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Mahāvaṃsa -(Great History)(English | 中文 | བོད་ཡིག)

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having made offerings many times; Also had the Good Dhamma taught, ever delighting in the qualities of the Dhamma. 21. Three times he had the balance-weight offering given; He observed the Uposatha, purely on the Uposatha day. 22. The lord gave the annual staff-lord offering; Having had the Three Piṭakas written, he gave them to the community of monks. 23. With precious gems, pearls, and other jewels, he worshipped the Great Bodhi Tree in Jambudīpa many times. 24. Sent by the king of Kaṇṇāṭa and by the king of Coḷa; Envoys, bringing great gifts, came here. 25. They saw the king, then he, with a joyful mind; Did what was proper for both those envoys. 26. First, with the Kaṇṇāṭa envoys, he sent his own envoys to Kaṇṇāṭa, with gifts. 27. When the Sinhalese envoys reached his territory, Coḷa suddenly caused disfigurement to their ears and noses. 28. Having arrived back here, the envoys, thus harmed, told the king everything that Coḷa had done to them. 29. He, with his pride inflamed, among all his ministers; Called the Damila envoys, and sent this message to Coḷa. 30. Without an army, on an island in the middle of the great ocean; Let us, relying on the strength of our arms, have a duel. 31. Or, having gathered all forces, in your kingdom or in mine; Or in a place of your choosing, let a battle be fought. 32. "Your king should be told exactly as I have said;" Having said this to those envoys, adorned with ornaments. 33. He quickly dismissed them to the presence of the Coḷa king; Then, taking his army, he went to Anurādhapura. 34. He sent two army commanders to Mattikāvāṭatittha and Mahātitthe, to go to the Coḷa country itself and fight. 35. While the commanders were preparing, and provisions for ships, for the purpose of sending forces to the Coḷa country for battle. 36. Then, in the thirtieth year, the troops named Veḷakkāra, being unwilling to go there, were rebellious. 37. Having killed both army leaders, like rutting elephants, they plundered from all sides, the arrogant ones of Pulatthipura. 38. Together with his three sons, and the king’s younger sister, they quickly seized and burnt the royal palace. 39. The king, quickly escaping, went to the southern side, and on the mountain called Vātagiri, he stored his precious goods. 40. By King Vīrabāhu, endowed with lion-like valor, and surrounded by a great army from all sides. 41. Having come to Pulatthipura, waging a fierce battle, he put to flight in an instant the assembled forces. 42. The bone heaps of the slain soldiers were piled up, and surrounding the pyre, the enemy commanders. 43. Having bound them to stakes, their arms tightly bound behind, he burnt them with flames leaping all around. 44. Having slain those brought there from the villages, the lord of the earth made the land of Laṅkā completely free of thorns. 45. To fight with the Coḷa, the king, having set his own limit, not exceeding it, in the forty-fifth year. 46. Taking his prepared army, he went to the port city; seeing his arrival, he stayed there for some time. 47. As the Coḷa did not come, he sent his envoys, and returning, the king dwelt long in Pulatthinagara. 48. Mahāheḷi, Sareharu, named Mahādattika, Kaṭunnarūpaṇḍavāpī, named Kallagallika. 49. Eraṇḍegallavāpī, and Dīghavatthukavāpikā, Maṇḍavāṭakavāpī, and Kittaggabodhipabbata. 50. Valāhassa Mahādāru, Gallakumbhīlasobbhakā, Pattapāsāṇavāpī, and the tank named Kāṇa. 51. These and many other tanks, whose boundaries had been destroyed, he had them rebuilt, his mind intent on the welfare of beings. 52. The lord of the earth, in the Kandara-Gaṅgā rivers here and there, made the country prosperous, by building dams. 53. The Mahisaṃsaka, who broke the good conduct of the monasteries, he seized all their privileges, and took them by the throat. aṃ. 54. Having expelled Purambha, and appeased the great Saṅgha; He proclaimed to the world his reverence for the Saṅgha. 56. In the great village, in the three divisions where the Coḷas were settled; He built relic chambers in both Thūpārāma monasteries. 57. At his mother's cremation ground, and likewise at his father's; He made five great residences, and also in Budalaviṭṭhi. 58. Paṇḍavāpī and Pāṭhīna, Rakkhacetiya mountain; Likewise Maṇḍalagiri and Madhutthalavihāra. 59. The monastery called Uruvela in Devanagara; Mahiyaṅgaṇa monastery, and Sītalaggāma cave. 60. Jambukola monastery, and likewise Girikaṇḍaka; Kurundiya monastery, and Jambukola cave. 61. Bhallātaka monastery, and likewise Paragāmaka; The monastery called Kāsagalla and Candagiri. 62. Velagāma monastery, and the village called Mahāsena; The monastery in Anurādha, and likewise the Bodhi house in the city. 63. Thus, many such monasteries, and many villages, the mighty one; He repaired the old ones, and gave villages separately. 64. For those going to worship the footprint of the Buddha on Samantakūṭa mountain, who found the path difficult. 