The crowd around him was powerful. There was no way of escape. Veediya Bandara got into deep thought. He had two options. One was to take his life (commit suicide), without surrendering to Prince Tikiri Kumara. He knew he would have to face a lot of blame and insult, if he were to surrender. The other option was to go to the midst of the enemy, well-armed and keep
fighting. He thought by doing so, he would kill as many enemies as he could and face death in the battle-field. He also thought that he could go on fighting and flee suddenly. These were the plans that Veediya Bandara had in mind.
Commander Veediya Bandara had a sudden meeting with his
supporters, about the
dangerous situation that had arisen. Some
questioned what their plan should be. Then Veediya Bandara said, “The only action open to us is to be well-armed, clear out from here and face the enemy. We should keep on fighting, ready to face death or flee if possible.” The valiant
commander had to explain this situation and
emphasize on it. When the others agreed to his plan, the commander told them that the aim of the enemy was to capture him.
“That they are
determined to do. They may either take me alive or take my dead body,” Veediya Bandara said. His party consisted of only four
members. On the enemy side there were
hundreds in number. Veediya Bandara opened the door suddenly and jumped out, with his sword held high. Immediately, the other four came out,
well-armed.
The fighting that followed was fierce.
A lot of lives were lost.
A moment passed.Surrounding the house, were a lot of
bodies of enemy soldiers, who had died fighting. But there were many more ready to fight. Veediya Bandara and his party
realized this was a
battle they could never win. Thereafter their plan was to try and flee, while
fighting.
The darkness
that pervaded the
environment was in
their favour. They kept on retreating, while slaying the enemy. Complete darkness fell. It was such a wonder that
their attempt to flee
succeeded.
Four of them,
including Veediya Bandara managed to escape from the grip of the army of Sitawaka. By this time, even those armies were weakened. Many soldiers had died. The remaining few were fully exhausted. The
commander and his three friends fled to the
forest. Velayuda Arachchi was still in the battle-field, all by himself, yet fighting with a few enemy soldiers.
After a few moments, all the soldiers who were in
the battle-field, surrounded him.
Velayuda Arachchi who happened to be a brave warrior of the Kotte Kingdom, had to face the enemy single-handed. It proved to be a futile attempt. This great man, who was a solitary
fighter, fell dead in the
battle-field. He was one friend of Commander Veediya Bandara, who
followed him like his shadow, in every
battle so far. It is very rarely that such brave heroes are born in this world. Veediya Bandara was deeply saddened by the loss of his friend.
Unfortunately, there was nothing he could do on that
occasion. He went towards Kalpitiya with the other three. Meanwhile, more than half of the Sitawaka army had perished.
They were very
worried over the fact that they could not
capture Veediya Bandara. With all their hopes dashed, the Sitawaka army returned. This was another defeat for Prince Tikiri Bandara. It was also a great shame for him.
By this time, the three who accompanied Veediya Bandara were approaching Kalpitiya.
The ship which they already knew about, was in anchor. The commander went and met the owner of this ship and revealed his identity.
He requested the leader to take them to Jaffna. This leader paid no respect to his request as he thought they were fleeing as a result of some rivalry against the king. |
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