The Trustworthiness of the Mahavamsa
By WILH. GEIGER
THE Indian Historical Quarterly
Vol.VI, No.2, 1930.06
p. 205
The "Great Chronicle" of Ceylon, the Mahavamsa,
is generally divided into two main parts, the
Mahavamsa in the narrower sense of the word and the
so-called Culavamsa, the "Little Chronicle". The end
of the first part is easily recognised at ch. XXXVII,
v. 50 where the history of king Mahasena's reign
terminates (362 A.C.). Here in all our manuscripts we
read the words Mahavamso nitthito and in most of them
also Namo tassa bhagavato arahato sammasambuddhassa
clearly indicating the end of a work and commencement
of a new one. The Dipavamsa, which appears to be a
groundwork of the Mahavamsa, similarly ends with the
death of Mahasena; the Mahavamsa Tika also does not
extend beyond ch. XXXVII, v. 50.
Nevertheless the end of the Mahavamsa must have
been mutilated. Each chapter of the chronicle has a
final stanza composed in an artificial metre, and we
expect such a stanza also at the end of the whole
poem. But its last half sloka simply runs as
evam punnam apunnam ca subahum so upacini,
and the Culavamsa begins with the verse
asadhusamgamen' evam yavajivam subhasubham
katva gato yathakammam so Mahasenabhupati.
It is clear that the compiler of the Culavamsa has
intention-
p. 206
ally veiled the break, and it is difficult to find it
out without the help of the Dipavamsa, the Tika, and
the manuscripts.
The Culavamsa, as far as I now can see, consists
of three different portions.(l) According to the
opinion which hitherto was generally accepted, the
first part of the Culavamsa ends with the reign of
Parakkamabahu II (end of ch. 85). Tradition calls its
compiler Dhammakitti. This name occurs more than
once. Wickremasinghe(2) identified our Dhammakitti
with the Thera bearing that name who is mentioned in
84, 11. He was a famous monk, living in Tambarattha.
King Parakkamabahu II invited him to Ceylon to help
him, no douht, in purifying the church. Malalasekera
following Wickremasinghe says(3): "The history of the
island from the reign of Mahasen A.C. 302 [sic] to
the time of Pandit Parakkamabahu of Dambadaniya
[=P.II] was compiled by Dhammakitti II under royal
patronage".
But I succeeded in finding out unquestionable
traces of a break in our chronicle after 79, 84. In
four of the manuscripts the words namo tassa
bhagavato arahato sammasambudddhassa are inserted and
a fifth manuscript has three division marks after
v.84, as is generally done at the end of a
pariccheda. Now just at 79, 84 the history of the
reign of Parakkamabahu I comes to an end, and the
preceding verses contain a summary of the meritorious
works performed by the king, probably an extract from
his Punnapotthaka. It is, therefore, clear that
Parakkamabahu I was the favourite hero of the
compiler of the first portion of the Culavamsa, that
this portion ends with his death A.C. 1186, and that
the chapters 80 following constitute a second
----------------------
1. I do not take into consideration the final chapter
101 which has been added by Sumangala and
Batuwantudawa, the authors of the editio princeps.
2. Catalogue of the Sinhalese Manuscripts in the
British Museum, P.31.
3. The Pali Literature of Ceylon, p.142.
p. 207
part compiled by another chronicler. Further it now
becomes probable that the compiler of the first
portion of the Culavamsa (37, 51--79, 84) was not
Dhammakitti II, mentioned in 84, 11, but an older
Thera bearing the same name, perhaps the author of
the Dathavamsa, Dhammakitti I, who lived under
Parakkamabahu I about the end of his reign and under
his immediate successors. The exact date of the
composition of the Dathavamsa, according to the
introductory stanzas compared with Culavamsa 80,
49f., is the year 1211 A.D. (1)
The second part of the Culavamsa does not end
with Parakkamabahu II's reign (89,71), but it extends
to ch. 90, v. 102 or 104 (Parakkamabahu IV,
1303-1333). This is clearly shown by the manuscripts.
One of them abruptly ends at v.102. In another
manuscript the portion of the leaf after v. 104 is
left blank and the sequel begins on a new leaf. Two
manuscripts have a double division mark after the
same verse. The difference in the manuscript
regarding the final verse of the second part seems to
prove that the compiler of the following portion
again intentionally mutilated the end of the
preceding one and composed the two stanzas 103 and
104 in order to make the break unnoticeable.
The third and last part of the Culavamsa extends
from the reign of Bhuvanekabahu III (Ch. 90, v.5) to
that of Kittisirirajasiha (1747-81). We learn from
the chronicle itself (99, 76ff.) that it was composed
at Kittisirirajasiha's direction, as the Mahavamsa on
examination proved to be deficient. It ended with the
kings of Hatthiselapura (now Kurunegala). This
perfectly agrees with what I said above about the
break in the manuscripts after the history of
Parakkamabahu IV, for, this king had in fact his
residence at Kurunegala.
The author of the last part of the chronicle
probably was
----------------------
1. Malalasekera (p. 66) says that the Dathavamsa was
written in the twelfth century. This appears to be
a slip of the pen.
p. 208
the thera Tibbotuvave Sumangala who had come from
Siam to Ceylon and played an important part in the
Buddhist church in the second half of the 18th
century.
The whole Ceylon chronicle, therefore,consists of
four parts:
I. Mahavamsa--chs. 1--37, 50 ; 544 B.c.--362 A.C.
II. Culavamsa :
1st portion chs. 37, 51-- 79, 84; 362 A.C.--1186 A.C.
2nd ,, ,, 79, 85-- 90,102; 1186 A.C.--1333 ,,
3rd ,, ,, 90, 105--100,292; 1333 A.C.--1781 ,,
The author of I is Mahanama, of II.1, Dhammakitti,
of II. 3, Sumangala ;the author of II. 2 is unknown.
