Citta -- What a story..who borrowed from whom

Panduvasudeva had 10 sons and a daughter.The eldest son was Abhaya. The daughter was Citta. She was called Ummadacitta because she drove men insane by her good looks.  The soothsayers predicted that Citta's son will kill his nine uncles (except Abhaya) to become the king of Lanka. Therefore,  King Abhaya kept Citta in seclusion  in a chamber build on a pillar.  However, in spite of all the precautions taken to keep Citta from seeing men, she had a love affair with a first cousin and was pregnant. The royal family then decided to give Chitta in marriage to her lover but to kill the off spring if it happened to be a boy. The story as narrated by the author of Mahavamsa about Chittas son Pandukabhaya is  another fairy tale embellished by many such popular stories involving non-humans helping Citta's son to survive and fight and kill all his nine paternal uncles and gain the throne of Lanka. The detailed stories belong in the realm of folklore and are omitted in this write up.

According to Mahavamasa author, Pandukabhaya established the village boundaries over the whole island of Lanka ten years after his consecration. Pandukabhaya had two non-human associates Kalavela and Cittaraja who were visible in bodily form. He also had devils (yakkas) and non-humans (bhutas) as his close friends.  Pandukabhaya ruled for 70 years in Lanka living in Anuradhapura that he made the capital city of Lanka. Pandukabhaya was succeeded by his son Mutasiva and he reigned for 60 years in Anuradhapura. Mutasiva had ten sons and two daughters. The second son Devanampiyatissa became king after Mutasiva's death.

Analysis:
The prophesy of the soothsayers that Citta's son would kill all his uncles and their various attempts to kill him in his childhood are similar to the biblical narrative of infanticide by Herod the Great. While attempting to find out who borrowed these yarns from whom at what point in time could be a futile effort, it is prudent to discard these attempts to connect the dots of Sri Lankan history with no substantial supporting evidence, as they  are at least 800 years separated from the time they are supposed to have occurred from the time they were written by the author of the Great Chronicle. However, the great pains taken by the Mahavamsa author to narrate the lineage of the early rulers by these stories apparently show that successive waves of warriors and their kinsmen arrived and settled in the northern part of Lanka during the pre-historic times of Sri Lanka. The non-humans referred to as yakshas (devils), as shown earlier could be the tribal people who the warriors brought along with them for colonizing the newly found land of Lanka. The names of the humans as well as the devils mentioned in these stories clearly indicate a south Indian (Pandyan) connection Sri Lanka had during the time of colonization of Lanka by the Indian people.

Ravana -- The brahmarakshssa (cross between a brahmin and a devil)

The Villan Lankeshvara – Emperor of (Sri) Lanka Ravana
Written on August 17, 2013
By Jay Hettiarachchy

Ravana is portrayed as the “bad guy” and enemy of Rama who was the heir to the throne of Ayodya in North India (the good guy) in Ramayana  a classical epic believed to have been authored by Valmiki during the period approximately between 5^th and 4^thcentury B.C. in Northern India. Ravana, according to Ramayana is a Brahmarakshasa (of mixed birth between a Brahmin father and a Rakshasa mother) king of Lanka (Sri Lanka). Rama and Ravana are the central characters depicted in Ramayana.

Ramayana is not only a narrative of the “war” between Rama and Ravana, but also a war between North India and Lanka (Sri Lanka of today). According to Ramayana, Ravana kidnapped Rama’s wife Seeta, in retaliation of Rama and his brother Lakshmana for having cut off the nose of Ravana’s  sister Suparnakha who tried to seduce Rama when he was in exile. In the war that ensued in Lanka, Ravana was finally killed by Rama in battle and Seeta was rescued.

Rama, the hero of the Ramayana, is one of most popular deities worshipped in the Hindu religion. Each year, many devout pilgrims trace his journey through India and Nepal, halting at each of the holy sites along the way. The poem is not seen as just a literary monument, but serves as an important component of Hinduism, and is held in such reverence that the mere reading or hearing of it, or certain passages of it, are believed by Hindus to free them from sin and bless the reader or listener. Rama's return to Ayodhya and his coronation are celebrated as "Diwali" also known as the Festival of Lights.

