Ehelepola Maha Adikaram of the Kandyan Kingdom
by Rohan L. Jayetilleke
The life and times of Ehelepola Maha Adikaram (1773 - 1829 A.D.) who
passed away in exile in the Mauritius on April 5, 1829, have not been
analytically assessed by historians, scholars and writers. Hence this
attempt to place his life and times in their correct perspective, as he
was never a traitor, though some uncritically assess it to be so.
Ehelepola, a village in Udugoda Udasiyapattu of Matale West about
nine miles from Matale town, is the ancestral home of the Ehelepola
dynasty. The Wasamas included Kinigama, Urelemulla, Kohana, Kohotanwela,
Dalupota, Walmoruwa, Demadaoya, Hompola, Ehelepolas of the Ehelepola
Walawwa of the Wasama were the greatest of the Kandyan, purely Sinhala
Buddhist aristocracy.
The family name was Wijayasundera. In the Matale Maha Kadaimpotha,
the dynasty of the Ehelepolas is clearly recorded that in the reign of
King Rajasingha and King Wijayapala of Godapola, Ehelepola Basnayaka
Nilame was Ratemahatmaya and Muhandiram. Ehelepola Ralahami Maha
Adikaram Nilame was witness to an era of 1706, written at the palace of
Hanguranketha. The family had a Sannas (1722 A.D.). The ancestry of the
Ehelepolas and their land entitlements as per the Sannas of 1745 A.D.
are as follows in summary form -
"His Most Gracious Majesty our Supreme Lord and God, king of the
illustrious Lanka by the light of his incomparable and most profound
divine wisdom made the following edict. "Waradamune Mudiyannaehe, served
and continued to serve the Great Gate with affection and then obtained
great many favours, among such a Sannas to Asweddumize any land he might
wish in any place below Narangashinna and above the ferry Timbillatota.
Medabedde Ekanayake Mudiyannaehe also having served the Great Gate with
true loyalty obtained office of Dissava of Seven Korales and in
recognition of his military exploits received the present of an elephant
and a chain of four strands from His Majesty.
The grandson of Siriniwasa Maha Terunwahanse, who is a descendant of
Bhuvanekabahu Terunnanse accompanied King Rajasingha to Madakalapuwa (Batticaloa)
and performed loyal military service and was appointed as Lekam of the
Halu Mandapa and Radabedda, Gabada Nilame of the Palle Maha Wasala."
Ehelepoal Disava of Uva married a daughter of Rate Korale and sister
of Kosinne Korale, who was executed in 1815. Ehelepola Maha Nilame by
his marriage to a Pilimatalawwe Lady had two sons and two daughters. 1.
Ehelepola Adigar, 2. Ehelepola Disava of Matale, 3. Ehelepola Menike,
who was married to Meegastenne Adigar, 4. Ehelepola Tikiri Menike who
married Haluwadana Nilame.
The elder brother of Maha Nilame married a niece of Niramulle
Muhandirama, a sister of the wife of Kobbekaduwe Disava. Ehelepola
Disava of Uva died in 1807. His children were Maha Nilame and Second
Disava of Matale.
In a document (Sittu) he is described as Ehelepola Wijayasundera
Wickramasinghe Chandrasekera Seneviratne Senanayake Jayatilleke
Amarakoon Wahala Panditha Mudiyanse Ralahami, who held the offices of
Gantuna Disava, Gangala, Laggala, Kirioruwa, Bogambara Kuruwa, Nalanda,
Kallawa, Kotalbadde, Kumbalbadde, Tamarankada Disava and Maha Disava of
Matale. He incurred the King's displeasure and was sent out of Kandy and
his properties were given to the Maha Nilame, his brother.
He had two sons and a daughter. 1. Ehelepola Disawa of Seven Korales,
who was put to death with Maha Adikaram Ehelepola's children. 2.
Ehelepola of Nuwarakalaviya (Anuradhapura, too was put to death after
Ehelepola Maha Adikaram's flight to Colombo for refuge under British
Governor Brownrigg. 3. Ehelepola Kumarihamy married Dodanwela, then
divorced and married Unambuwa Godahela Wedikkara Lekam.
The chief character of this story, the eldest son Ehelepola
Wijayasundera Wickramasinghe Chandrasekera Seneviratne was born about
1773 A.D. Appointed the Disava of Seven Korales and succeeded Migastenne
as Second Adigar in 1806 at the age of 33 years, comparatively a very
young age to hold this high office, comparable to a present day Deputy
Prime Minister.
