Our grandmother observes precepts on every full moon Poya day. On that day too my mother cooked the meals well and offered it to my grandmother with utmost respect. We worship the Supreme Buddha each day at night before we take our dinner. On that Poya day, we did the same and offered hand-made soft drinks to our grandmother.

“Grandma, won’t you tell us a story today?”

“My dear children, do you want to listen to a story today too?”

“Yes, yes, my mom… It’ll be great if they could listen to a story of our kings from the past,” our mother answered gesturing about the story today.

Delighted grandma started her story after her mild charming smile.

“My dear children, don’t you heard about our great King Dutugamunhu who brightened our country’s royal lineage? There wasn’t any king like him who loved the Dispensation of the Supreme Buddha and our motherland very much.

At that time, a king from the clan of Solhi from India attacked our country with a large group of Tamil soldiers. They fought and repelled our kings who lived in the City Anurādhapura to the Southern part of the country. The soldiers/people of that Solhi king did not honour the Noble Triple Gem. They brought disaster to once a beautiful city. They treated it badly, so it became unpleasant place with no time. They did not care about the ways of the Sinhala Buddhists. They treated the city as exactly as they wanted; that is as something that’s not theirs. Our Prince Dutugamunhu was upset about this situation.

Even though we address the king as Dutugamunhu, his father King Kāvantissa named him as Gamunhu. The prince tried to convince his father to fight and win Anurādhapura again, but the king didn’t want to fight because he knew it was not an easy task. However, prince Gamunhu requested his father to let him fight again and again, but the king still didn’t allow it. At the end, the disappointed prince Gamunhu sent women’s clothing to the King Kāvantissa who got angry about it and asked his soldiers to catch the prince addressing him ‘Duttha Gaminhi’. But the disguised prince fled to upcountry. Thereafter, the prince was called ‘Dutu Gamunhu’ by others because of a name his father used in angry and not because he fought with Solhi King Elhara.

So my children, that Elhara was a powerful king. He had thirty sub kings and more than one million soldiers he brought from India. It was indeed not a small army.
Prince Dutugamunhu started the war after King Kāvantissa passed away. His mother, Queen Vihāramahadēvi, wished the prince to win Anurādhapura again, so the war went forward.

When the Solhi army was defeated in the Vijitapura fight, Elhara’s giant soldier Dighajantu told Elhara,

‘Our King of Sri Lanka, the son of King Kāvantissa, prince Dutugamunhu, is now the king of Ruhunha. He is fighting a series of wars to win back this land. We lost Vijitapura today. There is only one answer I see now. I suggest you sending a message to your brother-in-law Bhalluka to come to Sri Lanka with another larger Tamil army.”

So my children, that Bhalluka came to Mātota with a group of sixty thousand Tamil giant soldiers. By that time, King Elhara was defeated and killed by King Dutugamunhu. But King Dutugamunhu still did not have any relief because now there was another army camped at a place called Colhambahalaka ready to fight him again.

Thus the time came for the last fight. Our King Dutugamunhu is sitting on Elephant Kadol with Phussadēva who was well armed behind him on the elephant. Army from both sides came face to face to war. Bhalluka with sixty thousand soldiers on one side while our King Dutugamunhu was on the other side.

This time something wonderful happened. Elephant Kadol started to move back suddenly. King Dutugamunhu then addressed the Giant Phussadēva,

“Phussadēva, this elephant of mine never moved back during any of the twenty-eight great wars we fought. Why is Kadol retreating now? What’s going to happen to us from this fight with this outlander Bhalluka?”

“Dear King, we’ll definitely win… We’ll definitely win this war too. Elephant Kadol is looking for the land of victory for this fight. Dear King, Elephant Kadol knows well about those victory lands.”

So Elephant Kadol backed up to Puradeva’s temple which is the limit of Mahā Vihāra pointed out by Arahant Mihindu Thero. Kadol elephant stopped there. Bhalluka then thought, ‘What, isn’t he trying to claim their clan’s properties? I’ll not let that happen. He killed my uncle, and I am not going to let him live. I’ll shoot this arrow to his mouth.’ Then he aimed his arrow toward King Dutugamnhu and cried saying,

“Hey King. What are you up to?”

Then the King covered his mouth with his sword and said, “What do you think I am up to, you Tamil outsider?” At that moment, Bhalluka shot his arrow aiming our King’s mouth. Our King quickly covered his mouth from his sword and the arrow hit it. Then our King moved his sword away and let the red-coloured spit of his chewing betel to flow outside from his mouth. Seeing the red-colour spit coming out of the King’s mouth, Bhalluka laughed, clapped his hands, and said, “Hey, see I shot Gaminhi’s mouth.”

Phussadēva who was behind King Dutugamunhu shot an arrow in a fierce speed to Bhalluka’s mouth. That arrow moved so fast, it actually touched King Dutugamunhu’s ear jewellery and hit Bhalluka’s mouth. At that very moment, Phussadēva shot another arrow to Bhalluka’s knee. Bhalluka was killed. With bent knees he fell off of his elephant bowing his head toward King Dutugamunhu.