Ravana is described as having 10 heads and 20 arms and is vividly portrayed in Rajasthani painting of incidents of the Ramayana, flying away with Seeta, fighting with Rama, and sitting with his demon councilors (Source:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ravana)

Ironically, the epic Ramayana is not as popular in Sri Lankan society as in India. On the contrary, Ranvana is as much worshiped as a popular deity in India as Rama and not as much or as enthusiastically in Sri Lanka. There are many popular places of worship of Ravana in India than in Sri Lanka. In the Buddhist variant of Ramayana, Dasaratha was the king of Benares (Varanasi) and not of Ayodhya. Nonetheless, there is an extensive tradition of oral story telling based on the Ramayana in Indonesia, Cambodia, Philippines, Thailand, Malaysia, Laos, Vietnam, and Maldives.

Analysis:

There is no historical evidence of a Lankeshvara Ravana (emperor Lankeshvara) who lived in (Sri) Lanka or usurped a wife of the heir to the throne of Ayodhya in North India although some attempts have been made by some people in Sri Lanka  to make believe the Ramayana story of a war that took place between a Rama and a Ravana. Moreover they believe that Rama was aided by a monkey king Hanuman who built a bridge between south India and (Sri) Lanka to bring an army of monkeys to fight with Ravana and kill him and save Seeta from captivity.

Such stories are prevalent in most primitive societies in which gullible people live and pass them down to the younger generations who continue to propagate them generation after generation.

The Second King of Sri Lanka

Sinhalese: The second king Panduvasudeva and his consecration.
Written on June 13, 2013
By Jay Hettiarachchy

According to the great chronicle of Sri Lanka, Vijaya, the first king of the Sinhalese people did not have a son to succeed him as the king of Lanka. Therefore he sent a letter to his brother Sumitta in Bengal in northeast India asking him to come and take over the kingdom of Lanka after his death. Before his brother could respond to the letter, Vijaya died and Lanka was without a king for one year. Vijaya’s brother was too old to accept the invitation of his brother to go to Lanka but wanted one of his three son's born from his wife from Madras to accept Viyaya’s invitation to take over the kingdom and rule Lanka. The third son Panduvasudeva accepted the invitation and went to Lanka and accepted the kingdom. 

When the time came for Panduvasudeva’s consecration his ministers wanted a maiden from the Sakya family of kings who had now migrated to another area of Ganges river basin due to the destruction of the original kingdom established by Sakyas from whom the Buddha descended.

According to this story, seven royal families in India wanted to marry this Sakya king’s daughter Bhaddakaccana because she was very beautiful. Her father was very fearful of displeasing any of the contenders. Therefore he sent her into the sea by ship proclaiming that whosoever rescued her could marry her. As the story goes, Bhddakaccana landed in Lanka with many other maidens in the guise of mendicants. She was consecrated as the queen of Panduvasudeva the second king of Lanka.
 

Analysis:

This episode is surrounded by many unbelievable sooth sayings and predictions. These were left out in our above summary as they do not have a place in history or reality. 

Surprisingly, Vijaya’s brother Sumitta too married a queen from Madras (Madda) and her third son's name was Panduvasudeva showing that he had a Pandyan (a south Indian clan of rulers) affiliation in the name given to him. The story is convoluted to such an extent that no historical facts regarding the real genealogy of the earliest Sinhalese kings could be squeezed out of the available story as it is recorded in the Mahavamsa about Panduvasudeva, his queen Bhaddakaccana and his consecration as well as most other predictions that were uttered by soothsayers before the events actually took place.

The only trace of information that may be gathered is the matrimonial relationship that may have taken place between south Indian royal families and the rulers of Lanka during the time of the writing of the great chronicle of Sri Lanka (Mahavamsa). The Mahavamsa author may have naturally recorded what was happening between the royal families in Lanka and South India in trying to reconstruct a history of an island about which no one had any clear idea or reliable evidence. However, the tradition continues on in Sri Lanka in the form of lullabies even to this day. Following is one I have heard during my child hood in Sri Lanka.

