Page 40 - Peoples_Journal_Sri_Lanka

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

Jayavardhana, who questioned the authorship but confirmed the composition
during King Śrī Vikrama Rājasiṃha's reign. Both acknowledged the text's
utility as a simplified genealogy of Sri Lankan monarchs and noted its
references to other works like the Nikāya Saṃgrahaya.

Scholar P. B. Sannasgala referred to SUV as unpublished and suggested that
while Vælivita Saranaṅkara II may have composed it in 1818, it might have
been written by another monk as per his directions. He emphasized the
historical value of the SUV, especially for its unique accounts of King Śrī
Vikrama Rājasiṃha‘s reign, positioning it as a key source for late-
monarchical Sri Lankan history.

4. Results

This study established that the titles Suḷu Vaṃsaya, Suḷu Rājavaṃsaya, and
Suḷu Rājavaliya refer to a single historical text containing the genealogy of
Sri Lankan monarchs from King Vijaya, the first recorded ruler, to Śrī
Vikrama Rājasiṃha, the last king of the country. It was concluded that this is
the only known Sinhalese chronicle authored by a single individual that
presents a complete and uninterrupted genealogy of Sri Lankan monarchs.

The authorship of this work has been a subject of scholarly debate. While
scholars such as P. B. Sannasgala (2013, p. 609) attributed the authorship to
Venerable Vælivita Saranaṅkara II, also known as Vælivita Saranaṅkara
Kudā Unnānse—a disciple and grandson of Venerable Vælivita Saranaṅkara
Saṅgharāja—others have held differing views. For instance, D. P. R.
Samaranāyaka suggested that the work was authored by Venerable Vælivita
Saranaṅkara Saṅgharāja himself or jointly with one of his disciples, while C.
D. S. K. Jayavardhana attributed it to an unnamed disciple of the Saṅgharāja.
Thus, the authorship had remained uncertain.

However, this study confirms the view of P. B. Sannasgala, establishing that
the true author of the SUV is indeed Venerable Vælivita Saranaṅkara II, alias
Vælivita Saranaṅkara Kudā Unnānse.

Additionally, the research identified that the author relied on earlier
chronicles, such as the MV and PV, during the composition of the text. It was
found that the names of many monarchs included in the SUV more closely