Funday Times

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

Prince Dappula flees
1. Prince Dappula and the other two princes were shocked. The fighting began. Many a warrior was wounded by the Commander Mahinda. The soldiers of the royal army fought valiantly, with the main aim of destroying the enemy. The battle which began at dawn, lasted the entire morning. The end was near. Realising the turn of events, Prince Dappula fled. The two princes from Ruhuna were taken as prisoners by Commander Mahinda.

2. Mahinda was victorious. The entire city was in a festive mood. Commander Mahinda was determined to unify the country. He sent armies to the North and East. They fought with the leaders there and defeated some of them. Some were killed. Once again, there was peace in the country. By this time, Queen Sangha was a prisoner. One day, the Commander went to the prison to see her.

3. She looked very pretty still, even though she was in a sad state of mind. The commander looked at her and thought, "I can neither release her nor can I kill her because she was the Chief Queen of the previous king. The people still respect her. The most I could do is to make her my queen". When she was informed of this, she too agreed.

4. By this time, the Commander Mahinda had a wife and a son too. But they were separated from him for a very long time. His marriage took place long years ago, when he was a young commander. The most surprising thing was that his son had never seen him. The queen, the mother of the child, had never come in search of him, since they separated.

5. She brought up her son well. Her idea was to educate the child and make him a warrior one day. Her ambition had been fulfilled by this time. The son showed more skill than the father. Meanwhile, Commander Mahinda's marriage to Sangha took place. From that day onwards, Commander Mahinda came to be known as Mahinda 11. Queen Sangha, who at the beginning was a very obstinate lady, became a loyal wife to Mahinda.

6. Queen Sangha was blessed with a son. When he grew up, he was appointed 'Yuva-raja'. The leaders who ruled the Eastern part of the country at this time were brothers of Prince Dappula. They went against this appointment of Yuva-raja. They thought it was really unfair by them. They got Dappula and his army to come from the South and arrived at an agreement. All three got together and went as far as the bank of the Mahaweli river.

7. They set up camp there. When King Mahinda heard this, he strengthened the security of the city. He killed the village leaders, who were against him and gave gifts to those who were supportive of him. Very soon, he was able to establish peace in all the provinces, which came under Anuradhapura. Then he marched to fight the three princes. He camped at a place named 'Mahummara'.

8. The two armies started to fight in a place called Kovilara. It was a fierce battle. Dappula who was defeated, fled from the battle field. The leaders died in the fighting. King Mahinda, who won the battle, came back to the capital city. To make amends for causing death on the battle field, he did a lot of meritorious deeds. Prince Dappula, who had fled to the South, began to organize his army once again.

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