තව්සෙකුසේ ඇඳ පැලඳා
පඬුවස්දෙව් මහනිරිඳා
මාකඳුරින් ගොඩබටදා
මගුලක්විය ලක මුලුදා

එදා පටන් මෙසිරිලකේ
සම්මා සමබුදු මැණිකේ
දම් එළියෙන් අඳුර මැකේ
මිසදිටු විස කටු නොරැකේ

The South Indian Wife of The First King of Lanka

Vijaya – The First King of the Sinhalese
Written on June 12, 2013
By Jay Hettiarachchy

The Origins of the Sinhalese People -- Story of the consecration of the first Sinhalese king, Vijaya as narrated by the chronicler of Mahavamsa (the great genealogy)   

After Viyaya’s followers settled in the northern area of Lanka they wanted Vijaya to be consecrated as their king. But Vijaya did not wish to be consecrated “unless a maiden of a noble house was consecrated as his queen.” Then Vijaya’s ministers went back to southern India and brought the daughter of the Pandu king of Madhura (Chennai, or Madras) and 100 other maidens as wives for Vijay’s ministers. 

But Vijaya had one little problem according to the chronicler. He had a son and a daughter from the yakkhini (the woman devil Kuvanna). According to the good chronicle, Vijaya told the yakkhini to leave behind the children and go back to her folks (the devils) since he had to wed the princess and get himself ready for the consecration.   But the yakkhini feared that her folks would kill her if she went to them. Finally when Viyaya forced her to leave, she took the children with her and went to the forest where the devils suspected her to be a spy. One ferocious devil killed her with one blow with his fist. Kuveni’s brother having learnt that her sister was killed informed the children about it and warned them to run away to the Sumana kuta (Adams peak) mountain where they lived together and had children together. They were the originators of the Pulinda tribe or the Veddha’s  (the barbarous people) of Lanka who later inhabited Sabaragamuwa district according to tradition.

Analysis:

What a story!

If this story was believable, it talks about the very first king to be consecrated in Lanka married a Pandyan queen from Chennai/Madras. This myth woven during the time when Mahavamsa was written by this Buddhist monk may have reflected the practice of some Sinhala kings having had matrimonial relations with the royal family of the contemporary neighboring south Indian Tamil kingdom.

There are too many brothers and sisters having had incestual relationships bearing twins in these myths. There is apparently no reliable history of the origin of the aboriginal people known as Veddhas of Sri Lanka. However, anybody could have come up with any story at a time when a willing audience was ready to believe whatever was told to them.

It is a shame that some people of the present day too fall a prey to such myths that have been fabricated by some people having had ulterior motives for creating them.

Vijaya and Kuveni

Sinhalese People – Kuvanna (the black female devil who cohabited with Vijaya and bore twins)

Written on June 11, 2013
By Jay Hettiarachchy

According to Mahavamsa (the Great Chronicle) Vijaya arrived in Lanka (Sri Lanka) with his seven hundred followers on the very same day the Buddha passed away. Knowing that Vijaya would arrive in the Island of Lanka where Buddhism would be established later, the Buddha in his death bed told the head of the gods,  Sakra to protect Vijaya and his followers in the island of Lanka. The Sakra came as an ascetic to Lanka and protected Vijaya and his followers from Kuvanna (the dark woman), a female devil. Kuvanna's encounter with the 700 followers of Vijaya who she took under her spell is given in chapter 7 of the Mahavamsa.  Accordingly, Vijaya unlike his followers did not fall a prey to Kuvanna (the female devil) and came to a deal with her to enlist her support to kill all her devil relatives for saving her life. Keeping her promise Kuvanna helped Vijaya to kill most of the devils that gathered for a wedding ceremony, and lived with Vijaya giving birth to a twin male and a female child.

