Lanja Tissa, also known as Lamani Tissa, was an early monarch of
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...
of the
Anuradhapura Kingdom
The Anuradhapura Kingdom (Sinhala language, Sinhala: , translit: Anurādhapura Rājadhāniya, Tamil language, Tamil: ), named for Anuradhapura, its capital city, was the first established monarchy, kingdom in ancient Sri Lanka related to the ...
from 119 BC to 109 BC.
Reign
Lanja Tissa was the eldest son of king
Saddha Tissa
Saddha Tissa was the king of Anuradhapura ( Sri Lanka) from 137 BC to 119 BC. Saddha Tissa was the son of Kavan Tissa of Ruhuna and the brother of Dutthagamani. He was the ruler of Digamadulla, the present day eastern province of Sri Lanka.
Si ...
who ruled in
Anuradhapura
Anuradhapura ( si, අනුරාධපුරය, translit=Anurādhapuraya; ta, அனுராதபுரம், translit=Aṉurātapuram) is a major city located in north central plain of Sri Lanka. It is the capital city of North Central ...
. According to the customs of the
Sinhalese King's at
Anuradhapura
Anuradhapura ( si, අනුරාධපුරය, translit=Anurādhapuraya; ta, அனுராதபுரம், translit=Aṉurātapuram) is a major city located in north central plain of Sri Lanka. It is the capital city of North Central ...
, Lanja Tissa was the King of the
kingdom of Ruhuna
The Principality of Ruhuna, also referred to as the Kingdom of Ruhuna, is a region of present-day Southern and Eastern Sri Lanka. It was the center of a flourishing civilisation and the cultural and economic centres of ancient Sri Lanka. Magama, Ti ...
, while his father was ruling the
Anuradhapura
Anuradhapura ( si, අනුරාධපුරය, translit=Anurādhapuraya; ta, அனுராதபுரம், translit=Aṉurātapuram) is a major city located in north central plain of Sri Lanka. It is the capital city of North Central ...
.
When Saddha Tissa died, his younger son
Thulatthana
Thulatthana was an early monarch of the Kingdom of Anuradhapura, based at the ancient capital of Anuradhapura that ruled in the year 119 BC. Thulatthana was the son of Saddha Tissa and the brother of Lanja Tissa, Khallata Naga and Valagamba ...
became the
king of Anuradhapura
The Anuradhapura Kingdom ( Sinhala: , translit: Anurādhapura Rājadhāniya, Tamil: ), named for its capital city, was the first established kingdom in ancient Sri Lanka related to the Sinhalese people. Founded by King Pandukabhaya in 437 B ...
, with the support of the
Bhikku
A ''bhikkhu'' (Pali: भिक्खु, Sanskrit: भिक्षु, ''bhikṣu'') is an ordained male in Buddhist monasticism. Male and female monastics ("nun", ''bhikkhunī'', Sanskrit ''bhikṣuṇī'') are members of the Sangha (Buddhist c ...
s of
Maha Vihara
Mahavihara () is the Sanskrit and Pali term for a great vihara (centre of learning or Buddhist monastery) and is used to describe a monastic complex of viharas.
Mahaviharas of India
A range of monasteries grew up in ancient Magadha (modern Bihar ...
, When Lanja Tissa heard this news, he marched from
Ruhuna
The Principality of Ruhuna, also referred to as the Kingdom of Ruhuna, is a region of present-day Southern and Eastern Sri Lanka. It was the center of a flourishing civilisation and the cultural and economic centres of ancient Sri Lanka. Magama, Ti ...
, with his men to Anuradhapura and removed Thulatthana from the throne, and became the king.
This incident initially upset Lanja Tissa with the
Bhikku
A ''bhikkhu'' (Pali: भिक्खु, Sanskrit: भिक्षु, ''bhikṣu'') is an ordained male in Buddhist monasticism. Male and female monastics ("nun", ''bhikkhunī'', Sanskrit ''bhikṣuṇī'') are members of the Sangha (Buddhist c ...
s in his early period of rule, But later on he started to work for the betterment of
Buddhism
Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and gra ...
in the country.
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-Ary ...
External links
Kings & Rulers of Sri LankaCodrington's Short History of Ceylon
Monarchs of Anuradhapura
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