Funday Times

This article is part of a continuing series on the ‘Mahavamsa’, the recorded chronicle of Sri Lankan history
The Ministers flee
1. All the ministers gathered there, had serious comments to make. One said they should no longer tolerate the ruin brought about in the order of the monks? “The king is badly misled and something has to be done immediately”, said another. The Chief -Minister added that all this ruin was caused by the Chola priest. “That’s the very reason why we shouldn’t delay”, said another minister. The queen confessed that the king would not care, even to listen to her words now.

2. The Chief-Minister then spoke thus, “What are you saying? Dear Queen, the king accepts all the advice I give him as Chief-Minister, but does not put anything into practice. The country is being ruled the way Rev. Sanghamitta wants. The king is badly deceived. Another minister spoke in anger and said, “That is why we should teach a lesson to the king now”. “What action are we to take?”, asked the others. Some then suggested that they should declare war.

3. The Chief-Minster then said, “O, it’s a difficult task. It is impossible to operate from the capital city. It is difficult to recruit men to the army”. The other ministers too were of the same opinion. So they suggested that they flee to ‘Malaya-Rata’, where they could get the help of the village chieftains. One chieftain then said that a lot of monks who fled from the Mahavihara were living over there and their support too could be obtained.

4. The Chief-Minister agreed. He said, “Yes, we are sure to get the help of the monks. With their guidance, we can meet all the village chieftains”. Eventually, everyone agreed to act accordingly. One minister commented that when they are gone, the king would be misled, even more. Sona would become the next Chief-Minister. “It cannot be helped”, said the Chief-Minister.

5 Meghavarna, the Chief-Minister consoled the crowd saying this state of affairs has to be tolerated for a short period as there was no other alternative. The crowd was silenced by his words. They went to the Malaya-Rata. The queen remained in the capital city. King Mahasen got to know of all this. He became furious.

6. The king’s biggest worry was that his childhood friend had turned to be his enemy now. The king was restless that day. Hearing all this, Rev. Sanghamitta visited the palace. Minister Sona too accompanied him. They tried to pacify and console the king in every possible way. They spent a lot of time with the king. On the request of Rev. Sanghamitta, the king appointed Sona as the chief minister.

7. Meanwhile, those who fled to Malaya-Rata met the Mahavihara monks who were living there. The monks praised the minister for standing up for the right thing. They recited ‘Pirith’ and blessed the crowd. They then made the minister meet the village chieftains - who were also disgusted with the king. The people in Malaya-Rata were disgusted about what was happening in Anuradhapura. The Chief-Minister addressed everybody and said, “We shall not harm the king Mahasen in any way. He is being misled by his teacher”.

8. One village chieftain then asked why they were getting the army organized. According to the chief minister it was to display their strength and show the king that his subjects do not like his anti-religious activities. The Mahavihara monks who were among this crowd, approved of it. One monk remarked that the people would have revolted against the king - for what he was doing in Anuradhapura. The people were utterly disgusted with the rule of King Mahasen. They were only waiting for an alternative leadership.

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

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