Thammanna Nuwara
Upatissa Nuwara
Anuradhapura
Anuradhapura Chola
Ruhuna
Polonnaruwa
Dambadeniya
Yapahuwa
Kurunegala
Gampola
Kotte
Sitawaka
Kandy
Portuguese
Dutch
British
Monarch of Ceylon
11
King Suratissa
Kingdom of Anuradhapura
247 BC - 237 BC

After King Mahāsīva, his brother Prince Suratissa ascended to the throne. It is stated that before becoming king he was known by the name Suvaṇṇapiṇḍatissa. After ascending the throne, he retained the sura element and abandoned the suvaṇṇapiṇḍa element. Some take sūra to mean “heroic,” while others take it in the sense of “divine,” seeing in it a meaning akin to Devānampiya. It is not clear whether this is sūra or sura. Although in the chronicles the epithet Devānampiya is said to have been restricted only to King Tissa who first bore it, inscriptions indicate that many kings used it; therefore, taking sura in that sense may be correct. However, the meaning contained in the epithet Devānampiya is not fully expressed here.

A rock inscription at Dimbulagala mentions a prince named Ayasuratisha, and it also refers to his queen Abhiupala. Since it appears that from the time of King Devānampiyatissa the eastern region was under the control of a member of the royal family, it may be assumed that Prince Suratissa governed the eastern region until the end of King Mahāsīva’s reign. This record may have been made at the time of donating a cave at Dimbulagala.

It is stated that both before and after becoming king, King Suratissa caused five hundred monasteries to be built on both sides of the river. The chronicle names eight of these. Some of these places have not yet been conclusively identified. The Nagarangana Vihara built in the southern direction alone has been identified, based on an inscription with an assadduma located near present-day Ambanpola. The Pācīnapabbata Vihara at the foot of the Vanguttara mountain, also known as Ekadvārikaparvata, and the Acchagiri Vihara near Rahagalla in the eastern region are among the other monasteries built by King Suratissa.

The Mahavamsa states that he lived for sixty years. This statement of years appears to require critical examination. His reign lasted ten years.

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