This article is part of a continuing series on the ‘Mahavamsa’, the recorded chronicle of Sri Lankan history.
Two more warriors are enrolled

1. It was the 2nd century BC. At this time, there lived a wealthy merchant named Mahanaga, in the village of Nitulvita, in the Southern Province. He had seven sons. The youngest was named Abhaya. He was rather short and his elders nicknamed him Gotha. Abhaya however, was strong and powerful but did not display his strength so far. While his elder brothers worked in the fields, he used to stay at home, eating, drinking and relaxing. His elder brothers repeatedly complained about his behaviour to his parents but things did not change for the better.
2. One day, the elder brothers started clearing a plot of land to start a new crop. They did their share and left, quite a big area uncleared for Abhaya to do. When the elders asked him to attend to this work, he took no notice. The brothers got angry and shouted at him. Abhaya was infuriated. He thought he must show them his power. He went, cleared the portion left for him, flattened the land, uprooted the Imbul trees and prepared it for cultivation, within a very short time.
3. He returned home and pretended that nothing was done. When the brothers inquired whether he had done his part, he said, “You go and see for yourselves”. The brothers were taken aback when they saw the Imbul trees he had pulled out. They thought he was more powerful than any of them. When the neighbours heard of this they too went and saw what Abhaya had done. They were simply shocked. He became known as Gothaimbara. This news reached King Kavan-Tissa. The king sent his men to bring Gothabhaya, and so he left home.
4. Now, close to Kotagala, there was a village named Katigama, where a wealthy man named Rohana lived. He had an only son named Gothabhaya. He was found to be extra strong at the age of about 13 years. Gothabhaya’s father was a devout Buddhist. Once, after listening to a sermon by a Bikkhu named Sumana, Rohana, got disgusted of household life and wanted to be a priest. He informed his only son of this wish. Then the son too, wanted to get into robes. Both of them were ordained as monks. The father meditated and reached ‘Arhanthood’ and so was a Thera. Gothabhaya then came to be known as Thera-Puttabhaya – son of the Thera. Both monks lived in a temple built amid a huge coconut plantation, in the village of Paspandura.
5. One day when Thera-puttabhaya was not in the temple, Gothaimbara went past the temple, on his way to Magama. He felt very thirsty. He jumped inside the temple premises, shook the coconut trees and made a lot of young coconuts fall. He drank the water of some of them, ate the kernel and gave enough to the others who were around him. The caretaker saw all this but kept quiet through this feat. Gothaimbara in the meantime, having satisfied his hunger and thirst, sat under a tree to rest for a while. There, he fell asleep. When Theraputtabhaya returned to the temple, he saw coconut husks and shells thrown all over and the temple land in a mess. When he asked the caretaker who the culprit was, he pointed at Gothaimbara.
6. Theraputtabhaya caught Gothamaimbara by his leg and dragged him right round the temple premises. The onlookers requested the monk not to harm him. But the punishment continued. Gothaimbara then said, “O dear monk, please do pardon me. I’ll bring coconuts to replace the ones that I have eaten. I can even cultivate an entire plantation for the temple. Please let me go”. The monk then released him. After a long conversation, they became friends. Gothaimbara met King Kavan-Tissa. Once in the king’s service, he told the king about the priest Theraputtabhaya.
7. The king sent Gothaimbara to request Theraputtabhaya to give up robes and join the king’s service. Gothaimbara, went, worshipped at the feet of the monk and said, “The king needs your assistance to protect the country from enemies. Please derobe and join us. When the task of chasing the enemy is accomplished, you can get back into robes”. After a lot of pleading, Theraputtabhaya went to Magama and joined the king’s service. He was known as warrior Theraputtabhaya.
8. Once the battle was won, Theraputtabhaya did not linger to receive any awards. When King Dutugemunu questioned him, he said, “O King, I’ve done my duty by my country. I do not need any recognition for the services rendered. Now I must get back into robes and try to defeat the enemy ‘Klesa’- the impurities of mind”. The king granted him permission. He went to all other warriors, hugged them and bade good-bye. That was the day one could notice tears in the eyes of hard-hearted warriors. Theraputtabhaya was back in the temple.

By Halaliye Karunathilaka
Edited and translated by Kamala Silva
Illustrated by
Saman Kalubowila

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