Funday Times

This article is part of a continuing series on the 'Mahavamsa', the recorded chronicle of Sri Lankan history

King Mahinda 11
1. Prince Agbo, who took away Princess Sangha, became weak. The Yuva-raja, on the other hand, was becoming powerful. Prince Agbo had a few soldiers only, but they did not give up. They went on fighting till the last man. It is because of Sangha, that prince Agbo had to die at the hands of the Yuva-raja. The Yuv-raja then took Princess Sangha, went to Anuradhapura and made her his queen.

2. Both of them decided to end their old quarrels. They began to live in peace and harmony. King Agbo V1, died in 772 AD. He was succeeded by King Mahinda's son, the Yuva-raja, Agbo. He gave the post of Yuva-raja to his son, who was also named Mahinda. This King Agbo maintained Anuradhapura as his capital but he resided in Polonnaruwa. He built a number of temples there.

3. In spite of all the meritorious deeds he performed, this King Agbo V11, had to face a very sad fate. That was the death of his beloved son. This prince who had the post of Yuva-raja, had won the hearts of the people. By this time, the post of Commander-in-Chief, was held by another Mahinda, who happened to be a warrior. He was the son of Agbo V1.

4. The untimely death of his son, made King Agbo V11 spend his time in deep sorrow. He was lamenting the loss of his son. He could not go on like this for long. In 777AD, he died of grief. At that time, the Commander-in-Chief was away in Mantota (Mannar), on some business. When he heard of the death of the king, he got panicky. There was every likelihood of power being wrested. So he hurried back to Anuradhapura.

5. Even by this time, the leaders of the north had changed. They had declared that they were not under the power of the ruler of Anuradhapura. They declared themselves as their own masters and even stopped paying taxes, to the king of Anuradhapura. When the Commander Mahinda, heard of these developments, he flew into a rage. He took his army, went to the north and threatened the leaders there. They got frightened and promised to pay taxes to the king once more.

6. Meanwhile, the queen was still weeping over the death of the king. She was a very cunning lady. This she did, not because she was really sad but because she wanted to win the sympathy of the people. Even the Commander was misled by her actions. One day, he consoled the queen saying, "O Queen, do not weep. Death comes to everybody. It is useless shedding tears over the dead king now. I will somehow take care of the administration of the country. You be the ruler". When the crafty queen heard these words, she remained silent.

7. She was harbouring the idea of killing the Commander Mahinda and ruling the country, the way she wanted. There were a number of officials too, who supported her. Even a section of the royal army, was on her side. They were there to see to her safety. Somehow the commander, came to know of the queen's plan. He thought of teaching this crafty Sangha a good lesson.

8. He first fought with her supporters. They were chased away from the capital city. Next he held the queen and got her hands and feet tied. He then became king. At this time, there was a prince named Dappula in Kalawewa. He was a nephew of King Agbo V1. He began to collect men and started building up an army there.

Back to Mirror Magazine