Women have a very special place in society. With the character of a mother, a woman is highly respected. Although we live in a patriarchal social system, women are the ones who pave the way for a successful life by doing management work.
Women have a special place and role in society from the past. She is very difficult to define. She is suitable not only for household chores but also for official duties. She can be described as a talented person. The woman is a delicate woman as well as a woman full of energy. Could there be something she could not do?
When we study the history of the Sri Lanka’s battles, we can see strong foreign invasions as well as power struggles nearly fifty times. Literary sources, as well as archaeological sources, state that the ancient Sri Lankans had a successful defence organisation to secure the independence of the country by resolving political motives. It is said that women also played a major role in this process, especially in relation to the male party. This article shows the contribution of women in the defence of ancient and medieval Ceylon.
In the study of Ceylon’s history dating back to about 1900, women have sometimes served as war advisors to kings and revolutionaries during foreign invasions, internal crises, and the process of securing power. There are many examples of this in the chronicles. Folklore mentions information about a strong female army of King Ravana. The Vijaya-Kuveni legend is a good example of this.
Kuveni’s instructions
Kuveni, a woman of the Yaksha tribe who sheltered Aryan migrants, instructed Prince Vijaya to conquer the crown kingdom of her tribe. Acting on Kuveni’s instructions, Prince Vijaya launched a guerrilla attack on the Yaksha tribe and seized the Yaksha kingdom. Later, along with his ministers, he established the kingdom of Thambapanni.
Although there is a close resemblance between the above chronicle and Greek Indian mythology, there is a historical legend that an indigenous woman gave important military advice to the Aryan emigrant ruler who came to the ancient island in his warfare.
Although the father is the head of the Sri Lankan family today, in ancient times, the mother was considered the real custodian of the child. King Sumali of Kataragama sent his daughter Kaikasi to Sage Vishwarus in search of a strong child. The child born was named Rawana. King Naga who lived in Kelaniya sent his daughter Malani to Sage Vishwarus with the same expectation.
That child was named Vibhishana. Although born to the same father, according to his mother’s tribe, Ravana belonged to the Rakus tribe. Vibhishana belonged to the Naga tribe. Accordingly, the mother’s tribe seems to have been very important to the child. Goddess Pattini, Mother Kali, Mother Mary, the mother goddess of the Indus Valley Civilization highlights the power of the woman.
Thus, the unique role of a Sri Lankan woman as a war advisor is next highlighted inthe second century BC. Through the character of Viharamahadevi, who belongs to the 2nd century BC, she belonged to the famous Kalyani dynasty and was not only the queen consort of King Kavantissa but also the mother of the Sinhalese hero, King Dutugemunu.
She was instructed in uniting Ceylon by becoming the King’s Chief War Adviser in the Liberation War launched by King Dutugemunu against the Tamil King Elara, who nearly ruled half a century in the Rajarata area.
During the liberation movement, she instructed Prince Dutugemunu on vital military tasks such as capturing enemy strongholds, strategically deceiving enemy forces, and capturing enemy commanders alive.
Viharamahadevi’s advice
Viharamahadevi’s advice was important in capturing Ambatiththa’s Ambatota fort, one of Elara’s generals, and defeating the enemy in the final battle against Elara. In particular, Dutugemunu, who acted on his mother’s instructions to divert and defeat the enemy in the final battle against Elara, built 32 forged fortifications with forms similar to the human figure. The Mahavamsa testifies to that.
Through this tactic of Viharamahadevi, Elara’s army was misled and defeated, and their general, Dighajanthu, died on the battlefield. After losing the battle, Elara fled to Anuradhapura, but was later killed by Prince Dutugemunu. In this way, the island was united for the first time due to the guidance of Viharamahadevi and the warlike nature of Prince Dutugemunu.
It should be noted, in particular, that the assistance of his mother was essential in the success of the war plans of Prince Gemunu, who likened her father to a woman by sending Feminine jewellery to his father Kavantissa.
Some say that, based on the above historical event, the author of the Mahavamsa is trying to convince the woman that she is a weak member of the war organisation. But the argument is without any hesitation as the chronicler has recorded the heroism of Viharamahadevi and the advisory contribution she made to the anti-liberation movement.
The mother and the Queen consort also played an important role in King Ilanaga’s campaign against Lambakarana to defend his sovereignty. (38-44 BC) The two great women not only helped to succeed in his war operations, but they were once brave enough to save the king when he was imprisoned by the rebels.
With the help of a South Indian mercenary force, King Ilanaga defeated the Lambakarnas and seized control of Anuradhapura, preparing to behead the remaining enemy prisoners. But at the request of his mother, Ilanaga was kind enough to commute the sentence.
In addition, in the 11th century, Sugala, the mother of Manabharana, acted as a divine war advisor in the guerrilla warfare campaign waged by the noble Rohana people against the aggressive policy of King Mahaparakramabahu. After the death of her son, she seems to have spearheaded the war campaign against Parakramabahu.
The Rohana people, especially those who were in a defeated mood due to the attacks of King Parakramabahu, were revived after the arrival of Queen Sugala and reorganised their armies by building strong forts. It seems that the people of Rohana, under the leadership of Queen Sugala, fought bravely and put up a strong resistance to Parakramabahu’s army. But they were decisively defeated by Parakramabahu. Thus, it appears that at crucial junctures in the history of Ceylon, women have served as war advisors.
Chronicles and inscriptions show that women served as trainers in the Elephant and Horse Divisions, the most important of the Chaturangani armies in ancient Ceylon. The earliest examples of this are found in the Mahavamsa and the Vansatthappakasini.
It is said that Prince Pandukabhaya captured a demon in the guise of a mare called Chethiya in the area of Dumarakgala (in present-day Dimbulagala). It is said that she later helped Prince Pandukabhaya reorganise the Army. Although there is a mythical form of Hindu mythology in the Pandukabhaya story, there seems to be some truth in it.
This shows that not only did an Aryan ruler who sought to unify a significant area of Ceylon in prehistoric times receive the support of an aboriginal woman ruler living in the Dimbulagala area not only to teach horse riding but also to seize power.
Also, the character of Chethiya, the indigenous female character, can be compared to the character of the female commander, Aswasena, mentioned in the Rigveda. The inscription found at Tantirimale also details a cave offering made to the monks by a mother and a son who worked as elephant trainers.
Nurses in Armies
The Chronicles provide evidence that women served as nurses in the Armies of ancient and medieval Ceylon. In particular, it is reported that King Parakramabahu the Great sent not only doctors but also nurses to heal the wounds that were inflicted during the war on the commanders and soldiers of the army who were sent to invade the land of Ramanna.
The names of many female aristocrats, such as Parumakalu Sumana and Parumakalu Yadada, bearing the title Parumakalu and found in various parts of the island are found in the inscriptions. Women possessing the feminine form of the masculine name Parumaka may have had some leadership locally. Prof Senarath Paranavithana has identified nine inscriptions which describe the women who carried the title ‘Parumakalu’.
From literature and archaeological sources it appears that women played a significant role in some of the crucial moments in the ancient and middle ages of Sri Lanka. Though it was male-centric, the women did a great job in security matters. Women have played a vital role, especially as war instructors, war trainers, nurses, and regional bodyguards.