Funday Times - Mahavamsa

King Udaya and the Yuvaraja destroyed everybody including the animals, that lived in Tapovana. They went searching for the small caves where the ministers were hiding, rounded them up and killed them in a very cruel manner. Because of this, the priests who lived in Tapovana got extremely frightened. They got disgusted with the king and fled to the Ruhuna. Tapovana which was a holy place was turned to a mere cemetery. The entire place was deserted.

The laymen who patronized the Tapovana, too were disgusted with the king. They hated the king for what he had done. The ordinary citizens too did not approve of the king's behaviour. They got angry. Even the army was infuriated. They assembled at Abhayagiri and protested against the actions of the king. The ministers who were loyal to the king, came to suppress the rebellion. The army and the citizens who were seething with anger got hold of those ministers and beheaded them.

The Yuvaraja Sena was disturbed over this struggle. He fled, accompanied by the Adipada named Udaya. They too went to Ruhuna. The rioters got to know this and they chased them. The Yuvaraja and the Adipada crossed the Kelani river by boat and did not send the boat back. The crowd that chased them came as far as the bank of the river. Finding no means of crossing the river, they had to turn back.

The Yuvaraja and the Adipada went in search of the monks who had fled from Tapovana. They fell at their feet, worshipped them and begged pardon for what had happened. Then the priests said, "We harbour no grudge against you. We are the disciples of the Buddha. Because you people went and disturbed the sanctity of that place, it was no more a place fit enough for us to reside. That is why we had to flee."

The Yuvaraja and the Adipada listened in silence. Then the chief of the Tapovana priests said, "O Yuvaraja, in a sacred place there is no room for hatred. No acts of revenge. Peace, loving kindness and sanctity should prevail in such places. On that day, you and your king destroyed all those things there. At a venue where you are expected to behave decently, your people misbehaved.

You did not stop at that. You pulled your swords out and came to attack. Did you at least think of the honour of the robe of the Buddha and the people who don it? No. You went on a killing spree, killing even the animals. The place where fragrant flowers were offered and oil lamps were lit, was sullied, made impure. You allowed blood to flow there. So Yuvaraja, under these circumstances, how could we continue to live there?"

The Yuvaraja and the Adipada, once again fell at the feet of the monks and begged pardon. They begged of the priests to return to Tapovana. They added that the citizens were agitated because the priests were not there. Furthermore, they had started killing each other on account of the priests, in the name of religion.

So the priests decided to get back to Tapovana. They said, "Alright, we'll get back to the Tapovana." The Yuvaraja and the Adipada were highly pleased. They informed King Udaya 111, of these developments. He too was overjoyed to hear this good news.

By Halaliye Karunathilake Edited and translated by Kamala Silva Illustrated by Saman Kalubowila