I need not say that, if we try to inquire into
the question of the trustworthiness of the chronicle,
each part must be treated separately. As to the first
part (chs. 1--37,50) I shall confine myself to a few
remarks, as the matter has been fully dealt with in
the Introduction to my translation of the poem.(1)
1. There is a good number of fables, legends and
tales of marvels in the Mahavamsa, and we must in
each particular case attempt to find out whether
there is in the narrative an historical kernel or
not. It is, for instance, evident that the story of
the three visits of the Buddha to Lanka in ch. 1 is
purely legendary, invented at a later time in the
island itself in order to legitimate its sanctity.
But we stand on a firmer ground in regard to the
report of the three Buddhist Councils (chs. 3-5). It
is not necessary to assume that the report is correct
in all its details. But the fact itself can hardly be
called into question. The Northern Buddhist tradition
mentions only two Councils, but the confusion that
exists in this tradition regarding the date of the
Second Council does not recommend it as more
trustworthy than the Southern tradition.(2)
----------------------
1. The Mahavamsa or the Great Chronicle of Ceylon
translated, London, Pali Text Society, 1912, pp.
xiiff.
2 See Mhvs. trsl., pp. lixff.
p. 209
There is also some discrepancy between the
Mahavamsa on the one side, and the Jaina books and
the Puranas on the other concerning the list of
Indian kings preceding Asoka. Chiefly the name of
Kalasoka occurring only in the Dipavamsa and the
Mahavamsa is much disputed. But at least the names
and facts mentioned in Mhvs. 5. 15ff., are accepted
as true history even by such scholars who otherwise
look upon the Ceylon chronicles with the utmost
scepticism.(1)
The passage runs thus:
Nava Nanda tato(2) asum kamen' eva naradhipa
te pi dvavisa vassani rajjam samanusasisum./
Moriyanam khattiyanam vamse jatam siridharam
Candagutto ti pannatam Canakko brahmano tato/
navamam Dhananandam tam ghatetva candakodhava
sakale Jambudipasmim rajje samabhisinci so./
So catuvisa vassani raja rajjam akarayi
tassa putto Bindusaro atthavisati karayi
Bindusarasuta asum satam eko ca vissuta
Asoko asi tesam tu punnatejobaliddhiko/
It is sufficiently proved by this and similar
passages that the compilers of the Dipa- and
Maha-vamsa did not arbitrarily invent the narratives,
but took their information from a source which not
only contained legends and fables but also good
historical tradition prevailing in India. We would
cast away the good with the bad, if we neglected the
Ceylon chronicles in the reconstruction of the Indian
history during the period from the Buddha's death to
king Asoka.
2. The oldest period of Sinhalese history from
Vijaya to Mutasiva (Mhvs. ch. 6---ch. 11,6) is rather
obscure. The story of Vijaya's descent from a lion is
a typical legend of totemistic character and explains
his clan name Sihala. The colonisation of Ceylon by a
group of immigrants from India
----------------------
1. Smith, Early History of India, pp. 110ff.
2. i. e. after Kalasoka, I do not lay stress upon
the exactness of the numbers.
p. 210
may be taken as historical, and perhaps also the name
of Vijaya as their leader. But not even the question
from which part of India the colonists came can be
answered in an unobjectionable manner. The reports in
the Dipavamsa and Mahavamsa can hardly be harmonised.
The chronology is certainly arranged with the purpose
of arriving at a chronological coincidence of
Vijaya's landing in Ceylon with the year of the
Buddha's death. What the chronicle tells us about the
deeds of Vijaya and his immediate successors is a
mixfure of sound tradition and legends, and it is
impossible to disentangle all the difficulties.
3. Things change for the better during the reign
of Devanampiyatissa. There is a widespread tradition
in Ceylon, the fundamental tradition of the whole
ecclesiastical history, (1) that king
Devanampiyatissa was a contemporary of king Asoka,
(2) that Buddhism was first preached in Ceylon under
king Devanampiyatissa, and(3) that it was preached by
Mahinda, a son of king Asoka. We may, of course,
criticise the details of the narrative in Mhvs., chs.
13-20, but to contest the fact itself, pure and
simple, would not be criticism but sterile
scepticism. The missionary work of king Asoka, as it
is described in Mhvs. 12, 7-54, has received a
striking corroboration in inscriptions of relic-urns
discovered in Sanci where some of the names mentioned
in Mhvs. and Dipa. occur.(1) The name of Mahinda as
the missionary sent to Ceylon is confirmed by
Hiuen-tsang, who, however, calls him not a son but a
brother of king Asoka. The planting of the Bodhi-tree
at, Anuradhapura can also be taken as an historical
fact, since sculptures on the East gate of the Sanci
tope seem to be representations of that event.(2)
These representations would only be 100 to 150 years
later than the event itself. After all, as to
chronology, the date of Deva-
----------------------
1. See Mhvs. trsl., p. xix.
2. Grunwedel, Buddhistische Kunst in Indien, pp.72-73; Rhys
Davids, Buddhist India, p. 302.
p. 211
nampiyatissa's coronation, 236 years after the
parinirvana, belongs, I think, to those reliable
single dates which were handed down by tradition from
generation to generation and which, together with the
facts that are supported by external testimony, must
serve as a skeleton of Sinhalese chronology. We
should renounce all attempts of forming an idea of
Ceylon history if we reject without hesitation all
those dates as worthless invention.
4. We now gradually approach the time which may
be called historical in the true sense of the word.
