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Prince Vijaya (c. 543–505 BCE) was a legendary king of Tambapanni, based in modern day
Sri Lanka Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...
. His reign was first mentioned in ''
Mahāvaṃsa ''Mahāvaṃsa'' (Sinhala: මහාවංශ (Mahāvansha), Pali: ''මහාවංස (Mahāvaṃsa)'') is the meticulously kept historical chronicle of Sri Lanka until the period of Mahasena of Anuradhapura. It was written in the style of ...
.'' He is said to have came to
Sri Lanka Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...
with seven hundred followers after being banished from
Sinhapura Sinhapura ("Lion City" for Sanskrit; IAST: Siṃhapura) was the capital of the legendary Indian king Sinhabahu. It has been mentioned in the Buddhist legends about Prince Vijaya. The name is also transliterated as ''Sihapura'' or ''Singhapura'' ...
. However, there is no archaeological evidence of this. After arriving on the island, Vijaya and his settlers defeated a
yaksha The Yakshas (, , ) in Mythology are a broad class of nature spirits, usually benevolent, but sometimes mischievous or capricious, connected with water, fertility, trees, the forest, treasure and wilderness. They appear in Hindu, Jain and Bud ...
near "Thammena" (
Tambapaṇṇī Tambapanni is the district in Sri Lanka where Prince Vijaya landed after leaving Supparaka. Later on the capital was founded in Tambapanni and following that the whole island came to bear the same name. See also *Kingdom of Tambapanni The K ...
) displacing the inhabitants. Eventually Vijaya married
Kuveni Kuveni, (කුවේණි/குவேணி) also known as Sesapathi or Kuvanna or Leelawathi, was a Yakshini queen in Sri Lanka mentioned in the ancient Pali chronicles '' Mahavansa'' and '' Dipavansa'' of the Sinhalese people. The primary ...
, a daughter of a yaksha leader legitimizing Vijaya’s rule over the region.


