after the heroic age of the Sinhalese king. But archaeology is proving that some of the description are not fiction but fact, as bronze tiles have been discovered at sites in Anuradhapura, which might be evidence that the Lovamahapaya and other edifices shone in regal splendor during Dutugemunu’s time.

Buddhism regained its lost glory and Anuradhapura once again became the greatest city in the lamd- a focus of travelers from other countries who visited these great Buddhist architectural wonders and commented on them. The final phase of the building of the Ruwanweliseya stupa could not be completed during Dutugemunu’s lifetime. The Mahavamsa dwells on the last moments of the dying monarch, as he gazed upon the gleaming white dome-hastily covered with white cloth to resemble the finished stupa. Dutugemunu’s brother, Saddhatissa, completed the building of the Ruwanweli seya and also ushered in an active period of great irrigation scheme. This was a feature of the peaceful times which dawned in the island after years of South Indian invasions.

King Dutugemunu’s statue which faces the Ruwanweliseya is one of the finest pieces of the sculpture constructed by later kings influenced by the Amaravati school of art in India which produced some of the beautiful Buddha images of the time. The grandeur of this statue also suggests the indo-Greek influence of the Kushans at Mathura.

Roamn forms in art and architecture during the late republic and later empire, were influenced by the Etruscan and Hellenic heritage of Italy and Greece. The second century B.C produced one of the finest Hellenic statues-that of Aphrodite of Melos or the ‘ Venus de Milo’ – which  served as a model for Roman sculpture in the years to come. The roman frieze at pergamon depicting the battle of the gods and giants was part of the altar of zeus constructed during this time. When kings such as Dutugemunu in  Sri Lanka were engaged in building great religious monuments, edifices reflecting the civic pride of the growing empire were taking shape in Rome as well as in the lands colonized by them.

Western history at this time was dominated by the Roman who were becoming more powerful. They controlled most of the Mediterranean and dominated carthage, Macedonia and Syria. Roman public life on the other hans was full of corruption and strife as officials from wealthy Roman families ruled as a closed aristocracy. Provincial governors and the aristocracy in Rome kept the masses from active participation in public life. Two roman of note were Gaius and Tiberius Gracchus. They were political reformers who carried out extensive agricultural reform, and tried to give political rights to the people. They were murdered while in office by conservative groups controlling all aspects of public life. Externally, Roman trade flourished and commerce developed around the Indian Ocean.

India at this time witnessed the end of the Maurya dynasty which was succeeded by the sungas, who ruled from Magadha. The Andhras succeeded to the Maurya lands in the South East of India. The building of stupas and other forms of sculpture art, which was a phenomenon of the post-Maurya era in India, was continued by the Sungas. The first invaders of India in the nd century B.C were Greeks from Bactria who established thrie rule in the Punjab and Indus valley ; they were followed by the sake or Scythians, and finally by the parthians or pahlavas from Iran. These groups carved out kingdom in northern India. The kushans were the last of the groups from Bactria. An important indo- Greek ruler of the time was king Menander (Milinda), a contemporary of Dutugemunu, who reigned from from  155-145 B.C. He was a Buddhist who figured in the canonical work, “The Milindapanha” pr ‘questions of Menander’…. He was regarede as a protector of Buddhism, the Greek in India being generous donors to Buddhist establishments. The coins of Menander bear the Buddhsit wheel or Dharmachakra on them. Buddhism appealed to the intellectuals of the Age, both India and In the other lands to which the missionaries travelled.

In Britain, the Iron Age Celtic tribes were building hill forts as the time that king Dutugemunu was engaged in the process of restoring Anuradhapura as a great cultural centre of the Buddhsit. The early Irish writings describe the tribal settlements of the celts as farming communities. The use of iron weapons and toolshad given the Celts mastery over the rat of European during the early years. The La Tene Celts from Europe has spread their civilization as far north as Britain and Scotland by this time the early Celtic town-ships that emerged in Britain and France during the second century B.C were converted to hill forts for defensive purposes. Britain, in 150 B.C., would have had hill forts and sacred oak groves where the Druids performed their magical rites, including human sacrifice. Celtic art was influenced by continental styles. The Druids became the transmitters of the oral traditional of the Celts and advisers to tribal chief.

In the Middle East, after Alexander’s death in 323 B.C, Palestine had become a buffer state between Syria under the Seleucid dynasty and Egypt under the ptolemies. Until 198 B.C, it was controlled by the Egyptians and after that the Seleucids attempted to Hellenize the Jewish lands. Greek dress, sports. Language and literature were popular with the local rulers such as Antiochus Epiphanies who reigned from 175-163 B.C. The jews finally revolted when the temple at Jerusalem Zeus. The Maccabean (Hasmonean) dynasty of jewish leaders began to control the destiny of Judea, which became an independent kingdom in 157 B.C religious groups such as the Pharisees, the Saducees and the Essenes interpreted the Jewish law to the people of Judea. The Essenes lived  in monastic communities practicing ascetic living and rites of purification, preparing for the dawn of a Messianic Kingdom. The dead Sea Scrolls, discovered (in 1947) in Qumran, may have been written at this time. Hebrew and Aramaic writings, as well as the books of the Jewish Old Testament were painstakingly recorded on leather and papyrus scrolls by scholars living in these cave dwellings. Their doctrines paved the way for the teachings of Jesus nearly two hundred years later.