Vijaya (King)

Coronation of Prince Vijaya, wall painting in Cave 17 of Ajanta

Vijaya (* before 543 BC ; † 505 BC ) was the mythical tribal father of the Sinhalese and the first king of Sri Lanka .

history

The Mahavamsa Chronicle is the main source of information about Vijaya's life; it reveals his reign from about 543 BC. BC to 505 BC Derive. It is said to be in the 6th century BC. He emigrated to Sri Lanka with his entourage from the Kingdom of Vanga in northeast India . George Turnour, the editor of the first English translation from 1837, compared his experiences with the demigoddess ( yakkhinī ) Kuvenī with the story of Odysseus and Kirke . The Mahavamsa gives no reliable information about Vijaya, who as a historical figure may never have existed.

Web links

Mahanama: Mahavamsa: the great chronicle of Sri Lanka , translated and explained by Alois Payer:

Individual evidence

^ The Mahavamsa - The Great Chronicle of Sri Lanka. List of the Sovereigns of Lanka. Accessed November 24, 2015
↑ cf. Helmut Hoffmann: Mahānāma: The Great Chronicle - Mahāvamsa. In: Kindlers Neues Literatur-Lexikon [Electronic Resource], Munich 1999. Quoted from: Mahanama: Mahavamsa: the great chronicle of Sri Lanka , translated and explained by Alois Payer, July 17, 2001. Accessed November 24, 2015

personal data
SURNAME	Vijaya
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	mythical progenitor of the Sinhalese and first king of Sri Lanka
DATE OF BIRTH	before 543 BC Chr.
DATE OF DEATH	505 BC Chr.

[1] The Mahavamsa - The Great Chronicle of Sri Lanka. List of the Sovereigns of Lanka. Accessed November 24, 2015

[2] . Helmut Hoffmann: Mahānāma: The Great Chronicle - Mahāvamsa. In: Kindlers Neues Literatur-Lexikon [Electronic Resource], Munich 1999. Quoted from: Mahanama: Mahavamsa: the great chronicle of Sri Lanka , translated and explained by Alois Payer, July 17, 2001. Accessed November 24, 2015