Sources and variations

Four versions of the legend explain the origin of the Sinhalese people. In all the versions, a prince comes to the island of Lanka and establishes a community which gives rise to the Sinhalese people. The ''Mahavamsa'' and ''Dipavamsa'' identify the prince as Vijaya, and the other two legends have different names for the prince. *'' Mahavamsa'': In this version, Vijaya's grandmother is a princess whose ancestry traces to the
Vanga The family Vangidae (from ''vanga'', Malagasy for the hook-billed vanga, ''Vanga curvirostris'') comprises a group of often shrike-like medium-sized birds distributed from Asia to Africa, including the vangas of Madagascar to which the family o ...
and Kalinga kingdoms (present-day
Bengal Bengal ( ) is a Historical geography, historical geographical, ethnolinguistic and cultural term referring to a region in the Eastern South Asia, eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal. The region of Benga ...
and
Odisha Odisha (), formerly Orissa (List of renamed places in India, the official name until 2011), is a States and union territories of India, state located in East India, Eastern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by ar ...
). She bears two children with Sinha ("lion"), who keeps them in captivity in a forest. After the princess and her children escape their captivity, her son Sinhabahu kills Sinha. Prince Vijaya, the son of Sinhabahu, founds the kingdom of
Sinhapura Sinhapura ("Lion City" for Sanskrit; IAST: Siṃhapura) was the capital of the legendary Indian king Sinhabahu. It has been mentioned in the Buddhist legends about Prince Vijaya. The name is also transliterated as ''Sihapura'' or ''Singhapura'' ...
. He becomes the prince-regent of Sinhapura, but is exiled with 700 followers to Lanka because of his evil deeds. The ''Mahavamsa'' version has a contradiction; the Buddha expelled all the
yakkha Yakkha may refer to: * Yakkha people, an ethnic group of South Asia * Yakkha language, a Sino-Tibetan language * Yaksha The Yakshas (, , ) in Mythology are a broad class of nature spirits, usually benevolent, but sometimes mischievous or ca ...
s to the island of Giridipa during an earlier visit to Lanka, but Vijaya later encounters yakshas on Lanka and a yakkhini (a female yakkha) named
Kuveni Kuveni, (කුවේණි/குவேணி) also known as Sesapathi or Kuvanna or Leelawathi, was a Yakshini queen in Sri Lanka mentioned in the ancient Pali chronicles '' Mahavansa'' and '' Dipavansa'' of the Sinhalese people. The primary ...
becomes his queen. Kuveni helps Vijaya destroy the yaksha city of Sirisavatthu, and has two children with him. However, Vijaya must marry a
Kshatriya Kshatriya () (from Sanskrit ''kṣatra'', "rule, authority"; also called Rajanya) is one of the four varnas (social orders) of Hindu society and is associated with the warrior aristocracy. The Sanskrit term ''kṣatriyaḥ'' is used in the con ...
princess to be a legitimate ruler; he marries the daughter of a
Pandu Pandu () was the king of Kuru kingdom, with capital at Hastinapur in the epic '' Mahabharata''. He was the foster-father of the five Pandavas, who are the central characters of the epic. Pandu was born pale, to Vichitravirya's second wife ...
king (identified with the
Pandyan Dynasty The Pandya dynasty (), also referred to as the Pandyas of Madurai, was an ancient Tamil dynasty of South India, and among the four great kingdoms of Tamilakam, the other three being the Pallavas, the Cholas and the Cheras. Existing sinc ...
) who sends other women as brides for Vijaya's followers. Kuveni and her two children leave for the yakkha city of Lankapura, where she is killed by the yakkhas for betraying them. Vijaya dies without an heir; Panduvasudeva, the son of his twin brother Sumitta, arrives from India and takes charge of Vijaya's kingdom. The community established by Vijaya gives rise to the Sinhalese people. *''Dipavamsa'': This version predates the ''Mahavamsa''. It is similar to the ''Mahavamsa'' version, but omits Kuveni (and other yakkhas) and the South Indian princess. *
Xuanzang Xuanzang (; ; 6 April 6025 February 664), born Chen Hui or Chen Yi (), also known by his Sanskrit Dharma name Mokṣadeva, was a 7th-century Chinese Bhikkhu, Buddhist monk, scholar, traveller, and translator. He is known for the epoch-making ...
's account: The princess, abducted by the Sinha (lion), comes from South India. There is no mention of Vanga, Kalinga or Lala. She and her two children escape from Sinha's captivity to their native kingdom in South India. Her son, Chih-sse-tseu ("lion-catcher", or Sinhabahu) later kills his father Sinha. Although he is receives a reward, he is exiled by ship for the act of
parricide Parricide is the deliberate killing of one's own parent, spouse, child, or other close relative. However, the term is sometimes used more generally to refer to the intentional killing of a near relative. It is an umbrella term that can be used to ...
. Chih-sse-tseu lands on Ratnadeepa (Lanka, the "island of gems"), and settles there. He begins attacking naval merchants who come to the island looking for gems. Chih-sse-tseu captures the merchants' children and spares their lives, creating a community. He has children with an unnamed woman and his descendants divide people into classes, giving rise to the caste system; they also wage wars, expanding their territory. Chih-sse-tseu's community gives rise to the Sinhalese people, and yakkhas are not mentioned in this version. *''Valahassa Jataka'' version: This
Jataka The ''Jātaka'' (Sanskrit for "Birth-Related" or "Birth Stories") are a voluminous body of literature native to the Indian subcontinent which mainly concern the previous births of Gautama Buddha in both human and animal form. Jataka stories we ...
version is depicted in the Ajanta cave paintings of India (''Simhala Avadana'' in Cave 17). The prince who comes to the island is a merchant named Sinhala, the son of Sinha. He and 500 followers sail for the island of Ratnadeepa, where they hope to find gems in the city of Sirisavatthu. They are shipwrecked and saved by the Yakkhinis, who prey on shipwrecked merchants. The Yakkhinis pretend to be the widows of merchants who earlier visited the island. Sinhala marries the chief Yakkhini, but then discovers their true identity. He and 250 of his men escape from the island on a flying horse named Valahassa. The chief Yakkhini follows them to his paternal kingdom and presents herself to his father, Simha, as wronged by the prince. Simha gives her shelter, but she devours him and the rest of his family except for the prince. She then returns to Ratnadeepa, where she devours the remaining 250 of Sinhala's followers. Sinhala succeeds his father as king, and leads a military expedition to Ratnadeepa. He defeats the Yakkhinis, and establishes the Sinhalese kingdom.


