King of Pandukabhaya

King of Pandukabhaya

Pandukabhaya is, according to the Mahavansa, the 6th king of Sri Lanka since the arrival of the Aryans, he reigned from 437 BC to 367 BC. According to many historians and philosophers, he is the first truly Sri Lankan king since the Aryan invasion, and the also the king who ended the conflict between the Aryans and local community, reorganizing the populace. His story is one wrapped in myth and legend.

Princess Umaddha Citta had entrusted the education of her son, Pandukabhaya, to a Brahmin by the name of Pandula. This Brahmin made his own son, Canda (Chandra), the fellow student of the Prince and the two became good friends. Ones he came of age, the young prince gathering troops from the local villages, waged war against his uncles in which he was aided by demons. This war is interpreted as a freedom struggle of the ancient local tribes.

Pandukabhaya married a beautiful princess named Swarnapali (Pali), daughter of Girikandasiva, an uncle of his who was governing the territory of Girikandaka. Following the war, they were consecrated King and Queen of Lanka.

Pandukabhaya founded the city of Anuradhapura and the seat of government was moved to the new city. He appointed his friend, Canda (son of his Brahin teacher), to the office of Adigar (Minister). He also appointed his uncle Abhaya, Mayor of the city. To his father-in-law Girikandasiva he restored the city of Girikandaka. He devoted much of his time to the adornment and civil government of the new capital city of Anuradhapura. Agriculture too received his due share of attention. He constructed the Jaya Wewa and Gamini Wewa.

Magnificent was the tolerance and encouragement of all religious systems during this period of Lanka’s history. He also built a special palace for his mother, Umaddha Citta, at Anuradhapura. He died after having reigned for seventy years.

King Sri Wickrema Rajasinghe

King Sri Wickrema Rajasinghe

Sri Vikrama Rajasinha (1780 - January 30, 1832) was the last king of Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) and the last of four kings from the Nayakar dynasty. He was eventually deposed by the British under the terms of the Kandyan Convention.

Prior to his coronation, Sri Vikrama Rajasinha was known as Prince Kannasamy. He was a member of the Madurai royal family and the nephew of Sri Rajadhi Rajasinha. He succeed his uncle as the King of Kandy in 1798 at the age of eighteen.

There was a rival claimant to succeed Sri Rajadhi Rajasinha, the brother of Queen Upendramma, who had a stronger claim. However, Pilimatalawe, the first Adigar (Prime Minister) chose Prince Kannasamy, reportedly with deep seated plans to usurp the throne to set up a dynasty of his own. Sri Vikrama Rajasinha was faced with numerous conspiracies to overthrow him and reigned through one of the most turbulent periods in Sri Lanka's history.

During his time, the British who had succeeded the Dutch in the Maritime Provinces had not interfered in the politics of the Kandy. But Pilimatalava, the first Adigar of the king, started covert operations with the British to provoke the King into acts of aggression, which would give the British an excuse to seize the Kingdom. The Adigar manipulated the king into beginning a military conflict with the British, who had gained a strong position in the coastal provinces. War was declared and on March 22, 1803 the British entered Kandy with no resistance, Sri Vikrama Rajasinha having fled. The adigar massacred the British garrison in Kandy in June and restored the king to the throne. Pilimitalava plotted to overthrow the king and seize the crown for himself, but his plot was discovered, and, having been pardoned on two previous occasions, he was executed.

The disgraced adigar was replaced by his nephew, Ehelepola, who soon came under suspicion of following his uncle in plotting the overthrow of Sri Vikrama Rajasinha. A rebellion instigated by Ehalepola was suppressed, after which he then fled to Colombo and joined the British. After failing to surrender (after 3 weeks of notice), the exasperated king dismissed Ehelepola, confiscated his lands, and ordered the imprisonment and execution of his wife and children. A propagandised account of the execution was widely circulated by sympathisers.