<p data-end="924" data-start="181"> After the death of King Panduvasudeva, kingship passed to his eldest son, Prince Abhaya. It appears that his other brother princes also approved this. The upbringing and necessary protection of Prince Pandukabhaya, born to Ummada Chitra, were also arranged with the support of this king. However, his other brothers strongly opposed this. On one occasion, King Abhaya sent a message instructing Prince Pandukabhaya not to cross to this side of the Mahaweli River and to reside on the far side of the river. When the other princes learned of this, they threatened to kill King Abhaya. As a result, he handed over the kingdom to them and withdrew from the throne. The other princes together appointed their second brother, Prince Tissa, as king.</p> <p data-end="1455" data-start="926"> The events recorded as having occurred during the reign of King Abhaya are only the extensions of the narrative of Pandukabhaya&rsquo;s life. Meanwhile, settlements continued to expand, and the struggle to unite these settlements and form a great kingdom was beginning. Although the chronicles from the time of King Vijaya had conferred the title of &ldquo;Great King&rdquo; upon rulers, during this period such a great kingdom had not yet been established. It appears that the leader of a powerful settlement was chosen as king by common consent.</p> <p data-end="1606" data-is-last-node="" data-is-only-node="" data-start="1457"> The reign of King Abhaya was limited to twenty years. The period of anarchy during the reign of King Tissa (89&ndash;106 / 454&ndash;437) lasted seventeen years.</p>