________________
No. 38.
POLONNARUVA INSCRIPTION OF VIJAYABAHU I.
333
Chōļa throne. This was a period of Civil War in the Choļa country, and, consequently, the Cholas were not able to send sufficient forces to Ceylon to quell the rising there against their authority. In one of the inscriptions of Kulõttunga at Tirukkalukkugram, he says that he sent several expeditions to Ceylon, but does not mention any definite results gained by them. These were most probably, the armies which, according to the Mahāvamsa, were sent by the Chola king to fight against Vijayabāhu. After a long and protracted campaign, Vijayabāhu succeeded in driving the Cholas out of Ceylon, and made himself the master of the whole island.
During the Chola occupation, the Buddhist religion had suffered greatly. In fact, when Vijayabāhu came to the throne, he found that there were no ordained monks in the island, who would help him in the work of reviving the religion of the land. Therefore, he sent an embassy to the king of Aramaņa, requesting him to send properly ordained monks to Ceylon. The king of Aramaņa at this time was Anuruddha, from whom Vijayabāhu received substantial support in his struggle against the Cholas. The Burmese king sent several properly ordained monks to the island, and they revived the Buddhist Church in Ceylon, and helped Vijayabāhu to restore Buddhism to its pristine glory and splendour. Our inscription alludes to this event, and, moreover, states that he purified the sangha of the three nikāyas (fraternities), and gave three tulābhāras to them. The Ceylon chronicles do not mention this fact, though they give a long account of the king's benefactions to the religious establishments, and his various works of public utility.
The Commander-in-Chief Dēva, who, at the instance of the king, built a shrine for the Tooth Relic, is not known to us from other sources. The monastery of Uturoļmuļa, within the precincts of which the Temple of the Tooth Relic was built, and which was itself a part of the Abhayagiri-vihära' at Polonnaruva, must be the same as the monastery of Uttarõļa which was built by Māņa, one of the predecessors of Vijayabāhu I, for his elder brother who had entered the priesthood. It is also stated in the Mahāva még that the king entrusted the guard of the Tooth Relic to him. The Buddhist monk Mugalan, who took an active part in getting the consent of the Velaikkāras to protect the temple, is not mentioned, so far as I know, in any of the Ceylon ohronicles.
The next point to be discussed is, who these Vēļaikkäras were, and what their position was in Ceylon, at the time when this inscription was set up. The Vēļaikkāpas are mentioned in the Mahāvansa as having formed a part of the army of the Sinhalese kings of this period. It is stated that towards the latter part of Vijayabāhu's reign, there was a revolt of these troops, when he was making preparations for undertaking an expedition to South India against the Chola king. This rising of the Vēļaikkāgas was put down with considerable difficulty, and 28 & consequence of it, the projected campaign against the Chõlas had to be given up.. Later on, in the reign of Vijayabähu's grandson, Gajabāhu II, they again figure in the history of Ceylon. There, it is said, that Gajabāhu's rival, Parākramabāhu I tried to win them over to his side. A few years later, we find the Vēļaikkäras in alliance with the Keralas and the people of Röhana, rising in rebellion against the authority of Parākramabāhu I. These accounts, coupled with the fact that their aid was considered effective for the protection of one of the most cherished national treasures of the Sinhalese people, go to prove that the Vēļaikkaras were, at this period, a very powerful community.
1 Indian Antiquary, Vol. XXI, p. 282.
This vihara was distinct from the monastery of the same name at the oll capital, Anuradhapura. $ Mahavam, Chapter LVII.
• Ibid., Chapter LX. Ibid., Chapter LXIII.
• Ibid., Chapter LXXIV.