65. "May all not be weary," he said, and gave for their sustenance; The village called Gilīmalaya, rich in rice fields and other things. 66. On the Kadalīgāma road, and likewise on the Hūvaraḷa path; Having given villages to each, he also built halls. 67. "May future kings not seize them," he wrote; And established the letters on stone pillars, the king. 68. The village Antaraviṭṭhi, and likewise Saṅghāṭagāmaka; And Sirimaṇḍagalārāma, he gave to those who resided there for gain. 69. To the forest-dwelling monks, he gave the four requisites; And to their relatives, he gave villages for their enjoyment. 70. Fine robes, and various medicines; In the cold season, many times, he gave to the community of monks. 71. He gave all requisites, and likewise other requisites; Many times, respectfully, the wise one gave to the community of monks. 72. To the Saṅgha, p for the maintenance of the monastery, for the bhikkhus residing there, and for those who perform services, to worship cetiyas and so forth. 73. The many villages in Rohana given by former kings, all of them he restored to their previous state, undiminished. 74. He gave strong bulls to those who crawl on their knees, and being compassionate, he gave food to crows, dogs, and others. 75. The great poet gave to many artisans much wealth, along with traditional villages. 76. Hearing verses composed by the sons of ministers and others, the king of poets gave them money according to their merit. 77. He gave separate villages to the blind and the lame; and he did not diminish what was formerly given to various shrines. 78. He gave shares to respectable women, to the helpless, as was fitting, and to widows he gave villages, food, and clothing. 79. That great lord, the king of the Sinhalese, was the foremost among the Sinhalese artisans. 80. Devoted to auspicious deeds, the viceroy built a cetiya, which had been destroyed by the Colas, in the monastery named Guṇavhaya. 81. Being a generous giver, he then gave excellent villages to that supreme monastery, and constantly performed offerings. 82. He also had a great reservoir built near the monastery's surrounding forest, with abundant water, which had become a lake. 83. At the Kappūra Mūlāyatana, the king's daughter, Yasodharā, had a beautiful, large, and strong image house built. 84. Among the groups of rocks, the king's own relatives had a beautiful, lofty palace built, which brought delight. 85. Then many ministers and his own relatives accumulated many merits in various ways. 86. While the lord of Lanka was thus ruling Lanka, the viceroy, brought under control, was led away by the messenger of death. 87. Having completed all the necessary rites for him, he gave the viceroyalty to Jayabāhu, with the consent of the bhikkhus. 88. Then, having given the position of chief prince to Vikramabāhu, and to his son, known as Gajabāhu, 89. Having consulted with the great ministers, the king, desiring the welfare of his sons, Ro having given a kasina, he sent him to dwell there. 90. Then he, having gone there, made the great Nāgahula city his capital, and dwelt there. 91. Thus, King Vijayabāhu, having reigned righteously for fifty years, and having extended his undisputed dominion for five more years, and having increased the Dispensation, which was afflicted by the fear of wicked Tamils, ascended to the heavenly world, to behold the great fruit born of his merits. The Fifty-Eighth Chapter in the Mahāvaṃsa, composed for the serene joy and emotion of the good, named The Collection of the World and the Dispensation. The Fifty-Ninth Chapter The Account of the Four Kings 1. Then the forest-dwelling relatives, his three sons, the three great ministers, and the hermits, 2. all these, without informing the king, who was residing in Rohaṇa as an ādipāda, 3. having consulted together and reached a common agreement, bestowed the anointing of the kingdom of Laṅkā upon the Yuvarāja. 4. They installed a prince named Māṇabharaṇa in the vice-regency; they all transgressed the path of former customs. 5. Then all three brothers, Māṇabharaṇa and the others, together with King Jayabāhu, suddenly, 6. having taken possession of all the precious jewels, and vehicles like elephants, 7. and having gathered all the forces from Pulatthinagara, they quickly set out, saying, "We will seize that Vikramabāhu." 8. Having heard all this news, Vikramabāhu thought, "Alas, I have not been able to perform his last rites. 9. Now, having quickly gone to Pulatthinagara, I will not even see the place of his cremation." 10. "I will dispel the burden of sorrow from my heart," having made this firm resolve, he departed from that city. 11. He came to Pulatthipura, as an ādipāda, surrounded by an army of seven or eight hundred. 12. On the way, in the Guttahālaka district, he In the village, when called out, He saw the army arrive. 13. A great battle-ready (host), The lone hero, fearless; Having fought, he made them flee,