THE MAHAVAMSA

Ten Giants: Dasa Maha Yodhayan

King Kawan Tissa started to develop an Army for Prince Gamini. He picked the strongest men in his kingdom.

Nandimitra:

King Elara had a warrior named Mitra. His sister’s son was named Mitra as well. Little Mitra used to creep far away from the house. Due to this reason infant Mitra was tied to a mill stone. (Ambarum Gala in Sinhalese). One day little Mitra carried the mill stone and crept away. After this incident, he was called Nandimitra meaning “Strong Mitra”.

In time, Nandimitra’s name was famous in the kingdom and King Kawan Tissa decided to draft him into the service.

Suranimala:

Suranimala was the second strongest giant in the country. He became famous due to his extraordinary strength and King Kawan Tissa decided to draft him into the service.

Mahasona:

When young Sona was seven years old, he could break palm trees with his bear hands. Due to this reason he was known as “Mahasona” or “Big Sona”. The news of the strength of Mahasona reached King Kawan Tissa and King decided to draft Mahasona into the service.

Gothaimbara:

A man named Mahanaga had a son and called him “Gothaka”. Gothaka was small, compared to other children of his age but had immense strength. One day Gothaka and his brothers went to cut Imbara trees in the forest. While his brothers were taking a rest, Gothaka pulled down all the Imbara trees. When Gothaka’s brothers came after the break they were amazed to see that Gothaka had pulled down all the Imbara trees by himself. After that incident, Gothaka was called “Gothaimbara”.

Theraputthabhaya:

A man named Abhaya had a son and was called “putthabhaya” meaning son of Abhaya. Later Abhaya became a monk (monks are known as “Thera” in Pali) and his son was called “Theraputthabhaya”. Young Theraputthabhaya was strong and vigorous. His fame was heard by the King and was admitted to the service.

Velusumana:

Velusumana grew up in a local governor’s house. One day the governor brought a stallion from India. These stallions were known as “Saindhava” and happened to be extremely fast and strong. Riding these horses required special skill. No man was able to ride the horse brought by the governor. When the horse saw Velusumana, the horse thought “This is a man worthy of riding me” and let Velusumana mount him. King heard of Velusumana’s skills and accepted him to the service.

Khanjadeva:

In the village of Mahadonika, there was a boy named Deva. Since the boy had a small limp, the boy was called Kanjadeva. When the boy was a teenager he could wrestle buffalos and antelopes with his bear hands. King heard of Kanjadeva and drafted him to the service.

Pussadeva:

Near Kitthaka Pabbatha Vihara, there lived a boy named Pussadeva. When Pussadeva went to the temple, he blew the shell so loudly people were astonished. The sound was powerful as a thunderbolt and some people were terrified. Other than the skill of blowing shells, Pussadeva was a skilled archer. He could hit a target from the light of lightening. King heard of him and admitted to the service.

Labhiyavasabha:

Near the Thuladeva mountain, there lived a young man named Vasabha. He was gifted with great body and people called him Labhiyavasabha. With the help of his friends, Labhiyavasabha started to construct a small reservoir. Within a short period of time, he was able tofinish construction of the reservoir. King heard of this great achievement and accepted Labhiyavasabha to the service.

King Kawan Tissa called upon the ten great warriors and asked them to find ten more warriors each. Then he asked those new men to find ten more each. This way King Kawan Tissa built a great Army and gave it to Prince Gamini.