While fighting the enemy, the great
commander Veediya Bandara was approaching a thicket. In double quick time, he jumped into the forest. The enemy was shocked. They did not know what to do and kept
staring at each other. That little delay was enough for Veediya Bandara. He went a considerable distance into the forest. Prince Tikiri Bandara too did not want to waste a second. He ordered his army to search the entire forest. They
continued to comb the
forest for quite some time.
By then, the
commander had covered a long distance. He had entered the road named ‘Bilindagalvarampatha’ and had gone quite a distance along that road too. Then he stopped on the way, to rest for a while. He started his journey again, bound for Dondra. Palanda got news about Veediya Bandara’s journey. His armies, about 6,000 in number went and met their one and only
leader. They were very happy to join him.
Now the entire army left for Dondra. In the meantime, something unforeseen happened to the people who went with Suriyadevi, the wife of Veediya Bandara, who was on her way to rescue her husband. They were
cornered by a Portuguese battalion, lead by Commander Antonio
de-Castro. He was a
gentleman who admired the bravery and skill of Veediya Bandara, even though he happened to be his enemy. As Suriyadevi was Veediya Bandara’s wife, she too was respected.
This white-skinned
commander, did not leave room to cause any
dishonour to this lady. He spoke to her in a very respectable manner. He even organised an elephant to take her back to Palanda. Being an enemy, Antonio treated her so well, that she praised him for his good qualities. By this time, Commander Veediya Bandara was in Dondra. He was facing great trouble.
He created this mess by trying to be too hasty to attack the fortress in Dondra. Here, two of the elephants Veediya Bandara used for fighting, were captured by the enemy. In addition to that, a number of copper vessels, filled with gold coins and even some war equipment had reached the hands of the enemy. Many lives were also lost. Meanwhile, Prince Tikiri Bandara,
re-organized his army. He got the unstinted
support of the Portuguese. Veediya Bandara got to know the entire story.
By this time, he did not have a sufficient army to face the enemy. He did not have the power to organize one either. There was not enough money for the task. The commander felt so sad about this hopeless situation. He selected a few commanders in his army, who were very loyal to him. They were Vijayakoon Mudaliya
who was the ‘bangai-rala’, better known as Vijayakumara, Velayuda Arachchi, Bodhiraja Perumal of Hiti-Imbula and Varusapperuma Arachchi.
He got a few more soldiers to join these leaders and dispersed the rest of the army. With the selected few He marched towards Kandy. By this time, the ruler of Kandy was King Karaliyadde Bandara. he welcomed this crowd in a very warm manner and kept Veediya Bandara in the palace and treated him with all due respect.
It was a a honour for the ruler of Kandy to play host to this famous commander. Furthermore, it gave him extra strength. He thought of seeking his assistance, to take revenge, on the King of Sitawaka. Commander Veediya Bandara too liked the idea. Accordingly,
King Karaliyadde
organised his army in a hurry. |
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