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005 | The Coming of Vijaya | Reading of Chapter VI of the Mahavamsa

005 | The Coming of Vijaya | Reading of Chapter VI of the Mahavamsa

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This episode is a reading of The Coming of Vijaya from Chapter VI of the Mahavamsa, the second-earliest chronicle of Sri Lanka. This is the second version of the story of Prince Vijaya—his banishment and journey from the Indian subcontinent and his arrival to the Island of Lanka.

The first version can be found in Myths & Samsara, Episode 2 | Vijaya's Story | Reading of Book IX of the Dipavamsa.

This version was translated into English by Wilhelm Geiger, PhD, with assistance from Mabel Haynes Bode. Comissioned by the Pali Text Society in 1912 and titled The Mahavamsa or The Great Chronicle of Ceylon. The digitized copy can be found online.

The Dipavamsa is the earliest attempt to write a Chronicle of the Sāsana and the Kings of Sri Lanka, from earliest times up to the 5th c. A.D (1000 years after the events). The Mahavamsa is believed to have been recorded between 1000 and 1250 A.D (1500 years after the events).

This is an English reading. The language is cumbersome. My bias is to suspect both the translator of Western bias and the priesthood authors of the Mahavamsa of bias towards the reigning monarchs of the time, who wished their rule to be mandated by the existing Buddhist chronicles and their 'long-standing' relationship with the Indian mainland.

To find out more about me and why this podcast, visit https://www.dmdealwis.com/.

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