Ten Giant Warriors Much is written of the great war of 205 BC to 161 BC between Sinhala King Dutugemunu and a South Indian invader , Tamil King Elara for the City of Anuradhapura , and the central role played by Dutugemunu ’ s Ten Giant Warriors ( දසමහා යෝධයෝ ) or the great warriors ( " dasa maha yodhayo " in sinhalese ) – the " dasa maha yodha " . " Yodha " must have come from the word " Yohod " , meaning Grand Master of Angampora . This makes sense , as all these warriors were great fighters , and from the way they were discovered and the way they managed to raise an army . According to the chronicle Mahavamsa the men were drafted into Royal service during the reign of Dutugemunu ’ s father King Kavantissa , and levied to serve the young prince in due course . The Rajavaliya claims that the ten champions had remained impartial throughout Dutugemunu ’ s battles with his younger brother Tissa , as they had promised King Kavantissa that they would remain impartial in the event of a dispute between the two brothers . At the decisive battle between the two kings at Vijithapura , Nandhimitra and Nirmalaya ( Suranimala ) are said to have fought to secure the south gate to the city . Mahasona ( sena ) , Gothaimbara and Theraputtabhya are said to have secured the east gate , while the remaining champions fought for the north and west gates ( Rajavaliya p39 ) . Nandimithra . Nandhimitra was perhaps the best known and strongest of the ten giant warriors . He was the nephew of Mitta , a well known strong great general in King Dutugemunu ’ s army , and was named after him . It is said that he had the strength of ten elephants and that he was the most skilled mahout of the war elephants in King Dutugemunu ' s army . As a young child , Mitta ' s mother tied him to a millstone to stop him from wandering off , but his great strength enabled the young boy to drag the heavy stone behind him , thus earning the name Nandhimitra . Then his mother tied him to a larger mortar , but he was able to drag that one too and continue following his mother . Then his mother tied him to a large bamboo tree , but that he uprooted and again followed his mother . When King Dutugamunu heard about this , he took him to train . The Mahãvamsa narrative suggests that Nandhimitra subsequently travelled to Rohana to serve a king who worshipped the noble triple gem ( Mahãvamsa , chapter 23 , verse 4 - 15 ) – a supposition that has been questioned by scholars , who argued that Elera himself , despite his Tamil heritage , had been a patron of the Buddhist temples ( De Silva , 2005 ) . Nandhimitra once defeated the famous Kandula elephant with his bare hands , and the elephant held a grudge against him for it . During the battle in Wijithapura , the Kandula elephant was used to break into the fortress of Elara . As Kandula was ramming the fortress , a large iron door almost fell on his head , but Nandhimitra caught it in his hands , saving the elephant . From that day their rivalry ended . Suranimala . According to the Mahãvamsa ( chapter 23 , verse 16 - 44 ) , Nimala was the seventh son of a village headman named Samgha , in the village of Khandakavitthika in the Kotthivala district . As a young man , Nimala was sent into the service of prince Dighabaya , King Kavavannatissa ’ s son from a lesser queen . Dighabaya , who was in charge of Kacchakatittha , sent Nimala on an errand to a Brahman named Kundali , who lived near the Cetiya mountain in the Dvaramandala village . Nimala marched the great distance of more than eighteen yojanas form Kacchakatittha to Dvaramandala , then from there to Anuradhapura to bathe in the Tissa tank , and back to his master the prince at Kacchakatittha , fetching the precious punnavaddhana garments gifted by the Brahmin , in just one day . Nimala was thus named Sura - nimala . Mahasona ( මහාසෝන ) . According to the Mahãvamsa , the giant warrior Mahasona , the eighth son of Tissa , was born in the village of Hundarivãpi in the Kulumbari district . At the age of ten the young boy , then named Sena , is said to have been strong enough to up - root " great palm - trees " , and later to have attained the strength of ten elephants . Gotaimbara . According to the Mahãvamsa ( chapter 23 , verse 49 - 54 ) , Gotaimbara , the seventh and youngest son of Mahanaga , was born in the village of Nitthulavitthika in the Giri region . Once , his brothers cleared the jungle for cultivation , but left a smaller area for Gota , who was short and lazy , to clear . Gota got angry with his brothers and cleared the whole jungle by uprooting some giant Imbara trees using his hands . Because of this incident , his family named him Gota of Imbara , which became Gotaimbara , and he was sent to the king of Lanka for royal service . Dagonna has been an area of Gotaimbera , one of the ten giants ( ministers ) of King Dutugamunu . Thus it gains a reputation in the history of the country . Devanandaramaya and the adjoining Devalaya , which is devoted to Gotaimbera , is said to be one of the places where Gotaimbera used to live , attending to agricultural activities . When he joined King Dutugamunu ’ s army , he made a vow that when King Dutugamunu won the war , he would build a Buddhist