Dictionary of Pali Proper Names v2.c27.505

v2.c27.505

Paṇḍukābhaya.—King of Ceylon (377-307 B.C.). He was the son of Dīghagāmaṇi and Ummāda-Cittā and was protected from death in infancy by Citta and Kāḷavela, who afterwards became yakkhas. He was brought up by a man in Dvāramaṇḍalaka, but several times his uncles, discovering his whereabouts, tried to kill him, for it had been foretold that he would slay his uncles in order to obtain possession of the kingdom. At the age of sixteen he was apprenticed to the brahmin Paṇḍula, who taught him various arts and provided him later with the necessary money for an army. Paṇḍula’s son, Canda, was given as friend and counsellor to Paṇḍukābhaya. Paṇḍukābhaya married, by force, a maiden named Suvaṇṇapāli, and declared war upon his uncles, all of whom, except the eldest, Abhaya, had determined to slay him. With the help of the yakkhinī Cetiyā, who dwelt in Dhūmarakkhapabbata, Paṇḍukābhaya made all preparations for a final campaign against his uncles. For four years he lived in Dhūmarakkha, and then for seven in Ariṭṭhapabbata. Following the counsel of Cetiyā, he enticed his uncles into a trap, and slew them and their followers at Lābugāmaka. He then proceeded to Anurādhagāma, where he set up his capital, which, thenceforward, came to be called Anurādhapura. His uncle, Abhaya, was made Nagaraguttika, and to him was given over the government of the city by night.