Evolution of Political Power in Sri Lanka

Introduction

 Historical sources say that this country was ruled by many kings and a few queens in the ancient time. Historical sources describe that prince Vijaya who came from India was the first king who ruled this country. He arrived in this country in the 6th century B.C. The archaeological evidences have substantiated that there had been settlements in this country even before the arrival of prince Vijaya. The ancient burial grounds discovered in the areas such as Beragala and Haldummulla have proved that an agricultural society had been in a developing state in this country from 2400 B.C. There must have been a certain ruling system in such a society for it to exist without any chaos. Therefore, the history of evolution of political power in the society of this country belonged to the period before the arrival of prince Vijaya. The authority to rule a country is entrusted to a king or a queen by the people of that country. Whoever it is, he or she needs people’s consent to rule a country. The history has taught us how some rulers, who ruled the country under people’s dislike, did not have the ability to rule the country for a long time. As a ruler had the consent of the majority of people to rule a country, the word ‘Mahasmmatha – general will’ had been used to introduce such a king in the eastern countries in the ancient time. The ruling land reigned by a king or a queen on the people’s will (Jana sammathaya) and the various officials who were engaged in ruling and the people is called a state.

Pre-state Era

According to the interpretation given above, the foundation of a state in the Sri Lankan history developed at a later time. It has been described in the next parts of this lesson. Here, the attention has been paid to explain the nature of the ruling system that existed in Sri Lanka before it became a state. That period is called pre-state era.

There was no one definite ruler to rule this country during the pre-state period. Instead, a group of wealthy chieftains dominated their power over small areas. At the beginning of writing inscriptions in this country these chieftains were introduced in them by the name of ‘Parumaka’. The word ‘Parumaka’ is derived from the Sanskrit word ‘Pramukha’. Its meaning is ‘main’. They were given the power to rule a large or a small area based on the power they possessed as a result of their wealth.

There is an inscription, which assists us to show that the Parumakas had a certain provincial power, in Kothgalakanda in the Kandalama area close to Dambulla. That inscription belongs to 250 B.C. A Parumaka who offered a cave to the bikkus has been introduced as “Thota Bojaka”. Its meaning is “Theerthaya Anubhava Karanna”. ‘Theerthaya’ means ‘the port’. The word "anubhava kirima” was used in ancient language to mean “collect taxes and enjoy properties”. It can only be done by a person who has a ruling power. It is clear that the Parumaka mentioned in the Kandalama inscription was one who ruled that area. Therefore, he had the ability to offer a cave to the Buddhist monks. By examining  how the Parumakas came into being, we can easily understand the way in which the political power of this country evolved. In order to understand that, the ancient rural society in this country and its operation should be meticulously studied.

One among the householders in a village was appointed as the chief of the village. He was called ‘Gamika’. The activities between each village were coordinated by the Gamikas.

Householders

At least by 900 B.C. the rural settlements of this country had spread in many areas in the dry zone. These villages consisted of several families. Perhaps between 1 to 30 families lived in those villages. In the ancient time the word ‘Kula’ was used to mean a family. The chief of all these families was called ‘Gruhapathi’. In the inscriptions made in 250 B.C and later, the word 'Gahapathi' was used for them. An inscription  in which there is important information regarding that was discovered in the area called Periyapuliyankulama. It says that “a householder who was engaged in metal trade, had cleaned a cave and offered it to the Bhikkus for their comfort”. Those householders offered themselves in common activities in a village representing each family. In simple terms, the householders meant chiefs of the families.

The Gamikas

The ancient inscriptions as well as the annotations have mentioned a group of people called ‘Gramika’ or ‘Gamika’. They were the chiefs of the ancient villages. The ancient villages existed separately. A belt of jungle area separated one village from the other. Because of this separation the people who lived in each village thought about the villages as ‘our village (the village where they live)’, neighbouring village (adjoining village) and the outside villages (the villages existed far away). The one, who acted representing each village in the affairs between villages such as marriages, exchanging goods, as well as solving problems, was named as Gramika. Its meaning is the chief of the village.

A chief, to represent a village, was selected among the householders. In the selection, the priority may have been given to the wealth and the possessions of the householders. The JathakaAttakathawa tells us a story of borrowing a bag of paddy by a poor man, who lived in an ancient village, from the Gamika in the same village on the promise that he would return it on the following season. It reveals that Gamikas were rich enough even to help others.