The numbers given in the Mahavamsa for the reigns of
the successors of Devanampiyatissa-10, 10, 10, 22 (or
12), l0--appear, it is true, somewhat schematic but
it would be altogether groundless to doubt the
historical character of the traditions about Elara
and Dutthagamani. The former was a Damila. He came to
Ceylon from the Cola country and seized the kingdom
(Mhvs. 21, 13). It certainly tells in favour of the
fairness of the Sinhalese chroniclers that they
judge the usurper from a remarkably objective
standpoint by emphasizing that he ruled with even
justice towards friend and foe. And they also speak
with similar impartiality about less dominating
personalities like the Damilas Sena and Guttika, who
had conquered king Suratissa: rajjam dhammena karayum
(Mhvs. 21, 11).
Dutthagamani is the national hero of the
Sinhalese people. Even today, as I noticed when I was
touring in Rohana in January and February 1926, many
tales of Dutugamunu are current in this province
about the place from which he started and those which
are hallowed either by some important event of his
life or by his mere presence. Such popular traditions
are also mixed with the historical account in our
chronicle but it is easy to separate the two
elements, and we have hardly any reason for calling
into question the genuineness of the main facts.
These facts are (1) the war of Dutthagamani with his
brother Saddhatissa about the sovereignty of
Rohana, and the reconciliation
p. 212
of the twin brothers; (2) the campaign against the
Damilas who had occupied northern Ceylon and
Anuradhapura; (3) the defeat and death of king Elara
in a single combat with Dutthagamani and the great
chivalry exhibited by Dutthagamani at the time of his
burial; (4) the restoration of the national Sinhalese
kingdom; (5) the foundation at Anuradhapura of the
Maricavatticetiya, the Lohapasada, and the Mahathupa.
All these facts are told in the Mahavamsa in a
sober and reliable form. We must not forget, however,
that the Mahavamsa is not a dry chronicle in the
modern sense of the word, but a poem. In a poem,
embellishments and somtimes also exaggerations may
occur. But within these limits I have the strong
impression-and whoever reads the Mahavamsa without
prejudice will have the same--that the author at
least wished to tell the truth. He is perhaps
sometimes misled by his education and by his
conviction, on account of his priestly mode of
viewing things, but he never tells a falsehood
intentionally.
5. The same holds good with the last chapters 33
to 37. Nay, the historical character of the account
stands forth even in a bolder relief in this part of
the chronicle. The dissensions and quarrels within
the Buddhist community are, of course, described from
the standpoint of an orthodox Theravadin, but we get
a vivid picture of them and of the ecclesiastical
history of that period. Very few passages only can be
found out, indeed, which invite our criticism. Even
the greatness of the last king of the old dynasty,
Mahasena, who was no doubt a ruler of high qualities,
is not entirely obscured in the chronicle, although
he was at a certain period of his reign a reckless
adversary of the Theravada.
Things alter and become more complicated when we
pass over to the Culavamsa. Mahanama, the compiler of
what we call Mahavamsa in the narrower sense of the
word, was a comparatively simple-minded author. He
treated exactly with the same material as his
predecessor, the author of the Dipa-
p. 213
vamsa. This work chiefly seems to be a collection of
verses quoted from the various Atthakathas and other
works of the Poranas which existed in Ceylon and were
composed--in the prose parts-in old Sinhalese
language. Mahanama enlarged and adorned the narration
by details which he found in those prose parts of the
Atthakatha, or which he knew by oral tradition. He is
entitled to the name of a poet but all refinements of
a very high order were far from him.
The compilers of the three parts of the Culavamsa
were to a great extent influenced by the Indian kavya
literature and by the rules of the Indian poetics,
the alamkara. This influence is considerably stronger
in the second part than in the first, composed by
Dhammakitti, and stronger again in the third portion
than in the second. The reliability of the three
portions and their value as historical sources is
also different; it decreases, generally speaking,
from portion to portion, while on the other hand, the
language becomes more artificial and sometimes even
abstruse.
Nevertheless there are some features which are
common to all the three portions, viz.,
(i) The want of originality and the monotony of
the representation are remarkable. Nearly all the
descriptions of a battle or a festival and so forth
are purely schematic and composed after a fixed
model. In 78, 56ff. king Parakkamabahu I is described
determining the boundary (sima) of a monastery. The
passage shows a considerable resemblance, even in the
wording, to the description in 15, 188ff. of the same
act performed by Devanampiyatissa.(1) In the latest
portion of the chronicle the descriptions of
processions and feasts performed in honour of the
tooth relic (cf. e.g. 99, 42ff., 53ff.;100, 1ff.,
24ff.) are as alike as two peas. They are mere
repetitions consisting of a number of conventional
phrases, and the compiler clear imitates similar
passages found in the preceding portion (85. 112ff.;
89. 19ff.). At
----------------------
1. See my translation of the Culavamsa, II, p.108,
n.6.
p. 214
the same time in one of these descriptions (100,
1ff.) he strives to show also his botanical knowledge
or rather his knowledge of the kosas and of the
botanical names contained therein. Such details of
the chronicle must therefore be estimated as only
poetical embellishment without any historical value.
