A new volume, with three chapters dedicated to President Mahinda Rajapaksa, will be added to the Mahavamsa -- a historical poem written in Pali language describing reigns of Sri Lankan rulers, Cultural Affairs ministry said today.
The Mahavamsa or The Great Chronicle describes the Sri Lankan history from the coming of Vijaya in 543 BC to the reign of King Mahasena (6th Century BC to 4th Century AD). A companion volume, the Culavamsa or Choolavansha (“lesser chronicle”), covers the period from the 4th century to the British takeover of Sri Lanka in 1815.
“A panel of eminent writers have begun the work on the sixth volume. This will cover the period between 1978 and 2010,” Wimal Rubasinghe, the secretary to the ministry, said.
The ministry has decided to dedicated three chapters to Rajapaksa as opposed to his predecessors whose periods will be limited to two chapters or less.
“Rajapaksa’s achievement in ending the Island’’s 30-year separatist war has no parallels in the chronicle,” the official said, PTI reports.