Analysis of this myth:

The occurrence of the Buddha’s death and Vijayas arrival in Lanka on the same day is so farfetched and is contrived in order that a connection with Buddhism and the colonization of Sri Lanka is established. The entire story of the Buddha telling the head of the Gods to come to Lanka to protect Vijaya and his followers can be considered as a nice story similar to a fairy tale.

Yaksha, meaning the devil is an old Indian tribal name for a community of people who lived in India. Most probably, the yakshas referred to in the Mahavamsa signify a category of aboriginal people who the visitors to the island may have encountered. Giving birth to twins (male and female twins) seem to be a pattern that has taken place several times in the genealogy of Sinhalese people and the story appears too good to be true with no supporting evidence.

We are living in a world in which we are unable to validate the events that happened even a few days ago. Even our court system is not a hundred percent foolproof system. It would therefore be prudent for us to acknowledge the fact that we do not have the evidence about Vijaya who is supposed to be the person who established the Sinhala kingdom in Lanka. Nor do we have evidence of Kuvanna who lived with Vijaya and produced male and female twin children who later produced the Veddas (aboriginal forest dwellers) of Sri Lanka.

Did the Buddha Visit Sri Lanka?

Buddha’s Visits to Lanka
July 10, 2013
Jay Hettiarachchy

According to Mahavamsa, the Buddha visited Lanka in the ninth month of his Buddhahood. A vivid description of how the Buddha struck terror in the hearts of the Yakka’s who he later transferred to Girideepa (rocky island) by performing a miracle can be found in this account. The Buddha then preached the doctrine to the devas (the gods) at the spot where the Mahiyangana Stupa would be constructed. Many millions of people accepted Buddhism having listened to this sermon.

Buddha visited nagadipa (snake island) again when Culodara (small belly) and Mahodara (big belly) nagas were fighting over a gem-set thrown. The Buddha created fear in the minds of the nagas (snakes) and won them over by dispelling the darkness that he brought over them. Eighty million nagas (snakes) were converted to Buddhism by the Buddha on this visit.

In the eighth year after Buddha’s attainment of Nibbana, once again he came to Kalyani (Near Colombo) accepting the invitation of the naga king maniakkhika (gem-eyed snake king). Where the Buddha sat in Kalyani, the Kalyani stupa was built at a later time. The Buddha then went to Samanthakuta (Adam’s peak, Sripada) and laid his footprint there and after having spent one day there, went to many other places where Buddhist stupas (topes) and monasteries would be built later including the location where the sacred Bodhi-tree would be planted.

Thus according to Mahavamsa the Buddha came three times to Lanka knowing that Lanka will be a haven for his doctrine.

Analysis:

Real historians have had real trouble about these mythical accounts. Some historians discard all these accounts as ecclesiastical stories created by the Buddhist monks to serve an ecclesiastical purpose, others are more forgiving in trying to accommodate these accounts to connect the dots of early history of Ceylon.

Historically speaking, the author of Mahavamsa seems to have had real trouble trying to make Vijaya’s (the first Sinhala king of Lanka) landing on the island on the very same day the Buddha passed away. This is because it was important to the Buddhist monks in Ceylon during the time Mahavamsa was written (5^th Century A.D) to make Lanka the strong-hold of Buddhism when Buddhism was on the decline in India where it originated due to the revival of Hinduism. The Mahavamsa author was obviously trying to narrate events that took place nearly 1000 years before his time. His purpose in writing the Mahavamsa cannot be considered as writing a “history” of Sri Lanka.

Most people in Sri Lanka even today believe whole heartedly that the Buddha visited Sri Lanka and left his foot print on Adams peak to symbolize his visit. Their belief is purely based on the accounts narrated in Mahavamsa about the Buddha’s visit to Lanka. However, we need to admit that there is no real evidence or possibility that the Buddha could have visited Sri Lanka unless we want to accept the story given in the Mahavamsa as absolute truth.

Vijaya -- the first king of Sri Lanka (what a story!)

Beliefs of Yaka and Yakkini (the male and female devils) among Sri Lankan People.

