Ten Giant Warriors
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.
Grown up, Nandimitra went to serve his uncle in king Dutugamunu's army, and is said to have killed soldiers who desecrated the temples and other holy sites by ripping them apart "treading one leg down with his foot while he grasped the other with his hand"(Mahãvamsa, chapter 23, verse 3)[1] 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).
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.
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.
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).
According to the Mahãvamsa (chapter 23, verse 49-54), Gotaimbara (Sinhala: ගෝඨයිම්බර), the seventh and youngest son of Mahanaga, was born in the village of Nitthulavitthika in the Giri region.
According to folklore, Gotaimbera's native village is Godigamuwa, in the western province of Sri Lanka, at Divulapitiya electorate.
Theraputthabhya (Sinhala: ථෙරපුත්තාභය) who is regarded the strongest of all the ten giants was born the son of a householder named Rohana, the headman of the village Kitti near the Kota mountain.
A prolific stone lifter, when he was ten or twelve, Theraputthabhya could throw rocks that could only be lifted by four or five grown men.
(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.
According to the Mahãvamsa (chapter 23, verse 78-81), he was born Dewa (people), the youngest son of Abhaya of the Mahisadonika village in the Nakulanaga district.
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.
According to the Mahãvamsa (chapter 23, verse 82-89) Phussadeva (Sinhala: ඵුස්සදේව) was born the son of Uppala from Dewa (people) 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.