(ii) The compilers of the three portions of the
Culavamsa have each his favourite hero whom he wishes
to extol and to glorify. As already Dr. Rhys Davids
has rightly observed,(l) each new chronicler hurries
over the kings preceding his favourite and then
enlarges at length on the events of that monarch's
reign. Dhammakitti's hero is Parakkamabahu I
(1153-86), that of the second chronicler is
Parakkamabahu II (1225-69) with his son and co-regent
Vijayabahu IV, and Tibbotuvave Sumangala's favourite
is Kittisirirajasiha (1747-80). In the first portion
of the history, Parakkamabahu's reign occupies 18
chapters(62-79) and 241 pages of my printed
translation, that of his predecessors--nearly eight
centuries--fills 24 chapters and ·2 231 pages. In the
second part of the chronicle the disproportion is
still more remarkable. There the history of
Parakkamabahu II and of his co-regent comprises 8
chapters and 58 pages, that of his predecessors, from
1186 to 1225 A.D. 2 chapters and 18 pages. There is
also a short appendix belonging to this part which
describes the reign of the immediate successors of
Vijayabahu IV (Bhuvanekabahu I to Parakkamabahu IV,
1272-1333 A.D.) in 102 verses on 9 pages. Finally in
the most recent part of the chronicle the history of
the reign of the favourite king Kittisirirajasiha is
dealt with in two long chapters (99 and 100) in 45
pages, and that of all his predecessors from 1333 to
1747 A. D. in 8 chapters in 44 pages.
The peculiar character of the chronicle must be
kept in mind when we try to criticize its
reliability. It is clear that in the passages where
the chronicler deals with the deeds of his favourite
hero, scepticism is justified, for the
---------------------
1 See Malalasekera, Pali Literature of Ceylon,p. 142.
p. 215
panegyrist is always prone to make exaggerations,
suppress facts or even to invent stories. There can
be no doubt, for instance, that in his report of
Parakkamabahu I's campaigns in Southern India,
Dhammakitti suppresses the fact of the failure which
overtook the expedition after its first success. (1)
The narrative in the Culavamsa ends abruptly. But we
learn from South Indian inscriptions that
Parakkamabahu's general was finally defeated and his
head with those of his officers was nailed to the
gates of Madhura.
There is also a great difference between what the
Mahavamsa tells us about Parakkamabahu II's reign and
what we learn from South Indian inscriptions.
According to the chronicle the king's army freed the
whole island of Lanka from the Pandyas (83.48) and
Parakkamabahu is described as the absolute monarch in
Ceylon. But the inscriptions tell us that about the
middle of the 13th century, i.e., just at
Parakkamabahu II's time, Ceylon was invaded by the
Pandyas, that several kings were reigning there at
that time, that one of them was killed and another
was forced to pay tribute. This at least shows that
Parakkama could never unite the whole island under
his rule.(2)
Finally I need not add much to the history of
Kittisirirajasiha, the favourite hero of the last
chronicler. Except the very interesting passage 99,
108-139 where the military events of the year 1765
are dealt with,(3) chapters 99 and 100 have purely a
panegyric character. The king is praised therein as
the liberal patron of the Buddhist church and as
faithful adherent of the holy doctrine. All the
failures during his reign are passed over in silence.
However we must not be hasty in our conclusions.
Even such passages, where the favourite king is
glorified, may contain a kernel of historical truth.
This especially holds good for the chapters dealing
with the life and the deeds of
--------------------
1 See my translation of the Culavamsa,II, p. 100,
n.I.
2 See H. W. Codrington, Short History of Ceylon, pp.
77, 87.
3 See also 99, 155-166.
p. 216
Parakkamabahu I. He is depicted, no doubt, by
Dhammakitti as a model king endowed with all the
royal virtues and with a full knowledge of the Niti
literature. Nevertheless I have tried to show(1) by
an analysis of the history of the king's youth, how
with cautious criticism we can find out the actual
course of the events.
Chapters 70 to 79, as even the most careful
critic must admit, are rich in historical information
about the reign of Parakkamabahu the great. First the
campaigns of the king, (chs. 70-72), his struggle
against Gajabahu and Manabharana for the kingdom, and
then (chs. 74, 22--75), his various expeditions
against the rebels in Rohana are described by the
chronicler in detail. But obviously he derived his
knowledge of all these particulars from reliable
documents. A good deal of the numerous geographical
names occurring in the report has been identified by
Mr. H. W. Codrington.(2) If with the help of these
identifications we carefully examine the statements
of the chronicle, we never meet with serious
contradictions or with impossible things, but we are
able to understand the strategical plan of each
campaign and its tactical performance as well as the
course of the single events whether the king's army
met with good or temporarily even with ill success.
It may be sufficient to refer to the explanatory
notes which I appended to such passages in my
translation of the Culavamsa.
Parakkamabahu's expedition to Ramanna, i.e. Burma
(76.10ff.) is also mentioned in the Devanagala
inscription.(3) The name of the port Kusumi,
occurring in both the Culavamsa and the inscription,
is certainly the same as Kusumanagara, in Burmese
corrupted to Kusmein, the old denomination of
---------------------
1 In the Introduction to my translation of the
Culavamsa, vol. I, pp. iv ff.
2 Mediaeval Topography, Ceylon Historical Association,
4, 1925; Notes on Ceylon Topography in the twelfth
Century. JRAS. Ceylon Branch, xxix, No. 75, pp.
62ff, 1922.
3 H. C. G. Bell, the Kegalla District, pp.73ff.
p. 217
the town Bassein on the western side of the Irawadi
Delta.(1) The name of one of the two leaders of the
expedition, Kitti (76. 60), also occurs in the
inscription. The second one, Aditta, seems to have
died in Ramanna or soon after his return to Ceylon,
for he is never mentioned again, neither in the
chronicle nor in the inscription. It is hardly
doubtful that the report in the Culavamsa of the
Ramanna campaign is much exaggerated, as the Burmese
chronicles have nothing to say about such a
catastrophe having overtaken their country.
Regarding the other great military undertaking of
Parakkama, his expedition to Southern India under
general Lankapura, it has been already said above
that its final failure has been suppressed in the
Culavamsa. The fact itself however is confirmed by
South Indian inscriptions.(2) The name Kulottunga of
the Cola king in these inscriptions corresponds to
the Kulasekhara of the chronicle.
Chapters 73. 12ff. and 78.5ff. contain an account
of the church reforms of Parakkama. If is confirmed
by an inscription of the king in the Galvehera at
Polonnaruva.(3) There is also some similarity between
the two accounts externally. Both start with the
schism of the Buddhist order under Vattagamani. Both
speak of the intention that the Order now should be
stable for 5000 years. In both Mahakassapa is
mentioned as president of the council, and a parallel
is drawn between the church reform in Pataliputta
under Dhammasoka and that under Parakkamabahu.