Written on July30, 2013 By Jay Hettiarachchy

According to Mahavamsa the chronicle of Ceylon, Vijaya, the very first king who colonized Sri Lanka  lived with a female devil before he got married to a princess from Madras (Madura). Vijaya had two children born from the yakshini (devil woman) and these children later propagated the Veddhas (aboriginal people) of Sri Lanka. Most people in Sri Lanka still believe in the existence of the devil. Devil dancing is widely practiced to drive away the evil spirits that are supposed to take possession of men and women. 

The devils  are called yaka in Sinhala language. The female devils are called yakshinis. Besides these devils, there are other non-humans such as the prethayas, bhutayas, amanussayas, pisachayas to name a few. They are all non-human beings who are supposed to lurk around waiting to harm the humans.

Devils or demons are recognized in most religions. They are mostly represented as the personification of evil – as the enemy of God and human kind - in most religions. The devil is called “mara” meaning the “killer” in Buddhism.  Mara is a tempter for evil doings.

According to popular beliefs, the devil is a non-human being mentioned in most cultures; although they are not visible, they are present in the atmosphere in some form of ethereal body. There are representations of the devils in pictorial form drawn by people who in their minds have conceptualized how they look like. But in essence, these non-humans are supposed to be most evil in their looks, thoughts, and doings. They lurk around humans to bring them disaster and misfortune. The devils are supposed to be awake at nights when humans are sleeping and they are active during the night and are very happy in the dark. 

Some humans are supposed to be possessed by the devil and their behavior is determined by the devils that possess them. Black magic, and voodoo practices based on invoking devils to bring disaster to people are mentioned in the early literature. Books written on black magic containing incantations invoking and dispelling of devils are found in both oriental and occidental collections. These are kept as secret documents in the collection of black magicians practicing devil worship in order that they use the devils’ power to destroy people.

Most Buddhists firmly believe that people who do sins in life become devils or other evil beings in their next life. They also believe that by giving alms to the Buddhist monks they can prevent their loved ones from becoming evil spirits or devils in their next life. 

Analysis:

It is possible that psychosomatic diseases could contribute to visions as well as voices seen and heard by those people who suffer from mental illnesses.  Mentally ill people live among normal people in some societies where there are no medical facilities or psychiatric counseling to treat them. Some of the voodoo practitioners themselves in such societies could well be mentally sick people. 

Since most people believe in the existence of evil spirits, they find it logical that the devils that take possession of humans could be driven away by devil dancing. The belief in the devil and the practice of devil dancing therefore go hand in hand. The Buddhist religious beliefs of the existence of the non-humans have therefore gone a long way to promote the popular belief of the existence of these non-humans in these societies.

Therefore, in reality the story of Vijaya and his devil woman Kuveni as recorded in the great chronicle of Sri Lanka -- Mahavamsa, is nothing but a myth.

The devils in the minds of Sinhalese people

Beliefs of Yaka and Yakkini (the male and female devils) among Sri Lankan People.

Written on July30, 2013 By Jay Hettiarachchy

According to Mahavamsa the chronicle of Ceylon, Vijaya, the very first king who colonized Sri Lanka     lived with a female devil before he got married to a princess from Madras (Madura). Vijaya had two children born from the yakshini (devil woman) who later propagated the Veddhas (uncivilized people) of Sri Lanka. Most people in Sri Lanka still believe in the existence of the devil. Devil dancing is widely practiced to drive away the evil spirits that are supposed to take possession of men and women. 

The devils  are called yaka in Sinhala language. The female devils are called yakshinis. Besides these devils, there are other non-humans such as the prethayas, bhutayas, amanussayas, pisachayas to name a few. They are all non-human beings who are supposed to lurk around waiting to harm the humans.

The devils or demons are recognized in most religions. They are mostly represented as the personification of evil – as the enemy of God and human kind - in most religions. The devil is called “mara” meaning the “killer” in Buddhism.  Mara is a tempter for evil doings.

