VASABHA (A.D. 67 - 111)

                The next great Sinhalese King was Vasabha (A.D. 67-111) who ruled for 44 years. He was king for a longer time than most of the Sinhalese Kings, and so he was able to do a great deal for the country. He put up many religious buildings and also a palace for himself.

Prince Vasabha, born to a family of a clan named Lambakanna, spent his childhood in a village in the North of the country working for his uncle who was a general in the king's army. The ruler of the country at this time was Subharaja, who was informed by soothsayers that one named Vasabha would defeat him and become king. To avoid this, Subharaja ordered everyone in the country bearing that name to be killed. Vasabha's uncle tried to take him to the king under the pretext of taking him to join the king's service. However, he was saved by Pottha, the wife of his uncle, who told him about the king's decision. He went into hiding followed this, and gathered an army in secret.
Having eventually raised an army, Vasabha led a rebellion against the king, and subsequently seized the throne in 67 AD after killing Subharaja and his uncle. He ruled for 44 years, until his death in 111 AD. His accession to the throne marked the beginning of a new dynasty of rulers, known as the First Lambakanna Dynasty after the name of his clan.
 
                 Vasabha also built 11 tanks and 12 canals to help the people to cultivate their fields. These were very useful indeed. One of these tanks is the Eruvava, which is south-east of Anuradhapura.

The ancient chronicle Mahavamsa states that he constructed eleven reservoirs and twelve canals to distribute water from them. His most notable construction is the Elahara canal or Aalisara canal, which originally had a length of about 30 miles (48 km). It was created by damming the Amban river, and was used to divert water in a westerly direction for agricultural use. The reservoirs at Mahavilachchiya and Nochchipotana, which have both been identified as constructions of Vasabha, have a circumference of about 2 miles (3.2 km). Due to such constructions, Vasabha pioneered the construction of large irrigation works in the country.
Having been told by a soothsayer that he would live only for twelve more years, Vasabha became a devout Buddhist and performed many meritorious acts in an effort to prolong his life. He constructed several Buddhist temples, and renovated others. Among his constructions are the vatadage at Thuparama and some additions to the Mahavihara.

                Even in those days, rice was the chief food of the Sinhalese. Growing paddy needs a great deal of water. Most of the people lived in the northern and south-eastern parts of Ceylon, where rain falls mostly during the north-east monsoon. This rain was not enough. So the farmers would have had to take a great deal of time and trouble if they had had to draw water from wells or rivers to cultivate their fields. Even if they had built tanks near their fields, they would have had to draw water.

                So they thought of two ways to get water easily. When ever there was a piece of high land with higher land on three sides of it, or whenever there was a piece of high land between two ranges of hills which met at one corner, they built a wall (bund) on the remaining side so that the water would collect there. In the wall, they made gates of stone or brick (sluices) to let out as much water as they wanted and sent the water to the fields in channels specially made for it.

                The Kandy Lake, for example, lies between two lines of hills which meet at Ampitiya. The bnd is near the Queens Hotel. The sluice is in the corner above Bogambara jail.  

                The fields were also watered by canals which got from the rivers. A dam was built across a river and the water which was help up was turned into the fields and by means of canals.

Inscriptions belonging to the reign of King Vasabha such as the Vallipuram Gold Plate in the Jaffna peninsula in the north which mentions about a minister named Isigiraye was appointed to" Nakadiva", which was then jaffna. Situlpawwa and Tissamaharama in the south, Batticaloa District of the east and Kurunegala District of the west all prove that King Vasaba's power had spread through the island. 

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             To make such tanks and canals, the kings employed people whose homes were near by. The people gladly did the work because the tanks and canals would help them in their cultivation.

                The first tanks of this kind were built near Anuradhapura. Examples are the Abhayavava (now called the Basavakkulam), the Tisavava and the Nuvaravava. The first great builder of tanks outside Anuradhapura was