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The Sinhalese Too Migrated to Sri Lanka from India: Part 7 – Pandukabhaya

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Myself . By T.V. Antony Raj

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As commanded by queen Bhaddakaccānā, Ummada Citta’s woman-attendant placed the infant boy in a basket and carried him to Dvaramandalaka, the village situated near the Cetiya mountain (Mihintale), east of Anuradhagama.

Some brothers of Ummada Citta, on a hunting spree in the Tumbara forest, saw the woman-attendant carrying the basket.

One of them asked her: “Where are you going? What are you carrying in the basket?”

She answered: “I am going to Dvramandalaka. I am taking sweet cake for my daughter.”

The prince then said: “Take the cake out and show it to us.”

Just then, the two dead attendants of Dighagamani, Citta the herdsman and Kalavela the slave, who as yakkas were protecting the infant, caused a great boar to appear. The princes pursued the boar. The attendant immediately hastened from there with the child and hurried towards the Dvaramandalaka.

She handed over Pandukabhaya and a thousand pieces of money to a herdsman who was secretly entrusted by queen Bhaddakaccānā to take care of her grandson.

On that very day, the herdsman’s wife bore him a son, and he declared that his wife had given birth to twins. He brought up and protected Pandukabhaya along with his own son.

Pandukabhaya practised diving deep in the pond and secretively hid in the hollow of a large tree standing in the middle of it. When he had stayed long enough in the hollow of the tree completely hidden from his playmates, he would come out and be again among them. When his friends asked him where he had been, he would mislead them with evasive words.

When Pandukabhaya was seven years old, his uncles came to know that he was alive. They found out where he lived and the pond where he used to play with his friends. They ordered their men to kill him, and his playmates.

One day, Pandukabhaya seated on the edge of the pond while his friends were playing in the pond saw the enforcers approaching. He dived deep into the water with his clothes on and reached the hollow tree. The assassins unable to find out who their victim counted the number of boys in the pond and the clothes lying nearby. When the count tallied they killed all the boys. They then went to their masters and declared that they killed all the boys.

Pandukabhaya’s foster-father comforted him for the loss of his playmates.

When Pandukabhaya was twelve years old, his uncles again came to know that he was alive. Once again, they charged their assassins to kill him.

One day, a group of Dvaramandalaka herdsmen caught a deer and sent Pandukabhaya to the village to bring fire from there. He went home. Feeling tired and footsore, he sent his foster-father’s son with the fire to the herdsmen.

The assassins surrounded the herdsmen and the twelve-year-old boy with the fire who they assumed to be Pandukabhaya and killed them all. They then went to their masters and declared that they killed the boy and all the herdsmen of the Dvaramandalaka village.

Then, when Pandukabhaya was sixteen years old, his uncles once again discovered that he was still alive and plotted to kill him. On knowing this, his mother, Citta, sent him a thousand pieces of money and a squad of armed men to accompany him to a safe place.

Pandukabhaya’s foster-father told him his mother’s message, and giving him a slave and the thousand pieces of money, sent him to seek out the Brahmin named Pandula, a rich man, well-versed in the vedic lieterature, who dwelt in Pandulagamaka village, in the southern district.

Pandula honoured Pandukabhaya as his guest. He tutored him the knowledge needed by a reigning prince. With assistance from Pandula’s son Canda (or Candena cassa puttena who belonged to the sippam samapitam), Pandukabhaya mastered ‘the art’ in a short time.

Pandula then gave him a hundred thousand pieces of money and asked him to enrol soldiers. When five hundred men had been enrolled, Pandula appointed his son Canda as Pandukabhaya’s chaplain.

Before sending Pandukabhaya with his soldiers in search of his quest, Pandula gave him money and told him that he should consecrate the woman as his queen at whose touch leaves turn to gold.

By the time Pandukabhaya reached Pana, a city near the Kasa-mountain (Probably near the modern Kahagalagama ‘village of the Kaha mountain ‘, about 18 miles SE from Anuradhapura, and 10 miles WNW from the mountain Ritigala), he had gathered seven hundred more followers on the way and gathered provision for all. From there he and his one thousand two hundred soldiers marched to the mountain called Girikanda.

