The Cambridge History of India, Vol. I: Ancient India v1.c32.44

v1.c32.44

When Kākavaṇṇa Tissa died at the age of 64 years, Duṭṭha-Gāmaṇī, who had previously quarrelled with him (whence his name, meaning 'Wicked Gāmaṇī') and taken refuge in the interior, set himself up as king in Mahāgāma and waged a successful war against Saddhā-Tissa (*Mhv.* XXII–XXIV). He then embarked upon a series of campaigns against the Tamils, which ended in the conquest of Eḷāra in Anurādhapura (*Mhv.* XXV). Duṭṭha-Gāmaṇī was now master of the island. To make amends for a somewhat questionable past, he proceeded to patronise the Church royally. He founded the Marichavaṭṭi Vihāra⁷, the Lohapāsāda⁸, and the Great Thūpa, in which he enshrined a casket full of relics said to have been brought from the land of the Nāgas by the Thera Soṇuttara, and performed many other pious works. His reign lasted for 24 years (c. 101–77 B.C.) (*Mhv.* XXVI–XXXII).