Queen Anula The Cursed Flame of Anuradhapura
By Ama H. Vanniarachchy
Although Sri Lanka has a long history of male monarchs, and the pages of its historical chronicles and inscriptions are filled with praises of their valorous acts, less is narrated about the valorous queens who graced the paths of Sri Lanka’s history. Queens and brave Bhikkhunis of Sri Lanka are also veiled in the pages of history.
Our chronicles narrate the arrival of Arhat Mahinda to Sri Lanka and other Buddhist missionary groups visiting many countries in the ancient world to spread Buddhism but do not record the brave acts of the Sinhalese Bhikkhunis who travelled to lands as far as China, by sea, in the early 5th century CE to establish the Bhikkuni order in China. It is believed that the Deepavamsa, Sri Lanka’s oldest Pali chronicles, was a work of Buddhist Bhikkhunis in Sri Lanka, which implies that Sri Lankan Bhikkhunis of the Anuradhapura period were brave, courageous and high-spirited.
Yet, women of our past are often overlooked, veiled, and sometimes even shunned and humiliated in certain instances. Also, as we could witness, after the decline of the Rajarata civilisations in the 13th century, we see a gradual change in the role of Sinhalese women in Sri Lanka, and the complete decline of the Bhikkuni order in Sri Lanka, which we shall discuss in the future.
Nevertheless, women have played a vital role in shaping the legacy of Sri Lanka.
Except for a few kings, all the other kings of Sri Lanka are praised as pious, righteous, and brave kings, while the very few Sinhalese queens who actually were crowned as ‘rulers’ were often shunned and humiliated in the chronicles; starting from Kuweni, who is repeatedly referred to as a man-eating demoness. Sugala, an extraordinarily brave queen, is not praised enough by the chronicles. Another classic example of this discrimination is the portrayal of Queen Anula of Anuradhapura.
Queen Anula; Asia’s first female head of state
According to local chronicles, the first Sinhalese queen of Sri Lanka was Queen Anula, and she is also probably the first documented female head of state in Asia.
The powerful and seductive personality of Queen Anula stunned contemporary male scholars as well as modern male scholars. Hence, history has not done justice to the first Sinhalese queen, Anula. In contrast, Kusumasana Devi who seems to be a victim of patriarchy and easily gave in to patriarchy is often praised and sympathised with by modern scholars. Anula who fiercely and mercilessly beat male chauvinism and patriarchal norms, was and is always condemned and looked down upon as a seductress.
To date, we are stunned at her power, personality, and bravery. She was indeed a woman who lived ahead of her times.
The accounts of our first queen are not as pleasant as anyone would expect. She is portrayed as a ruthless murderous queen. She is also portrayed as a seductress. According to the Pali chronicles, she had murdered six of her husbands, mainly by poisoning them, and had thirty-two lovers. However, the chronicle does not state why she committed all these murders. According to the chronicles, she had crowned these men as king of Anuradhapura before killing them.
The rise of Anula to power and her many consorts
After the death of King Walagamba, his brother’s son Mahachulika Mahanaga (76-62 BCE) ascended the throne. Walagamaba’s son Naga, later known as Chora, which means thief, led the life of a rebel. The reasons for his rebellious behaviour are not clearly given in the chronicles.
Anula was the queen consort of Chora Naga (62-50 BCE).
After Chora Naga’s death, the son of Mahachulika Mahanaga, Kuda Tissa (50- 47 BCE) became king.
Kuda Tissa was murdered by Anula. Six of her husbands were crowned as king of Anuradhapura and after the final one; she herself was crowned as queen and ruled for six months.
The death of Anula
King Maha Chulika Mahanaga’s second son, Makalan Tissa killed Anula and ascended the throne. It is said that he cremated the queen but we do not know how she was assassinated. According to some legend, she was burnt alive in her palace.
Was she a Serial Killer or a Queen battling against patriarchy?
According to the Mahavamsa, she had killed all her husbands by poisoning them, but the reasons we still do not know. The chronicles say that she would lust for any man she encountered; therefore, she would kill her previous husband and make her new lover the king. If these accounts are true, she is the first known female serial killer in Sri Lanka and also, this narration makes us assume that she had some kind of mental disorder that resulted in her lustful and murderous behaviour.
Does the Pali chronicles hide the truth about her?
However, according to Shramana Dootha Kavya, a text believed to be composed by an Abhayagiri sect monk, she was crowned as queen as per the request and acceptance of the generals and it does not portray her as a vicious woman.
Her first husband, King Chora Naga was not a follower of the Mahavihara sect. He had even demolished 18 temples that had not supported him (given shelter) during his early days. Hence, he was named as a ‘thief’ by the author of the Mahavamsa. Also according to the above-mentioned ancient text, Anula had performed religious rituals at the Abhayagiri monastery, which means she was in favour of that sect. Therefore, a fair doubt arises about the unbiasedness of the account of the Mahavamsa about this queen. Perhaps, as she was a patronage of the Abayagiri sect, the Mahavihara sect despised her. Due to lack of evidence, these are mere vague assumptions.
For five years (her period of reign is debated) she continued what she was doing and no prince or general nor a bhikkhu stood against her power, as far as we know. If, the narration about Anula being a lustful and murderous queen was true, as the Mahavamsa records, a fair question arises, why did not any prince, general, or monk fight against her, as it usually happens in other cases?
Was it because she was a truly evil bloodthirsty queen, and that all these powerful men feared her? Or, was it that she was a powerful and righteous queen who supported the Abayagiri sect and ruled with the support and advice of the Abayagiri sect, a strong-willed woman who stood against the orthodox Mahavihara sect, just as King Mahasen would do centuries later?
We must appreciate her courage to crown herself as the first queen of Sri Lanka and the whole of Asia. Perhaps she was reluctant to do so at first as she had so many obstacles in a society dominated by patriarchal norms that she had to delay crowning herself as queen; hence, she crowned her consorts as the ruler until it was the right time for her.
As a vengeful attempt to tarnish her reputation and erase her honourable image from the pages of history, did the later male writers portray Queen Anula as a Malevolent Siren?
Or was she a lone flame defying the shadows of a world ruled by men?
The post Queen Anula The Cursed Flame of Anuradhapura appeared first on Ceylon Today.