Vijaya is the central legendary figure in…

Vijaya is the central legendary figure in the Mahavamsa.

He is the grandson of an Indian princess from Vanga in northern India who had been abducted by an amorous lion, Simha, and son of their incestuous and half-leonine offspring.

Along with seven hundred of his followers, Vijaya arrives in Lanka and establishes himself as ruler with the help of Kuveni, a local demon-worshiping princess.

Although Kuveni has betrayed her own people and has given birth to two of Vijaya's children, she is banished by the ruler, who then arranges a marriage with a princess from Madurai in southeastern India.

Kuveni's offspring are the folkloric ancestors of the present day Veddas, an aboriginal people now living in scattered areas of eastern Sri Lanka.

Many scholars believe that the legend of Vijaya provides a glimpse into the early settlement of the island.

Around the fifth century BCE, the first bands of Sri Lankan colonists are believed to have come from the coastal areas of northern India.

The chronicles support evidence that the royal progeny of Vijaya often sought wives from the Pandyan and other Dravidian (Tamil) kingdoms of southern India.

The chronicles also tell of an early and constant migration of artisan and mercantile Tamils to Sri Lanka.