Page 38 - Peoples_Journal_Sri_Lanka

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ISSN 3121-3049
People's Journal Sri Lanka Volume 01, Issue 01

1. Introduction

Suḷu Vaṃsaya, alias Suḷu Rājavaṃsaya, alias Suḷu Rājavaliya, is a Sinhalese
treatise which contains the genealogy of Sri Lankan monarchs, from Vijaya
to Śrī Vikrama Rājasiṃha, the first to the last. There are several debates on
the authorship attribution of this work. Some scholars like P. B. Sannasagala
(2013, p. 609) attributed the authorship of this work to Venerable Vælivita
Saranaṅkara II, alias Vælivita Saranaṅkara Kudā Unnānse, a pupil of
Venerable Vælivita Saranaṅkara Saṅgharāja, as well as the grandson of him.
However, scholars such as D. P. R. Samaranāyaka attributed the authorship
of this work to Venerable Vælivita Saranaṅkara Saṅgharāja and one of his
pupils, while C. D. S. K. Jayavardhana attributed the authorship to a certain
pupil of Venerable Vælivita Saranaṅkara Saṅgharāja. As such, the
authorship of this work still remains doubtful.

Moreover, the name of this work also differs and has various names.
Samaranāyaka and Jayavardhana used the term Suḷu Rājavaliya to introduce
this work, while Sannasagala used the term Suḷu Rājavaṃsaya. As such,
there are still debates among the authorship attribution and the title of this
work among scholars. These issues have still not been solved. The primary
purpose of this research to determine the exact author of this work and
conclude the exact title of this work while study the content of this work with
similar sources.

The Mahāvaṃsa and Dīpavaṃsa are the renowned ancient chronicles
narrates the genealogy of Sri Lankan monarchs. However, the Mahāvaṃsa
has many parts, as Khāndas composed by different authors in different
periods. The first part of the Mahāvaṃsa narrates the genealogy of the Sri
Lankan monarchy from Vijaya to Mahāsena, alias Mahasen. The rest parts,
known as Cūlavaṃsa, continue the narration to Śrī Vikrama Rājasiṃha. The
Dīpavaṃsa, the oldest chronicle of Sri Lanka, also narrates from Vijaya to
Mahāsena. Rājāvaliya, another Sinhalese treatise on the same context,
narrates the genealogy of Sri Lankan monarchs from Vijaya to
Vimaladharmasuriya II. However, some versions of Rājāvaliya continue the
narration to king Kīrti Śrī Rājasiṃha. Therefore, all of these works do not
completely narrate the genealogy of the Sri Lankan monarchs. Therefore, as