1. Prince Jaya Bandara was also called Jayakumara. He was a descendent of the generation of Prince Sumitra – who came here from North India, when the 'Sri Maha Bodhi' was brought to the island. As such, he belonged to the Bodhi Gupta clan. Prince Jayakumara had mastered the art of archery, sword fighting and even riding on elephants and horses. Many were his claims to the kingship of Kotte. He had won the heart of the king.

2. Meanwhile another prince who was equally well-versed in martial arts came to Kotte. In a short spell of time, he became the commander-in-chief of the army of Kotte. He was Vedhaya Bandara by name, but was popularly known as Veediya Bandara. This prince's mother was a cousin of King Buwanekabahu, who was ‘Kapuru Lama Ethani’ by name.

3 Her father was Thaniya Vellatha, the provincial ruler of Madampe in Chilaw. She was given in marriage to Kumara Bandara who at the time was a provincial leader. There is another version to this story. That is to say that the husband of Lama Ethani was a Chola prince. However, Kapuru Lama Ethani had two sons of whom the elder one was Veediya Bandara.

4. This prince had learned languages like Pali and Sanskrit. He was very clever in the martial arts too. Her second son was named Thammita Suriya Bandara. He too was an educated prince, who had mastered the martial arts. But he was not as clever as his brother, Veediya Bandara. The royal army of the Kingdom of Kotte grew in strength due to the physical power and the psychological attitude of the prince, Veediya Bandara. Moreover, this prince had an additional advantage as the king became his father-in-law.

5. As such, this prince was able to roam about the royal palace quite freely. He was able to meet and speak to Samudra Devi freely. Before long, they turned to be lovers. But they swore to keep it a secret. In spite of their attempts, the king came to know of this. He thought of taking proper action before things went far. He hastened the wedding of Princess Samudra Devi and Jaya Bandara.

6. All arrangements for the wedding were hurriedly made. Prince Veediya Bandara got to know about this. He was so annoyed that he came to the palace immediately, to meet Samudra Devi. She had gone to the park at the time and so Veediya Bandara went there to meet her. Samudra Devi described in detail all that was pertaining to the matter and added that she did not like Jaya Bandara. She begged Veediya Bandara to save her from him and started crying.

7. Veediya Bandara said, "You need not entertain any fear. I'll save you and make you my queen". After making this promise, he left the park. Once he got back to the palace, he began to think what he should do next.

The day passed in contemplation. In another venue, huge arrangements were being made. That is at the palace of Prince Jaya Bandara. Relatives and friends had gathered. All of them were busy engaged in some sort of work. Some were preparing sweetmeats, while some others were decorating the palace.

8. Similar were the arrangements at the royal palace. Friends and relatives, who had gathered there, were engaged in conversation. Sweetmeats of various kinds were being prepared. But at both these places, there were spies of Veediya Bandara.

They kept the prince informed of everything that took place. Veediya Bandara was engrossed in deep thought. He had not arrived at a decision yet.