To control a group properly, the person who has won the common trust of that group should provide the leadership to it. Our ancient villagers had acted to appoint the richest and the most powerful person as the chief of the village in the  agreement of the householders instead of taking decisions by all the householders in the village getting together. Buddhagosha Thero has mentioned in Samantha Pasadika that the Gamika was one who was appointed among the householders themselves.

The tanks in the villages were connected through canals in order to widen the use of small tanks which obtained rain water. The word ‘prolapsed-tanks’ is used to introduce that kind of a tank-system. The people in the dry zone of Sri Lanka use the word ‘Ellangawa’ to name it. This map shows that kind of a ‘prolapsed tank existed in Hambantota district.

Providing leadership to the common activities in the village was especially important among the tasks done by the Gamikas. Maintaining the tank of the village and distribution of water from it was prominent among his tasks. It is clear that a ruling power was built around him as a result of solving problems in villages, giving leadership to the activities and the wealth he possessed.

As the chiefs of those villages acted mutually with each other, they were able to maintain the peace and the co-existence between the villages. An evidence to prove this was discovered in a cave in the area called Korawkgala belonging to the ancient Buddhist temple situated in Sithulpawwa in Hambanthota district. Three people had participated in cleaning that cave and offering it to the Bhikkus; they were Gamika Siva, Gamika Sumana, and Gamika Thidana. These three people must have been the chiefs of the neighbouring villages adjacent to Sithulpawwa. The origin of such chiefs of villages was a decisive milestone in developing the political power of this country.

The Parumakas

We mentioned earlier that a group of chieftains called Parumakas was important regarding the development of the political power in the society of this country in the ancient time. Here, it is important to find how such kind of a class of chieftains emerged and how power was claimed by them. The notion of all the scholars, who have studied about this fact, is that there was a relationship between the emergence of the chieftains and the maintenance of ancient tanks. Certainly, how   did that happen? In about 900 B.C. the settlements spread in the dry zone mainly around small tanks. These tanks received water from rain. Normally, the water in those tanks was enough for 10 or 15 families who lived in a village for their day-to-day needs for a short time period. In annual dry seasons the water in those tanks ran dry. We can say that the people might have faced difficulties in such times by the experiences faced at present by the people of the dry zone.

The problem of not having adequate rain water collected in the tanks arose not only due to the dry climatic condition. With the passing of time more water was needed due to the increase of population in villages. Since they had to cultivate more lands in order to produce more food for the increasing population, collecting more water  was essential for them. Our ancient villagers, who faced such difficulties a number of times, followed a successful method to address those challenges: they constructed a system of tanks by connecting a few tanks, which existed closely, through canals. There were two objectives in it; the first one was conserving water by carrying water to a tank situated below from a tank situated up when it overflowed during the rainy season; the second was increasing the dampness of either side of the land of a canal by sending water constantly through the canal between the two tanks. They were able to cultivate crops easily by increasing the dampness in such a manner. Even today the ruins of such tank systems could be seen in the dry zone. The word ‘prolapsed tanks’ is used to name such kind of a tank system. People in the dry zone call it ‘Ellangawa’. The origin of tank – systems was not merely a process of connecting a few tanks something important was happening behind it.

The Ibbankatuwa burial ground (cemetery) in Dambulla was used between 700 and 450 B.C. The burial grounds like these were used by the influential people like the Parumakas.

Earlier we mentioned that the villages were situated separately in the dry zone. Further, we said that there was a tank in each and every village. In constructing tank systems they connected such independent tanks with each other according to the contour lines of water flowing. Therefore, it was natural for the chiefs of the villages to discuss and there emerged the need of taking important decisions regarding connecting tanks in their villages. When the most ancient inscriptions are read meticulously, it can be seen that the most powerful person among the Gamikas had acted to represent all villages of the tank – system. This person was called by the name of ‘Parumaka’. Since the Parumakas had the power to take decisions on behalf of the welfare of the people who lived in several villages belonging to the tank- system, they were considered to be a group of important  chieftains in the then society.

The chiefs of the Gamikas were called Parumakas. They had the right to collect taxes. The Parumakas symbolize an important beginning of developing the political power in a later time.

Even today ruins of hundreds of such tank – systems could be seen in the plains in the dry zone. It is clear that there was a Parumaka for each tank – system during the time they were used. There is information on hundreds of such Parumakas in inscriptions. Not only men, but also women too were engaged in provincial administration on some occasions. Such women were called in the name of ‘Parumakalu’. As a whole, all of them were people who ruled the small land units in the areas where settlement had spread in the dry zone. Accordingly, the evolution of political power in Sri Lanka started as a divided system. The best word that can be used to name such a method is ‘decentralized ruling’.

