On the very day that the Supreme Teacher, the Buddha, attained Parinirvana, Prince Vijaya landed in Lanka and, with the assistance of Kuveni, killed all the Yakkhas who had gathered at the city of Sirisavatthu and was crowned king at Tambapanni. You would have read of this in the opening narrative. In the thirty-eighth year of King Vijaya’s reign, he perceived that his end was approaching. He had not received any offspring from the queen he had brought from southern Madura. Therefore, there was no heir to succeed him. King Vijaya reflected thus: “It is not fitting that the kingdom built with such difficulty should perish. It would be good if my brother Prince Sumitta were summoned.” Thereafter, he consulted with his ministers and sent a message conveying this to Sinhapura. Meanwhile, the king passed away. The ministers governed the kingdom from Upatissagama during the interregnum. Many historians state that the chaplain named Upatissa assumed kingship. The Pujavaliya, Nikaya Sangrahaya, Rajavaliya, and Rajaratnakara state this explicitly. However, the Mahavamsa states that the ministers administered the kingdom from Upatissagama under his leadership. This matter has been so incorrectly interpreted by some that, when listing kings, they name this minister as the first King Upatissa and further refer to another king of the same name, who ruled between 365–406 A.B., as the second King Upatissa. This appears to be erroneous.

The period between the death of King Vijaya and the arrival of those who had gone to Sinhapura with his message was about one year. This period, during which the ministers governed the country, is considered an interregnum in the history of Lanka. When the envoys reached Sinhapura, Prince Sumitta had already been crowned king there. His queen was Chitra, the daughter of the King of Madura. She bore him three children. King Sumitta, thinking that he must somehow fulfill his brother’s request, summoned his sons and told them that one of them should go to Lanka and that he could receive the consecration there after King Vijaya. The youngest son agreed. Accordingly, King Sumitta sent his youngest son, Prince Panduvasudeva, along with a retinue of thirty-two, to Lanka. The Mahavamsa states that they landed at the mouth of the Mahakandara River. Some identify the Mahakandara River as the Malvatu Oya and consider its estuary, known as Kammantota, to be the landing place of Prince Panduvasudeva. However, it also appears that during this period the Mahaweli River was known as the Mahakandara River. The Mahavamsa-tika further states that the port where they landed was Gokannatittha, which is present-day Trincomalee. The Mahavamsa also records that the arriving party lived in ascetic guise.

The ministers consulted soothsayers to determine whether a Kshatriya was arriving and learned that he would arrive within seven days. The pronouncements of the astrologers did not end there. In the account concerning the obtaining of a queen for Prince Panduvasudeva, the astrologer Kaladeva declared that a noble Kshatriya maiden would arrive. Moreover, in the earlier prophecy, it is stated in the Mahavamsa that a prince of this royal lineage would establish the Buddha’s dispensation in this land. When the arriving party gradually reached Upatissagama, the ministers recognized them and prepared to confer the kingdom and perform the consecration of Prince Panduvasudeva. However, since a suitable princess had not yet arrived, he did not agree to be consecrated and ruled the kingdom without coronation.

Meanwhile, another event occurred in a kingdom in the valley of the Ganges River in India. Pandu Sakka, the son of Amitodana the Sakyian, a relative of the Buddha during his lifetime, foresaw the future destruction of the Sakyas and crossed the Ganges, founded a city, and dwelt there. He had seven sons and one daughter. The daughter was a beautiful princess named Bhaddakaccana. Kings of seven realms sent gifts and proposals seeking her hand. Fearing this, the father king placed his daughter on a ship with thirty-two women and set it adrift on the river, wishing that whoever was able might take her. None of the princes could seize her, and the ship drifted and reached Gonagamapatuna on the second day.

This group, which landed there in ascetic guise, gradually approached Upatissagama. The ministers, who had already learned of this through diviners, recognized them and gave Princess Bhaddakaccana in marriage to Prince Panduvasudeva and consecrated him as king. After her arrival, her seven brothers also came to Lanka at the urging of their mother. With the permission of King Panduvasudeva, the princes named Rama, Uruvela, Anuradha, Vijita, Dighayu, and Rohana established settlements bearing their names and resided there. This clearly represents another instance of settlement formation through Aryan migration. In this list of names, three correspond to the names of three ministers who had come with King Vijaya and established settlements: Uruvela, Anuradha, and Vijita. Whether this represents a blending of two name lists, the same event recorded twice, or the establishment of two settlements bearing the same names cannot be stated with certainty. In later times, the settlements of Princes Anuradha, Dighayu, and Rohana assumed an important place in Sri Lankan history. The settlement of Prince Rama appears to have been located corresponding to present-day Trincomalee, that of Prince Vijita toward Polonnaruwa, that of Prince Dighayu toward Ampara, and that of Prince Rohana along the valleys of the Kumbukkan and Menik rivers. Uruvela is identified in the Rajavaliya as Mahaveligama. Of these settlements, those of Anuradha and Dighayu have been identified with certainty. These Sakyan Aryans contributed to the settlement of both Rajarata and Ruhuna, and it appears that a single kin-related royal lineage was established in both the north and the south.

