Talk:Sinhapura

Singhpur, Odisha

Dear Readers. To know the truth Pl go through Mahavamsa first.

Sinhapura or Singhapura or "Singhpur" (Sanskrit, "Lion City") near Jajpur was the capital of a kingdom in Kalinga is what is now calledOdisha in India, and later capital of Kalinga itself. The word "Sinhapur" is vogue in classical Odia language.The Srilankan Chronicle evidences it. It runs as follows: "And he accepted the kingship but handed it over then to his mother's husband and he himself went with Sihasivali to the land of his birth( Kalinga). There he built a city, and they called it Sihapura, and in the forest stretching a hundred yojanas around he founded villages. In the kingdom of Lala, in that city did Sihabähu, ruler of men, hold sway when he had made Sihasivali his queen. As time passed on his consort bore twin sons sixteen times, the eldest was named Vijaya, the second Sumitta; together there were thirty-two sons. In time the king consecrated Vijaya as prince-regent." It is further stated in Mahavamsa at Chapter VI that "The daughter of the king of the Kalingas was that king's consort. By his spouse the king had a daughter, the soothsayers prophesied her union with the king of beasts. Very fair was she and very amorous and for shame the king and queen could not suffer her." From this Land of Birth of Sinhabahu is proved as Kalinga. [Odisha Timeline in BCE 543BCE - 505BCE Prince Vijaya Rule in Sinhala 500 BCE – 1200 CE c. 350 BCE Mahapadma Nanda conquers Kalinga 261 BCE Ashoka conquers Kalinga in the Kalinga War c. 170 BCE Coronation of Kharavela] The Oriya scholars claimed Simhapura or Sinhgpur near Jajpur of Coastal Odisha was the same as the ancient capital of Kalinga in modern-day Odisha as profusely evidenced above from Mahavamsa at Chapter VI. Nissanka Malla's inscriptions mention Simhapura as the capital of elder brother of Sinhabahu of Kalinga. In Odia language the word "Bahu" is popularly known as arm. For example, Lord Jagannath is called Maha Bahu in Odia. The same is not found in Gujurati language or Bengali language. Most of the Kalinga Kings were fond of associating their name wiuth Simha/Singh means Loin. In Kalinga epical stories are written by suffixing Vamsa, viz Hari Vamsa. Veni in Odia means snake type hairknot. the name Kuveni might have been given by Prince Vijaya and his 700 soul to the Yakshya Princess. The Profuse Buddhist sculpture, edicts,scriptures found near Sinhgpur at Ratna Giri hills are enough evidence of cultural relation of Kalinga with Sri Lanka after Kalinga war. The Yalpanavaipavamalai, a Jaffna Tamil text written in the 18th century by Mayilvakanapulavar mentions a King Ukkirasingan,[20] whom Oriyas identify with Kalinga Magha of the Culavamsa as being a descendant of Vijaya's brother who remained in India though concrete evidences not found. Many of the Surnames of Sinhalese owes to Kalinga surnames or are common viz. Rana Tunga ( Chief of Battle), Khadi Ratna, Tilak Ratna,Viyaya Vira, Maha Nayak etc. And major drawbacks of all the hypotheses except east Indian town of Singhpur in Jajpur district was they all lacked ancient developed ports like Dantapur or Pallur, or Mahanadi mouth or Tamralipta through which voyages to Sri Lanka would have been possible.The coastline of Orissa was dotted with several ancient and medieval sea ports. The important ports on the coast of Kalinga were Tamralipti( Medinapur, earlier a part of Kalinga Empire), Che-li-ta-lo, Paloura-Dantapura and Pithunda etc. as identified by Huen Tsang. Some scholars say it has been tentatively identified with modern Singapuram, a village near Srikakulam.[2] The Mahavamsa tells of Sinhapura's foundation by Singhabahu, whose mother was a princess of Kalinga.[2] It was said that Singhabahu was sent on exile from Singhapura and moved to an uninhabited part of the forest. He cleared the land and settled down to rule a new kingdom based on Singhapura.[3] The town is named by Sinhalese chronicles in connection with Prince Vijaya (c. 543-505 BC), the first recorded king of Sri Lanka.