This necklace which was discovered in the Ibbankatuwa burial ground belonged to the period between 700 and 450 B.C. This is a bead necklace and some of the beads in this were imported ones. The luxury of the growing rich Parumakas is reflected by this.

In this manner, the Prumakas who exercised the provincial ruling in this country were so powerful that sometimes they went to the extent of introducing themselves in the term of ‘King’. An ancient inscription in the area called Embul Ambe in Matale district mentions a provincial ruler called Pochani Raja which means 'the king of the eastern region'. Pochani means ‘Pracheena (oriental)’. There is another note about such another provincial king named ‘Duhathara Raja’ in a cave in the ancient Buddhist temple called Yatahalena in Kegalle.

The word ‘king’ gives the meaning of ‘one who makes others happy’. Therefore, the word ‘king’ is used to refer to ‘one who works for the people’s welfare diligently and make them happy. As the Parumakas acted in such a manner, later they were named thus. The origin of a generation of brave kings, who ruled Sri Lanka, occurred in such a background.

Growth of Kingship

The growth of kingship means centralizing the power which was decentralized.

Centralizing political power in a country means a country being united. This means that power comes under one person. When the power is centralized, the concept of state is created. Its ruling head is the king and he has a specific territory under his ruling.

According to historical sources, the first king who ruled this country was King Pandukabhaya. According to the description given in Mahawamsa, king Pandukabhaya,

1. ascended to kingship by fighting several provincial rulers (his uncles) and captured those areas. 

2. selected Anuradhapura as his ruling centre and built up the city of Anuradhapura. 

3. marked the rural borders during his tenth year after the accession to kingship.

The need of centralizing the political power was gradually emerging by the ruling period of king Devanampiyatissa. One of the main reasons that influenced this was the trade affairs growing in the Indian Ocean. It was not only because of the geographical location of Sri Lanka, which was   situated in the middle of the sea trade route that connected western countries with the eastern countries, that it became an important to the international traders. Gems, tuskers, and spices that Sri Lanka possessed had become attractive commodities for them. In joining this emerging international trade, the need of working as an independent country arose. Therefore, the then powerful provincial rulers had understood the need of bringing the country into a unitary rule.

King Dutugemunu managed to establish a centralized ruling by combining the Parumakas who were enjoying a decentralized power.

Mahawamsa says that king Devanampiyatissa had invited the Kshasthriyan (the clan of trade)in Katharagama and Chandanagama to participate in the ceremony of planting the Sri Maha Bodhi. Not only that, we know the king took steps to plant a branch of Sri Maha Bodhi in various parts of the country. By this act it becomes clear that the king had thought of the need of building affability among the regional rulers. Holding coronation of King Devanampiyatissa again by using the five insignia of royalty sent by the powerful emperor king Ashoka who ruled India and using the title ‘Devanampiya’ of emperor Ashoka, arrival of Mihindu thero bringing Buddhism to Sri Lanka are facts that reflect the nature of relationships maintained with the countries in the Indian oceanic region.

King Dutugemunu was another pioneer in the process of centralizing the decentralized political power of Sri Lanka. The king received the support of the Parumakas for that. Examples to prove this can be seen in the inscriptions belonging to his ruling period.

The army generals who extended their support to King Dutugemunu to unite the country had worked as Parumakas before they were given the above mentioned posts. The names of the army generals such as Velusumana, Pussadeva, Theraputtabhaya, and Nandimithra were mentioned in the inscriptions as Parumakas. Several such inscriptions can be seen in the caves in Situlpawwa. King Dutugemunu obtained the support of such Parumakas and centralized the power, which was decentralized so far. The regional chieftains, who were the Parumakas during the time when the power decentralized, became persons who held different posts after the power was centralized. The names of Parumaka Pussadeva, Parumaka Velusumana, Parumaka Therputtabhaya later became Senapathi Parumaka Pussadeva, Senapathi Parumaka Velusumana and Senapathi Parumaka Teraputtabhaya. These changed names could be seen in contemporary inscriptions.

This photograph displays some clay stamps used in the ancient time. There was not anything marked on them when they were discovered. Stamps like these were used by government officers. These three stamps were discovered in the place where there was the old urban hall in Tissamaharamaya.

