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This
article is part of a series on the ‘Mahavamsa’, the
recorded chronicle of Sri Lankan history
Dutugemunu
fights Balluka
Bhalluka organized his army. King Dutugemunu announced that he
was ready for the battle. By this time, the Tamil soldiers, who
fled in the face of defeat, had joined the army of Bhalluka. They
were unanimous in their decision to march to the battle field.
Well armed, they marched towards Anuradhapura. It looked as if
the Tamil army was taking revenge on the Sinhala people, because
they were burning villages and killing even the animals on their
way.-
 The
Sinhala army, under King Dutugemunu, advanced fearlessly. But
the march was unusually slow. It was because of Kandula, the elephant.
Kandula who goes tearing at the enemy was going quite half-heartedly.
Though the king tried to make him go faster, it didn’t work.
The king was worried that the army too would get disheartened.
-
King Dutugemunu summoned Phussadeva and asked, “Phussadeva,
what is this change of attitude of my elephant? He has played
an active part in about 28 battles, before this. He has never
retreated before. Is this an indication that the battle with Bhalluka
will be, to our disadvantage?” Phussadeva then answered
“O’ King, do not lose heart. The elephant will draw
back only till he finds a place of victory. Once he gets it, he
will halt there”.
-
 These
words spread to the commanders and the other soldiers as well.
They were delighted with the news. What Phussadeva predicted came
true. When the elephant reached the boundary of Mahavihara, he
stopped. Then all the soldiers, quickly armed themselves and waited
in readiness to face the enemy. Bhalluka, who was unaware of all
these happenings, got ready to face Dutugemunu’s army.
-
The battle began. When Bhalluka saw Dutugemunu he was almost shivering
in anger, thinking, “this is the man, who killed my uncle.
I must see him dead”. Bhalluka, shot an arrow to pierce
Dutugemunu’s mouth. The king managed to avoid it. It struck
the blade of his sword and fell to the ground. The king, who was
having his chew of betel in his mouth, dropped it there. On seeing
this, Bhalluka thought that his dart hit the king’s mouth
and he was bleeding from his mouth. He was overjoyed that his
dart hit the target. “He is struck in the mouth”,
uttered Bhalluka, shouting in sheer joy.
-
Mighty Phussadeva, who was sitting behind the king, let fly an
arrow into Bhalluka’s mouth. As the arrow passed, it slightly
touched the king’s ear-ring. But it went straight piercing
Bhalluka’s mouth. When he was about to fall, with his feet
towards the king, Phussadeva let go another arrow at the falling
man.
-
This struck him on the knee, making him fall with his head towards
the king. By then, the Sinhala army had completely defeated the
Tamil forces. About sixty-thousand of Bhalluka’s warriors
lay dead. The entire place was red with blood. There were dead
bodies strewn all over.
-
There were a number wounded among the Sinhala army too. Comparatively,
the damage was less. When the king’s ear-ring was hit, his
ear was slightly wounded. When Phussadeva saw the ear bleeding,
he was thoroughly upset. The king’s doctors treated him.
Though the king’s wound healed in no time, Phussadeva’s
guilt over what happened hurt him.
By Halaliye Karunathilaka
Edited and translated by
Kamala Silva
Illustrated by Saman Kalubowila
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