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When tsunami waves brought Vihara Maha Devi to Lanka
By Rohan Wickremasinghe
The ancient Sri Lankan King Kalanitissa had a brother named Uttiya who had a secret relationship with Kalanitissa's wife. When Kalanitissa found out about the relationship, Uttiya ran away and hid among the people. One day Uttiya sent a man dressed as a Buddhist monk hidden among other monks. The man came near the queen and dropped a letter. The king heard a slight noise, found the letter and thought the letter was dropped by one of the Arahath Theras who was standing nearby and killed the monk by immersing him in a cauldron of hot oil. The gods got upset over this heinous crime and the ocean started to flow into the land.

After consultation with the ministers, King Kalanitissa decided to set afloat his beautiful daughter Vihara Devi (later known as Vihara Maha Devi) in a canoe to appease the gods. The tale written about Vihara Maha Devi recounts that the princess, the daughter of King Kalanitissa of Maya Rata, had been offered as a sacrifice to the sea-gods in the hope that she would appease their wrath and prevent the seas from swallowing villages. She had been placed in a gilded canoe and released into the sea.

The waves brought her towards what is thought to be Panama (more precisely, Arugam Bay) where the villagers had spotted the glinting vessel and alerted their king, Kavantissa. Kavantissa, who was told that a beautiful maiden was in the boat, hurried to the beach but when he arrived the boat was gone. Legend has it that she had sailed towards the village of Komarigama in Arugam Bay where the king met her. Kavantissa, upon learning that she was Kalanitissa's daughter, married her on a "magul poruwa" which can still be seen in the vicinity of Magul Maha Viharaya.

This historical record of the Mahawamsa indicates the accuracy of the recorded history of the Sihalese. The same area near Arugam Bay in modern Sri Lanka was worst hit by the tsunami tragedy that occurred last Sunday.

This historical record of Sri Lanka also teaches a lesson. It gives the leaders a message on the importance of ruling the country in an honourable way. Sri Lankan history is full of stories of floods, droughts and other natural calamities happening when kings or the queens who governed this country were weak and were incapable of taking decisions for the wellbeing of the people.

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