The aim of the prince who came from abroad too, was to chase away the Portuguese from the country. He got to know that there was an attempt made to organize an army, with the help of the ruler of Jaffna. The prince who came was still in robes.
He had a forceful but
winning style of speech, which attracted everybody. This encouraged the people who hated the Portuguese, to join in the struggle against the foreigners.
As a result of the speeches of this monk, Sinhala and Tamil youth joined the army in their hundreds. King Vaga, the King of Jaffna, gave them all the support. These armies
however, needed experienced
commanders and warriors, who could defeat the Portuguese. All this news made Veediya Bandara and his companions very happy.
There was one obstacle, on their way to the joining of these armies. That was, King Vaga,
the King of Jaffna,
happened to be a good friend of Mayadunne. He was one, who joined to fight against Kotte at one time. However, in that fight, they lost and fled. As such, Veediya Bandara had a
suspicion, as to whether King Vaga was still angry with him. He made this known to his friends.
The others, advised him to forget the past and go to Jaffna. Veediya Bandara agreed. They wanted to go as soon as possible. How were they to go? Veediya Bandara said the armies of Tikiri Bandara had not yet returned. This made them
continue to stay a few more days in the forest. Whilst spending their days in the
forest, they got some good news.
The good news for Veediya Bandara was that a small crowd from Jaffna had come to Kalpitiya by boat.
So he suggested
avoiding the path of the Sitawaka army and going to Kalpitiya. He said, “Let us go there, speak to these people and use their boat to get to Jaffna.
However, his friends,
including Velayadaarachchi said this would be a risky journey. If they were to face any danger on their way, there was no escape.Commander Veediya Bandara ignored this
warning. “Let us go safely”, he said. As usual, he paid obeisance to the Tooth Relic, looked at the crowd and said, “As long as this Tooth Relic is in my
possession, Prince Tikiri Bandara, will not be able to kill me.” So, they came out of the forest and quickly got on to the road that led to Puttalam.
All of them were in disguise. As they were nearing Puttalam, they heard some bad news. The soldiers of Tikiri Bandara, had set up camp in Puttalam and were on the look out for Veediya Bandara. When he got to know this, he stopped the journey abruptly and discussed with his friends. They hid in the forest.
This too proved futile as the enemy
got to know of their
whereabouts.
They acted fast. They surrounded the house where Veediya Bandara and his friends were
staying. The fugitives were also watchful.They realised that they were surrounded by the enemy.
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