Finally I have to add a few words about the
buildings erected in Pulatthinagara (Polonnaruva) by
king Parakkamabahu. They are enumeratad in chs. 73,
55ff. and 78, 31ff. The description in our chronicle
is reasonable and well intelli-
---------------------
1 Yule and Burnell, Hobson-Jobson, s. v. Cosmin. See
also. s. See also Major R.C.Temple,Indian Antiquary,
xxii, 1893, p.18.
2 See Smith, Early History of India, p. 340; H. W.
Codrington, Short History of Ceylon, pp. 62, 74.
3 Ed. Muller, Ancient Inscriptions of Ceylon, p. 54;
Wickremasinghe, Epigraphia Zeylonica, II, 256ff.
p. 218
gible. Mr. W Codrington has rightly observed(1)
that the arrangement is topographical running from
south to north. It is indeed possible to identify
most of those buildings with ruins, detected and
excavated in Polonnaruva. The citadel and the royal
palace therein (73, 60) can be traced with certainty.
The palace was an imposing building although the
thousand chambers attributed to it in the chronicle
are a poetical exaggeration. To the Jetavanarama (78,
32) correspond the ruins of the so-called Quadrangle,
and among them the Vata-da-ge to the "round temple of
the tooth relic.'' The Alahana-parivena (78, 48)
seems to be identical with the group of ruins, now
popularly but wrongly called Jetavanarama. To it
belongs the image-house Lankatilaka which even now,
as far as I know, bears this name among the
inhabitants of the place. The Uttararama (78, 72)
with its three grottos (guha) is no doubt the
so-called Gal-vehera. Not far from it an immense heap
of ruins, overgrown with jungle and looking like a
natural hill, represents the site of the Mahathupa or
Damilathupa (78, 76).
We now come to that portion of the chronicle
where in ch. 37, vv. 51-60 the history of seventy
four kings is described beginning with Sirimeghavanna
who ascended the throne about 362 A. D., and ending
with Vijayabhu I, who died 1194 A. D. It therefore
covers seven and a half centuries. The chs. 61, 62,
63 containing accounts of the reigns of Jayabahu
Vikkamabahu and Gajabahu make for the transition to
the history of Parakkamabahu I.
I do not hesitate to call just those chs. 37 to
60 perhaps the best and most reliable parts of the
whole Mahavamsa. Its statements are so often
confirmed by external testimonies even in details,
that, according to my conviction, doubts about its
general trustworthiness are not justified. This does
not mean, of course, that we must abstain from all
historical criticism. But if, for instance, the same
events are related
---------------------
1 Short History of Ceylon, p.74.
p. 219
in the chronicle and in a contemporary inscription,
we may take this as a sufficient corroboration of the
former account.
Thus we learn from the Mahavamsa that king
Vijayabahu I conquered the Colas (58, 59), fetched
bhikkhus from Ramanna (59,4), erected a beautiful and
costly temple for the tooth relic (60, 16),
distributed alms three times to the poor of a weight
equal to that of his body (60, 21), and took care to
improve trade-route from the province of Uva to the
sacred Sumanakuta, the Adam's peak (60, 64ff.). Now
we read in the Ambargamuva inscription of king
Vijayabahu that he drove away wholly the darkness of
Tamil forces and brought the whole island of Lanka
under one canopy and the same inscription tells us of
numerous works performed by him for the furtherance
of the worship of the Adam's peak. (1) The other
particulars mentioned above, are confirmed by a Tamil
inscription in Polonnaruva.(2) There we are told that
Vijayabahu invited priests from Aramana, that he,
through his senapati Deva, had the temple of the
tooth-relic built at Vijayarajapura, and that he
bestowed thrice his own weight upon the three
Nikayas. I may add that in the Tamil inscription a
reign of fifty-five years is attributed to the king
in full accordance with the Mahavamsa (60, 71).
In a similar manner the restoration of the
Maricavattivihara at Anuradhapura, done by Kassapa V
(908-918 A.D.), according to the Mahav. 52,45, is
confirmed by the slab inscrip-
---------------------
1 Wickremasinghe, Epigraphia Zeylanica, II, pp.
202ff, 216, 217.
2 The so-called Velaikkara-inscriptions, written
about thirty or forty years after the king's
death. The Velaikkara, p. Velakkara were a group
of Dravidian soldiers or a military clan and
accompanied king Rajendra Cola I to Ceylon. Then
they served the Sinhalese kings as mercenaries who
had especially taken over the guarding of the
tooth relic, Wickremasinghe, II, p, 242ff.;
Culav., I, P. 257, n.5. The Velakkara are first
mentioned in the chronicle just at Vijayabahu's
time (60, 36).
p. 220
tion of the king found in his capital.(1) There is
also in this inscription (lines 3-4) the interesting
notice that the king who was the son of Sena II and
his queen Sangha immediately after his birth received
the consecration of Yuvaraja,(2) and the prince is
called de-biseva-ja, the son of the twice-anointed
queen.(3) In the Mahavamsa (51, 12) we read that Sena
II consecrated his son uparaja in the most solemn
form already on the day of name-giving,(4) and in 52,
11 and 37 Kassapa has the surname
dvayabhiseka(sam)jata.
The tenth century was a stirring time in Ceylon.
The chronicler (52, 70ff.) speaks of an expedition to
Southern India which was undertaken by Kassapa V
(908-918) in order to support the Pandu king against
his Cola rival. But a disease broke out in the army
and Kasapa was compelled to bring his troops back.
The campaign therefore ended without success. To
these events South Indian inscriptions allude as
Hultzsch has shown.(5) The Cola king Parantaka I,
(907-947) actually boasts in the Udayendiram plates
of having defeated the Pandya king and of having
routed an army of the king of Ceylon.