However, the King, knowing the talents and the Second Adigar's
popularity among the people, in order to keep him in check the office of
Seven Korales was divided between Ehelepola and Molligoda, which greatly
dissatisfied the people, as they to perform double services and duties
to two officials.
People rose in rebellion and Pilimatalawwe suppressed it ruthlessly.
Ehelepola was then shifted as Disava of Uva. Pilimatalawwe himself, not
gaining his wish of becoming the King of the Kandyan Kingdom, and to be
treated as heir-apparent by the King, rebelled against the King and he
was put to death by the King in 1812.
Ehelepola then succeeded as the First Disava. But the King suspected
that he would have been hand and glove in the rebellion with
Pilimatalawwe. This displeasure was directly shown to Ehelepola when he
made some rich presents to the King Sri Wickrama Rajasinghe, on his
marriage with the King stating that these presents were unworthy of
acceptance.
Ehelepola discerned that this King's remarks were the outburst of the
King due to the Kandyan officials with no connection to the Sinhala
Buddhist aristocracy were trying to gain important officialdom under the
king and ultimately to succeed to the throne, even assassinating him and
the best stratagem was to feign total allegiance to the king by
fabricating stories against Ehelepola and make the King a total
adversary of Ehelepola. Ehelepola, was thus circumstanced to proceed to
his Disavoni, as the atmosphere at the Kandyan court was totally
detrimental to his life.
Furthermore king was a confirmed alcoholic and well provided by the
plotters with liquor smuggled from the British liquor shops at Colombo,
through the itinerant Muslim traders who took arecanuts and spices to
the Colombo markets. The King summoned Ehelepola in March 1814 and
Ehelepola refused to call over at Kandy.
The King deprived Ehelepola of offices of Disava and Adigar and
conferred these offices on Molligoda. A rebellion broke out at Wellessa
and in the wake of the supresional activities Ehelepola fled to Kalutara
in May or June 1814 and thence repaid to Colombo and sought refuge under
British Governor Brownrigg, as the Kandyan King and his acolytes were
planning and plotting to kill him.
True to expectations Molligoda had the followers of Ehelepola both in
Sabragamuwa and Kandy killed. It could be presumed that it was Molligoda
who was the force behind to encourage King Sri Wickrema Rajasinghe to
pursue the most bestial genocide, ever happened in any civilised
country. Ehelepola's brother and nephew were put to death and eventually
to destroy all traces of Ehelepola family his wife and children and
relations were put to death.
Thus came the end of the Ehelepola dynasty who had every right,
through their ancestry and Buddhist monks descending from King
Bhuvanekabahu's dynasty, popular leaders of the Sinhala Buddhist of the
country and fearless military strategists and logisticians, came to a
forced ending by the conspiratorial officials of the Kandyan court who
never had any such credentials to be the heirs to the throne of high
offices in the administration of the country.
"Palipane Disawa witnessing the drowning of Ehelepola Kumarihamy and
her female relative in the Bogambara Tank was so affected that he
fainted and was deprived of his office for showing such tender
sensibility, says Charles Pridham in his work, 'A historical, political
and statistical account of Ceylon and its dependencies (Volumes London
1849, pp. 185 - 186).
He further records, during the two days, the whole of Kandy, with the
exception of the court (Palace) was one of mourning and lamentation, and
so deep was his grief (that it was said) not a fire was kindled, nor
food dressed and a general fast was held. "This is clear manifestation
to the popularity of Ehelepola Maha Adikaram and his family and Kandyans
never reckoned Ehelepola as a traitor.
In a foregoing paragraph, the correct place where Ehelepola children
were beheaded and where Ehelepola Kumarihamy was ordered the severed
heads of her children were to be pounded, namely in the centre of the
area between the Vahalkada of Natha Devale (opposite old Dharmaraja
College building) and the flight of steps leading to Maha Devala (Vishnu
Devale) within sight from the window of the Queen's apartment (extreme
Western end of the Sri Dalada Maligawa building).
This Great lady has to be immortalized and I would also appeal to the
Central Province Governor, Mr. Monty Gopallawa to initiate action with
the Ministry of National Heritage to raise a statue of Ehelepola
Kumarihamy and her children, so that thousands of schoolchildren
visiting the Sri Dalada Maligawa and the precincts would be aware of the
great contribution this lady had made for the country. The statement
quoted by me made by her could be carried in the epitaph of the
memorial.
(The writer is a member of the Bharatiya Kala Kendra, India and ISP
(Switzerland) 1978 International Awardee (first Asian) in
anthropological and investigative journalism). |