Thammanna Nuwara
Upatissa Nuwara
Anuradhapura
Anuradhapura Chola
Ruhuna
Polonnaruwa
Dambadeniya
Yapahuwa
Kurunegala
Gampola
Kotte
Sitawaka
Kandy
Portuguese
Dutch
British
Monarch of Ceylon
52
King Kudda Naga
Kingdom of Anuradhapura
194 AC - 195 AC

According to the Mahavamsa, after King Chulānāga, his brother, Prince Kuddānāga, the second son of King Kanitthiss, ascended the throne. Sources mention that he killed his brother and seized the kingship. As stated in the first section, if Prince Chulānāga had been the son of the second Bhathiyatissa, then following King Kanitthiss, his ascension to the throne according to the previous custom would be lawful. Kuddānāga prince ascending the throne as the son of King Kanitthiss conforms with the law.

It is also necessary here to consider the qualifiers “Chula” or “Bujja” and “Kudda” related to these two names. The name Kuddānāga appears in alternative forms such as Kunchānāga, Kundanāga, Kuñjanāga in various copies of the Mahavamsa. In the Dipavamsa, he is mentioned as Kujjanāga. The three words Chula, Bujja, and Kujja all generally mean “small.” That two sons of the same king are named Nāga and also distinguished by words meaning “small” is not a common practice. Therefore, it is more reasonable to consider the first as the son of King Bhathiyatissa and the second as the son of King Kanitthiss.

By ascending the throne after the death of King Chulānāga, Prince Kuddānāga again set a bad example. Because of these brothers killing each other to gain the throne, the country entered an unfortunate period. After about a century of peace, the harmony of the kingdom broke, the people suffered, and the governing power began to weaken.

The Mahavamsa records two activities of King Kuddānāga. These were the further development of the Mahāpāli Dānhala and, during a famine, providing the Bhikkhus with sustenance without rationing to them by the name of Pansiya. Some interpret the singular word “Ekanāli Chātaka” in the Mahavamsa as meaning a single rice paddy, but this does not imply just one paddy. During this king’s reign, there was a famine. Because people had to survive on a single paddy of rice, it was called Ekanāli Chātaka. This famine can be considered as caused by the failure of rains, which led to the destruction of crops. This king’s reign lasted only about one year.

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