The Sri Lankan Army's Long Range Reconnaissance Patrol units are popularly known as the "Maha Sohon Brigade", named after this demon.
Depending on the version of the tale, Gotaimbara decapitates Jayasena either accidentally or with a single kick, after which the cadaver is tossed into an open graveyard.
Upon seeing Jayasena’s predicament, a deity takes pity on him and attempts to revive him before the cadaver grows cold (or another time limit is reached).
[7] Maha Sohona is chief to 30,000 demons, and often uses various disguises, each time riding a particular animal such as a goat, deer, horse, sheep and elephant.
In traditional exorcism rituals, dancers dressed as Maha Sona perform to cure patients of illnesses believed to be caused by the demon.
In the Galle District of Sri Lanka, Mahasona and other demons (yakshas) such as Riri Yaka were considered benevolent, despite causing illness in victims, which necessitated healing rituals.
Professor Bruce Kapferer has written extensively on this in his book 'A Celebration of Demons: Exorcism and the Aesthetics of Healing in Sri Lanka'.