Kalinga Magha - Invasion and Reign

Invasion and Reign

The Culavamsa provides Magha with an impressive and detailed introduction, something which the normally laconic text very rarely does. In Chapter LXXX, we are told that

in consequence of the enormously accumulated, various evil deeds of the dwellers in Lanka, the devatas who were everywhere entrusted with the protection of Lanka, failed to carry out this protection, there landed a man who held to a false creed, whose heart rejoiced in bad statesmanship, who was a forest fire for the burning down of bushes in the forest of the good...who was a sun whose action closed the rows of night lotus flowers good doctrine...and a moon for destroying the grace of the...day lotuses that...peace...(a man) by name Magha, an unjust king sprung from the Kalinga line...'.

Nothing is known of Magha before his arrival in Rajarata with an army of 24,000 from Kalinga, nor on what basis he claimed the throne of Lanka. Certainly in the years before his arrival the Sinhalese kingdom had progressed into an advanced state of political decay, making its way through more than nine monarchs in twenty years and suffering at least three invasions. It has been speculated that Magha may have had a claim through the Kalingan dynasty established by Nissanka Malla in 1187. Whatever his pretext however he swiftly lost any potential support amongst the populace by the sheer violence of his invasion.

Rajarata and the Sinhalese had a long history of cultural, religious, and indeed genetic exchange with the kingdoms of southern India; the royal families of the island had, for example, consistently married into the royal families of the Pandyas and Cheras. Invaders such as Anikanga (in 1209) and Parakrama Pandu (in 1212) were often welcomed and accepted. Perhaps the most famous invader had been Elara, around a thousand years previously, who despite conquering the island by force had earned the title of 'dharmaraja' ('Just King') even amongst monks and was regarded as one of the best examples of governance in the history of the country. All these monarchs had incorporated the local nobilities into their rule and shown respect and deference towards the native faith, Buddhism. Thus one of the chief reasons for the particular loathing held by the Culavamsa for Magha was his utter refusal to accommodate either the faith or the culture of the native Sinhalese population.

The Culavamsa notes that during the invasion Magha's troops engaged in theft on a massive scale, wanton destruction of property, kidnapping and torture (the Culavamsa particularly mentions the flogging of children), mutilation and amputation, and took many of Rajarata's nobility as slaves. The voracity of the invaders is particularly apparent in the fate of the incumbent king Parakrama Pandya, who was blinded and executed. Beyond this the army proceeded to systematically desecrate and destroy many of Rajarata's most sacred sites. Dagobas were destroyed and sacred relics lost, books were ripped apart and 'strewn hither and tither', monks were beaten and the treasure of the temples was ransacked. Of particular note were his desecrations of Thuparama, the oldest dagoba in Rajarata, and Dutugemunu's beloved Ruwanveliseya.

Having executed Parakrama Pandya and ransacked the temples of Anuradhapura and Polonnaruwa, Magha was consecrated king by his own soldiers and settled in the capital of Pulatthinagara. His priorities in ruling appear to have been to extract as much as possible from the land and overturn as many of the traditions of Rajarata as possible. The Culavamsa again describes how religious places and temples were awarded to his followers as abodes, whatever wealth he could seize was also taken from the hands of the natives, and how much of the populace was forced to work as slaves.