Gothabhaya, also known as Meghavannabhaya, Gothakabhaya and Goluaba, was a king of the
Anuradhapura Kingdom of
Sri Lanka whose reign lasted from 254 to 267. During his reign, Gothabhaya renovated several temples and monasteries and also built a new temple. He is the last of three princes who seized the throne from King
Vijaya Kumara and ruled the country. He is known for banishing 60 Buddhist monks who followed teaching contradictory to
Theravada
''Theravāda'' () ( si, ථේරවාදය, my, ထေရဝါဒ, th, เถรวาท, km, ថេរវាទ, lo, ເຖຣະວາດ, pi, , ) is the most commonly accepted name of Buddhism's oldest existing school. The school' ...
, and also for rebelling against his friend Samghabodhi to seize the throne himself.
Legacy
Gothabhaya had two sons named
Jetthatissa and
Mahasena. He entrusted the education of his sons to a South Indian monk named Sanghamitta who had befriended him. This turned out to be a key point in Sri Lankan history since Mahasena, who had embraced the Vaitulya doctrines taught by Sanghamitta, constructed the
Jetavana temple which became one of the country's three main schools of Buddhism during the
Anuradhapura period
The Anuradhapura period was a period in the history of Sri Lanka of the Anuradhapura Kingdom from 377 BCE to 1017 CE. The period begins when Pandukabhaya, King of Upatissa Nuwara moved the administration to Anuradhapura, becoming the kingdom's ...
despite Gothabhaya's efforts to arrest the spread of Vaitulyavada.
See also
*
List of Sri Lankan monarchs
The Sinhalese monarch -- anachronistically referred to as the Kings of Sri Lanka—featured the heads of state of the Sinhala Kingdoms, in what is today Sri Lanka.
The Sinhalese monarchy originates in the settlement of North Indian Indo ...
*
History of Sri Lanka
The history of Sri Lanka is intertwined with the history of the broader Indian subcontinent and the surrounding regions, comprising the areas of South Asia, Southeast Asia and Indian Ocean.
The early human remains found on the island of Sri ...
References
External links
Kings & Rulers of Sri LankaCodrington's Short History of Ceylon
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gothabhaya Of Sri Lanka
262 deaths
Monarchs of Anuradhapura
Year of birth unknown
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