According to popular beliefs, the devil is a non-human being mentioned in most cultures; although they are not visible, they are present in the atmosphere in some form of ethereal body. There are representations of the devils in pictorial form drawn by people who in their minds have conceptualized how they look like. But in essence, these non-humans are supposed to be most evil in their looks, thoughts, and doings. They lurk around humans to bring them disaster and misfortune. The devils are supposed to be awake at nights when humans are sleeping and they are active during the night and are very happy in the dark. 

Some humans are supposed to be possessed by the devil and their behavior is determined by the devils that possess them. Black magic, and voodoo practices based on invoking devils to bring disaster to people are mentioned in the early literature. Books written on black magic containing incantations invoking and dispelling of devils are found in both oriental and occidental collections. These are kept as secret documents in the collection of black magicians practicing devil worship in order that they use the devils power to destroy people.

Most Buddhists firmly believe that people who do sins in life become devils or other evil beings in their next life. They also believe that by giving alms to the Buddhist monks they could prevent their loved ones from becoming evil spirits or devils in their next life. 

Analysis:

It is possible that psychosomatic diseases could contribute to visions as well as voices seen and heard by those people who suffer from mental illnesses.  Mentally ill people live among normal people in some societies where there are no medical facilities or psychiatric counseling to treat them. Some of the voodoo practitioners themselves in such societies could well be mentally sick people. 

Since most people believe in the existence of evil spirits, they find it logical that the devils that take possession of humans could be driven away by devil dancing. The belief in the devil and the practice of devil dancing therefore go hand in hand. The Buddhist religious beliefs of the existence of the non-humans have therefore gone a long way to promote the popular belief of the existence of these non-humans in these societies. 

Story of Sinhala People -- Their Origins

Origins of the Sinhalese People
Written on June 8, 2013
By Jay Hettiarachchy

The word Sinhala means “lion blooded.” The traditional story of the origins of the Sinhala people as recorded in Mahavamsa – the great Chronicle of Sri Lanka, is interesting. According to this tradition, the king of Bengal (in east India) had a very attractive daughter. The soothsayers prophesied that she will live with a lion (the king of the beasts). The prophecy materialized, and the king’s daughter ran away and lived with a lion and had a twin son and a daughter by the lion. When the children grew up the son Sinhabahu (lion-handed person) ran away from the lion’s cave with his sister Sinhaseevali) and mother to the human habitat. Sinhabahu helped the ruler of the kingdom who married his mother Suppadevi  to kill the lion that was destroying the villages in search of his mate and the children. After that Sinhabahu established his own kingdom, married his own sister and they had sixteen twins. The eldest son born to them was named Vijaya (victory). Vijaya was an evil person and he had seven hundred followers who were as evil. Their evil behavior and evil doings angered his father Sinhabahu who banished Vijaya  and his followers into the sea. Vijaya and his followers were the forefathers of the Sinhalese people who colonized Lanka/Thambapanni (Ceylon of yesterday and Sri Lanka of today). According to this mythical story, the ancestry of the Sinhalese people begins from a beast and a human woman.

Analysis of this mythical tradition:

It is humanly impossible for a human woman and a beast to produce children. The “lion” mentioned in this tradition could probably signify a strong and wild man who ran away with the attractive daughter of the king of Bengal.

Sinhabahu  and Sinhaseevali (the twin brother and sister) having had 16 twins together is another such unfounded and unbelievable story. The story was apparently woven to establish that the Sinhalese race has a unique beginning, first having a kinship with a beast and then a relationship based on incest (no mixed blood, and having a pure pedigree as a race).

Unfortunately, most people in Sri Lanka believe this story of their origin. Children are made to accept this myth as the real beginning of their ancestry by their parents and teachers who make them to accept it without questioning its validity. There are plays produced based on the above story that reinforces such mythical images in the minds of young people and adults who in turn pass down these myths from generation to generation thereby continuing a vicious cycle.

We are living in a world in which we are unable to know for certain how an event happened even a few days ago. Even our court system is not a hundred percent foolproof system. It would therefore be prudent for us to acknowledge the fact that we do not have the evidence about the real beginnings of the Sinhala people than to trust in myths that have been fabricated to cover up our ignorance about it.