Ancestry

According to the ''Mahāvaṃsa'', the king of
Vanga The family Vangidae (from ''vanga'', Malagasy for the hook-billed vanga, ''Vanga curvirostris'') comprises a group of often shrike-like medium-sized birds distributed from Asia to Africa, including the vangas of Madagascar to which the family o ...
(the historical
Bengal Bengal ( ) is a Historical geography, historical geographical, ethnolinguistic and cultural term referring to a region in the Eastern South Asia, eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal. The region of Benga ...
region) married a princess named Mayavati of neighbouring Kalinga (present-day
Odisha Odisha (), formerly Orissa (List of renamed places in India, the official name until 2011), is a States and union territories of India, state located in East India, Eastern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by ar ...
). The couple had a daughter, Suppadevi, who was prophesied to mate with the king of beasts. As an adult, Princess Suppadevi left Vanga to seek an independent life. She joined a caravan headed for
Magadha Magadha was a region and kingdom in ancient India, based in the eastern Ganges Plain. It was one of the sixteen Mahajanapadas during the Second Urbanization period. The region was ruled by several dynasties, which overshadowed, conquered, and ...
, which was attacked by Sinha ("lion") in a forest in the Lala (or Lada) region. The ''Mahavamsa'' calls the Sinha a lion; according to some modern interpreters, however, Sinha was a beastly outlaw human living in the jungle. Lala is identified as Bengal's
Rarh region ''Rarh region'' () is a toponym for an area in the Indian subcontinent that lies between the Chota Nagpur Plateau on the West and the Ganges Delta on the East. Although the boundaries of the region have been defined differently according to vari ...
(part of the present-day
Indian state India is a federal union comprising 28 states and 8 union territories, for a total of 36 subnational entities. The states and union territories are further subdivided into 800 districts and smaller administrative divisions by the respe ...
of
West Bengal West Bengal (; Bengali language, Bengali: , , abbr. WB) is a States and union territories of India, state in the East India, eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabi ...
) or
Lata Latha (Hindi: लता, Kannada: ಲತಾ) is a Hindu Indian female given name, which means "creeper" and "Durga". Latha may refer to: Notable people named Lata *Lata Mangeshkar (1929–2022), Indian singer. *Lata Bhatt (born 1954), Indian sin ...
, part of present-day
Gujarat Gujarat () is a States of India, state along the Western India, western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the List of states and union territories ...
. Suppadevi fled from the attack, but encountered Sinha again. Sinha was attracted to her and she caressed him, mindful of the prophecy. He kept Suppadevi in captivity in a cave, and they had two children: a son named Sinhabahu (or Sihabahu, "lion-armed") and a daughter named Sinhasivali (or Sihasivali). When the children grew up, Sinhabahu asked his mother why she and Sinha looked so different. After she told him about her royal ancestry, he decided to go to Vanga. While Sinha was out, Sinhabahu escaped from the cave with Suppadevi and Sinhasivali. They reached a village, where they met a general of the Vanga Kingdom. The general was a cousin of Suppadevi, and later married her. Sinha began ravaging villages to find his missing family. The king of Vanga announced a reward to anyone who could kill Sinha, and Sinhabahu killed his father to claim the reward. By the time Sinhabahu returned to the capital, the king of Vanga was dead. Sinhabahu was crowned the new king, but later passed the kingship to his mother's husband (the general). Returning to his birthplace in Lala, he founded the city of
Sinhapura Sinhapura ("Lion City" for Sanskrit; IAST: Siṃhapura) was the capital of the legendary Indian king Sinhabahu. It has been mentioned in the Buddhist legends about Prince Vijaya. The name is also transliterated as ''Sihapura'' or ''Singhapura'' ...
(or Sihapura). Sinhabahu married his sister, Sinhasivali, and they had 32 sons (16 pairs of twins). Vijaya Singha ("the greatly victorious") was their eldest son, followed by his twin Sumitta. The location of Sinhapura is uncertain. It has been identified with Singur, West Bengal (in the Rada, or Rarh, region) or Singhpur, near Jajpur ( Sinhapura, Odisha). Those who identify the Lala kingdom with present-day Gujarat place it in present-day
Sihor Sihor (Gujarati language, Gujarati: સિહોર ) is a town, a municipality in Bhavnagar district in the Indian States and territories of India, state of Gujarat. Placed along the river Gautami, this erstwhile capital of the Gahlot, Gohil ...
. Another theory identifies it with the village of
Singupuram Singupuram is a census town in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. Geography It is located 11 kilometers(km) east of the district headquarters of Srikakulam, Srikakulam district, 9 km from Srikakulam and 100 km from Visakhapatnam. ...
, near
Srikakulam Srikakulam is a city and the headquarters of Srikakulam district in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. census, it has a population of 165,735. There are many other places of Buddhist Tourism such as Salihundam, Kalinga Patnam, Dabbaka Vaan ...
in
Andhra Pradesh Andhra Pradesh (ISO 15919, ISO: , , AP) is a States and union territories of India, state on the East Coast of India, east coast of southern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, seventh-largest state and th ...
. It has also been placed in present-day
Thailand Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...
or on the
Malay Peninsula The Malay Peninsula is located in Mainland Southeast Asia. The landmass runs approximately north–south, and at its terminus, it is the southernmost point of the Asian continental mainland. The area contains Peninsular Malaysia, Southern Tha ...
.


