"…Thus died this persevering, indefatigable, energetic, warlike, and religious prince, beloved by his people, honoured by his contemporaries, and extolled by posterity as the deliverer of his country, the embellisher of Ceylon and the prop and support of Buddhism itself. Nor was it without reason that Gamono received these extraordinary honours.
His life has indeed been one of uncontrolled selfishness and audacity; at least entirely so in the subsequent part of his history; but fortunately for his future character that selfishness ran parallel with the interests of his country and thus the motives of his actions were overlooked in their effects."
Reading through this reference to King Dutugemunu in the 'History of Ceylon' by William Knight in 1845 - a book he picked up quite by accident from a pile of books on the pavement while on a pilgrimage to Buddhagaya, one- time senior administrator P.G.Punchihewa was inspired to research into the life of the great king. On top of that he was shocked when he found that in the National Museum Guide, there is no reference to King Dutugemunu.
He just could not believe it. Having written a number of children's books, he thought a book for children on Dutugemunu would be useful, particularly because students are not taught history and they are not aware of great men whom we have admired over the centuries. However, as he proceeded with his research it dawned on him that the book should cater to adults as well.
Recently the Sarasavi publication - 'Maha Senapathi Dutugemunu Rajathuma' (King Dutugemunu, the Commander-in-Chief) - was launched at a house-full gathering at the National Library Services Board auditorium amidst Punchihewa's campus contemporaries, educationists, ex-administrators and friends.Punchi, as I always prefer to call him, has been fascinated by the character of Dutugemunu from his younger days. He recalled the days when as a five year old, he worshipped Ruvanveli Seya with his mother beside him. He had repeatedly read Martin Wickremasinghe's novel 'Rohini'. Denis Clark's 'The Golden Island' was one of the earliest English books he read. Colin de Silva has introduced Dutugemunu to world literature through his 'The Winds of Sinhala'.
Punchi’s recent effort gives a new dimension to the Dutugemunu story. He discusses at length the ground work prepared by Dutugemunu's father, King Kavantissa, to free the country from Tamil domination and unify it. He knew it was a gigantic task. In fact, when he thought of the need to unify the country, the prince was only 12 years old. When Dutugemunu actually succeeded in this effort, he was 44. The far-sighted king Kavantissa is the first monarch in Sinhala history who built up a professional army. He was a devout Buddhist and worked closely with the Maha Sangha. He is credited with 138 temples and cetiyas. According to the Dhatuvamsa, among them were Situlpavuva Vihara, Walasgala Viharaya Tissamaha Vihara and Seruvila dagoba.
Punchi rejects the assumption in the Mahavamsa that Kavantissa was a timid individual. To him he was a great emperor who acted with vision and patience and prepared the ground work for his son Dutugemunu to unify the country.
Punchi gives adequate coverage to the contribution made by Dutugemunu's mother Vihara Maha Devi, the royal elephant Kandula, and the 'Dasa Maha Yodhayo' - the ten giants. He describes in detail how he planned the war against Elara, the Tamil ruler in Anuradhapura at the time. He quotes extensively from a wide range of research material including books, inscriptions and historical records.
In the concluding chapter assessing Dutugemunu's successes, Punchi compares him to a priceless gem with many facets. He finds it difficult to identify a similar character in world history. If at all, he can only be compared with India's King Asoka. Just as there are similarities between the two, there are also differences. Asoka reunited India, thereby achieving a gigantic task. Dutugemunu was the first king to unify Sri Lanka.
The main difference lies in their motives. While Asoka was keen in conquering territories and expanding his power base, Dutugemunu, from his young days had a different motive. His ambition was to protect Buddha Sasana and unify the country. He has repeatedly stated this. "My effort is solely to protect the religion and not for my personal glory," he told the Maha Sangha at Tissamaharama just before he embarked on his march to Anuradhapura. The end result of the efforts of both kings, however, was that they both rendered a great service to Buddhism. While Asoka took the initiative in making Buddhism a universal religion, Dutugemunu protected and spread the religion in Sri Lanka.
Punchi also commends Dutugemunu's skills as a war strategist. The king displayed the skills of a veteran commander-in-chief when directing a battle. Before the battle of Vijithapura he tested the strengths of two of the key characters, Kandula and Nandimithra, as well as the other commanders. He misled the enemy forces by building a fortress away from Kasagala on his mother's advice. He used spies to capture Mahela, an enemy commander.
Dutugemunu also gave priority to the needs of the troops on the way to the battlefront. He gave over the task of supplying meals to brother Tissa and sent him to Dighavapi - a strategic location between Anuradhapura and Magama. It was easier to get the foodstuffs from Dighavapi than transporting them from Magama in the deep south. Meanwhile, he saw to it that people in Magama did not starve. He built tanks and ensured that paddy lands were cultivated. He personally participated in these activities whenever time permitted.
Once Dutugemunu captured Vijithapura and the cities of Girilaka and Mahela, he did not rush to capture Anuradhapura. It was yet another strategy. He camped at Kasagala where he spent time even to build a tank. He wanted his troops to relax before launching the final onslaught. It also gave him time to make fresh recruitments.
Meeting Elara on the battlefield face to face was also a rare happening in history. Defeating Elara was not a mere act of vanquishing a foreign invader. Elara was an experienced, clever and popular monarch. When Dutugemunu confronted him he had ruled Anuradhapura for 44 years. He had solidly consolidated his position. He had won the hearts of the people as a just king.
He displayed his foresight by recruiting Sinhala soldiers to his army without confining it to Tamil soldiers. He consulted Sinhala ministers on the strategy to follow when he heard that Dutuegmunu was camping at Kasagala.
Dutugemunu's success unified the divisive forces in the country. Although Elara was a just king, his Tamil followers harassed the Buddhists and were actively engaged in anti-Buddhist activities. Dutugemunu's efforts ensured territorial integrity as well as cultural integrity.
Describing Dutugemunu as "a wonderful character", Punchi quotes the respect accorded to Elara after his death as an incident unparalleled in history. He was a grateful individual and a disciplinarian. Punchi gives adequate evidence to prove his arguments.
As Tissa Devendra pointed out in his address at the launch, the younger generation has lost a lot by not learning history as a subject in school. "It is ironical that the person responsible for it was later rewarded with the highest position in a university", he lamented. |
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