Upatissa was
purohita
Purohita ( sa, पुरोहित), in the Hindu context, means ''chaplain'' or ''family priest'' within the Vedic priesthood. In Thailand and Cambodia, it refers to the royal chaplains.
Etymology
The word ''purohita'' derives from the ...
to and a Chief government minister under King
Vijaya 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 built a city
Upatissa Nuwara
Upatissa is a Pali and Sinhala name. It may refer to:
* An alternate name for Sariputta, one of the chief male disciples of Gautama Buddha
**Upatissagāma, his birthplace, near Rajgriha, in Magadha, India
* Upatissa (regent), chief minister and ...
named after himself, which became the second
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 ...
kingdom in Sri Lanka.
He became the King of Upatissa Nuwara for a short period of time after the death of
Prince Vijaya
According to the ''Mahāvaṃsa'' chronicle, Prince Vijaya (c. 543–505 BCE) was the first Sinhalese king. Legends and records from both Indian and Sri Lanka sources say that he along with several hundred followers came to Sinhala after they ...
until the arrival of the heir to the throne,
King Panduvasdeva from India.
See also
*
List of Sri Lankan monarchs
The Sinhalese monarch -- anachronistically referred to as the Kings of Sri Lanka—featured the heads of state of the Sinhala Kingdoms, in what is today Sri Lanka.
The Sinhalese monarchy originates in the settlement of North Indian Indo-Ar ...
External links
Kings & Rulers of Sri LankaCodrington's Short History of CeylonShort History of Sri Lanka
Sinhalese kings
6th-century BC Sinhalese monarchs
Monarch of Tambapanni
House of Vijaya
{{SriLanka-hist-stub