Vol. VI, No. 11.] History of the District of Huqhli. 603 



[N.S.] 



which has been identified with Tamralipta, 1 at that time the 

 port of the country of Surama (called " Soowama ' ' by Bigandet) * 

 —a different form of Sumha. In the 6th century B.C., there- 

 fore, Sumha extended as far as the sea to the south. 



In the 5th century B.C. we find Sumha formed a part of 

 the kingdom of Banga, The story of Suppa Devi related in 

 the Mahawanso bears out the statement. Briefly stated, the 

 story is to the effect that a king of Banga had a daughter 

 named Suppa Devi by his queen who was the daughter of the 

 king of Kalinga. The princess eloped with a caravan chief, 

 who was proceeding to Magadha, and in the wilderness of Lala 

 (Rada) she was carried away by a lion, with whom she lived, 

 and had a son and a daughter named Sirihabahu and Sinhasi- 

 vali respectively. When the children grew up, they and their 

 mother returned to Banga, where Suppa Devi married Anuro, 

 who was the son of her maternal uncle and general of the king 

 of Banga. On the death of Suppa Devi's father, her husbsnd 

 Anuro was chosen as his successor, and Sinhabahu and 

 Sinhasivali went back to the wilderness of Lala, cleared the 

 jungle and founded a city which they called Sinhapura. Siriha- 

 bahu married his sister, and got by her thirty-two children, the 

 eldest of whom was Bijaya who, being expelled from the king- 

 dom, landed at Lanka (Ceylon) on the day of Buddha's nirvana, 

 colonised it, and became its first sovereign. 3 In the Rajavali, 

 which is also a history of Ceylon, it is mentioned that Suppa 

 Devi's cousin, who is called Anuro in the Mahawanso, and who 

 became king of Banga, caused the city of Sinhapura to be 

 founded in Lada or Rada, and gave it to Sinhabahu. 4 The 

 ipawanso gives the story stripped of its fabulous character. 

 It says : < The daughter of a king of Wango, having formed a 

 connection with a certain Siho, who found his livelihood in a 

 wilderness, gave birth to two children. These two children 

 named Sihabahu and Sewali were of prepossessing appearance. 

 The mother was named Susima and the father was called 

 Siho." 5 The word " Sahwayo" of the text, which means 

 " named " or " called " , is significant. The Dipawanso does 

 not regard Siho as a lion, but as the name of a human being.* 



The whole story of Suppa Devi shows that Lada or Lala 

 was not only a part of the kingdom of Banga, but that it also 

 retained the ancient name of Sumha as is apparent from the 

 name of Suppa Devi, which is merely a corruption of Sumha 

 Devi. After the death of Sinhabahu^ his son Sumitta became 



1 Buddhadeva, p. 143, note, by Dr. Satischandra Vidyabhusana. 

 * Bigandet's Life of Gautama, vol. i, p. 109. 



3 Tumour's Mahawanso, chaps, vi, vii. 



4 Upham's Rajavali, pt. i. 



6 Tumour's Pali Buddhistical Annals: J.A.S.B., 1838, p. 932, 

 note. 



