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

The invasion of the Cholas

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

King Narasinghe-Varman was preparing to fight King Vallabha. He organized the army and thought of leading it himself. Prince Manavamma stopped the king and said, "You stay back. Put me in charge of that battle." So King Narasinghe-Varman put the prince in charge of the army. The prince led the army to the battle-field. King Vallabha's army was simply shocked to note how clever this prince was as a warrior. He won the battle and came back. The Pandya kingdom celebrated this victory on a very grand scale.

King Narasinghe-Varman gave a whole lot of gifts to the prince and helped him to get the throne in Sri Lanka. This prince came back, fought and then became the king of this country. King Narasinghe-Varman on his part, made his subjects live in contentment. He wanted to make Bali a town, with all the conveniences. He got seven huge boulders cut and built a Devale there.

The carvings that were there, were of a very high standard. To date, they stand as monuments of Pallava art and architecture. Even Sri Lanka was influenced by Pallava art. According to scholars, the 'Man's Head' that is sculptured at Isurumuniya is a good example. The Nalanda-Gedige - which is to the north of Matale, is another shining example of Pallava influence. However, by the end of the 8th century, there was trouble in the Pallava kingdom. Pallava power fell and in its place rose the Cholas. The Cholas annexed the entire Pallava kingdom and brought it under their rule.

The Cholas were able to annex even a part of Decca, to their kingdom. They were able to spread their power as a number of warrior kings came to the Chola throne. Of them, the most powerful was King Raja Raja, who came to the throne in 983AD. In addition to a number of clever warriors, he had a navy too. This made him interested in conquering the neighbouring islands. It is believed that he was able to conquer even the Maldive Islands.

At this time, a trader who came to Sri Lanka to trade his horses went back and informed King Raja Raja, about the political turmoil in this country. The Chola king decided to make quick use of the situation. He sent his son Rajendra, with some powerful soldiers, to invade Sri Lanka. This prince was well-versed in the art of fighting. He was hard-hearted and did not show any sympathy to anybody. He was, so to say, 'blood-thirsty.'

The army that accompanied him was also a rough one. From the time they landed at Mantota they started the fight. The innocent civilians became their target. The villages were burnt, temples ruined and plundered. They came to Anuradhapura, wreaking havoc on the way. Many houses were burnt. Endless was the human loss. They were able to enter the inner city, as there was no proper guard.

They went in search of the palace. It was all closed by then. So what they did was, break the palace and go in. They could not find any valuables in the palace. So they turned around and went to the temples in the neighbourhood. The temples too had been abandoned. The monks had fled either to Malayarata or to Ruhuna. The enemy armies behaved as they wished. They broke temples, ruined the statues, dug at the dagaba sites and took even the treasures buried there. They ruined the entire area.

These hard-hearted soldiers went further. They ruined the villages, farms of the villagers and even the cattle. They went as far as Polonnaruwa. Seeing the enemy advancing, the people fled. These cruel enemies set up camp in Polonnaruwa. King Mihindu V was ignorant of all these activities. He was not even interested to know, what was happening in the country.