Dipavamsa (study)
by Sibani Barman | 2017 | 55,946 words
This page relates ‘Sinhabahu (Simhabahu) and Vijaya� of the study on the Dipavamsa conducted by S. Barman in 2017. The Dipavamsa is the base material of the Vamsa literatures of Ceylon (Srilanka or Sri-Lanka) writtin the Pali language.
Chapter 4b - Գ (ṃh) and Vijaya
Sri-Lankan chronicles like ī貹ṃs and Ѳ屹ṃs say that the country was colonised by immigrants from India. Many legends come out from this fact. The most famous is that: There was a king of ղṅg country. He had a daughter who was the princes of ṅg. She after leaving the palace travelled with a company of merchants and she fell into the hands of a lion. From their union a son and a daughter was born.
Գ [ṃh] was the son of the lion. He did not like the life of his father and arrived in the ղṅg country with his mother and sister. He killed the lion, his own father and came to the ḷa (probably Gujrat but the exact location is a matter of dispute) and established a city which became known as ṃhܰ. He married his sister ī and they had thirty-two children. Vijaya and Sumitta were the eldest. Vijaya, in his growing period, used to harass people.
King Գ warned Vijaya and his friend’s thrice. But Vijaya did not listen to his advice. At last, the king asked them to leave his kingdom. Vijaya and his seven hundred followers were boarded on a ship, and they reached at the port of ܱ (north of Mumbai). In spite of getting cordial hospitality and honour by the local people, Vijaya and his followers committed theft, adultary, falsehood, slander, and many immoral dreadful conducts in return. The ship in which the children had embarked was helplessly driven to an island, the name of which was then called ī貹. The ship carrying the wives of Vijaya’s followers was driven to another island and was named Ѳṭṭ.
After Suppara Vijaya’s ship went to Bharukaccha (Broach near Surat). There also they irritated the inhabitants intensely and had to leave the island. After that their ship had faced a violent wind and driven to ī貹, where they disembarked and went on shore. Being weekened by great hunger, thirst and fatigue they were unable to walk on foot. They crawled about on the ground with both hands and knees. When they rose and stood upright, they saw that their hands were resplendent. The red coloured dust of the ground covered their hands and arms.Hence the place was being called by the name Tamba-貹ṇṇ (copper-palmed) 10.
It is said that, Vijaya arrived in Tamba貹ṇṇ on the very day of the Mahāparinibbāna of the Buddha. Tamba貹ṇṇ was the first town in the ī貹 where Vijaya resided and governed his kingdom. Vijaya found the country in the occupation of the Yakkhas, the earliest inhabitants of the territory. The new comer defeated them easily with the help of ۲ī named ܱī whom he married. Vijaya established an extensive settlement throughout the island giving the name ī (being the descendant of the King ī who slain a lion) and making him the eponymous hero of the Sihala race. He however was not willing to declare the ۲ī his wife, as the queen of the kingdom. He searched out a maiden of a noble house and for the purpose sent envoys to Ѵǻdzܰ or Ѳܰ in the ṇḍⲹ country of South India.
The envoys piloted the mission successfully. The Modura princes was not sent over alone but with her were sent many other maidens of good birth for marriage with Vijaya’s followers together with craftsmen and a thousand families of eighteen guilds. Thus indeed the position of the royal family was strengthened. But even today it is a matter of dispute-that the founder of the Sinhalese race hailed from the east coast of northern India or from the west coast.
Ѳ屹ṃs mentions ṃhܰ as the royal capital from which the founder of the first Indo-Aryan dynasty came to Sri-Lankā. Geiger and Professor Suniti kumar Chatterjee wanted to identify the ḷa region with ٲ above Gujrat on the western coast of India. But Prof. B.M.Barua was not ready to accept it. According to him, in that case, there must be a similarity of dilects between the two countries.
He further adds–“The association of Simhapura with ḷa or cannot deter us from identifying it with ṃhܰ in ٳٲ貹ٳ. In the Ѳٲ (II. 27-21), the countries of ṃhܰ, Suhma and ḷa are associated together, and these are all located in ٳٲ貹ٳ. The Buddhist Sanskrit work called Ѳ屹ٳ, locates Utkala, later a part of Orissa, in ٳٲ貹ٳ. The Greeks mention the ṇḍⲹs among the autonomous tribes of the Punjab proper, just like other ruling races, the ṃh of ṃhܰ may have migrated and founded territories elsewhere, e.g. in the north and south of Kalinga. Probably the northern ṃhܰ in Kalinga was believed all along, due no doubt, to the tradition in the chronicles, to have been the homeland of Vijaya�.
It appears from all the legends and chronicles that the Indo-Aryan rulers built planned cities and towns. The districts and rural areas were populated according to the classes or castes. The kings were to be formally anointed and the ministers elected or appointed. According to ī貹ṃs and Ѳ屹ṃs, Vijaya built the city of Tamba貹ṇṇ, his chief minister Գܰ built the village Գܰgāma on the bank of river Kadamba, named after him, his purohita Upatissa built dzپ峾 on the bank of river Ҳī to the north of Գܰgāma. Three other ministers built ī, ܱ and Vijitanagara. Thus the settlements founded by Vijaya were located along the river banks in the north-western region of Sri-Lanka.
After establishing the settlement, Vijaya wanted to strengthen his position in the Island by establishing a matrimonial alliance with the neighbouring ṇḍⲹ country of India and forming a social aristocracy with the help of the ṇḍⲹ princes and other maidens from the families of the ṇḍⲹ nobles.
Princes of Modhurā and her companions landed at Ѳپٳٳ port (now Mantoṭa opposite the island of Mannar).
Vijaya had one son and one daughter by the ۲ī.When he heard that the princes had arrived he said to the ۲ī to go leaving the children behind. ۲ī, Kuvaṇṇā departed for ṅkܰ and was murdered immidiately by a person of her own community on account of her treachery. Her two children fled to Sumaṇakuṭa-pabbata (Adam’s Peak) and started living there. When they grew up, the brother took the sister as his wife in Malaya region. From these are sprung up the Pulindas.
King Vijaya ruled Sri-Lanka for nearly 38 years (-505 B.C.) but died leaving no son from the ṇḍⲹ princes to succeed. The kingdom which he and his band conquered not by open violence, but by policy, intrigue, and perfidy was cursed by ܱī, the local wife of Vijaya, stating that no future ruler would be able to rule the land without bloodshed and strife.
After the death of Vijaya, his chief Minister Upatissa having ascended the throne temporarily removed the seat of government to 貹پ-峾 founded by him. Shortly before his death, Vijaya, perceiving that the fair kingdom which he had so unjustly obtained was about to depart from his house, had sent an embassy to his father, requesting his younger brother to be sent as his successor. In the meantime, however, Գ had died and left his throne and kingdom to his second son Sumitta, who willing to preserve the possession of Ceylon in his own family, sent his youngest son Pāṇḍuvāsudeva to assume his crown.