Kavan Tissa, also known as Kavantissa, Kaha Wan Thissa,(that means who has the color of golden body) or Kaka Wanna Tissa,( that means who has black skin tone like a crow). was the
king of the
Kingdom of Ruhuna in the southern part of
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...
. He ruled Ruhuna, in the same time as
Keleni Tissa of
Maya Rata
The Maya Rata (Principality of), also known as the Kingdom of Dakkinadesa, was a principality or an administrative region of the
Sinhalese kingdom. It was located in the Southwestern part of Sri Lanka, bordered the Deduru Oya. Its last capita ...
and the usurping Tamil king of Anuradhapura,
Ellalan of South India, who was projecting power from the Rajarata region across the island of Sri Lanka. Kavan Tissa was a great-grandson of King
Devanampiyatissa's youngest brother
Mahanaga, and also the father of the great
Sinhalese
Sinhala may refer to:
* Something of or related to the Sinhalese people of Sri Lanka
* Sinhalese people
* Sinhala language
Sinhala ( ; , ''siṁhala'', ), sometimes called Sinhalese (), is an Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan language prima ...
King
Dutugemunu.
In Wilhelm Geiger's rendering of the Mahavamsa Kavantissa is given as Kakavannatissa. Under that name the Mahavamsa mentions him twice.
In chapter 15 Kavantissa, or Kakavannatissa is the son of a king named Gothabhaya and father of king Abhaya better known as Dutthagamini, correctly spelled as Dutugemunu.
Chapter 15 of the Mahavamsa has been called, either by Geiger or by previous scribes, "The acceptance of the Mahavihara".
Chapter 22 of the Mahavamsa, "The birth of Prince Gamani" is mention of the city of Rohana where there are "still princes who have faith in the three gems" (Buddha, his Teaching, the Community of monastics). This chapter 22 describes the war against the Damila. This name of Damila occurs both in the Mahavamsa and in the Culavamsa (Small Cronicle).
As with his son Dutugemunu, Kavan Tissa's figure is mostly swathed in myth and legend. The main source of information on his life is ''
Mahavamsa'', the historical poem about the kings of Sri Lanka, which portrays Kavan Tissa as "devoutly believing in the
three gems,
ndhe provided the
brotherhood continually with... needful things".
See also
*
Mahavamsa
*
List of monarchs of Sri Lanka
*
History of Sri Lanka
References
External links
Kings & Rulers of Sri LankaCodrington's Short History of Ceylon
Prince of Ruhuna
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