Funday Times

This article is part of a continuing series on the ‘Mahavamsa’, the recorded chronicle of Sri Lankan history
King Sotthisena

1. Rev. Buddhaghosa translated the Visuddhimagga into Pali. It was read to the monks of Mahavihara. They were quite pleased with the translation. Thereafter, all the Buddhist texts, including the 'Tripitaka', were handed over to him. He translated all that to Pali. After accomplishing his assignment, he left for India. His translations were of immense value to those who wanted to study the doctrine.

2. The king of the country at this time, King Mahanama, maintained friendly relations with foreign countries. There is evidence to prove that the Abhayagiri Vihara maintained friendly relations with most of the Asian countries. The Chinese monk Fa-shien who visited Sri Lanka at this time had resided at the Abhayagiri Vihara.

3. It is believed that Fa-shien stayed three years there. It is during this period that the Order of Nuns was introduced to China. During this period about 5,000 monks have lived in the Mahavihara. There were about fifty to sixty thousands monks - all over the country. F-shien refers to a Buddha statue - 20 feet in height, sculptured in stone, which was at Abhayagiri.

4. It is said that Fa-shien was taken back to China, in a ship that could carry 200 passengers. In this voyage, he has taken a copy of the 'Tripitaka' and a Buddha statue too, along with him. According to Fa-shien there were a number of big ships in Sri Lanka, which could carry elephants and horses too. The king who developed the country to that extent, ruled for 22 years.

5. This benevolent king passed away in 428 AD. He had a son and a daughter. The son was named Sotthisena and the daughter was Sangha. These two children were from two queens. King Mahanama's son was from a Tamil queen, whereas Sangha, the daughter was the one and only child of his chief queen. When King Mahanama died, Sotthisena came to the throne. On the very day that he was crowned, the new king was murdered.

6. This was the work of Princess Sangha. Kingship then went to the husband of Princess Sangha, Prince Chattagahaka. According to 'Pujavaliya', he is referred to as Lamanitissa. But the Pujavaliya calls him Sathgahaka. This king has built a tank named Chattagahaka. After ruling the country for one year the king died. He had a loyal and intelligent minister.

7. This minister secretly attended to the funeral rites of the king, in the inner-city itself. Thereafter, the throne was offered to a person named Mitrasena. The subjects did not know about the death of their king. They were made to believe that the king was very sick. Mitrasena carried on the administration. Then dawned the festival season. The subjects gathered in the palace compound and shouted, "if there is a king, he should come out and enjoy the festivities with us".

8. The king who heard this, adorned himself in all the royal splendour, with all the jewels and came out. The royal elephant was made ready for the king to ride on. The king did not ride on that elephant. Instead he got on to another and toured the entire city. He left from the eastern gate and came back and halted the elephant at Pathamaka Chetiya.

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