Page 39 - Peoples_Journal_Sri_Lanka

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

a complete version of the same context, Suḷu Vaṃsaya alias Suḷu
Rājavaṃsaya, is very important.

Instead of clarifying the authorship and the title of this work, this study also
focuses on evaluating how this work narrates the genealogy of Sri Lankan
monarchs as a complete version.

2. Objectives

The main objectives of this study are to establish the authorship of the Suḷu
V a ṃsaya (SUV) and to compare its genealogical accounts of Sri Lankan
monarchs with those found in other historical sources, such as the
Mahāvaṃsa (MV), Dīpavaṃsa (PV), and Rājāvaliya (RV). This research
aims to identify the true author of the SUV and present biographical details
about him. Furthermore, it seeks to analyze the similarities and differences
between the genealogies recorded in the SUV and those in the
aforementioned traditional chronicles.

3. Methodology

This study is qualitative in nature rather than quantitative. It was conducted
primarily through the examination of a palm-leaf manuscript of the SUV
alongside two printed editions of the same text. In addition, the research
incorporated printed editions of the MV, PV, and RV, as well as several other
historical sources. Through a comparative analysis, the study identifies the
similarities, differences, and unique features of the SUV with these
traditional historical chronicles.

This research confirms the existence of only one palm leaf manuscript of the
SUV, which is preserved at Sangharājārāmaya, Malvatu Mahā Vihāraya,
Kandy. This manuscript is considered the original due to its direct
association with Venerable Vælivita Saranaṅkara II, who resided at the
temple and preserved many valuable texts. It is also the only known copy
listed in the Bibliography of Palm Leaf Manuscripts of Sri Lanka (2007).

Two printed editions of SUV exist: one by D. P. R. Samaranāyaka (1959),
who believed the text was composed by a pupil of Vælivita Saranaṅkara
Saṅgharāja and later expanded by another monk, and another by C. D. S. K.