Further, the inscriptions provide us information about the treasurers, cashiers, and storehouse keepers who held the post of Parumaka earlier. According to literary sources, King Dutugemunu was the first king to unite the whole country.

King Dutugemunu took a very effective step to centralize the power in ancient Sri Lanka. Historical sources say that a Sri Lankan ambassador had been to Rome and brought glass beads with him when he returned during the ruling time of king Bhathikabhaya.

King Wasabha made the centralization of the political power more successful. During his time Sri Lanka was ruled as one unit. The inscriptions established by king Wasabha had spread in a wide area in this country. Further, separating administrative districts (asthana) and appointing ministers to administer each district too were done during his ruling time. It has been written in the golden plate, ‘Wallipuram’ that the Jaffna area was ruled by a minister named Srishigiri appointed by the king in his time. During that time Jaffna peninsula was known as Nagadeepaya (Nakadiva).

A clay stamp discovered in the place where the ancient Magama city was located in Tissamaharama. Several symbols used by the then royals in Ruhunu are marked here.

Sri Lanka could stand as an independent country before the world because of its centralized political power.

The statue of King Bhathikabhaya, who performed a great Pooja to Ruwanweliseya. This statue can be seen in the premises of Ruwanweliseya even today.

The Concept of State

 The king, created by the centralized political power, is an extremely powerful person. Therefore, the king had appeared before the people in a majestic form. The rulers thought their duty was developing the country economically, providing security to the countrymen, and enhancing spiritual development of the people.

Providing security on the occasions of threats from foreign enemies, developing the economy by constructing irrigation and enhancing people’s spirituality by building religious places   were some examples. The history provides evidence to prove how even kings such as Elara and Nisshankamalla, who had foreign origin, acted in the above described way and won the trust of the people.

Different concepts about kingship developed according to the actions of the king and the way that they attempted to appear. Accordingly, concepts like Devathwa, Bodhisathwa, Parvatharaja, Veerathwa, and Chakravarthi were applied to the kings.

Most frequently the king appeared either as a Bodhisathwa or as a god. The king Kutakanna Abhaya, who made the inscription in a rock in Dambulla temple, has introduced him by the name of ‘Nareshvara’ (Naraisera). Its meaning is god Eeshwara for humans.

King Mahasen was worshipped as God of Minneri due to his service of developing the economy by constructing irrigation works. Even today there are Devalas in the dry zone dedicated for God Mahasen.

King Kashayapa I appeared as Kuwera. The name ‘Alakapaya Maha Raja’ had been used to call him. The meaning of it is ‘Alakamandadhipathi – Maha Raja’. ‘Alakamanda’ is the living place of the god ‘Kuwera’ who is in charge of wealth. Literary sources say that ‘Alakamanda’ was a huge rock. The rulers in ancient Asia followed the method of appearing in the concept of ‘Parvatharaja’.

The king, appearing as a Bodhisathwa was another instance. The king showed, on one hand, that he was bound with responsibility to rule the country in a just and fair manner for the benefit of the people and, on the other hand, it reflected that the people should trust and respect the king.

  Another view that the kings of this country held was the concept of ‘Chakrawarthi’. Chakrawarthi is a concept which conveys the meaning of ‘dominating the whole world’. That word belongs to the Sanskrit language and in Sinhala it is used as ‘Sakvithi’. Some rulers in this country had used this word to show their identity in the 8th and 9th centuries A.D. Specially, king Nishshankamalla used the line “Kalinga Chakrawarthi Swaminwahanse” to introduce himself in his inscriptions.

Though there were various terms about the kingship, all of those concepts were used to show the superiority of the king. When such type of nobleness is applied to the ruler, the people expected him to be exemplary. It is natural for him to be persuaded to act as that. That is how the conceptual background was created, which is essential for a righteous ruling.

Inheritance of Kingship

When we study how the kingship was inherited in ancient Sri Lanka, it seems it passed from brother to brother or from father to son.

After the demise of king Devanampiyatissa, his brothers ascended to the kingship. After king Dutugemunu, his brother Saddhatissa became the king. When the kingship was given to a brother, the eldest among the younger brothers of the king was given power. When it was not so, history provides evidence to the fact that there were conflicts for the kingship.

