Book Review:

Musings of a monarch

Title: ‘King Dutugamunu - The Commander-in-Chief’

Author: Dr P G Punchihewa (A Review)

Dr P G Punchihewa, is an administrator-scholar, known among all strata of Sri Lankan society, starting from the humble farmer community of Moneragala, Puttalam and Kalutara for whom he served as the Government Agent, being a member of the Ceylon Civil Service, to the high echelons of administration and the highest in the land, when he administered several Ministries as Secretary. He is also a known figure in the International Civil Service, being the Executive Director of the Asian Pacific Coconut Community, in Djakarta where he served for fifteen years.

He is a well-known author of around twenty- five books both in Sinhala and English, for children, academics, and intellectuals, on a wide variety of subjects. The most recent addition is the work on the greatest King of Sri Lanka Dutugemunu, which was received, by erudite scholars at the Public Library on August 14th. He has titled the book as ‘King Dutugemunu – The Commander-in-Chief’. The spelling of the name of king too is written to perfection with an ‘Umlaut’. The term ‘Commander-in-Chief, is used to denote the Royal-Title bestowed on him by King Kavantissa, a translation of the Sinhala Title Maha Senapathi.

There were other Commanders under him named ‘Senapathis’, which in sum-total encapsulates, the hierarchy of the forces who served under Dutugemunu. The use of this nomenclature is significant for a variety of reasons; it is recorded in our Chronicles, including Mahawamsa, that it was the first organized armed forces, established in ancient Sri Lanka, by King Kavantissa, where the Maha-Senapathi was Dutugemunu; (it was ‘Gemunu’ to whose name was later added the prefix Dutu, for harbouring differing views, with the father on matters of Governance, and the unifying of the Land.

This is relatively similar to King Ashoka, becoming Chandashoka later becoming Dharmashoka). Punchihewa refers to the name as used in the book; he too refers to the fact that the Bhikkus who had, perhaps, attained the stage of Arahant have confirmed that Dutugamunu, would be the first disciple of the next Buddha the Maithri Buddha, on the merits accrued by Dutugamunu during this life.

To digress from the main theme, one is perplexed as to why the prefix ‘Dutu’ was not removed, from his name and called Maha Gamunu, Gamunu – the Great, like in the case of Maha Parakramabahu – Parakramabahu the Great by the chroniclers. It may have been because, Gamini being ‘dis-obedient’ to the father for the greater good of the nation, for unification, it had no semblance of Digvijaya, as in the example of Asoka, where he gave up these offensives later in life. The prefix ‘Dutu’, therefore, gave a wider significance to his later achievements. In any case, this is an area for more erudite historians, including Punchihewa.

On page 107, Punchihewa too quotes Paranavithana, who says that ‘Dutu’ is not Dushta’ but the Sanskrit, equivalent of ‘dhrsta’ meaning daring or brave, which is quite appropriate to the character of King Gamani Abhaya. The term Maha-Senapathi was the next in line to the throne in Rohana, but, the other Senapathis ruled the neighbouring sub-kingdoms, and King Kavantissa annexed them gradually, by extending his suzerainty, and gave in charge to Gamunu, and Tissa and half brother of Kavantissa, but Gamunu was the chief among them, signifying that he would be the overall ‘Emperor’ of the land. There were also the chiefs that King Kavantissa selected from among the people of the country from Rohana, Rajarata, Malaya Rata and Maya Rata.

They were ten in number, proficient in varied relevant skills in warfare. Maha Senapathi had his command and control of these Senapathis. They had to strengthen the forces by recruiting ten soldiers and they in turn had to recruit ten each.

This process had to be monitored by Maha Senapathi. It was similar to the recruitment done by the Persian Monarch Cyrus (580 BC-529 BC), whose domain extended to the Indo-Gangetic Plains, thus a scientific and a professional way of building an armed force was done King Kavantissa, under the constant supervision and vigilance of Gamini, the Commander-in-Chief.

- Satharathilaka Banda Atugoda

(To be continued)