Hālā an Ancient India King who married in Ceylon

Hālā, the King of Satavahana Dynasty and a fine poet, lived during 2^nd century AD in India. He was the 17^th ruler of the said dynasty, and he ruled in a larger area of Deccan. He was a popular king among the people of his state. He had a huge trained battalion of army.

Hālā had a brave commander-in-chief of army named Vijayananda. There was an army campaign led to Ceylon under the command of Vijayananda. The victorious campaign to Ceylon was a big reason of fame to the king, Hālā. Apart from being a successful king, Hālā is also known for his literary work in Prakrit language (one of older languages of India).

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He is credited for composing romantic poems known as Gāhā Sattasai or Gāthā Saptāsati, meaning “700 stanzas”. According to historians, these verses contain rich information about the peoples’ life, their happiness and sorrows, mainly focusing on the emotion of love, village set up and family life etc, prevalent in ancient days of India.

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There is a beautiful and popular love story of Hālā and his marriage to Lilavai. It is said that, when his commander-in-chief of army, Vijayananda came back from the campaign of Simhaladwipa (Ceylon), he informed to his master about a beautiful daughter of Ceylon’s king.

The name of the king’s daughter (princess) was Lilavai. Hālā was so convinced that he decided to send a wedding proposal to marry the princess. The proposal was accepted by the father of the girl. And finally, the marriage got materialized and she immigrated to India.

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