DUṬṬHAGĀMAṆĪ ("Gāmaṇī the wicked"), prince of a minor Sinhala kingdom who unified Sri Lanka as a Buddhist polity and ruled the island as overlord for twenty-four years (c. 161–137 BCE). In a manner characteristic of the rulers of classical India, Duṭṭhagāmaṇī marked his position as overlord by constructing numerous religious monuments and with great donative ceremonies (mahādānas) for the Buddhist monastic order.

Duṭṭhagāmaṇīestablished his polity through a series of military campaigns against the Sinhala and Tamil rulers of other minor kingdoms. His polity was fragile, however, maintained more by an ability to coerce than by administrative institutions; it collapsed soon after his death. The image of Duṭṭhagāmaṇī was more enduring. It...