temple . Later , fulfilling his vow , he constructed the Devanandaramaya temple , which means satisfaction of gods . According to folklore , Gotaimbera ' s native village is Godigamuwa , in the western province of Sri Lanka , at Divulapitiya electorate . But he lived in Dagonna , his mother ' s and wife ' s ( Aepaa Devi ' s ) native place . Theraputthabhya . Gothabhaya was born the son of a householder named Rohana , the headman of the village Kitti near the Kota mountain , When he was ten or twelve , Gothabhaya could throw rocks that could only be lifted by four or five grown men . His father Rohana was a supporter of the " thera " ( buddhist monk ) Mahasumma , and on hearing a discourse of the " thera " at the " pabbata - vihara " , attained the first stage of enlightenment , " sothapanna " . Rohana was subsequently ordained as a monk , and in time an " arahath " . Gothabhaya thus became known as Thera - putt - abhya , abalya the son ( " putta " ) of the " thera " . ( Mahãvamsa , chapter 23 , verse 55 - 63 ) The ministers of the king , on a search for strong , brave men , came to take a rest at the temple where Theraputthabhya was staying as a monk . One of the men they had collected had shaken a coconut tree until all the coconuts fell down . As punishment for this mischievous and wasteful act , Theraputthabhya dragged the man along the road by his big toe . When the king asked him for his service for the country , he again became a layman in order to do so . After winning the battle against King Elara , Theraputthabhya again became a monk . He and Phussadeva were the only two giants who survived the war with King Elara . Manabharana . According to the Mahãvamsa ( chapter 23 , verse 64 - 67 ) , Bharana was born in the village of Kappakandara to a man named Kumara . As a young boy of ten or twelve , Bharana was said to be able to chase after hares in the forest and crush them under his feet . At sixteen he was said to outrun and hunt antelope , elk and boar , thus becoming recognized as a great warrior . Velusumanna . The warrior Velusumanna was born the son of a householder named Vasabha , in the Kutumbiyangana in the Giri district , and was named after his friends Vela and Sumana , who was the governor of Giri . He was the most skilled mounted warrior in King Dutugemunu ' s army . Young Velusumanna was able to ride a Sindhu ( Saindhava – form the Indus country ) horse belonging to the governor , a beast that would not let any man ride him . Not only did he break the horse , he galloped in circles so fast that he made it appear a chain of riders ( Mahãvamsa , chapter 23 , verse 68 - 77 ) . Velusumana gave his service to King Kavantissa ( King Dutugemunu ’ s father ) and then to King Dutugemunu . When Wihara Maha Devi ( King Dutugemunu ’ s mother ) was expecting her child , she had a few desires . She wanted to make a garland with lotus flowers from the thisa wewa . She also wanted to drink the water that washed the sword which beheaded the security chief of King Elara . King Kavantissa entrusted this mission to Velusumana . First he went to Anuradhapura and became friendly with the man in charge of the stable , where he selected the fastest horse . Then he rode to pick the lotus flowers from thisa wewa , before going to the main camp of King Elara . There Velusumana taunted all the guards by saying that he was a spy of the Sinhala king and challenging them to arrest him if they could . The security chief chased Velusumana on the next fastest horse . As Velusumana raced ahead , he stirred up the dust , impeding the security chief ' s vision . Then he stopped and went back a little , to wait with outstretched sword . The security chief could not see Velusumana ' s sword because of the dust , and his head was cut off at the neck after chasing so recklessly . Velusumana returned to the Sinhala King the same day with the lotus flowers and the head of the security chief . Khanjadeva . According to the Mahãvamsa ( chapter 23 , verse 78 - 81 ) , he was born Deva , the youngest son of Abhaya of the Mahisadonika village in the Nakulanaga district . He was later dubbed Khanjadeva as he limped a little . The young man was able to chase great buffaloes , grasp them by their legs , whirl them over his head and dash them to the ground . Phussadeva . According to the Mahãvamsa ( chapter 23 , verse 82 - 89 ) Phussadeva was born the son of Uppala in a village named Gavita near the Cittalapabbata temple . As a young boy visiting the temple Phussadeva is said to have been able to blow conch shells so loudly that they sounded like thunder , thus being named Ummadaphussadeva . Phussadeva became a renowned archer who never missed his mark . He and Theraputthabhya were the only two giants who survived the war with King Elara . Labhiyavasabha . Vasabha was born , the son of the house holder Matta , in the village of Viharavapi , near the Tuladhara mountain , and was named Labhiyavasabha – vasabha the gifted , on account of his noble physique . At the age of twenty it is said Vasabha had single - handedly moved such masses of earth that could only be moved by a dozen men to build the Vasabha tank with relative ease ( Mahãvamsa , chapter 23 , verse 90 - 95 ) .