Page 43 - Peoples_Journal_Sri_Lanka

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

This inaccurate phrase regarding the authorship mentioned in the above
excerpts suggests that the manuscripts that were associated with producing
those editions might be reproductions of the original work.

As the authorship attribution to the Saṅgharāja is now concluded to be
incorrect based on literary evidence, the alternative attribution of this work
should be examined. This attribution is mentioned at the end of the
manuscript at Saṅgharājārāmaya, which involves Venerable Vælivita
Saranaṅkara II.

Venerable Vælivita Saranaṅkara II, also known as Venerable Vælivita
Saranaṅkara Kudā Unnānsē, was the grandson of the Saṅgharāja by birth and
the principal disciple in the pupillary succession related to his family. He was
the sixth chief prelate (mahānāyaka) of the Malvatta Chapter of the Siamese
Sect and the chief incumbent of Adam‘s Peak and several other Buddhist
temples associated with the Saṅgharāja. (Lawrie, 1896, 942) (Saranankara,
2024, 98-102)

The SSCV provides a brief introduction about him, stating that he came
under the Saṅgharāja‘s care in his early childhood and received monastic and
oriental education. He also participated in the daily rituals (tevāva)
conducted for the sacred Tooth Relic of the Buddha at the Temple of the
Tooth, Kandy. Later, he transferred to Gadalādeṇiya Rajamahā Vihāra, which
had been assigned to him by the Saṅgharāja, and brought with him all the
books and relic caskets given by the Saṅgharāja himself. He lived alongside
the other monks at Pōyamaḷu Vihāra peacefully. (Saranankara, 2024, 98-102)

In 1802 CE, during the reign of King Śrī Vikrama Rājasiṃha, Venerable
Vælivita Saranaṅkara II safeguarded the Tooth Relic of the Buddha during a
British invasion of Kandy. After safely removing the relic from the Temple
of the Tooth, it was later returned to the temple once the invasion had been
curtailed. In recognition of this service, the king granted a large portion of
land in the village of Vælivita to his family through a deed (sannas), which is
still preserved by his lay descendants. (Lawrie, 1896, 942)

A study of his biography, referencing both literary and archaeological
sources, reveals that he had a strong connection with King Śrī Vikrama