---------------------
1. Wickremasinghe, Epigraphia Zeylanica, I, pp. 41ff,
51.
2. Sinh. : Yuvaraj bisev siri panana--Pali:
Yuvarajabhisekasirim papunitva.
3. Wickramesinghe, Ep. Zeyl. I, p. 46, 50.
4. There is a slight difference between the two
accounts. The inscription speaks of a consecration
as yuvaraja, the chronicle of that as uparaja. In
this case, I believe, the latter is even more
correct than the former. For the yuvaraja, as far
as I can see, is never consecrated. One becomes
yuvaraja in virtue of the right of succession or
is appointed to that position, if the king has no
brother or son as legal successor. See Culav.
transl., I, Intro. pp, xix f. But the abhiseka of
an uparaja is often mentioned in the Mahavamsa.
The conferring of this title upon a member of the
royal family, often upon the yuvaraja himself, was
apparently a matter of king's pleasure. At the
time of Kassapa's youth the younger brother of
Sena II, Mahinda, was yuvaraja in accordance with
the Sinhalese law (51,13).
5. J.R.A.S., 1913, pp. 525 f.
p. 221
During the reign of Dappula V (918-930), a Pandya
king came to Ceylon to ask for Dappula's help
against the Colas. Since the assistance was refused
he betook himself to the Kerala country, leaving his
diadem in Ceylon (Mahav. 53, 5ff). Under king Udaya
II (942-950) a Cola king sent his army to Ceylon to
fetch the Pandya crown (Mahav, 53, 40ff.) But
although the Colas were victorious in battle and
conquered the northern provinces, Udaya succeeded in
escaping to Rohana with the crown and other
treasures. The victorious Cola king was no doubt
again Parantaka I (907-947), mentioned above, for he
calls himself in his latest inscriptions conqueror of
Ilam i.e, Ceylon.(1)
In A.D. 981 the weak king Mahinda V ascended the
throne of Ceylon. Since he was unable to pay them,
tile Kerala and other mercenaries rebelled. Mahinda
fled to Rohana, but in Northern Ceylon the
mercenaries carried on a military dictatorship. The
Cola king, turning the confusion in Ceylon to his own
advantage, sent troops to tile island (Mahav. 55, 14
ff.). The Colas advanced on Rohana, captured the king
and the queen alive and brought them with all their
treasures to India. This took place in the 36th year
of Mahinda's reign, i.e. A.D. 1017,
The victorious Cola king was Rajendra Cola I, for
he boasts in the Tirumalai Rock inscription(2) of
having seized the crown of the king of Ilam (on) the
tempestuous ocean; the exceedingly fine crowns of the
queens of that (king); the beautiful crown and the
necklace of Indra, which the king of the South (i.e.
the Pandya) had previously deposited with that (king
of Ilam); the whole Ila-mandala (on) the transparent
sea." Thus by this inscription even that single
statement in the Mahav. 53,9 thapetva makutadini
"leaving behind the crown and so forth" is contirmed.
---------------------
1 Epigraphia Indica, VII, Appendix, p. 115, nos 691,
692, Hultzsch, 1. 1.
2 Epigraphia Indica, IX, pp, 229, 233 Hultzsch, l.l.,
pp, 522 f.
p. 222
Rajendra Cola's predecessor, king Rajaraja I
(485-1011) had also made war against the Sinhalese.
The conquest of Ceylon is mentioned in an inscription
of the twentieth year of his reign, i.e, A.D. 1005,
It seems that he, like Parantaka, tried to capture
the Pandya crown. But we know that the Sinhalese
rulers guarded the regalia, the sadhana, with the
utmost care, and they were apparently so carefully
hidden in those disturbed times that even the great
conqueror could not seize them. There is no account
of Rajaraja's campaign in the Mahavamsa, it only
relates the later events, the final catastrophe.
Already in the second half of the ninth century
king Sena II (846-880), according to Mahav. 51.27
ff., undertook a campaign against the Pandyas which
ended with the capt ture and the plundering of their
capital Madhura, and indeed his son Dappula V speaks
of the victory obtained by his father over the
Pandyas.(1) In a similar manner king Udaya II's
(880-891) struggles in Rohana and Malaya (Mahav. 51,
94 ff.) are proved as historical by an inscription of
his brother Kassapa IV,
Parakkamabahu I's immediate predecessor Gajabahu
(Mahav. 62, 19ff.) is, strange to say, not mentioned
in most of the Sinhalese books on history. But in the
Devanagara inscription(3) Parakkama expressly says
that; he has brought Lanka under his dominion after
having conquered two rivals, the first of whom is
called Gajabahu; then follows a lacuna of about 7 or
8 akkharas which Bell has no doubt rightly supplied
by Manabharana.
Finally I may refer to a number of names of
monasteries and of persons, mentioned in the
Mahavamsa--some of them only once--and occurring also
in inscriptions. The Kassapa-
---------------------
1 Ataviragollava pillar inscription, Wickramesinghe,
Ep, Zeyl., IJ, p. 44, 48.
2 Ep. Zeyl., I, pp. 200, 204.
3 H.C.P.Bell, Report on the Kegalla District, p. 75.
p. 223
girivihara (44, 98;48, 24) and the Macchatittha
(48,24)are called Kasubgiri and Mastota in the slab
inscriptions of Mahinda IV on the Mihintale hill (Ep.
Zeyl., I, pp. 216, 221, 227). Mandalagiri(46.29 &c.)
or Mandaligiri (71.3) may be b identified with the
Madiligiri in an inscription discovered at that place
(Ep. Zeyl., II, p. 28); Virankurarama (50,68) with
the Virankura in a Vessagiri inscription (Ep. Zeyl.,
I, p. 23); Sarighasena (50.70) with the Sangsenarama
in an inscription of Kassapa V (Ep. Zeyl., I, p. 51),
and Kutatissa (51.74)with the Kulutisa-rad-mahavehera
in a Polonnaruva inscription (Ep. Zeyl., II, p.50).
