Funday Times

This article is part of a continuing series on the ‘Mahavamsa’, the recorded chronicle of Sri Lankan history
The discussion at the Duratissa camp
1. The chief-minister, Meghavarna took his leave and went to the camp. The next day dawned. King Mahasen left his camp, taking the Royal Army back to Anuradhapura. Meanwhile on the other side of the Duratissa tank, a discussion was going on. The chief-minister and all the other loyal ministers were in attendance. When the chief-minister described all what happened the previous night, the ministers were simply shocked.

2. They too were happy about the turn of events. They knew for certain, that if the battle continued there would be a lot of blood shed. They went to meet the king. The king welcomed them very warmly. He requested the soldiers who came from Malayarata to join the Royal Army. They agreed to do so. As a result, the royal Army gained more strength. Once again, Meghavarna became the chief-minister. He became more powerful than before.

3. The chief-minister wanted to put a stop to Rev. Sanghamitta's visits to the palace. He summoned the security guards at the gate and asked them to stop the Chola priest from entering the palace, at his own free will. The king heard this but did not show disapproval as he too was disgusted with the priest by this time. The king had begun to realize that all the unrest in the country was brought about by this monk.

4. In the meantime, Rev. Sanghamitta too came to know that peace was made and the king had abandoned his camp. So he went to the palace to meet the king. But quite unlike before, the guards did not allow him to enter the palace. The priest got angry and asked the guards whether they did not know that the priest had permission from the king to enter the palace, whenever he deemed it necessary.

5. The guards then replied saying, "Yes. That was in the past. Now, it is not valid anymore". Then Rev. Sanghamitta questioned them as to whose order that was and why the sudden change. The guards said that they did not know the reason, but the order was from the chief-minister. "That cannot be. Minister Sona will never do it to me", said the priest. The guards then said, "O' Reverend, he is now just an ordinary minister. From yesterday, Meghavarna is the chief-minister once again".

6. Rev. Sanghamitta was in deep thought. He realized that things had completely changed. He then said, "All right. I need to meet the king somehow. Who is more powerful, the king or the chief-minister?' So saying, he wanted to enter the palace forcibly. The guards did not allow him to. They appealed to the priest to abide by the law or else the guards would take action.

7. At that point, Rev. Sanghamitta gave up. He told the guards, if he could not be allowed in, to go and tell the king that he was there to see him. The guards then went to meet the king and told him about this. The king was reluctant to meet him and so the guards had to report that to the priest. When the guards returned, the priest Sanghamitta was still standing at the gate. He had not even been offered a seat. The guards too resented him. Just as he saw the guards returning, the priest asked them what the king's response was.

8. "Very sorry Reverend. The king says he cannot see you", said the guards. Rev. Sanghamitta was speechless. He kept staring at them for a moment. Then he turned to go to the house of minister Sona. By then minister Sona was also depressed as he had lost his post. But he was happy to see the monk. "What is this, that has come upon us?", asked Rev. Sanghamitta as he took his seat.

Back to Mirror Magazine