Arrival in Sri Lanka

Vijaya was made the
prince regent A prince regent or princess regent is a prince or princess who, due to their position in the line of succession, rules a monarchy as regent in the stead of a monarch, e.g., as a result of the sovereign's incapacity (minority or illness) or ab ...
by his father, but he and his band of followers became notorious for their violent deeds. After their repeated complaints failed to stop him, prominent citizens demanded that Vijaya be put to death. King Sinhabahu then expelled Vijaya and his 700 followers from the kingdom. The men's heads were half-shaved, and they were put on a ship that set out to sea. The wives and children of the 700 men were sent on separate ships. Vijaya and his followers landed at a place called Supparaka; the women landed at a place called Mahiladipaka, and the children landed at a place called Naggadipa. Vijaya's ship later reached Lanka, in the area known as Tambapanni, on the day that
Gautama Buddha Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha (),* * * was a śramaṇa, wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist lege ...
died in northern India. Those who think that Vijaya set out from the west coast of India (Sinhapura was in Gujarat) identify present-day
Sopara Nallasopara or Nala Sopara (pronunciation: aːla sopaɾa formerly known as Sopara or Supara, is a city within the Mumbai Metropolitan Region. The city lies in the Palghar district of Maharashtra, India, and is governed by Vasai-Virar Municip ...
as the location of Supparaka. Those who think that Sinhapura was in the Vanga-Kalinga region identify it with locations off the east coast of India; S. Krishnaswami Aiyangar speculates that Supparaka might have been
Sumatra Sumatra () is one of the Sunda Islands of western Indonesia. It is the largest island that is fully within Indonesian territory, as well as the list of islands by area, sixth-largest island in the world at 482,286.55 km2 (182,812 mi. ...
. According to the ''Mahavamsa'', Gautama Buddha asked the lord of gods (identified as
Indra Indra (; ) is the Hindu god of weather, considered the king of the Deva (Hinduism), Devas and Svarga in Hinduism. He is associated with the sky, lightning, weather, thunder, storms, rains, river flows, and war.  volumes Indra is the m ...
) before he attained Nirvana to protect Vijaya in Lanka so
Buddhism Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...
could flourish there. Indra gave the guardianship of Lanka to the lotus-coloured god (
Upulvan Upulvan (, ; Sanskrit: Utpalavarna), also known as Vishnu (''Vishnu deviyo'') is a guardian deity (Pali: Khettapala; Sanskrit: Kshetrapala) of Sri Lanka. Sri Lankan Buddhists believe him also as a protector of the Buddhism in the country. The name ...
), who came to Lanka in the guise of an ascetic to protect Vijaya.
Wilhelm Geiger Wilhelm Ludwig Geiger (; ; 21 July 1856 – 2 September 1943) was a German Orientalist in the fields of Indo-Iranian languages and the history of Iran and Sri Lanka. He was known as a specialist in Pali, Sinhala language and the Dhivehi language ...
identifies the lotus-coloured god as
Vishnu Vishnu (; , , ), also known as Narayana and Hari, is one of the Hindu deities, principal deities of Hinduism. He is the supreme being within Vaishnavism, one of the major traditions within contemporary Hinduism, and the god of preservation ( ...
; ''uppala'' is the blue lotus.
Senarath Paranavithana Senarath Paranavitana, (Sinhala language, Sinhala:සෙනරත් පරණවිතාන) (26 December 1896 – 4 October 1972) was a Sri Lankan archeologist and epigraphist, who pioneered much of post-colonial archaeology in Sri Lanka. ...
identifies him with
Varuna Varuna (; , ) is a Hindu god. He is one of the earliest deities in pantheon, whose role underwent a significant transformation from the Vedic to the Puranic periods. In the early Vedic era, Varuna is seen as the god-sovereign, ruling the sky ...
. Vijaya tied a protective (''
paritta Paritta (Pali), generally translated as "protection" or "safeguard," refers to the specific Buddhist verses and discourses recited in order to ward off misfortune or danger, as well as to the practice of reciting the verses and discourses. T ...
'') thread on the hands of his followers. Later, a Yakkhini appeared before them in the form of a dog. One of the followers thought that a dog indicated habitation, and followed her. After some time, he saw a Yakkhini named
Kuveni Kuveni, (කුවේණි/குவேணி) also known as Sesapathi or Kuvanna or Leelawathi, was a Yakshini queen in Sri Lanka mentioned in the ancient Pali chronicles '' Mahavansa'' and '' Dipavansa'' of the Sinhalese people. The primary ...
(or Kuvanna) who was spinning thread. Kuveni tried to devour him, but Vijaya's magical thread protected him. Unable to kill him, Kuveni hurled the follower into a
chasm In geology, a rift is a linear zone where the lithosphere is being pulled apart and is an example of extensional tectonics. Typical rift features are a central linear downfaulted depression, called a graben, or more commonly a half-graben w ...
; she then did the same thing to all 700 followers. Vijaya went to Kuveni's place, looking for his men; he overpowered her, and forced her to free them. Kuveni asked Vijaya to spare her life, swearing loyalty to him. She brought food and goods from the ships of the traders she had devoured for Vijaya and his followers, and Vijaya took her as his consort.