What was frequent was passing the kingship from father to son. After king Kawantissa, prince Dutugemunu became the king; after king Vasabha, his son prince Vankanasikatissa became the king. In this way passing kingship from father to son can be seen throughout the history of Sri Lanka. Either king’s elder son or the consort’s elder son became the heir. There are evidences that there were conflicts when it was not so. We know that king Kashyapa usurped the kingship from his father, king Dhathusena. The king had to do so because prince Mugalan, who was the son of then king’s consort, was the real heir to the throne. The mother of prince Kashyapa was   a second queen of king Dhathusena. Apart from this, there were occasions when the kingship went to the brother of the king’s consort and the son of the king’s sister. It happened so when there was no real heir as described above.

Statecraf

During the time when the political power was decentralized many of the Parumakas were combined together and built the state. The king acted as the head of all the Parumakas. Therefore, the word ‘Mahaparumaka’ or ‘Mapurumuka’ was used to name the king. We earlier mentioned how some powerful Parumakas used the name ‘king’ before the power was centralized. But, after the centralization of political power in the country, the word ‘Maha Raja’ was used to name the ruler of the country.

By referring to the most ancient inscriptions of this country, we can fairly understand the structure of the officials, who belonged to the state administration which developed after the centralization of the power in Sri Lanka.

This kind of official structure provided a good assistance to the administration of the country. Common people were ones who benefited much from this.

Great Kings Who Ruled This Country

From the facts discussed so far, you must have understood how the development of the political power in Sri Lanka was influenced by a socio – economic process. Specially, the rulers who, had understood that they needed an efficient centralized ruling more than a decentralized one if they wanted to gain the due benefits from international trade affairs afoot in the Indian Ocean during the latter part of the 1st century B.C, took necessary steps for that. In this part it is expected to discuss the policies and contributions of the rulers who ruled this country, in parallel to the development of political power in Sri Lanka, citing several kings as examples.

King Dutugemunu

King Dutugemunu, who is highlighted in the historical sources, was a ruler who rendered a great service to organize the political power in this country properly. The king understood the need of saving Mathota international harbour, which earned a good income because of the  trade affairs which was prospering in the Indian Ocean during his time, from the then king Elara who had usurped the power in Anuradhapura and uniting the country. The way that prince Dutugemunu acted for that purpose according to the advice and the plans of King Kavantissa, his father, was a landmark in the political history of this country. Prince Dutugemunu was the first to provide leadership to the first organized fighting movement in the history of this country. The statement that he made about his fight against King Elara, which he would do, not because that he wanted to enjoy comforts and the facilities of a king but because for the benefit of the Buddhism clearly shows how the ruler entered to the political process based on a common purpose on behalf of the country. After the battle, the king ordered his subjects to respect his defeated rival’s tomb, which shows his statesmanship.

As we have explained in the part ‘growth of kingship’ of this lesson, the most important contribution that King Dutugemunu made to the process of development of political power in this country was managing to combine the Parumakas who had possessed the decentralized provincial power by then. At the end he possessed a great power after being anointed as the king (Maha Raja) of the country. Though he was so powerful, his redressing attitudes towards the people reflect that he could realize his prime responsibility which was to work for the welfare of the people. The best example for this is that during the construction period of Ruwanweli Stupa the king ordered to run alms halls (Dan Sel) at the four gates of the Stupa and make payments for everyone who had participated in its construction works. King Dutugemunu should be admired not merely for his service to Buddhism of this country. Taking initiatives to organize the decentralized political power in Sri Lanka is also a prominent feature among his tasks.

King Vasabha

King Vasabha, who was the first ruler of the lineage (dynasty) of Lambhakarna, was a prominent character among the rulers of this country. The procedure that the king followed to regulate and to organize the internal administration of the country properly was exemplary. There are a number of inscriptions that he has established around the country. According to the information in them, the king tried to divide the country into provinces and regulate the administration. And also, inscriptions say that the process of collecting taxes of the state was made systematic during the king’s time.

The details of the historical sources reveal that King Vasabha pioneered in constructing large scale tanks in this country for the first time. The Wamsakatha (chronicles) say that the king had constructed sixteen large scale tanks. The king tended to execute such kind of construction as there was a great demand for the grains produced in this country in South India because there was a dearth of food in the valley of Krishna river in South India. The immediate decision king Vasabha took to invest the public money on constructing new reservoirs can be analyzed as a far-sighted and a productive decision to address an international and regional need emerged at the time.

The way that king Vasabha acted to reconstruct the Buddhist temples and Stupas in this country is not second to any other ruler’s task. A number of inscriptions mention the financial support the king provided to reconstruct the decayed places in Buddhist temples and to supply facilities to the Bhikkus.

