Ladies with the lamp of 12th century Lanka

by Padma EDIRISINGHE

Acting cynical becomes a life long business for many. This group who is to be much sympathised just has no faith or belief in anything except in their own damning cynicism. I heard one of them scoff recently in this style.

“Asiyawe Ascharya! Wonder of Asia! Trying to become the Wonder of Asia! Utter rubbish. After all that hell gone through for years and years without lying low and taking a rest why try to reach stars?”

Well. Why not try to reach the stars especially in the context that in bygone days this little island had almost reached the stars. The whole world today is acquainted with Florence Nightingale, the Lady with the Lamp.

This is no attempt to decry her or the immense female nursing movement in the West that she pioneered. She is a female to be put up on a pedestal in any country. But what many, even the Lankans are unaware is that the female nursing profession of Sri Lanka pre-dated this Western movement by seven centuries.

Maybe this writer is paid for propaganda work of ancient and medieval Lanka and is simply making it up, I can hear some say. Though getting a chance to indulge in publicity assignments for the country one was born and nurtured in is certainly lucky I deny the fabrication part. No. My source book here is “A concise history of Ceylon.” By C.W. Nicholas and S. Paranavithana which is based on the Chulavamsa. Though these same facts occur in CV, for convenience I would use the work mentioned to give details.

Here is one passage quoted verbatim from Chapter XII titled The reign of Parakramabahu the Great”.

“A great hall was built to serve as a hospital equipped with every necessity and provided with a staff of physicians and male and female nurses and attendants. The King himself paid visits of inspection on Poya Days”. (page 215 - A fine cue to be taken up by present administrators, page 226, the same chapter has this passage.)

Cow horns

“The ships were abundantly provisioned and the health of the troops amply provided for physicians and nurses who accompanied the fleet were provided with medicines of every kind preserved in cow horns and special surgical instruments for extracting arrow heads.

When all was ready the expedition set sail from the port of Palvakki on the NE coast. It was commanded by Dhamiladhikarin Adichcha and Deputy Nagargirikitta. (Also known as Kitnuwaragal, name mentioned in Devanagala Rock inscription that records a grant of land for the military services rendered.)

Where were the ships heading to and what was the objective of the expedition? Imperialism was never on the agenda of Lankan kings though they seem to have the Naval power to attempt it. But the objective here was to retaliate to affronts the King suffered at the hands of the contemporary Burmese King Alaungasithu.

Waxing on the background that led to the invasion of Burma (now Myanmar) by Parakramabahu the Great, Chulavamsa imparts this information.

“In 1164 or 1165 Parakramabahu carried out the invasion of Burma. Between the two countries there had existed a strong bond of friendship for many years. Both were ruled by Buddhist kings and it had been the established practice for them to exchange costly gifts and maintain regular and cordial intercourse. Parakramabahu I continued this friendship with Alaungsithu who according to Burmese chronicles was a monarch of haughty temperament now enfeebled by old age”.

Burmese invasion

The chronicle goes on to list a number of provocations by Alaungsitu culminating with the seizure of a Sinhala princess on her way to Cambodia through Burma to wed a Kamboja Prince. The Burmese invasion seems very successful though the Burmese chronicles for the same reason are mum about it.

All privileges that had been enjoyed earlier by Sinhala envoys in Burma which had been withdrawn ny the haughty king were restored via the mediation of the Sangha. The Devenagala inscription confirms facts in the chronicle that the Burmese town of Kusumiya (Bassein) was captured by the Sinhala army and that thereafter the Burmese King sent envoys to negotiate a treaty.

I myself have drifted away from the female nurses of medieval Lanka, forgotten under a time pressure of centuries to brag about a short-lived Dig - Vijaya policy of one of our great kings.

Though grabbing other people’s land is nothing to boast about the great Lankan king was only trying to retaliate to ignorminous treatment. The excellence of the Naval fleet we owned that could sail overseas and show its muscle and settle old scores, further gleans through this tale of the Burmese invasion.

I restrain the temptation to go on to Parakramabahu’s invasion of Pandya that followed which was undertaken to fight on behalf of the Pandya King Parakrama at war with Prince Kulasekhara supported by the Chola King. Lankapura heads this brilliant campaign that finally becomes a tussle between the Cholar and the Sinhalas on Indian soil.

Later some defeats are undergone but that little Lanka secured for herself a forceful place in a battle of the major powers in India too could bolster our ego. The authors of quoted text have this to say, “He (Parakramabahu) elevated his kingdom to a position of eminence in the stars? “I found some answers during my stray reading. Here is a quote: “Whatever the grubbiness of our lot as earthlings may be, we know that there is some of the sky in us. We may not be able to pull ups takes but there will be times when we will be touched by wings and want to soar”.

Not a very apt quote for never was Lanka’s lot grubby. It has been even exotic. It was touched by wings even during its pre-historic times, according to the legend of Ravana. The reign of Parakramabahu the Great was one of its more exotic periods. With the little island grabbing land in Burma and South India. But who wants to crow on what some may term as aggrandizement?

Its better to remember this reign on more plus points as the age that not only witnessed the mergence of massive tanks bit also witnessed the entry of females into the most noblest of professions as the nursing profession.

The first Florence Nightingales of the world - they emerged from in and around Polonnaruwa, our second capital and they even went overseas to tend to wounded in battle. And if I am not going in for a surplus of first for the island, there is Prof. Suraweera writing on the first International Conference ever to be held summoned by monarch Dutugemunu at the occasion of laying the boundary liens of the Maha Thupa. Not only delegates from different ports of India have been invited, but also from Afghanistan and Persia.

Asiyawe Ashcharya! I spare little Lanka, the scornful sniggers.

The writer gratefully acknowledges help by author L.H. Senarasinghe in compiling facts.