Taming of the Shrew, by the grace of god Skanda
ImagesElephant worshipping at the temple of God Skanda Buddhist Stupa close to Hindu temple of God Skanda, God Skanda of Katargama River Manik Ganga at Kataragama The corssed tuskers are a torment to the noble beast Festival A main road running along the rainwater reservoir Offerings of fruits to God Skanda. Rain water reservoir at Kataragama Rosen HotelRomances From The Resplendent Island 2 by B. Upul N. PeirisSinhalese Prince Vs. Pandayan Princess
Taming of the Shrew, by the grace of god Skanda
During the reign of Queen Leelawathie (1208 – 1210 AD, 1221-1222 AD)( the queen of King Parakarambahu the great ) in the resplendent island of Lanka, Princess Jinaraji, the daughter of King Veera Pandya the second of Pandyan Kingdom of Southern India was sent in pilgrimage to Kataragama, Sri Lanka. In spite of the expedition being one of pilgrimage, the princess has arrived with a force of 3000 Pandyan warriors at the sea port of Mantota. Not to be outdone, Queen Leelawathie too sent in a force of 3000 Sinhalese warriors led by her young nephew Prince Navaratna. Intermittent invasions of Lanka by the marauding Dravidian forces from Southern India was such, it was not for the Sinhalese Kingdom to take anything coming from South India for granted, no matter of the stated intentions, no matter how innocuous the expedition would seem to be.
Prince Navaratna, having arrived at Mantota, boarded the Pandyan vessel & welcomed the princess to his land, the ‘Land of Delights”. The princess while descending from the vessel to the boat lost her balance & slipped only to be held by the Prince The Pandayan princess, in spite of being saved from falling into the sea, in her arrogance, took umbrage, took it as an insult to be held even by a prince. The body guards of the princess, in their haste to appease a shrew of a princess took no time to push the prince overboard.
The prince having swum to the shore, in view of the insult to him, while still organizing the pilgrimage to Kataragama, managed to keep himself at a distance from the Pandyan princess. Princess Jinaraji was sent in to Sri Lanka for the sole purpose of easing the passage to her marriage: tales of her temperament & arrogance having spread over the lands, her hand in marriage wasn’t asked by any of the princes of the southern Indian kingdoms. The astrologers at the Pandyan court have prophesied pilgrimage to Kataragama, southern coast of island of Lanka would serve the purpose. In line with the requirements, an earthen lifelike statue of princes was made with a jewel in a closed fist of the statue. It was prophesied, would be husband of the princess would take possession of the jewel without breaking off the fist of the statue.
Prince Navartna, having led the pilgrimage, settled down to propitiate the deity of Katatargama, God Skanda as much in devotion as the princess herself. His petition was in search of justice against the insult done to him by the shrew of a princess. The prince paid homage to the deity day & night on both banks of River Manik in a couple of temples he himself erected in honor of God Skanda. At the end of the pilgrimage of princess, in the long voyage to Mantota, the party took a few days rest at Mahiyangana. On the bank of the River Mahaweli, the prince was visited by a hermit who pulled out a precious jewel from his turban. Entrusting the jewel to the prince, the hermit asked him to stay at the hermitage few paces alone the path until such time he return. While resting in the heritage, the prince fell asleep with the fall of the night only to be woken up by the warmth of a hugging & curving feminine body.
It was non other than the Princess Jinaraji herself who had lost her party, lost her way, lost her bearings while running for her life from a leopard. Having recounted her tale of helplessness, the princess fell on her knees & begged for forgiveness on the insult to the prince aboard her ship. The prince took her to his embrace & a night of lust & love followed. That was divine. They say you will never know the divine ways.
The retinue who had been searching the princess during the whole night was able to find her alone, unharmed in the same spot that she was lost but only in the following morning. The royal retinue returned to Pandya kingdom in due course only for the king & queen to be intimated that their unmarried daughter has conceived. Having heard of the state of the affairs from the princess, the King & queen accompanying the princess sailed to the kingdom of Lanka. Prince Navaratna was asked whether he was in possession of a certain jewel. When the prince presented the jewel entrusted to him by the hermit, it was apparent the forecast of astrologers had come true. With the consent of Queen Leelawathie, Prince Navaratna & Princess Jinaraji were united in holy marriage at Kataragama, the domain of God Skanda.
That was divine. You will never know the divine ways. We can get to know, by the grace of god. Let’s go to Kataragama, Sri Lanka & pay homage to God Skanda.
The best time to visit Kataragama
The town is at is best bold, bright & busiest during the Kataragama festival, held around the Kandy Esala Perahera pageant in Kandy– two weeks in July & August
The legend & the history
According to the legend, victorious King Duttha Gamini (161-137 BC) built the original shrine following his series of long battles against the mighty forces of Dravidian invader, Elara, at Anuradhapura. The legend is God Kataragama helped King Dutugamunu’s formidable Sinhalese army to cross the River Menik, which would have been an unassailable mighty river a couple of millennium ago. The history is (Mahawamsa) King Dutugamunu’s army was commanded by ten mighty warriors, Nandhimitta, Suranimala, Mahasona, Gothaimbara, Theraputtabhaya (formerly a Buddhist monk, he gave up the Buddhist order for the sole purpose of saving the Sinhalese & Buddhism from the marauding Dravidian invaders), Bharana, Velusumana, Khanjadeva, Phussadeva & Labhiyavasaba, all of them of superhuman strength & courage sans Achilles heel. Those ten mighty ambidextrous warriors of great strength & courage were ably assisted by great battle elephants. Foremost in strength, beauty, shape & the qualities of courage & swiftness & of mighty size of body was the royal elephant Kandula, who broke open the mighty door of impregnable Dravidian fortress at Vijithapura (city of victory), Anuradhapura
