What is "sinhabahu"

Sinhabahu (Sinha = Lion, Bahu = Hands) was father of Vijaya of Sri Lanka and king of Sinhapura.

According to the Mahavamsa's folklore (the chronicled history of Sri Lanka), Sinhabahu's father was a lion and his mother a princess of Kalinga. His hands and feet were like a lion's paws.

When Sinhabahu was sixteen, he escaped with his mother and sister, Sinhasivali, and arrived in the capital of Vanga. He later killed his father for a reward and was offered the throne of Vanga.

He refused the throne, instead founding the city of Sinhapura, in his native country of Lála in Kalinga. His capital is identified with Sinhapura / Singhpur Town near Jajpur in Odisha. He lived there with his sister Sinhasivali, whom he made his consort. They had thirty-two children, of whom Vijaya was the eldest and Sumitta the second.