Veediya Bandara

Veediya Bandara (Sinhala: වීදිය බණ්ඩාර) was the commander-in-chief of the Kingdom of Kotte, Sri Lanka, during the reign of Bhuvanaikabahu VII of Kotte (1521–1551). He was a gifted warrior and widely regarded as one of the greatest generals of Sri Lankan history. Well known for his prowess of warfare, he was the central figure of the Kotte army, in a series of relentless wars against King Mayadunne of Sitawaka and occasionally, against the Portuguese. Being impetuous by nature, he got himself involved in many scandals, including the murder of his wife, Samudra Deviya (සමුද්‍ර දේවි), the daughter of his king.

At the time of his birth and during his youth in early 16th century, several parties were struggling for the supremacy of the island of Sri Lanka. Chief among them were King Bhuvanekabahu VII, his younger brother Mayadunne, the ruler of Sithawaka and the Portuguese, who were starting to establish themselves along the western coast of Sri Lanka. In addition, the central and northern parts of the island were also governed by regional rulers.

Veediya Bandara was born to a family of nobility. His father was a local lord of royal descent called Kumara Bandara (කුමාර බණ්ඩාර) who ruled ,Kalutara to Maggona. Prince Raigam Bandara ( Elder Brother to Mayadunne and younger brother to Bhuvanekabahu) took Most of all Kalutara after the Mutant ( Vijayabaa Kollaya) against his own father . and his mother was a cousin of King Bhuvanekabahu. From a very early age, he had access to the royal courts and there, he and the king's daughter, Samudra Deviya, were said to have developed a deep affection towards each other, that would later trigger a catastrophic chain of events.

Despite of his noble birth and unparallelled skills at arms, king Bhuvanekabahu did not approve the union of Veediya Bandara and his daughter. Instead, he preferred another price called "Jayo Bandara" to take the hand of his daughter. Jayo Bandara was also a chivalrous youth of noble birth, whom the king regarded as the son he never had. Outraged by the notion of losing his love, Veediya Bandara went on to challenge Jayo Bandara to a dual for her hand. Although an accomplished fighter himself, Jayo Bandara was no match for the brute strength and the skill of Veediya Bandara. The dual ended up in the defeat and death of Jayo Bandara and it wasn't long before Veediya Bandara realizing the enormity of his actions and fled Kotte. Without both the princes the royal army was leaderless and with the threat of his brother Mayadunne looming, king Bhuvanekabahu had no option but to pardon Veediya Bandara, appoint him as the leader of the army and wed him to his daughter.

Even though their marriage produced a son named Dharmapala in 1541, it did not prove to be a long lasting one. While Veediya Bandara was away crushing a rebellion, a rumor was spread involving Samudra Deviya and a Portuguese officer at the royal court. While several sources suggest that there was little substance to the rumor, the complete truth remains unknown. The truth of the matter, however, did not concern Veediya Bandara. His was an honour of unbendable kind as he deemed the damage done was beyond repair. He took his wife to a walk on the banks of Diyawanna lake and in a moment of madness, confessed his intentions to take her life for her alleged crime. According to legend he wept at the water's edge, as the lifeless body of his loving wife, one of the renowned beauties of her time, was floating on the lake.

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