Elara (235 BC - 161 BC), also known as
Elalan, or
Élaezha Chola, was a
Tamil king who ruled
Sri Lanka from 205 BC to 161 BC from the ancient capital of
Anuradhapura. Sometimes referred to as 'the Just King'. Elara is a peculiar figure in the history of Sri Lanka and one with particular resonance given the ongoing ethnic strife in the country. Although he was a Tamil King and an ethnic outsider in the eyes of
Sinhala people, he is often regarded as one of Sri Lanka's wisest and most just monarchs, as highligted in
Sinhalese chronicle
Mahavamsa. According to the
chronicle, even Elara's nemesis Sinhala king
Dutugemunu had a great respect for him, and ordered a monument be built in memory for Elara after he was slain in battle.
Birth and early life
Elara is described in the
Mahavamsa as being 'A Damila of noble descent...from the Chola-country'; various other sources name him as the son of a
Chola queen and brother of the king Ellagan. Little is known of his early life. Around 205 BCE Elara mounted an invasion of the kingdom of Rajarata based in Anuradhapura in northern Sri Lanka and defeated the forces of king
Asela, establishing himself as sole ruler for the northern part of Sri Lanka.
Administration
Elara, an ethnic Tamil, is traditionally presented as being a just king even by the Sinhalese. The Mahavamsa states that he ruled 'with even justice toward friend and foe, on occasions of disputes at law, and elaborates how he even ordered the execution of his son the basis of a heinous religious crime. The same
chronicle relates that the king had a bell with a rope attached at the head of his bed, so that all who sought redress might ring it. In particular, he is presented as a tireless defender of the Sinhalese faith and of pointedly treating
Sinhala nobles with the same dignity as his Tamil associates. As such Elara is often held as the archetype of the
Dharmaraja, or 'just king' of Buddhist tradition, all the more remarkable for not being a Sinhalese whom he governed.
Defeat and death
Despite Elara's famously even-handed rule, resistance to him coalesced around the figure of Dutugemunu, a young Sinhala prince from the kingdom of Mahagama. Towards the end of Elara's reign
Dutugemunu had strengthened his position in the south by defeating his own brother Tissa who challenged him. Confrontation between the two monarchs was inevitable and the last years of Elara's reign were consumed by the war between the two.
The Mahavamsa contains a fairly detailed account of sieges and battles that took place during the conflict. Particularly interesting is the extensive use of
war elephants and of flaming
pitch in the battles. Elara's own war elephant is said to have been
Maha Pambata, or 'Big Rock'.
The climactic battle is said to have occurred as Dutugemunu drew close to Anuradhapura. On the night before, both King Elara and prince Dutugemunu are said to have conferred with their counsellors. The next day both kings rode forwards on war elephants, Elara 'in full armour...with chariots, soldiers and beasts for riders'. Dutugemunu's forces are said to have routed those of Elara and that 'the water in the tank there was dyed red with the blood of the slain'. Dutugemunu, declaring that 'none shall kill Elara but myself', closed on him at the south gate of Anuradhapura, where the two engaged in an elephant-back duel and the aged king was finally felled by one of Dutugemunu's darts.
Following his death, Dutugemunu ordered that Elara be cremated where he had fallen, and had a monument constructed over the place. The Mahavamsa mentions that 'even to this day the princes of Lanka, when they draw near to this place, are wont to silence their music'. Unfortunately the location of the monument is lost - the Elara Sohona ('Tomb of Elara') in Anuradhapura today is in fact a
stupa constructed under Elara's orders and not the actual tomb.
Influence
Tamil separatist groups involved in the ethnic conflict in Sri Lanka have used Elara as an iconic figure (or 'Ellara' or 'Ellalan' as pronounced by Tamil people) to identify themselves with. For example,
LTTE has used the term '
Ellalan Force' to identify their armed wing in certain situations, when they did not want to use the identity 'LTTE'.
See also
