Dictionary of Pali Proper Names v2.c36.3247

v2.c36.3247

Sīhabāhu.—Father of Vijaya. According to legend, his father was a lion and his mother a princess of Vaṅga (see Susīmā). His hands and feet were like a lion's paws. He had a sister, Sīhasīvalī. When he was sixteen he escaped with his mother and sister and arrived in the capital of Vaṅga. Later he killed his father for a reward and was offered the throne of Vaṅga. He refused this and founded a city, Sīhapura, in his native country of Lāḷa, and there lived with Sīhasīvalī, whom he made his consort. They had thirty-two children, of whom Vijaya was the eldest and Sumitta the second.¹