[4] Prince Vijaya was exiled by his father King singhBahu who along with his 700 followers by sea voyage landed in srilanka. The Mahavamsa chronicle in Srlanka describes that Vijaya ( in Odia/Sanskrit language Vijaya Noun, means " Victory"~ Conqueror) married Kuveni,[citation needed] a local Yakkha( Yakshya in Sanskrit) princess, like his army marrying off local women in Sinhala. ( Ku= Bad(omen)/odd + Veni= Hairknot in head). (Hence Kuveni in Odia/Sanskrit language then means Yakskhya princess having odd hair-knot in her head). Kumar( Prince) Vijaya and his 700 followers later gave rise to the modern Sinhala race. Vijaya landed on Sri Lanka near Mahathitha (Mannar), and named the island Thambaparni "copper-colored palms" by sailing across Kalinga Mahodadhi along coast of eastern India. This is attested in Claudius Ptolemy's map of the ancient world. The Mahavamsa also claims that Lord Buddha visited Sri Lanka three times. In the first instance, it was to stop a war between a Naga king and his son-in-law who were fighting over a ruby chair. It is said that on his last visit, the Buddha left his foot-print on Sripada (Adam's Peak). Tamirabharani was the old name for the second longest river in Sri Lanka (now known as Malwatu Oya in Sinhala & Aruvi Aru in Tamil). This river was the main supply-route connecting the capital, Anuradhapura, to Mahathitha (Mannar). The waterway was used by Greek and Chinese ships traveling the southern Silk Route. Mahathitha was an ancient port linking Sri Lanka to Palur and Dantapur of Kalinga and the Persian Gulf.[citation needed] At the beginning of the chronicle, the king of Lala/Lata Desh, (Sukinda Keonjhar belt North of Sinhapur)is married to the daughter of the King of a provincial kingom of Kalinga as Vanga was having no independent existence then, his capital named as Singhpura or Singhpur which is identified with Singhpur near Jajpur of Odisha.(the area called Lata Desh is identified with the Sukinda Keonjhar forest region). Their daughter, Suppadevi, was not only 'very fair and very amorous', but was also prophesied to consummate a 'union with the king of beasts'[citation needed] - in the Mahavamsa, a lion. When this duly happened, she gave birth to two children - Sinhabahu and Sinhasivali. 'Sinhabahu' means 'Lion-Armed',[citation needed] and the young prince himself is described as having "hands and feet...formed like a lion's." The family lived together in the lion's cave, blocked in by a large rock the lion had placed to prevent their exit. Eventually, however, Suppadevi and her two children flee the cave. Later Sinhabahu kills his father with an arrow. Then, marrying his sister, he establishes a kingdom based on a city called Singhapura or Singhpur on the bank of river Kharasrota in Kalinga. Sinhasivali bears him a series of twins; their eldest child is named Vijaya, and his younger twin brother Sumitta. However, a critical twist and serious study by scholars and researchers with further references suggest that the king of Sinhpur/Sinhapura region's very ancient telltales and references about Prince Vijaya, his exile, his route, are the ones which connect strongly to the history of Sri Lanka and to the Sinhalese people and culture. Sinhapura or Singhapura (Sanskrit, "Lion City") was the capital of a kingdom in Kalinga in what is now Odisha in India, and later capital of Kalinga itself. Since Sinhapur was from where Sinhabahu was ruling his son, Prince Vijaya was born in Sinhapur which was in erstwhile Kalinga, now in Odisha. Hence Prince Vijaya was a Prince of Kalinga and an Odia. The Mahavamsa tells of Sinhapura's foundation by Singhabahu, whose mother was a princess of Kalinga. It was said that Singhabahu was sent on exile from Singhapura and moved to an uninhabited part of the forest. He cleared the land and settled down to rule a new kingdom based on Singhapura. The town is named by Sinhalese chronicles in connection with Vijaya's brother Sumitta became a king of Sinhala of Kalinga. When Vijaya died with no heir, Sumitta's son Panduvasdeva was sent from Sinhapura to Sri Lanka, where he was crowned king. The Matharas ruled in Kalinga before the arrival of the Gangas in the 4th or 5th century AD, with their capital at Sinhapura. The first king of the Matharas occupied the Mahendra region, but his successor extended his rule to the Sinhapura region, and the later king Ananta Saktivarman transferred the capital to Sinhapura. A 5th century copper plate charter issued by Maharaja Satrudamanadeva was issued from Sinhapura, and is similar to charters of the Matharas, but his family cannot be made out. He may have been a subordinate ruler to the king of Kalinga.[5] The Varman kings of Bengal claim descent from the Yadava dynasty of Sinhapura. Most likely they came to Bengal with Karna, whose father had conquered Kalinga and who in turn attacked southeast Bengal, then remained and created an independent state.[6] A rock inscription made by Nissanka Malla of Sri Lanka at Dambulla mentions that he is of the Kalinga Dynasty and a descendant from the race of King Vijaya. Another inscription at Ruwanwelisaya describes him as being a member of a royal family of Kalinga, born at Sinhapura.[7]