Gajabahu I
Gajabahu I, also known as Gajabahuka Gamani, was a Sinhalese king of Rajarata in Sri Lanka. He is renowned for his military prowess, religious benefactions, extensive involvement in South Indian politics, and for possibly introducing the cult of the goddess Pattini to Sri Lanka. The primary source for his reign is the Mahavamsa, though he is also the only early Sri Lankan king to be extensively mentioned in the Chera Cilappatikaram.
Life and Religion
Next to nothing is known about Gajabahu's youth, except that he was the son of Vankanasika Tissa, king of Rajarata from Anuradhapura, and his consort Mahamatta. As such he might have witnessed the most dramatic event of Tissa's reign, the invasion of Rajarata by the Chola king Karikalan.The Mahavamsa mentions Gajabahu's accession and reign of twenty-two years and mentions neither Karikalan's invasion nor the military campaigns to south India that Gajabahu became famous for. Instead he is presented as a great patron of religion; the chronicle credits him with the construction of two viharas - Matuvihara and Rumika - and a stupa called Abhayuttara. Matuvihara was built according to the advice of his Queen mother at the thickest of Kadambha river for honoring her. As well as his Queen mother donated money for the plot of land to build a Vihara for the Great Vihara. He is also credited with making a mantle for Dutugemunu's Mirisavetiya, and for building a reservoir to provide the Abhayagiri monastery with food. He also made improvements to the four entrance ways of the Abhayagiri stupa. He also made tank called Gamanitissa for these Vihara. Apart from that he was to build a hall called Mahejasansala in city.
Gajabahu is also credited with the introduction of the cult of the goddess Pattini to Sri Lanka. The Silapathikaram mentions Gajabahu's presence at the consecration of a temple to Kannagi by the Chera king Senguvuttan. Returning from India he brought back not only the alms bowl of the Buddha but Pattini's sacred anklet, and constructed a temple to the goddess 'at a place called Vattapalli near Mullaitivu'. However, there is an alternative view that the cult actually arrived in Sri Lanka in the 13th century, and the legend of Gajabahu's patronage was retrospectively created to generate legitimacy for the goddess.
The annual Perahara held in Kandy is also thought to have its roots in Gajabahu's reign. Following the successful completion of a campaign into Chola territories the temple of Vishnu in Anuradhapura is said to have staged a procession in thanks, which eventually developed into today's festival. Gajabahu was succeeded by his father-in-law Mahallaka Naga.
Relationship with Southern India
However the sources contrast deeply on the actual events of his reign and the reality of the situation remains somewhat obscure. Rajavaliya, the 17th-century chronicle of Sri Lanka describes the events thus:A detailed analysis of this Rajavaliya account exposes its shaky foundations. It is hard to believe that Gajabahu was completely unaware of an invasion if it had taken place in his father's reign. Nor could one seriously accept his breathtaking display at the court of the Cola king. The Gajabahu story is not a historical episode at all, but a mythic one associated with water cutting and incorporated into the two Sinhala chronicles. Thus the reason the earlier Mahavamsa account did not mention the episode is that it simply did not take place historically.
In contrast the mentions of Gajabahu in the Tamil sources represent a much more cordial visit by the Sri Lankan king. The Silapathikaram mentions him twice. On the first occasion he is with the Chera king Senguvuttan, offering sacrifices to the goddess Kannagi in an introductory passage. Later he is in the Chera king's company again, and on very good terms.
It has been suggested that this mention does not necessarily preclude a military campaign; after all it is entirely possible that Gajabahu and Senguvuttan offered joint sacrifices as a way of securing a freshly concluded peace but the Gajabahu story is not a historical episode at all, but a mythic one associated with water cutting and incorporated into the two Sinhala chronicles. Thus the reason the earlier Mahavamsa account did not mention the episode is that it simply did not take place historically. On the other hand, the versions presented in the Mahavamsa and Silapathikaram do not mention any violence at all, despite being the major sources for this period. Furthermore, the reliability of the entries in the Silapathikaram has been questioned, and it has been suggested that the meeting between Gajabahu and Senguvttan is the result of a certain amount of 'poetic licence' on the part of the compiler
Significance
Gajabahu is regarded in modern Sri Lanka as an archetype of the mighty Sinhalese monarch, who avenged humiliation by the Cholas and took the sporadically fought wars between Rajarata and Chola to Indian soil. The Sri Lanka Army has an infantry regiment, Gajaba Regiment, named after the warrior king, and the Sri Lanka Navy had named a ship named after the king, the SLNS Gajabahu.To students of Indian history his reign is important as it provides the 'Gajabahu synchronism' which is used to date many rulers of the ancient Chola and Chera.