Kingdom of Tambapanni

Vijaya woke up to the sounds of music and singing. Kuveni told him that the island was home to Yakkhas, who would kill her for sheltering Vijaya's men, and the sound was from wedding festivities in the Yakkha city of Sirisavatthu. With Kuveni's help, Vijaya defeated the Yakkhas. Vijaya and Kuveni had two children: Jivahatta and Disala. Vijaya established a kingdom which was named Tambapanni ("copper-red hands"), because the men's hands were coloured by the area's
red soil Red soil is a type of soil that typically develops in warm, temperate, and humid climates and comprises approximately 13% of Earth's soils. It contains thin organic and organic-mineral layers of highly leached soil resting on a red layer of alluv ...
. Members of Vijaya's community were called Sinhala, after Sinhabahu. Vijaya's ministers and other followers established several villages; Upatissa established
Upatissagāma Upatissagāma was the second capital of the Kingdom of Tambapanni, during the Pre Anuradhapura period of Sri Lanka. It was seven or eight miles further north of the previous capital Tambapaṇṇī, which was in present-day Puttalam. The city wa ...
on the bank of the Gambhira river, north of Anuradhagama. Vijaya's followers decided to crown him king, but for this he needed a maiden of a noble house as queen. His ministers sent emissaries with gifts to the city of Madhura, which was ruled by a
Pandya The Pandya dynasty (), also referred to as the Pandyas of Madurai, was an ancient Tamil dynasty of South India, and among the four great kingdoms of Tamilakam, the other three being the Pallavas, the Cholas and the Cheras. Existing sinc ...
king. (Madhura is identified with
Madurai Madurai ( , , ), formerly known as Madura, is a major city in the States and union territories of India, Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is the cultural capital of Tamil Nadu and the administrative headquarters of Madurai District, which is ...
, a city in
Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is the southernmost States and union territories of India, state of India. The List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of Indi ...
). The king agreed to send his daughter as Vijaya's bride, and asked other families to offer their daughters as brides for Vijaya's followers. Several families volunteered, and were rewarded by the king, who sent a hundred noble maidens, craftsmen, a thousand families from 18
guild A guild ( ) is an association of artisans and merchants who oversee the practice of their craft/trade in a particular territory. The earliest types of guild formed as organizations of tradespeople belonging to a professional association. They so ...
s, elephants, horses, wagons and other gifts. The group landed in Lanka at a port known as Mahatittha. Vijaya then asked Kuveni, his Yakkhini consort, to leave the community because his citizens feared supernatural beings like her. He offered her money, asking her to leave their two children behind, but Kuveni brought the children along to the Yakkha city of Lankapura. She asked her children to remain behind as she entered the city, where other Yakkhas saw her as a traitor; suspected of spying, she was killed by a Yakkha. On the advice of her maternal uncle, the children fled to Sumanakuta (identified with
Adam's Peak Adam's Peak is a conical sacred mountain located in central Sri Lanka.Capper, Daniel (2022), ''Roaming Free Like a Deer: Buddhism and the Natural World,'' Cornell University Press. It is well known for the ''Sri Pada'' (; ), a rock formati ...
). In the Malaya region of Lanka, they married and began the Pulinda race (identified with the
Vedda The Vedda ( ; (''Vēḍar'')), or Wanniyalaeto, are a minority indigenous group of people in Sri Lanka who, among other sub-communities such as Coast Veddas, Anuradhapura Veddas and Bintenne Veddas, are accorded indigenous status. The Ved ...
people, not to be confused with the
Pulinda Pulinda (Sanskrit: ) were an ancient non-Aryan tribe of south-central Indian subcontinent, whose existence is attested during the Iron Age. Pulindas were mentioned in Aitareya Brahmana of the Rigveda (c. 500 BCE) as descendants of Sage Vishvam ...
s of India). Vijaya was crowned king. The Pandya king's daughter became his queen, and other women were married to his followers according to their rank. Vijaya bestowed gifts on his ministers and his father-in-law; he abandoned his evil ways, and ruled Lanka in peace and justice.