Thus that last war was also won by our side. The victorious army of King Dutugamunhu came cheering to our cleansed city. Phussadēva cut his ear from his sword and came before the King.

“What did you do to your ear Phussadēva?”

“My King, I cut my ear as a punishment for hitting your jewellery when I shot Bhalluka’s mouth.”

“No Phussadeva… You did that to defeat my foe. Bring those two arrows you shot.”

King Dutugamunhu bound those two arrows to make one long one and planted it on earth so that it would be straight up. Then the King stacked gold coins up to that height and gave the coins to Phussadēva.

My children, a war means ending other lives. There is only one war without any killing; it is the war with defilements. Our King Dutugamunhu is a great person who has collected many merits during his countless number of past lives (Asankheyya Kalpa). He was a meritorious person who would not like to kill even an ant, but even he had to face such wars because he had to go in this Samsara. He regretted about having to fight a war. He felt sorry about it. Then an Arahant came to him from Puvaghu Island and preached the Dhamma eliminating King’s sorrow.

Then the King thought,

‘Our father one day fed me and my brother milk rice and promised us not to eat without offering food to the Noble Sangha. Did I have to break that promise because of this war I had to fight?’

Then the King remembered that he ate a salt-chilli mix without offering its first part to the Noble Sangha one time. So my children, the King built a great Stupa called ‘Mirisavatiya’ depositing his winning-chaplet in it and offered meals to one hundred thousand Bhikkhu and ninety thousand Bhikkhunhi for one whole week.

After that, the King built the ‘Lōwāmahāprāsādaya’, which shone like a divine mansion. After building this amazing mansion containing nine floors and thousand housings, he again paid his respect to the Great Sangha making great offerings. He built three hundred sixty temples in Anurādhapura city itself, including the Great Stupa Ruwanvali. His faith was incredible; he conducted twenty-four Wesak ceremonies yearly and offered this Sri Lanka to the Dispensation of the Gautama Supreme Buddha for five times. King Dutugamunhu offered ‘Ata Pirikara’ to all Bhikkhu and Bhikkhunhi in the country for three times. He conducted the offering of light to the Supreme Buddha by lighting twelve thousand lamps each day. He built eighteen main hospitals around the country and maintained forty-four free stalls giving out honey and milk-rice to the people daily. He built courts in each city. He also made great lamp offerings to the country’s temples on all four Poya days of each month.

He gave free delicious food and clothes to pregnant mothers and mothers with new born children. He found out about all cows that are hungry at nights after their day work and fed them with honey-applied straws. Huts for preaching the Dhamma to the people and chairs for the Venerable Sangha to sit comfortably were also made by him in temples around the country. He made special offerings for the Venerable Theros who preached the supreme Dhamma. Likewise, my dear children, King Dutugamunhu ruled this country for twenty-four years shining the Dispensation of the Supreme Buddha and healing the people.

Like for everyone else, the last moment came to our great King too. Noble Sangha came and chanted Pirith to the King. Children, the fruit of one’s merits is amazing… The King looked at the sky and saw beautifully decorated six divine chariots from six different divine worlds in the sky. Gods in those chariots requested the King to come with them to their divine world. Then the King raised his right hand and signed the gods to wait a little. The Pirith chanting Bhikkhus thought the King signed them to stop and the people gathered beside the King thought that the King was murmuring with the fear of death. But Arahant Thēraputtābhaya Thero who was there asked King the following to eliminate the doubts in those people.

“Great King, aren’t that the divine chariots from each of six divine worlds?”

“Yes dear sir, there are six divine chariots. The gods in each of those are asking me to come with them.”

“Great King, if you throw six flower garlands into the sky, they will stay in the sky and people will see what is truly happening. Isn’t it?”

So children, King Dutugamunhu threw six garlands of flowers into the sky, and they were hung in the sky. Everybody was amazed of what happened. Peoples’ doubt disappeared. The King then asked Arahant Thēraputtābhaya Thero, “Sir, which divine world is good?”

“Great King, the Great Maitriya Bōdhisatta who is to be the next Supreme Buddha and your father and mother all are in the Thusita divine world. Thusita divine world is good. Therefore, please establish your mind in the Thusita divine world.”

Then my children, King Dutubamunhu raised his hands in that sleeping posture and worshiped the Great Ruvanvali Stupa thinking about the relics of the Supreme Buddha and His great qualities. His eyes closed slowly exhaling the last of his human breath. Like waking up from a sleep, he was then born in the divine chariot came from the Thusita divine world. He was a great beautiful divine being. He had a large amount of beautiful, shinning ornaments on him. Everyone could see this amazing divine being. People started to appreciate it with joy and respect saying ‘Sadu Sadu Sadu’. Then the divine being went around the Great Ruwanvali Stupa three times worshipping it. Then he worshiped Venerable Theros. While King’s brother, Prince Tissa, and people were watching worshipping and shedding happy tears, the Great Divine Dutugamunhu was surrounded by the divine beings and vanished from that place. Meritorious children, isn’t the greatness of the yeras of our Kings amazing?

Ven. Kiribathgoda Gnanananda Thero