Suranimala was a

Sinhalese Sinhala may refer to: * Something of or related to the Sinhalese people of Sri Lanka * Sinhalese people * Sinhala language, one of the three official languages used in Sri Lanka * Sinhala script, a writing system for the Sinhala language ** Sinha ...

soldier in the 2nd century BCE. He was the second in command of

King Dutugemunu Dutugamunu the Great (, , also spelled as ''Dutthagamani''), also known as Dutthagamani Abhaya ("fearless Gamini"), was the greatest king of the Anuradhapura Kingdom who reigned from 161 BC to 137 BC. He is renowned for reuniting the whole island ...

’s army, and among ten of his best warriors known as

ten giant warriors Much is written of the war of 205 BC to 161 BC between Sinhala King Dutugemunu and Ellalan for the city of Anuradhapura, and the central role played by Dutugemunu's Ten Giant Warriors or Ten Great Giants ( si, දසමහා යෝධයෝ, da� ...

. He made an immense contribution to King Dutugemunu's victory over

King Elara Ellalan ( ta, எல்லாளன், translit=Ellāḷaṉ; si, එළාර, translit=Eḷāra) was a member of the Tamil Chola dynasty, also known as "Manu Needhi Cholan", who upon capturing the throne became king of the Anuradhapura Kingd ...

. He is said to have been a highly skilled swordsman and his preferred weapon was a large sword.

Early life

Named by his parents as Nimala, he was the youngest of seven children. His father was known as Samgha, the village headman of Khandakavitthika in Kotthivala. Although said to have had the strength equal to that of ten elephants, in his younger days Nimala preferred to stay idle at home while his brothers worked in the family’s

paddy field A paddy field is a flooded field (agriculture), field of arable land used for growing Aquatic plant, semiaquatic crops, most notably rice and taro. It originates from the Neolithic rice-farming cultures of the Yangtze River basin in sout ...

s. When an order was issued by the King to send one male to serve in his army, Nimala’s brothers picked him to be sent, feeling that he was no use to the family. After joining a company south of the

Mahaweli River The Mahaweli River ( si, මහවැලි ගඟ, literally "Great Sandy River"; ta, மகாவலி ஆறு 'mahawali gangai'', is a long river, ranking as the longest river in Sri Lanka. It has a drainage basin of , the largest in the ...

under a prince named Digabhaya, Nimala was sent on an errand to deliver a message to a

Brahmin Brahmin (; sa, ब्राह्मण, brāhmaṇa) is a varna as well as a caste within Hindu society. The Brahmins are designated as the priestly class as they serve as priests (purohit, pandit, or pujari) and religious teachers (guru ...

. Having set off at dawn, Nimala is said to have finished the journey in a few hours, covering a distance of thirty four leagues. Astounded at this feat, the Brahmin had him sent to King

Kavantissa Kavan Tissa, also known as Kavantissa, Kaha Wan Thissa,(that means who has the color of golden body) or Kaka Wanna Tissa,( that means who has black skin tone like a crow). was the king of the Kingdom of Ruhuna in the southern part of Sri Lanka. He ...

to serve directly under him. After meeting the king, Nimala was ordered to sharpen some swords as a test, which he performed extremely well. The king was impressed by his skills, and Nimala was taken to serve under the king, and became one of the

who were the chief commanders and

champion A champion (from the late Latin ''campio'') is the victor in a challenge, contest or competition. There can be a territorial pyramid of championships, e.g. local, regional / provincial, state, national, continental and world championships, an ...

s of the king’s army.

Being named as Suranimala

After King Kavantissa’s death, his successor and son Dutugemunu began the war against the South Indian King Elara who was then in control of the Anuradhapura Kingdom. Elara’s forces were gradually defeated and Dutugemunu’s forces approached Anuradhapura, where the final battle would take place. As a test before the final battle, the king addressed his men and asked them men to drink from a large vessel of toddy. Seeing that none accepted this challenge, Nimala drank all the toddy emptied the vessel. After this incident he was known as ''Suranimala'', the word ''sura'' meaning liquor.

Battle of Vijithapura

Suranimala played a key role in the

decisive battle A decisive victory is a military victory in battle that definitively resolves the objective being fought over, ending one stage of the conflict and beginning another stage. Until a decisive victory is achieved, conflict over the competing objecti ...

for one of King Elara’s last strongholds, the fortress of

Vijithapura Vijithapura ( si, විජිතපුර, translit=Vijitapura; ta, விஜித நகரம், translit=Vijita Nakaram), also known as Vijitha Nagara or Vijithagama, was a fortress–city in ancient Sri Lanka. When Vijaya of Sri Lan ...

. Along with Nandimitra and the King’s elephant, he attacked the southern gate of the fortress. Not desiring to enter the fortress from the opening the Elephant had made, he leaped over the wall. Once inside, he is said to have fought the enemy using a large sword. He also defeated king Elara’s champion Dighajantu, thus saving Dutugemunu whom Dighajantu was seeking to kill. This event ultimately led to the retreat of king Elara’s forces and Elara’s death at the hands of Dutugemunu. At this final battle, Suranimala stood on king Dutugemunu's left, protecting him.http://www.lankalibrary.com/geo/kings/dutugemunu.htm King Dutugemunu Soon after the defeat of Elara, king Dutugemunu’s forces had to fight another battle against Bhalluka, a cousin of Elara. Suranimala along with the ten giants played a key part here as well.

References

{{Authority control People of the Kingdom of Anuradhapura Sinhalese courtiers