From Mahav. 39.11 we learn that Kassapa I enlarged
the Issarasamanarama and that he gave the new vihara
the names of his two daughters Bodhi and Uppalavanna
and of his own. In an inscription of Mahinda, IV in
Vessagiri we really find the name
Isuramenu-Bo-Upulvan-Kasubgirivihara (Ep. Zeyl., I,
p. 31).
Nala, the wife of prince Udaya, the brother of
Sena I, is mentioned in Mahav. 50, 9 and in the
Mahakalatteva inscription.(1) There also occurs the
name of king Kassapa IV's chief scribe Sena who is
mentioned in Mahav. 52,33, Kutthaka, the senapati of
Sena II(61.88) is called senavirad Kuttha in two
inscriptions.(2) The name of Vajiragga, general of
Udaya II (51,105 &c.) also occurs in inscriptions in
various forms (Ep. Zeyl. I, p. 193). There is a
slight difference between the chronicle (5, 49) and
the inscriptions (Ep. Zeyl., II, pp. 184ff., 194ff.)
concerning the name of king Vikkamabahu II's queen
Sunari or Sundari.
I need nob say so much about the third part of
the chronicle. Chs. 80 and 81, dealing with the
history of Parakkamabahu II's predecessors, and again
Ch. 90 dealing with that of his successors, have the
same character as the portion composed by
Dhammakitti. They are based on the same or similar
documents.
---------------------
1 Ed. Muller, Ancient Inscriptions in Ceylon, no.
110.
2 Wickramesinghe, Ep. Zeyl., I, pp, 164 and 175.
p. 224
Of king Sahasamalla's(1) coronation the exact
date is given in an inscription. According to Fleet's
calculation it took place on Wednesday, the 23rd
August, 1200, and this is the first absolutely
certain date in the history of Ceylon, The two queens
Kalyanavati, daughter of Nissankamalla, and
Lilavati, daughter of Parakkamabahu I, are mentioned
in inscriptions (Ep. Zeyl., II, 94,111, 190; I,
176ff., II, 192ff.). The names of the latter and of
her general Parakkama (Mahav. 80,50, 52) occur in the
introductory stanza of the Dathavamsa(2) which was
composed by Dhammakitti at the general's suggestion.
There is some difficulty concerning king
Kittinissanka or Nissankamalla (1187-1196). No
Sinhalese ruler has left so many inscriptions as he,
but in the Mahavamsa the account of his reign is
finished in 9 verses (80, 18-26), There is, however,
hardly a fundamental discrepanncy between the
chronicle and the inscriptions. In the former,
several of the meritorious works mentioned in the
latter, are enumerated; as for instance, the
adornment of the Jambukola-vihara now Dambul, his
liberality towards the Church, and his pilgrimage to
the Adam's peak. Others, like his campaigns against
the Colas and other peoples of Southern India, are
passed over in silence. There is no doubt that
Nissanka was an eminent ruler, but he also was a
proud man and the founder of a new Kalinga dynasty in
Ceylon. The bombastic style of his inscriptions
probably had tile object of increasing its prestige.
The account of the chronicle is in this case, I
think, nearer to truth than that of the inscriptions.
Virabahu, Nissanka's son, and Vikramabahu, his
younger brother (80, 21, 28), are mentioned in
inscriptions (Ep. Zeyl., II, 111, 92). The decline
caused by the usurper Magha (80, 58ff) also appears
to be true history although external testimonies
---------------------
1 Mahav., 80.32. See the note in my transl. Culav II,
p. 130, n.
2 Cf. Rhys Davids'edition in the Journ. Pali Text
Sec, 1584, p. 109.
p. 225
are lacking. The rule of Vijayabahu III(81, 10ff.)
represents the national reaction against the tyranny
of the foreigner.
The Pandu king Kulasekhara mentioned in 90, 47 as
a contemporary of Bhuvanekabahu I (1272-1283) is no
doubt the Pandya Kulasekharadeva I (1268-1308), alias
Maravarman, who has left several Tamil inscriptions
in Southern India.(1) In one of them the name of his
general Ariyacakkavattin (Mahav. 90, 44) also
occurs.(2)
The remaining chapters (82-88) however have a
different appearance. They are dedicated to the
favourite hero of the compiler of this part of the
Culavamsa, Parakkamabahu II: (1225 1269). They
resemble more a panegyric than a chronicle. The
author intends to draw the picture of an ideal king.
Parakkama is chiefly described as the devoted
protector of the Buddhist Order who worships the
sacred tooth relic and celebrates great sacrificial
festivals in its honour,
The description of the miracle performed by the
relic (82, 41ff) is clearly the imitation of a
similar passage in the old Mahavamsa (31, 96ff) and
that of all the meritorious works done by himself or
suggested by the king reminds us of a similar
description in the latest portion of the chronicle.
There may be an historical kernel in some of the
narratives even in this part of the Culavamsa, e.g.
in chapter 83 entitled subjugation of the hostile
kings. But Parakkamabahu's victory is no doubt much
exaggerated. We have seen above that he certainly
never succeeded in governing over the whole island.
The invasion of the Javakas, related in 83, 36ff can
also be taken as an historical fact, and it is also
credible that the king made his son Vijayabahu
co-regent (88, 1ff), as coregency repeatedly occurs
in the last centuries of the Sinhalese kingdom.
Vijayabahu's name and that of
---------------------
1 See Epigraphia Indica, VII, Appendix, pp, 146 ff.,
nos. 911, 919, 920, 921.
