The people are alarmed to see a comet
The king was deceived by even the Dutch. It came to a point where the king did not trust any foreign power. He only depended on the respect he earned from his own subjects. The king made the foreign powers live in fear and suspense about his actions. He prohibited his people from trading with the Dutch.
He made all the foreigners who came to the country stay here and did not allow them to leave the country. He employed foreign soldiers and spies for his security. He increased all the cadres of the security officers assigned to him. All this was done to protect himself and the country from any conspiracy.
In the meantime, an attempt had been made to poison the king. When the king got to know this, he managed to arrest all those who were responsible.
He punished everybody, including even their kith and kin.
The king was entertaining a feeling of contempt to be accepting the annual tribute paid to him by the people. So he refused to accept it. The king’s share of the harvest that his officers collected with great difficulty was allowed to rot in the store-houses where it was stacked. In the meantime, rebellion broke out.
The king left Kandy and went and settled in Nilambe. From there he went to Hanguranketa. As a result of these actions of King Rajasinghe, the people began to hate him. They kept planning to kill the king. In 1664 A.D., a comet shone in the sky. This made the people restless.
By Halaliye Karunathilaka
Edited and translated by Kamala Silva
Illustrated by Saman Kalubowila