Kanirajānu Tissa

King of Ceylon (A.D.89-92). He slew his elder brother āmandagāmani Abhaya and occupied the throne. He once gave judgment in a lawsuit concerning the uposatha-house in the Cetiyagiri vihāra, and sixty monks who were found guilty of treason against him were captured by his orders and flung into a cave called Kanira. Hence, probably, his name. Mhv.xxxv.9ff; MT.640; Dpv.xx.38.
 

Dictionary of Pali Proper Names, G P Malalasekera (1899-1973), which is available as printed version from