We should understand that the decisions that the king made to make the lives of the people better in the country by taking steps needed to increase the local income and using the income earned in that manner to develop the irrigation of the country are exemplary.

 King Vijayabahu

King Vijayabahu I is another prominent and a great ruler who belongs to the history of this country. The king acted to suppress the power of Chola through a war movement planned in a very intelligent manner during a period in which Sri Lanka was under the Chola ruling for a long time after the growth of power of the Chola kings in South India.

The King was called Keerthi in his childhood and grew in Ruhuna area. The royal family including prince Keerthi and his parents were given protection by a public officer who lived in Ruhuna. He was Sithnarubima Budhal Na by name. He was a security officer. An interesting description of the way that Budhal Na provided protection to the royal family is included in the Panakaduwa copper plate which had been got written by king Vijayabahu I.

All the steps taken by king Vijayabahu I to act against the powerful Chola kings was an effective fruitful procedure followed to protect the existence of the whole territory in the country. The concepts of freedom of territory in any country and continuity are called territorial integrity. The protection of the territorial integrity of a country by a ruler is a prime responsibility of him for the citizens.

The king, who united the country by defeating the Chola rulers through a fighting movement, took much pain to develop the country. He acted immediately to renovate the Buddhist temples which were not maintained properly during the period of the Chola ruling. The king took a very important step to strengthen the economy of the country; that is, making Polonnaruwa his ruling centre instead of Anuradhapura. The king took such a step because the international trade based on the Western areas of India by then had been transferred to the Eastern Indian region. With that transferring, what was very important for Sri Lanka was to organize the administration  in a way in which maintaining the relationships with Eastern region of India could take place easily. Though ex-rulers had paid their attention on this before, king Vijayabahu I was the one who acted practically regarding the matter. One of the main reasons that appear to have affected to select Polonnaruwa as the ruling centre was the Trincomalee harbour, which was named Gokanna Thiththa during that period, was located facing the Eastern part of the South Indian ocean and he understood that controlling of the trade affairs of that harbour could be done easily from the Polonnaruwa ruling centre.

The way king Vijayabahu I acted as a ruler influenced much on the history of Sri Lanka during the Polonnaruwa period. The sovereignty of this country, which was preserved until it was threatened by the Europeans, was a result of the intelligence and great ideas of the rulers of that time.

Important Facts

 At the early stages the political power in Sri Lanka was in a decentralized nature. The chieftains who were powerful provincially handled the ruling power. 

 Those who were engaged in ruling affairs at the village level were called Gamikas and those who ruled a wide area consisted of several villages were named as Parumakas. Gamikas represented the householders who were in charge of several houses in a village. The word Gahapathi was used to name them. 

 A political body is needed to control power which is necessary to handle the conflicts and other complexities in a society, which are caused due to the facts such as life competition caused by emergence of various social requirements in line with development of settlements. The political power in the ancient society of Sri Lanka developed based on such needs. 

 The process of centralizing the political power, which had been decentralized in this country, was initiated by king Dutugemunu. That task, initiated by king Dutugemunu for a political purpose for the first in the history of this country, was accomplished by King Vasabha, who was a member of the Lambhakarna lineage. 

 Centralizing the power means the ruling power of the country goes to one hand of one ruler. There a group of officers are appointed to run the administration of the country. The word state is used to name the king, the officers, the rules and regulations imposed by them and the institutions which put them into practice.

 In running the rule of the country, the rulers appeared in different types of concepts. Most of the time they attempted to appear as a god.

Pancha Kakudha Bhanda – Pancha Kakudha Bhanda means the five items which are considered to provide prosperity when they are used. The Walvidunava, Mirivedi Sangala (a pair of slippers), Magul Kaduva (king’s sword), Sesatha (Parasol), Nalal Patiya (the strap tied on the forehead) belong to it. Kings used them in their coronations. Mahawamsa says that king Devanampiyatissa held his second coronation using the Pancha Kakudha Bhanda sent by emperor Ashoka. 

The title Devanapiya – Indian emperor Ashoka used the title Devanapiya (Devanampriya) meant ‘adorable to God’. King Tissa, who ruled this country in the contemporary period of emperor Ashoka, used this title and called himself Devanampiyatissa. 

Alakamandava – Literary texts describe that Alakamandava is the dwelling place of the ‘Kuvera’ who is in charge of wealth. Accordingly, it is one of the prosperous cities which belongs to the island ‘Uthurukuru’ where gods live.