were some examples. The history provides
evidence to prove how even kings such as Elara
and Nisshankamalla, who had foreign origin,
acted in the above described way and won the
trust of the people.
Different concepts about kingship developed
according to the actions of the king and the
way that they attempted to appear. Accordingly,
concepts like Devathwa, Bodhisathwa,
Parvatharaja, Veerathwa, and Chakravarthi were
applied to the kings.
Most frequently the king appeared either as a
Bodhisathwa or as a god. The king Kutakanna
Abhaya, who made the inscription in a rock in
Dambulla temple, has introduced him by the
name of ‘Nareshvara’ (Naraisera). Its meaning is
god Eeshwara for humans.
King Mahasen was worshipped as God of
Minneri due to his service of developing the
economy by constructing irrigation works. Even
today there are Devalas in the dry zone dedicated
for God Mahasen.
King Kashayapa I appeared as Kuwera. The name
‘Alakapaya Maha Raja’ had been used to call
him. The meaning of it is ‘Alakamandadhipathi –
Maha Raja’. ‘Alakamanda’ is the living place of the
god ‘Kuwera’ who is in charge of wealth. Literary
sources say that ‘Alakamanda’ was a huge rock.
The rulers in ancient Asia followed the method
of appearing in the concept of ‘Parvatharaja’.
The king, appearing as a Bodhisathwa was
another instance. The king showed, on one hand,
that he was bound with responsibility to rule the
country in a just and fair manner for the benefit
of the people and, on the other hand, it reflected
that the people should trust and respect the king.
Another view that the kings of this country
held was the concept of ‘Chakrawarthi’.
Chakrawarthi is a concept which conveys the
meaning of ‘dominating the whole world’. That
word belongs to the Sanskrit language and in
Sinhala it is used as ‘Sakvithi’. Some rulers in
this country had used this word to show their
identity in the 8th and 9th centuries A.D. Specially,
king Nishshankamalla used the line “Kalinga
Chakrawarthi Swaminwahanse” to introduce
himself in his inscriptions.Though there were various terms about the
kingship, all of those concepts were used to show
the superiority of the king. When such type
of nobleness is applied to the ruler, the people
expected him to be exemplary. It is natural for
him to be persuaded to act as that. That is how
the conceptual background was created, which is
essential for a righteous ruling.Inheritance of KingshipWhen we study how the kingship was inherited
in ancient Sri Lanka, it seems it passed from
brother to brother or from father to son.After the demise of king Devanampiyatissa, his
brothers ascended to the kingship. After king
Dutugemunu, his brother Saddhatissa became
the king. When the kingship was given to a
brother, the eldest among the younger brothers
of the king was given power. When it was not so,
history provides evidence to the fact that there
were conflicts for the kingship.What was frequent was passing the kingship
from father to son. After king Kawantissa,
prince Dutugemunu became the king; after king
Vasabha, his son prince Vankanasikatissa became
the king. In this way passing kingship from father
to son can be seen throughout the history of Sri
Lanka. Either king’s elder son or the consort’s
elder son became the heir. There are evidences
that there were conflicts when it was not so. We
know that king Kashyapa usurped the kingship
from his father, king Dhathusena. The king had
to do so because prince Mugalan, who was the
son of then king’s consort, was the real heir to
the throne. The mother of prince Kashyapa was