This article is part of a continuing series on the 'Mahavamsa,' the recorded chronicle of Sri Lankan history

The revolt in the mercenary army

By Halaliye Karunathilake
Edited and translated by Kamala Silva
Illustrated by Saman Kalubowila

The people had to suffer due to the weak rule of the two brothers. Their income dropped drastically. Maintaining the royal palace too became a burden on the country. The army was not paid their remuneration. So the mercenaries rose up in revolt. Among these soldiers, some were from Kerala. The rest were Tamils. As the taxes were not collected periodically, the royal treasury went bankrupt. Whatever taxes collected, did not go to the proper channels due to the corruption of officers. They played out the money. By this time, about ten years had elapsed, after King Mihindu V came to power.

The mercenary armies gathered near the palace gates. They threatened that they would not allow any food supply to the palace, until their salaries were paid. They carried on an armed fight. King Mihindu V played a trick. He lied to them and tried to cheat them. He collected all the valuables left in the palace and with a few of his loyal people he left the city by a secret tunnel. He fled to Ruhuna. The king and his people stopped at Pabbata-gama. They set up camp there.

The people of Ruhuna gave a very warm welcome to the king. They saw to his comforts. The people thought, “Whatever weaknesses there may be, this is the king of the country. He is our leader, our king. He is a great person to us.” This attitude of the people was to the advantage of the king. Even by this time, King Mihindu V was still a bachelor. Those days it was a great disadvantage for a king to remain unmarried. So he made his brother's wife his queen. This queen had a grown up daughter too.

There was a big age difference between the king and the queen. The queen was very much older. But yet, they lived happily. There happiness however, was short-lived. Suddenly, the queen fell ill. She succumbed to this illness. The king felt very sad. He left Paddatagama and went to Kapugalgama. He built a city there and got married to the daughter of the former queen. He lived here, as its leader.

In the meantime, the city of Anuradhapura was in a mess. Towns and villages were ruled by different individuals, in the way they wanted. It was not only Sinhala people, but people from Kerala and Karnata were ruling Sinhala villages. There was a power struggle which led to further deterioration of the condition in Anuradhapura. The people underwent a lot of hardships. They were oppressed.

This was a period of trouble and suffering not only for humans, but also for animals. Agriculture suffered. The fields were left unattended. Scarcities were the order of the day. By this time, Cholas were powerful in South India. The city named Bali was their capital. The ruler was King Raja Raja, who had ascended the throne in 983 AD. Before this Pallavas had been powerful in the whole of South India. King Raja Raja was a great warrior of the day.

When the Pallavas were powerful, Pandya, Kerala and Chola countries, were all under them. Pallavas had built an empire in South India. Among the powerful kings, King Narasinghe-Varman occupies a prominent place. He is regarded as the most powerful South Indian ruler in the Seventh century AD. He ruled from 653 AD to 668 AD. During this period, there was political unrest in Sri Lanka. The princes who had a claim to the throne were all fighting among themselves.

One of these princes fled to the city of Bali. This prince was Manavamma. King Narasinghe-Varmen welcomed this Sinhala prince. He was given proper accommodation and was even entrusted with certain royal duties. It is during this time, that King Vallabha declared war on King Narasinghe-Varmen.