It is by chance that I stumbled across the character of Mapitigama Buddharakkita Thera; his name having been mentioned - almost as an aside - in a textbook. I started digging and unearthed some fascinating facts about this extraordinary man whose influence on politics was equivalent to that of a medieval king-maker. Information about Buddharakkita's political involvement, his greed for power and need for money emerged largely from court proceedings in which he was involved, including his appeal against the death sentence for the murder of his erstwhile protégé, Mr Bandaranaike.

At the end of 1958, Somarama Thera's appointment came up for renewal. This was, no doubt, the bait used by Buddharakkita to recruit him as an assassin. But was this a sufficient inducement to commit murder? There is little to give an insight into Somarama Thera's personality except what he told the Magistrate in a statement (later retracted) following the assassination of Mr Bandaranaike. However this, together with other evidence, indicates a man whose political and religious convictions bordered on zealotry.

Like many others with similar beliefs, Somarama expected great things from the new Prime Minister. Like them, he was disappointed. He was obviously sympathetic to Buddharakkita's argument that "there is no future for the Sinhalese or the language if things go on like this." The only solution to this problem, according to the abbot, was the assassination of Prime Minister Bandaranaike. Interestingly, Somarama presented no moral objection to this proposal, only a practical one. Who would look after his temple and pupils? Having had his qualms dismissed by the abbot, Somarama Thera meekly agreed to perform the task in the belief that the interests of "my country and my religion and race" justified the murder of "a man who had done me no wrong".

Somarama was given some cursory training for the task by his fellow conspirators. Having been presented with an enormous revolver which he described as being "about a foot long", the short-sighted monk was driven into the countryside and told to practice. His target? Kaduru fruit growing on roadside trees.

On the day of the assassination, the monk took a medicine "to make myself brave". This may have been an ayurvedic potion but a comment in the Court proceedings indicates that it may have been something else. At some stage in his life, it appears that Somarama had been an opium addict.

At sixteen, Vimala married into a wealthy, influential family whose members were devout Buddhists and supporters of a Sinhalese nation. The generosity of her mother-in-law, Helena, had restored the ancient monastery of Kelaniya and ensured its continuing prosperity. Her husband, Don Charles, was a polemicist who wrote a tract entitled ‘Revolt in the Temple' which supported the active role played by monks in affairs of state. It was also Don Charles who introduced a 19-year old monk, Buddharakkita Thera, into the Wijewardene household.