Heritage Splendour

Dutugemunu wins the war with Elara

In our last Heritage Splendour article, we wrote about how Dutugemunu became King of Ruhuna after the death of King Kavantissa. Today we feature how he decided to launch his war against King Elara to liberate the entire country,without stopping at being only the King of Ruhuna.

With his ten generals (giant warriors), King Dutugemunu took over and occupied Elara’s well-protected fortress called Vijithapura.

The Sinhala army went along the road from Dambulla to Anuradhapura, attacking another fortress. Before long, Mahela Nagara was also captured by Dutugemunu. Then he decided to attack Anuradhapura, where Elara was. Dutugemunu realised the danger of fighting inside the city and wanted to avoid it. So he waited outside the city, watching the movements of his enemy.

He built a wewa and treated the wounded soldiers during this time. He collected many strong men to increase the numbers of his army for the final battle.

Meanwhile, Elara was distressed when he received the news of the number of fortresses that were conquered by Dutugemunu. He wanted to consult his ministers and generals and get their advice as to what should be done to stop the advance of Dutugemunu’s army.

They also advised Elara about the danger of fighting inside the city walls. It was then decided to meet Dutugemunu outside, in an open battle. Elara had 30,000 men on his side, ready to confront Dutugemunu’s army.

At this stage, Elara decided to fight alone with Dutugemunu. Dressed in full armour, he got on his elephant Mahapabbata, and together with 20 warriors who were his bodyguards, marched towards Dutugemunu who was waiting for him. Dutugemunu hurriedly consulted his mother Vihara Maha Devi, and summoned his ministers for advice. It was then decided to meet Elara and his army.

The giant Nandimithra stood on the right of Dutugemunu, while the giant Suranimala stood on the left. Both sides advanced and met in battle.

At the beginning, Dutugemunu lost some of his men. Elara’s army was very powerful, and to prevent a further loss of his men, Dutugemunu’s army stopped moving forward. The fight raged on.

Dutugemunu was surrounded by Elara’s men who saw the weakness of the enemy. Elara’s general Dighajantu made his way forward to fight with Dutugemunu. He was getting nearer and nearer.

Suranimala sensed the danger ahead and challenged Dighajantu, who stopped rushing towards Dutugemunu. Instead, he turned towards Suranimala with his sword. He raised the sword and brought it down with a powerful force on Suranimala who avoided the blow by holding out his shield. The sword slipped and fell to the ground.

Dighajantu was injured. There was pain on his face; Suranimala was also advancing towards him. Quickly, Dighajantu bent down to pick up the fallen sword. Suranimala held his sword tightly and with lightning speed, dealt Dighajantu a blow. Dighajantu could not avoid the blow and fell with a loud cry that was heard throughout the battlefront.

Meanwhile, Elara’s brother Bhalluka had been advancing towards the capital city Anuradhapura from the day he landed on the shores of Lanka. On hearing this, Dutugemunu decided to meet him before he reached the city gates.

After consulting his ministers on what action to take, Dutugemunu mounted his favourite elephant Kandula, with Phussadeva who was known for his marksmanship sitting beside him. They saw that Bhalluka was advancing at the head of an army of soldiers.

Suddenly, Kandula started retreating. Dutugemunu was surprised and alarmed. He thought for a while and addressed his faithful general, “Before this, in 28 battles, Kandula never retreated; what does this mean, Phussadeva?” Phussadeva thought of re-assuring the King.

He knew that the King was superstitious and would believe that Kandula’s unusual retreat was a sign of defeat. Phussadeva said: “O King, look for the place of victory where the elephant drew back. At the place of victory, he will halt. Let us take our stand where Kandula stood”.

There was no alternative for Dutugemunu but to fall back.Bhalluka, in his shining armour, came forward to meet Dutugemunu. He did not act in haste, but looked straight at the King and addressed him in a mocking manner. On hearing the insulting words, Dutugemunu covered his mouth with the blade of his sword and replied Bhalluka. Bhalluka grew angry and said, “I will send an arrow into your mouth”.

Saying this, he drew his bow and arrow and shot an arrow at Dutugemunu. Instantly, Dutugemunu held his sword in his mouth and prevented the arrow striking his face. It struck on the blade of the sword and fell on the ground. Bhalluka thought his arrow had struck Dutugemunu in the mouth, and cried out joyfully.

It was then that Phussadeva, who was seated behind Dutugemunu, shot an arrow into the mouth of Bhalluka. The arrow flew close to Dutugemunu’s earring before hitting Bhalluka. Bhalluka fell to the ground in pain with a loud cry and at the same time, a loud shout of victory was heard from those around them.

That evening, the King’s palace was decorated brightly and lit up with lamps. The sweet smell of fragrance drifted around. There was dancing and rejoicing throughout the night, to celebrate the victory.

Although Dutugemunu had his mighty warriors, the Dravidians were well fortified in a large and strong fortress which kept Dutugemunu’s army at bay. Kandula, then given the Herculean task of crushing down the fortress, had charged with such fiery force and power that it crumbled the fort and brought the enemy out, who were no match for Dutugemunu’s army.

King Dutugemunu in his historic war with King Elara had an army consisting of eth, as, riya and pabala (elephants, horses, chariots and soldiers). It is said that the elephant army consisted of over 1000 tuskers!

Compiled by Janani Amarasekara