Valagamba
Valagamba, also known as Wattagamani Abhaya, was a significant king of Sri Lanka who played a crucial role in the preservation and propagation of Theravāda Buddhism during the 1st century BCE. He ruled Sri Lanka twice, first from 103 to 102 BCE and then from 89 to 77 BCE, facing challenges including invasions by Hindu Tamils that led to widespread famine and threatened the Buddhist monastic community. During his initial reign, Valagamba went into hiding, but upon returning, he aided the Buddhist monks in organizing a council to commit the teachings of the Buddha to writing, culminating in the creation of the Pāli Tipiṭaka. This effort was vital in ensuring the survival of Theravāda Buddhism, as it preserved the core doctrines and practices of the faith.
Valagamba's support of the monastic community also led to the establishment of the Abhayagiri monastery, which fostered a schism in Theravāda Buddhism between the more conservative Mahāvihāra school and the progressive Abhayagiri school. His military successes against the Tamil invaders not only restored Buddhist authority in Sri Lanka but also solidified the king's legacy as a protector of the faith. Valagamba's reign thus marked a pivotal moment in the history of Buddhism on the island, influencing the development of the religion and its community for centuries to come.
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Subject Terms
Valagamba
Sri Lankan religious leader and king (r. 103–2 and 89–77 BCE)
- Born: Second century BCE
- Birthplace: Unknown
- Died: 77 BCE
- Place of death: Unknown
Valagamba was instrumental in supporting and defending the Buddhist religion that had been introduced to Sri Lanka in the third century BCE Valagamba called together the Fourth Buddhist Council, in which he ordered Buddhist writers and scribes to write down the Pāli Tipiṭaka, or Pāli Canon, for the first time.
Early Life
Valagamba, also known as Wattagamani Abhaya, was the king of Sri Lanka and a major figure in the history of Theravāda Buddhism. He was the son of King Saddhatissa and Queen Somadevi of Sri Lanka, a pearl-shaped island off the coast of southeastern India, formerly called Ceylon. Although little is known of his early life, he is inextricably linked with the history of Buddhism. Buddhism was founded by Siddhārtha Gautama, later known as Buddha, (c. 566–c. 486 BCE), a prince of the Śākya clan. After an early life of great luxury, at the age of twenty-nine, Siddhārtha renounced his life of ease and wealth and traveled in search of the answers to his questions about the causes of death and suffering. After several years of wandering, he achieved enlightenment while meditating under a tree (later known as the Bodhi tree) at Uruvelā, near Benares (modern-day Varanasi). Buddha spent the rest of his life teaching what he had learned. He also founded a group of monks to carry on his teachings.
The core of Buddha’s teachings center on the Four Noble Truths that emerged from his meditation. One becomes awakened when focusing on these truths: (1) suffering exists; (2) desire or craving is the cause of suffering; (3) the end of suffering is brought about by cessation of desire; and (4) the path that leads to the end of suffering is the noble Eightfold Path. By learning to cease desire and thus end suffering, an individual creates a way to achieve nirvana, a state of freedom that is the ultimate goal of Buddha’s teachings.
In the third century BCE, the emperor of India, King Aśoka (c. 302–c. 238 BCE), adopted Buddhism and supported its spread throughout India and beyond. Around 251 BCE Aśoka sent his son, Mahinda Thera (c. 279–c. 204 BCE), to the island of Sri Lanka to introduce the religion there. During his nearly fifty years of missionary work, Mahinda translated the teachings of Buddhism into Sinhala, the language of the Sinhalese, the earliest colonizers of Sri Lanka, and established the monastery of Mahāvihāra (meaning “Great Monastery”), a center of Buddhist learning and culture where the doctrines of the Buddha were upheld. The monks living at Mahāvihāra became known as Theravādins. Major Buddhist shrines were established at Anuradhapura (founded in the fifth century BCE), Kandy, and Dalada Maligawa.
The teachings of Buddha were transmitted orally by monks living within communities. By 250 BCE, the teachings had been arranged and organized into three basic divisions: one containing the rules and customs of the community of monks, another the sermon and words of the Buddha and his closest followers, and a third, an analysis of the doctrine and discipline or dharma of Buddhism. After Buddha’s death, as his doctrines spread across India, several different approaches to Buddha’s teachings arose. One of the sects was called Mahāyāna Buddhism (Mahāyāna meaning “great vehicle”); another was called Hīnayāna Buddhism (Hīnayāna meaning “lesser vehicle”). In time, they became the two main branches of Buddhism. Theravāda Buddhism is the surviving branch of the Hīnayāna school of Buddhism. It is inspired by the scriptures found in the Tipiṭaka (compiled c. 250 BCE; English translation in Buddhist Scriptures, 1913). Today, it is the form of Buddhism found in southeast Asia and Sri Lanka.
Life’s Work
This history formed the backdrop for the rise of Valagamba, who ruled the island nation of Sri Lanka twice, from 103 to 102 BCE and again from 89 to 77 BCE The monks who followed Theravāda Buddhism suffered when Sri Lanka was invaded during Valagamba’s first reign by Hindu Tamils from southern India. He went into hiding during this Tamil period. During the fourteen-year rule by the Tamils, Sri Lankans experienced widespread famine. Buddhist monks could not get enough food to sustain themselves in order to carry on the arduous practice of handing down Buddhist teachings from memory. In 80 BCE, they sought out the help of Valagamba, who had sheltered them during his wanderings, in calling forth a council for the purpose of committing the teachings of Buddha to writing. A group of five hundred monks assembled to recite and copy the entire body of Buddhist teachings on ola (palm leaves). The name of the completed body of work is the Pāli Tipiṭaka. Thus, Theravāda Buddhism was rescued from extinction.
Valagamba eventually defeated the Tamil invaders and restored Theravāda Buddhist monks to their former place of authority. The king also built a monastery, the Abhayagiri, which he gave as a gift to a monk, Mahatissa, who had helped him during his times of difficulty. Mahatissa was expelled from the Mahāvihāra and went to live at the Abhayagiri, where he was joined by five hundred monks. As a result of Valagamba’s support of the Abhayagiri monks, there arose a schism in Theravāda Buddhism. The Mahāvihāra group represented a more conservative approach to the interpretation of the teachings of the Buddha, while the Abhayagiri represented a liberal, progressive outlook.
Significance
The protection that Valagamba gave to the monks and scribes who wrote down the Pāli Tipiṭaka enabled them to preserve a record of the teachings of Buddha. His defeat of the Tamil invaders of Sri Lanka reestablished Sri Lankan Buddhism, creating both the circumstances that maintained Theravāda Buddhism and the schism that created the Mahāvihāra and Abhayagiri schools.
Bibliography
"Buddhism: Theravada: Main." University at Buffalo, research.lib.buffalo.edu/buddhism/theravada-main. Accessed 23 May 2023.
"Inside the Theravada Tradition." Tricycle: The Buddhist Review, tricycle.org/beginners/buddhism/inside-the-theravada-tradition/. Accessed 23 May 2023.
"King Vattagamini: Walagambahu (104 BC)." The Mahavamsa, mahavamsa.org/2008/05/king-vattagamini-walagambahu/. Accessed 23 May 2023.