Jettha Tissa I

Jettha Tissa I (Sinhala: ජෙට්ඨ තිස්ස, lit. 'Tissa Senior', [dʒeʈʈə tissə], ruled 263–273) also referred to as Detu Tis (Sinhala: දෙටු තිස්, [deʈu tis]), Kalakandetu Tissa, and Makalan Detu Tissa, was the eldest son of Gothabhaya and brother of Mahasena. He was a king of Sri Lanka for ten years.

The chronicle of Sri Lanka - Mahavamsa described Jettha Tissa I as a cruel person and stated that immediately after his father’s death, he had all of his father’s court ministers killed and then had their bodies placed on spikes around the pyre.

Sources cite that Jettha Tissa and his brother Prince Mahasena were educated by the Buddhist monk Sanghamitta. It is said that the young Jettha Tissa, who later embraced the Maha Vihara priests instead of Buddhism, disliked his teacher. The monk was forced to flee when he became king but returned and became influential during Mahasena's reign.