2 See Codrington, Short History of Ceylon, p. 80.
p. 226
his brother Bhuvanekabahu(87, 16) occur in a Yapahu
in scription.(1)
From the end of ch. 90, in its fourth and last
part (II, 3), the Culavamsa gradually loses its value
as an historical source. The introductory portion(ch.
90, v. 105ff, and chs. 91-93) has a rather
fragmentary character. It extends over the time from
A.D. 1333 to A.D. 1593, comprising the history of the
kings from Bhuvanekabahu III to Rajasiha I. About the
most eminent persons like Alagakkonara(91, 3ff), or
Mayadhanu, the chronicler has little to say. king
Dharmapala is not even mentioned. From the Culavamsa
alone we hardly get a right idea of the disunion at
that time of the Sinhalese kingdom; the chronicler
pays regard to the Kandy court only.
A very remarkable episode in the history of
Ceylon the knowledge of which we owe to Chinese
sources is entirely passed over in the chronicle.(2)
King Vijayabahu VI, a scion of the family of
Alagakkonara, was taken prisoner to China in A.D.
1409, and there was an interregnum of about six years
in Ceylon. That we have a gap here in the chronicle
clearly appears from the words introducing the
history of the next king Parakkamabahu VI: tato
aparabhagasmim then at a later time (91, 15). The
heroic figure of Rajasiha 1 does not also stand forth
so prominently as it deserves. In this case the
reason is that the king renounced the Buddhist faith,
went over to Hinduism and even persecuted the
bhikkhus.
It is noticeable that just the most important
event within the whole period, the arrival on the
island of the Portuguese (A.D. 1505 or 1506) is
nowhere related. The Parangi are first mentioned a
century later under king Senaratana (95, 4ff.) who
was compelled by them to leave Kandy and to bring the
tooth relic to a safe place. The chronicle alludes
---------------------
1 H. C. P. Bell, Arch. Survey Reports Ceylon,
1911-12, p. 63.
2 See my transl. of Culav. II, note
to 91, 14 (p. 214, n. 2); Codrington, 1. 1, p. 85 f.
89.
p. 227
here to de Azavedo's expedition against the Sinhalese
capital A. D. 1611.
In chapter 96 we also hear of victories gained
over the Portuguese by Rajasiha II and of his
negotiations with the Olandas. The most valuable part
of the latest Culavamsa is however the passage 99,
108-139 dealing with the military events of the year
1765 which were so disastrous for the Dutch troops.
But in all these passages we never find any
information which is more accurate or more detailed
than what we learn from Portuguese or Dutch records.
We only see with a mixture of amazement and
compassion how Sinhalese eyes looked at those events
which initiated the break- down of their old and
glorious kingdom.
We hear of victories only and successful battles
whilst in realty the Sinhalese power was rapidly
declining. All failures or internal frictions and
calamities are suppressed. The standpoint of the
chronicle is one-sided to the utmost. It was the
fiction in the Dutch period that the Olandas were
servants of the Kandy king and entrusted by him with
the protection of the coast of Lanka (96, 32; 100,
63). In diplomacy the foreigners were no doubt
superior to the Sinhalese and perhaps also in
recklessness and sometimes even in cruelty.
We fully understand that Tibbotuvave Sumangala
paid much more attention to clerical affairs than to
foreign politics. Therefore those passages which deal
with the messages sent to Burma and Siam by the kings
Vimaladhammasuriya I and II by Vijayarajasiha and
Kittisirirajasiha to fetch bhikkhus from those
countries and thus to renew the ecclesiastical life
in Ceylon (94, 15ff., 92, 8ff., 98, 87ff., 100,
54ff.) are perhaps of some historical interest.
Besides we hear in the last
---------------------
1 We hear of such clerical relations between Birma
and Ceylon already in the Kalyani inscription of
king Ramadhipati of Pegu (1746 A. D.).Cf. Taw Sein
Ko, Indian Antiquary xxii, 1893, p. 11,29,85, 150,
206, 236 (Major R.C. Temple, ib. p. 279). The
Singhalese king who invited the theras from Birma
to Ceylon is called in the inscription
Bhuvanekabahu (vi, 1473-1480 A. D.)
p. 228
chapters of the chronicle, chiefly in chs. 99 and 100
which are verbose panegyrics on king
Kittisirirajasiha, again and again of splendid feasts
and processions ever described with the conventional
phrases--of the open-handedness of the kings, of
costly presents dedicated to the tooth-relic, of
noble monuments and buildings erected here and
there-all in sad contrast with the real conditions of
the kingdom, so near at that time to its ruin.
To sum up the results of the inquiry: On the
whole the Mahavamsa is a trustworthy chronicle and
the foremost document of Ceylonese history, though of
course a sound and cautious criticism can never be
dispensed with. The value of the chronicle is
different in its different parts. The first few
chapters of its oldest portion (I) contain a mixture
of legends and historical truth. It is however not
too difficult to separate the two elements from one
another; the account of Devanampiyatissa's reign
seems to be historical time at least in the main
features, and with Dutthagamani's we reach the firm
ground of a trustworthy tradition.
The first part of the Culavamsa (II, 1) is
probably the most reliable portion of the whole
chronicle although allowances for some poetical
licenses must be made in the description of the
character and the deeds of Parakkamabahu I. The
second part (II. 2) is hardly inferior to the
preceding portion but the exaggerations and
embellishments in the account of Parakkamabahu II's
reign appear to have increased in comparison with the
corresponding passages of II. 1.
The most recent portion of the Culavamsa (II. 3)
is at the same time the most indifferent part. The
narrative of the chronicle is incomplete and
one-sided. The Portuguese and Dutch reports which now
must be considered first, also require criticism, but
they are at any rate more ample and exhaustive.
Nevertheless even these final chapters of the
chronicle are not without interest, as they allow us
an insight into the mental condition of the Sinhalese
people in that tragic period of decline.