Dictionary of Pali Proper Names v2.c31.1578

v2.c31.1578

5. Mahānāma.—King of Ceylon. He was the younger brother of Upatissa II. and was for some time a monk, but he carried on an intrigue with Upatissa's wife, and she killed her husband. Then Mahānāma became a layman, assumed the sovereignty, and married Upatissa's queen. He built refuges for the sick, enlarged the Mahāpāli Hall, and erected the Lohadvāra-, Ralaggāma-, and Koṭipassāvana-vihāras, which he gave to the monks of Abhayagiri. A vihāra which he built on the Dhūmarakkha mountain, he gave, at the instigation of his queen, to the monks of Mahāvihāra. He ruled for twenty-two years (409-31 A.C.). It was during his reign that Buddhaghosa arrived in Ceylon and wrote his Commentaries, dwelling in a vihāra given by the king.¹