Funday Times

This article is part of a continuing series on the ‘Mahavamsa’, the recorded chronicle of Sri Lankan history
Reconstruction of Mahavihara
1. Minister Sona commented that as the enemy was powerful, they lost very badly. Even the king was on their side. He further added that it was a bad time for them. But Rev. Sanghamitta said, "No, minister. No. There is no such thing as a bad period. I'm sure the king is being misled. It may be the work of the priests at the Thuparama who are closely connected to the king".

2. "That may be true", said Minister Sona, and added, "Meghavarna is now the Chief Minister once again and he is more powerful than before. He seems to be enjoying all the powers vested in him". The monk then said, "I too thought as much, when I was not allowed to enter the palace on his orders. I cannot believe how the king could change overnight". Minister Sona also said that he could not believe how things changed so soon.

3. Both Rev. Sanghamitta and Minister Sona thought that they must take revenge on the monks of Thuparama. When the minister asked the monk how it could be done he at once said, "let us do the same thing that we did to Mahavihara". Minister Sona then reminded him that they could ill-treat the monks of Mahavihara because the king happened to be on their side then. But now the same is impossible.

4. Rev. Sanghamitta then said, "The people of the country are still ignorant of the latest situation. They are under the impression that we are still in power. So let us hurry". Minister Sona agreed. He collected an army and saw to it that they were well armed. Leading the crowd, he went towards Thuparama. Minister Meghavarna got the news.

5. The Chief Minister Meghavarna was disturbed. He collected the army and marched towards Thuparama. By that time, Minister Sona and his army too had arrived. Both armies met and the battle began. Before long, things turned unfavourable for Minister Sona. Sona was killed in battle, by a shot that came from the Chief Minster Meghavarna. Minister Sona's army fled in all directions.

6. This defeat put Rev. Sanghamitta into a helpless position. There was no one else to help him. Even King Mahasen's queen did not like him. She was loyal to Mahavihara and was a chief disciple there. When she got to know that Rev. Sanghamitta was solely responsible for the ruin of Mahavihara, she thought of taking revenge on him.

7. The queen had a very loyal carpenter. She gave a thousand gold coins to this carpenter and instructed him thus, "All this is for you. You have to somehow kill Rev. Sanghamitta. After doing that go to a distant village and live there for sometime". The carpenter wanted to act accordingly. One day, he stole his way into the Abhayarama, entered the chamber of Rev. Sanghamitta and killed him. He immediately disappeared from the scene.

8. So ended the bad period for the monks of Mahavihara. In the meantime, restoration work on the Mahvihara got expedited with the patronage of the Chief-Minister Meghavarna. It did not take long for them to restore Mahavihara to its original splendour. The monks who had fled to Ruhuna and Malayarata were brought back to Anuradhapura. All the items that were taken away from the Mahavihara to Abhayagiri were brought back and installed in the Mahavihara once again.

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