Monday, October 5, 2015
The King Seethawaka Rajasinghe - the
Monarch who suffered from PTSD
Prince Tikiri Bandara (The King Seethawaka
Rajasinghe)
Dr Ruwan M Jayatunge
The King Seethawaka Rajasinghe (Tikiri Bandara ) the 16th
century monarch of Sri Lanka was a great warrior who came to
the battlefield at the age of 16. He fought against the Portuguese
invaders and witnessed many deaths and destructions. He was a
fearless fighter who used effectual war tactics and overpowered
the fully equipped and fully trained Portuguese war machine.
The King Seethawaka Rajasinghe ruled 39 years from 1554 -
1593 AD. He was a military genius and a strategist. One
Portuguese historian compared him with Hannibal.
In 1562, the Battle of Mulleriyawa took place and
Tikiri Bandara fought against the 16th Century Super Power –
Portuguese war machine. The Portuguese army was led by
Captain Major Afonso Pereira de Lacerda and Captain
Major Jorge de Meneses Baroche. The conflict took place
outside Colombo on the southern bank of the Kelani River.
Tikiri Bandara attacked the Portuguese army like a
thunderbolt. The invincible 16th century super power was in the
verge of a defeat in front of his sword. According to
the Rajavaliya - 17th-century historical, chronicle of Sri
Lanka, more than 1600 Portuguese and support troopers
(Lascarins) perished on the Mulleriyawa battlefield.
At the height of his military success the King Seethawaka
Rajasinghe gathered 100,000 soldiers and attacked the
Portuguese Fort in Colombo. The Portuguese were desperate.
Fear and famine fell upon them. Despite the attacks the
Portuguese were able to get external naval support from Goa.
The battle was a fiasco and the King became furious. He
suspected most of his Generals and assassinated them one by
one. King Seethawaka Rajasinghe poisoned his right wing man
Wicramasinghe Maha Senevi then Weerasundara Bandara.
These Generals helped him in numerous battles.
Following the long years of combat Tikiri Bandara alias King
Seethawaka Rajasinghe was exhausted and obviously suffered
from battle fatigue. In the later years, his mental health was
declining. The King Seethawaka Rajasinghe became extremely
suspicious showed outburst of anger, irritability, deep mistrust,
alienation, emotional numbing and various other PTSD related
symptoms. There were clear personality changes in him. With
these changes, the great warrior launched a chain of terror
against his own people creating a deep void in the hearts and
minds.
He acted as a tyrant and used brutal methods to punish people.
He never felt any remorse or compassion. The King Seethawaka
Rajasinghe even killed his own father King Mayadunne who
ruled the Kingdom of Sitawaka from 1501 to 1581. This
despicable act could be interpreted as a reaction following
emotional anesthesia, which is evident in PTSD. He banished
his religion, embraced Hinduism, and murdered thousands of his
subjects who refused to follow Hinduism.
The King Seethawaka Rajasinghe destroyed Buddhist temples
and killed Buddhist monks by drowning. His emotions were
unstable. Very often, he acted with sudden rage. Gradually he
made himself alienated. He had no close associates and the King
became an isolated and a broken man. After many battles, he
was physically and mentally worn out. Many aristocrats had left
him because they could not stand his false accusations and
outrageous behavior. The Great warrior had become another
victim of combat stress.
His final battle took place in Kandy. He had to face Konappu
Bandara ails the King Wimaladharmasurya the son of
Weerasundara Bandara. One time Weerasundara Bandara was
King Seethawaka Rajasinghe s faithful supporter.
Weerasundara Bandara helped King Seethawaka Rajasinghe to
fight Portuguese. However, King Seethawaka Rajasinghe
unreasonably suspected Weerasundara Bandara and killed him.
The battle was atrocious. The King Wimaladharmasurya
proclaimed that he would take the revenge for killing his father.
King Seethawaka Rajasinghe lost the battle. While retreating he
fell down from the horse and sustained an injury. A bamboo
prick pierced his leg and after a few days he died may be due to
tetanus or septicemia. Thus, a legend came to an end. He was
called the Lion of Seethawaka who brought fear to the
Portuguese invaders. He was a liberator but later became an
enigma. May be PTSD ruined his inspirations and the goals in
life. If these personality changes did not occur, he would have
been one of the great heroes in the Sri Lankan history.
The King Seethawaka Rajasinghe's Palace
The King Seethawaka Rajasinghe's
Tomb
Seethawaka Kingdom - Seethawaka Palace
Posted by Transylvania at 7:03 PM
Email ThisBlogThis!Share to TwitterShare to FacebookShare to Pinterest
12 comments:
1.
කල්යාණ මිත්ර October 5, 2015 at 11:06 PM
Whenever I read the history, I always had this doubt in my mind that this guy (even in his
hay days) must have had some serious mental illness. Thanks for proving me right :)
Yes. He could have listed as a one of greatest worriers in the history unless he ruined his
own glory later in the day.
Reply
Replies
1.
TransylvaniaOctober 6, 2015 at 1:39 PM
He was impacted by war trauma
