Thammanna Nuwara
Upatissa Nuwara
Anuradhapura
Anuradhapura Chola
Ruhuna
Polonnaruwa
Dambadeniya
Yapahuwa
Kurunegala
Gampola
Kotte
Sitawaka
Kandy
Portuguese
Dutch
British
Monarch of Ceylon
114
King Aggabodhi IX
Kingdom of Anuradhapura
831 AC - 833 AC

According to the Mahavamsa, after King Dappula II, the throne was succeeded by a person named Aggabodhi. He was the son of the preceding king and bore the same name that had already appeared in the royal lineage. It is recorded that on the very day of the former king’s death, drums were beaten, and he was consecrated as king. There must have been a special reason for this. Therefore, it is important to examine carefully the account given in the Mahavamsa.

According to the tradition that had existed until then, the person who should have inherited the throne after King Dappula II was Prince Mahinda, the son of King Aggabodhi VIII. However, King Dappula, intending to secure the throne for his own sons, did not grant Prince Mahinda any titles such as Adipada (Governor) or other hereditary positions. Offended by this, Prince Mahinda fled to India (Dambadiva). It can therefore be assumed that Prince Aggabodhi, after the death of his father, was crowned king immediately out of fear that Prince Mahinda might oppose him.

In the forty-seventh chapter of the Mahavamsa, which contains the above-mentioned account, there appears to be a missing portion where a few verses are lost. Because of this gap, the sentence stating that “King Aggabodhi, upon hearing of their coming, sent a great army against them, and they were all slain,” is difficult to interpret. It may be inferred that this refers to a battle in which Prince Mahinda and his brothers came to fight against King Aggabodhi after he had ascended the throne. In this battle, his commander was killed, and it seems that Prince Mahinda again fled to India.

It is likely that other important events were also recorded in the missing portion of the Mahavamsa. According to Rajavaliya and Rajarathnakaraya, the time of this King Aggabodhi was the period when the Dravidians invaded Sri Lanka, as stated by Professor Senarath Paranavitana. It is said that they carried away the sacred relics of the Tooth and the Bowl (Jayabheramiṇi-pā). However, in the versions of Rajarathnakaraya and Rajavaliya that I have examined, this event is described as having occurred during the reign of King Dappula II. After Dappula, the throne is said to have been taken not by a king named Aggabodhi IX but by one called Nuga Vesi Sen. If the lost portion of the Mahavamsa had contained this account, it would have contradicted the information in those two chronicles. Professor Paranavitana has suggested that this confusion resulted from an error in attributing events that actually took place during the reign of the next king.

The chronicles further state that during the reign of King Aggabodhi IX — who may have been a precursor to the later invasions — all sins in the island were eradicated. Apart from these religious merits, no other deeds or achievements of his reign are recorded. The Pūjavaliya mentions that his reign lasted five years, whereas the Mahavamsa records it as three years.

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