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← Previous: Part 6 – Abhaya and Citta

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The Sinhalese Too Migrated to Sri Lanka from India: Part 6 – Abhaya and His Sister Ummada Citta

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Myself . By T.V. Antony Raj

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When the brothers of Bhaddakaccānā heard of their sister’s safe landing at Gonagamaka, they, except one, urged by their mother, departed to join their sister on the island. The six brothers were Rama, Uruvela, Anuradha, Vijita, Dighayu and Rohana. The seventh brother, Gamani, stayed at home.

After their arrival they visited their brother-in-law, king Panduvāsudeva, and their sister Bhaddakaccānā. They were hospitably received by the king and they having the king’s leave, went about the island and settled in different parts of the island.

Queen Bhaddakaccānā bore Panduvāsudeva ten sons and one daughter: the eldest of all named Abhaya, and the youngest child, a daughter, named Citta. King Panduvāsudeva consecrated his eldest son Abhaya as vice-regent.

When Citta the youngest child was born wise Brahmins well-versed in sacred texts foretold that her son would kill all his uncles. So, her brothers resolved to kill her, but her eldest brother, Abhaya, restrained them and saved her.

Citta grew up into a beautiful woman. People of the kingdom added an epithet “Ummada” to her name and called her “Ummada Citta”, because the mere sight of her beauty drove men mad.

In due course of time, they lodged her in a chamber built on a single pillar, with an only entrance through the king’s bedroom. They placed a woman-attendant within, and a hundred soldiers without.

When Dighagamani, the son of prince Dighayu, heard about his beautiful cousin Ummada Citta, he travelled to Upatissagama to see her. King Panduvāsudeva appointed him, his wife’s nephew, to serve the royal court together with his son Abhaya, the vice-regent.

Citta saw Dighagamani in the place from her window, and, her heart on fire with love, she asked her serving-woman who he was.

Her attendant, who was already in a league with the prince, told her that he was prince Dighagamani, the son of her uncle Dighayu.

Citta confided to her attendant her love for the prince. That night, Dighagamani entered Citta’s bedroom by fastening a hook-ladder to the window of her heavily guarded bedroom. They had intercourse until day break. From that day onwards Dighagamani came to Citta’s bedroom covertly at night. Their affair was not discovered for many days.

After some time, Citta became pregnant, and her attendant told her mother, queen Bhaddakaccānā about the clandestine affair. After questioning her daughter, the queen told her husband. The king took counsel with his sons and said: “We must acknowledge Dighagamani as one of us, and let us give Citta in marriage to him.”

His sons, except Abhaya, said: “We accept your proposal on one condition. If it is a son that would be born to Citta, we will kill the baby.”

King Panduvāsudeva gave his daughter Citta in marriage to Dighagamani.

When the time of her delivery was getting nearer, the nine brothers of Citta killed the two attendants on Dighagamani, a herdsman named Citta and a slave named Kalavela, since these two were accomplices to the clandestine love affair and would not fall in with their design to kill the baby boy who might be born. The two attendants of Dighagamani, After being killed, were reborn as yakkas and both kept guard over the child in the mother’s womb.

Fearing the fate that would befall on her son, Citta through her attendant found a woman who, like her, was near her period of delivery.

A screen grab from the film Aba directed by Jackson Anthony
A screen grab from the film Aba directed by Jackson Anthony

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A few days later, Citta bore a son, and that woman bore a daughter. Citta gave a thousand pieces of money and her own son to that woman and laid that woman’s infant daughter beside her.

Citta’s brothers were happy when they heard that their sister had given birth to a daughter instead of a son.

Citta and her mother, queen Bhaddakaccānā, named the new-born baby boy Pandukabhaya by joining the names of his grandfather, king Panduväsudeva, and his eldest uncle, Prince Abhaya.

King Panduväsudeva died in 414 BC, after his grandson Pandukabhaya was born.

Prince Abhaya, the eldest son of King Panduväsudeva, was solemnly consecrated as king.

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← Previous: Part 5 – Panduvāsudeva                                     → Next: Part 6 – Pandukabhaya

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