A Study on the Ancient Documentary Evidence Revealing the Origins of the Sinhala සිංහලයේ ප්‍රභවය හෙළි කරන පුරාලේඛනගත සාධක පිළිබඳ අධ්‍යයනයක්

Abstract

According to chronicles, the Sinhala nation is said to have originated with the arrival of Prince Vijaya in the 6th century BCE. Although they came from a country referred to as "lāla" in India, there is no consensus among scholars whether this land was located in the eastern or western region of India. Even after Prince Vijaya, Aryan groups continued to migrate to Sri Lanka from various regions of India. Significant events recorded in chronicles include the arrival of a thousand families belonging to the eighteen castes (Ashtādasa Shreni) along with the royal princess from the city of Madura, and the arrival of Panduvasudeva, the son of one of Vijaya’s brothers, along with his group - all of which tend to point more toward the western region of India.The arrival of the six brothers of Sumitta, who was connected to the royal lineage of the Mahavamsa, as well as the Bodhihāraka clan during the reign of King Devanampiyatissa, also relate to regions around the Gangā River and the central Indian areas. Especially during the reign of King Devānampiya Tissa, the arrival of Arahat Mahinda Thera to Sri Lanka and the establishment of Buddhism strengthened the connections with India significantly, which also contributed to the development and spread of Sinhala script and literature. the aim of this paper is to show, by considering ancient documentary evidence, that the Sinhala language originated from a group of people who spoke an Indo-Aryan Prakrit dialect or several related Prakrit sub-dialects from the northwestern region of India.