Kuveni

Kuveni

Vijaya's arrival in Sri Lanka  is said to have coincided with the passing away of the Buddha. Indeed the very first 'person' that Vijaya supposedly encounters on the island is the 'Lord of the Gods', Lord Vishnu, who is charged by the ailing Buddha with looking after Vijaya and his descendants.

The second encounter is far less auspicious - a Yakkinni, or demoness, who 'appeared in the form of a dog'. Vijaya's men, surmising that 'Only where there is a village are dogs to be found', followed the creature, only to come upon the Queen of the demons, Kuveni (also known as Kuvanna). Though the protection of Vishnu prevented Kuveni from devouring the hapless man, it did not prevent her from hurling him - and all of Vijaya's other companions - into a chasm.

Vijaya eventually comes upon Kuveni and threatens her with death unless she releases his men. When this is done, Kuveni supplies them with food and clothing, and, 'assuming the lovely form of a sixteen year old maiden' seduces Vijaya. Then, in a complete reversal of her allegiances, she states that she 'will bestow Kingship on my Lord (Vijaya)' and thus 'all the Yakkhas must be slain, for (else) the Yakkhas will slay me, for it was through me that men have taken up their dwelling (in Lanka)'. This Vijaya goes on to do, vanquishing the demons and driving them from the island, all the time with Kuveni at his side.

Though Kuveni bears him two children, a son and a daughter, Vijaya eventually rejects her with the words 'Go now, dear one, leaving the two children behind; men are ever in fear of superhuman beings'. Despite begging Vijaya not to send her away, a broken-hearted Kuveni eventually leaves the palace, taking the two children despite being ordered not to. Arriving in one of the few surviving Yakka cities she is killed by her own people for her betrayal. One of her uncles takes pity on her children and tells them to flee before they, too, are killed. They eventually flee to Malaya rata where they settle and become the ancestors of the Pulindas. And alternative tale is that Kuveni flung herself from Yakdessa Gala, imploring the Gods to curse Vijaya for his cruelty - which they do by preventing any of Vijaya's children from ever sitting on the throne of Rajarata. 'Vijaya's curse' is held by some to still hold sway over Sri Lanka's troubled politics.

The Kuveni-Vijaya story evokes some similarities with the encounter of Odysseus with Circe. Circe is also an enchantress and a witch. The Kuveni myth is also remarkable for being so violent and tragic. Both the demon Queen and Vijaya are portrayed as being deeply treacherous and unfeeling - the former in betraying her entire people, the latter in betraying her in turn so callously. Indeed Vijaya's reason for rejecting Kuveni is his desire for a 'a maiden of a noble house' to be consecrated Queen with him. This desire could have had a political aspect - in marrying a princess of an established noble house he would essentially have established himself as a legitimate monarch in his own right, on a par with the other rulers of the subcontinent's kingdoms.

Kuveni, on the other hand, is regarded as a descendant of the demons of the Ramayana and of Ravana, who also dwelled in Lanka. A common folk tale was that her children did not, in fact, flee to Malaysia, but instead remained in Sri Lanka's jungles and became the Veddas - Sri Lanka's aboriginal population. This may indeed be the explanation for Kuveni and her people, as early Indian settlers would almost certainly have come into contact and conflict with indigenous Sri Lankans. The Yakkas are referred to occasionally as 'invisible', and indeed would have appeared so to the newcomers unused to Sri Lanka's jungles, through which the Veddas even today can move in near-silence and with barely a trace.

The Dipavamsa, on which the Mahavamsa is based, makes no mention of Kuveni whatsoever.