Final days

Vijaya had no other children after Kuveni left. Concerned in old age that he would die without an heir, he decided to bring his twin brother Sumitta from India to govern his kingdom. Vijaya sent a letter to Sumitta, but died before receiving a reply. His ministers from Upatissagāma then governed the kingdom for a year while they waited for a reply. In Sinhapura, Sumitta had become king and had three sons. His queen was a daughter of the king of Madda (possibly
Madra Madra (Sanskrit: ) was an ancient Indo-Aryan tribe of north-western India whose existence is attested since the Iron Age (c.1100–500 BCE). The members of the Madra tribe were called the Madrakas. Location The Madras were divided into -Madr ...
). When Vijaya's messengers arrived, Sumitta asked one of his sons to go to Lanka because he was too old; Panduvasdeva, his youngest son, volunteered. Panduvasdeva and 32 sons of Sumitta's ministers reached Lanka, where he became the new ruler.


Significance

In Sri Lanka, the legend of Vijaya is political rhetoric used to explain the origin and genetics of the Sinhalese; it is often treated as an account of historical events. Sinhalese scholars such as K. M. de Silva have used the legend to confirm the Indo-Aryan origin of the Sinhalese, distinguishing them from the Dravidians; Tamil authors such as Satchi Ponnambalam have dismissed the legend as fiction aimed at justifying Sinhalese territorial claims in Sri Lanka.


See also

* Tomb of Vijaya * Sri Lankan place name etymology *
List of Sri Lankan monarchs The monarchs of Sri Lanka, also referred to as the Sinhalese monarchy, were the heads of state and rulers of the Sinhala Kingdoms located in present-day Sri Lanka, from 543 BCE (according to chronicles) until its abolition in 1815 CE. The Sinha ...
*
History of Sri Lanka The history of Sri Lanka covers Sri Lanka and the history of the Indian subcontinent and its surrounding regions of South Asia, Southeast Asia and the Indian Ocean. Prehistoric Sri Lanka goes back 125,000 years and possibly even as far back a ...


References


Further reading

*


External links


Codrington's Short History of Ceylon: The Beginnings
* Mahavamsa chapters:

' and

'. {{DEFAULTSORT:Vijaya 500s BC deaths 6th-century BC Sinhalese monarchs Year of birth unknown House of Vijaya Monarch of Tambapanni Sinhalese kings People from Odisha