The name Panduvasudeva given in the Mahavamsa appears in the Dipavamsa simply as Panduvasa. No inscription dating from the early period after the beginning of writing and spread across the island mentions this name. However, the Sinhala Prakrit form “Pandu,” corresponding to “Pandu,” is found compounded with other words, such as in Pandu-gutta (Pandu-gupta). Only once does a Brahmi inscription mention a tract of land named Panduvasagodapana. This name should properly be Panduvamsa, and if the second element is taken, it should be Panduvasudeva. The name Vasudeva (Vasudeva) does not appear in any Brahmi inscription discovered so far. Scholars interpreting these terms believe that during this period Lanka was under the leadership of a group of migrating Pandyan Aryans.

King Panduvasudeva had ten sons and one daughter by Bhaddakaccana. The Mahavamsa names the eldest son as Abhaya and the youngest child, a daughter, as Chitra, and also mentions another named Siva. The Dipavamsa, however, lists the names in order as Abhaya, Tissa, Uttiya, Asela, Vibhata, Rama, Siva, Matta, Mattakalena, and Chitta. Although many scholars state that King Panduvasudeva ruled from Upatissagama, the Mahavamsa-tika says he ruled from Vijitapura. The Mahavamsa, Rajavaliya, and Rajaratnakara state that his reign lasted thirty years.

The Rajavaliya and the Kuveni Asna-Vatti texts, which relate the story of King Panduvasudeva, record an extraordinary and miraculous tale about him, describing how a curse that should have afflicted King Vijaya came upon this king and how it was remedied by summoning the god of death to the country. These accounts have no historical significance. We know that King Panduvasudeva’s only daughter was Chitta (Chitra), a woman of such beauty that it drove men mad, and that she was confined in a lofty mansion for her protection. The reason was a prophecy by a soothsayer that a son born of her would destroy all his maternal uncles for the sake of the throne. When her brothers attempted to kill Princess Chitra, the eldest, Prince Abhaya, prevented this and protected her. The Mahavamsa states that because she drove men mad, Chitra became known as Ummada-Chitra. If madness afflicted those who saw her, the term “ummada” should apply to them, not to Chitra herself. Therefore, this expression must bear a meaning different from the commonly accepted one. She was the youngest of the royal family and the only daughter. Because of her beauty, liveliness, and intense passion, it is appropriate that she was called Ummada-Chitra in the sense of possessing excessive ardor. About a century later, Brahmi inscriptions at Dighavapi record the names Chitra and Rachitra. At that time, Prince Dighayu, one of Chitra’s maternal uncles, resided at Dighavapi. His son was Dighagamini. Hearing of Chitra, he came to Upatissagama with the desire to see her, accompanied by the servants Gopakattha and Kalavela. King Panduvasudeva was pleased with him and granted him the rank of sub-king to serve alongside Crown Prince Abhaya. Ummada-Chitra, having learned of Dighagamini, became attached to him, and the two met in the lofty mansion. The prince entered at night by means of a rotating contrivance and departed at dawn. As these events unfolded, Ummada-Chitra became pregnant.

When the king learned of this, he bound the two in marriage. The other brothers resolved that if she bore a son, he should be killed. The Mahavamsa describes how, with the involvement of yakkhas, the birth occurred in the lying-in chamber. Knowing her uncles’ hostility, Princess Chitra exchanged her child with a female child born to a maidservant, presenting the girl as her own and the boy as the servant’s child. The boy was named Pandukabhaya. Thereafter, the infant prince was sent out of the city with the maidservant. Thus, the prince was saved. When the uncles learned that the prince was alive, they plotted to kill him, but on every occasion he was protected. A few days after his birth, King Panduvasudeva, who had ruled for thirty years, passed away.

The arrival of King Panduvasudeva in this land, and the arrival of Bhaddakaccana and her brothers, can also be interpreted in another way. Among the groups that migrated to this island from about the sixth century BCE, this was one such instance. The establishment of settlements in this island by Sakyan princes is clearly described here. The story of Bhaddakaccana appears to give meaningful expression to the arrival of groups migrating from eastern India. Linguists note that certain features of the Sinhala language reflect eastern Indian linguistic characteristics. Thus, the story of King Vijaya may represent Aryan migration from western India, while the story of Bhaddakaccana represents Aryan migration from the east. Similarities are observable in the lists of names associated with settlement founders in both narratives. As noted earlier, three names appear in both lists: Anuradha, Uruvela, and Vijita. Whether this reflects a blending of two lists is unclear. According to the chronicles, these Aryans appear to have established two settlements each bearing the same names. In any case, after these narratives, information regarding settlement formation no longer appears in the chronicles, and what is seen thereafter seems to be invasion rather than migration.