King Dhatusena

By Husna Inayathullah

"Dhatusena was a great builder of irrigation reservoirs. He believed that irrigation reservoirs were the greatest treasures that a king could bequeath to his people."

Dhatusena was a king of Sri Lanka who ruled from 455 to 473 A.D. He was the first king of the Mauryan dynasty of Sri Lanka. In some records, he is also identified as Dasenkeli. Dhatusena reunited the country under his rule after 26 years. He defeated the South Indian invaders ruling the country at that time. Dhatusena made 18 irrigation tanks, a large irrigation canal known as Yodha Ela and the Avukana statue, a largest statue of the Buddha.

Dhatusena's ancestry is uncertain. The Chulavamsa, the ancient chronicle of Sri Lanka, tells us that he was of royal lineage whose ancestors had fled the royal capital about 300 years earlier.The country was invaded in 433 A.D. by six Tamil leaders from South India, known as the six Dravidians.

They overthrew the Sri Lankan monarch and ruled the country for 26 years from 433 to 459 A.D. During this time, Sinhalese leaders abandoned Rajarata and fled to the Ruhuna principality in the south of the country. Ruhuna was used as the base for resistance against the invading rulers.

Dhatusena was raised by his uncle, a bhikkhu, Mahanama. The Pandyan invaders were searching for Dhatusena and so his uncle ordained him as a Bhikkhu to disguise him. Dhatusena later organised a resistance movement against the Tamil invaders and led a rebellion against them.

Dhatusena claimed the kingship in 455. By the time Dhatusena started the rebellion, three of the six Pandyan invaders were already dead. In the battles that occurred during the rebellion, two more were killed. The final battle took place in 459, where the last king, Pithiya, was killed. Having successfully defeated the Pandyan invaders, Dhatusena was crowned as the king of Sri Lanka in 459 A.D, taking Anuradhapura as his capital.

Dhatusena built 18 irrigation tanks to develop agriculture in the country. Among the tanks are the Kalawewa and Balaluwewa. They are interconnected and cover an area of 6,380 acres. He also built the Yodha Ela, also known as Jayaganga, an irrigation canal carrying water from Kalawewa to Tissawewa in Anuradhapura. The Avukana statue, a 13-metre (43 ft) high statue of the Buddha is also a creation of Dhatusena.

Dhatusena had two sons, Kasyapa I and Moggallana I. Moggallana was the son of the royal consort and the rightful heir to the throne,while Kasyapa was born to a non-royal concubine.

Dhatusena's daughter was married to his sister's son, a General in his army, Migara. Following an argument between his daughter and sister, Dhatusena ordered his sister to be killed. In reprisal, Migara encouraged and assisted Kasyapa to overthrow the king and take the throne. Kasyapa eventually rebelled against Dhatusena and overthrew him. Dhatusena was imprisoned and Kasyapa became the king of the country in 473 A.D.

Migara led Kasyapa to believe that Dhatusena had hidden treasures of great wealth and persuaded him to find it. When asked to lead Kasyapa to where these treasures were hidden, Dhatusena led him to the Kalawewa and taking water into his hands, claimed that was the only treasure he had.

Enraged at this, Kasyapa had him murdered by entombing him in a wall. There is an alternate story that he was buried alive in the bund of the Kalawewa.