Sri Lanka portal Beminitiya Seya (Sinhala: බැමිණිතියා සාය/බ්රාහ්මණ තීය සාගතය, [bæmiɳiθija: sa:jə]), also known as the Great Famine (103–89 BCE) was a major famine which occurred in the Anuradhapura Kingdom during the rule of the Five Dravidians, shortly after overthrow of King Valagambahu.
[1] For over a decade, the irrigation systems of the Anuradhapura Kingdom had failed as a result of invasion, corruption and neglect.
Long periods of drought coupled with South Indian invasion meant that maintenance and repair of the once advanced irrigation systems of the kingdom were now completely neglected.
[2] The famine is mentioned a number of times in the stories contained in the "Sihalavatthu Pakarana", the oldest work of Sri Lankan literature.
In this work, it is related that many monks left the island during the famine to India or the Maldives.