Ancestry and Family
The Mahavamsa constitutes the major source on Dutugemunu's reign and dedicates some six chapters (out of 35) to his tale. In chapter 22 he is described as being descended from the ancient royal family of Rajarata through Devanampiyatissa's brother Mahanaga. At the time of his birth Dutugemunu's father was Kavantissa, king of Ruhuna, a small kingdom in south-east Sri Lanka outside of the influence of Rajarata in the north; the border between the two polities was the Mahaganga, or 'Great River', possibly the modern Menik Ganga. Kavantissa is portrayed in the Mahamvamsa as 'devoutly believing in the three gems, he provided the brotherhood continually with...needful things'.
Dutugemunu's mother was Viharamahadevi, daughter of Tissa, king of Kalyani. Legend has it that as punishment for Tissa slaying a Buddhist monk, Kalyani had been subject to a series of deluges from the sea. To placate it Tissa placed his daughter Devi in a golden boat with the words 'A King's Daughter' written on the side, and set her out to sea. Miraculously the princess washed ashore, alive and well, in Ruhuna, and married Kavantissa.
During her pregnancy with Dutugemunu, Viharamahadevi had a series of peculiar cravings, including the urge to sleep on a pillow made of honeycombs. In particular her urge to drink the water used to wash a sword that had cleaved the head of a warrior of Elara, whilst standing on that same head, raised the interest of the soothsayers at court, who predicted that 'The queen's son, when he has vanquished the Damilas (Tamil invaders) and built up a united kingdom, will make the doctrine to shine forth brightly'. Viharamahadevi gave birth to a son named Gamani Abhaya some time later, and after that to another child, a boy named Tissa.
Around the time of Gamani's birth, 'an elephant of the six-tusked race brought his young one thither and left him here and went his way'. Named Kandula, he went on to become Gamani's mount and accompanied him through much of the prince's adventures.
Read more about this topic: Dutthagamani Of Anuradhapura
Famous quotes containing the words ancestry and, ancestry and/or family:
“Both the ancestry and posterity of Grief go further than the ancestry and posterity of Joy.”
—Herman Melville (1819–1891)
“I am, in point of fact, a particularly haughty and exclusive person, of pre-Adamite ancestral descent. You will understand this when I tell you that I can trace my ancestry back to a protoplasmal primordial atomic globule.”
—Sir William Schwenck Gilbert (1836–1911)
“The family spirit has rendered man carnivorous.”
—Francis Picabia (1878–1953)