Kandy Nayaks | The Kingdom of Kandy Sri Lanka

 The Kingdom of Kandy

Kingdom of Kandy

This was the last Kingdom of Sri Lanka. The reign was ruled by 12 Kings. The Kingdom lasted from 1469 to 1815. Several noteworthy events occurred during the reign. Especially, the escape of the Portuguese and the arrival of the Dutch and the British as well.

1.       King Senasammatha Wickramabahu (1469-1511)

2.       King Jayaweera Wickramabahu (1511-1552)

3.       King Karalliyadde Bandara (1552-1582)

4.       King I Vimaladharmasooriya (1591-1604)

5.       King Senarath (1604-1635)

6.       King II Rajasinghe (1635-1687)

7.       King II Vimaladharmasooriya (1687-1707)

8.       King Sri Weera Parakrama Narendrasinghe (1707-1739)

9.       King Sri Vijaya Rajasinghe (1739-1747)

10.   King Keerthi Sri Rajasinghe (1747-1782)

11.   King Sri Rajadhi Rajasinghe (1782-1798)

12.   King Sri Wickrama Rajasinghe (1798-1815)

  

King Senasammatha Wickramabahu (1469-1511)

The kingdom of Kotte was in disorder during the end of the reign. As a result, the officials of Kandy resolved to establish a new monarchy with a new King. They appointed Prince Senasammatha Wickramabahu as King of Kandy also known as Senkadagala in 1469. In comparison to Kotte, Kandy had a longer reign. It passed through Trincomalee and Panama areas in the east.

The King made great efforts to improve Buddhism. On the other hand, he was an author who published books and tapes. He visited Mahiyanganaya and Sri Pada as a pilgrim and he built staircases for the convenience of the pilgrims in Sri Pada.

King Jayaweera Wickramabahu (1511-1552)

During the early stages of King Mayadunne’s reign, he received assistance from King Jayaweera. After that, King Mayadunne attempted to attack Kandy. Then, the King became enraged with Mayadunne and asked help from the Portuguese. As a result of that, Portuguese built connections with Kandy for the first time in 1539. 

King Karalliyadde Bandara (1552-1582)

After the reign of King Jayaweera Wickramabahu, his son Karalliyadde Bandara got the throne in 1552. In 1582, King Seethawaka Rajasinghe overthrew the King and took control of the throne. After that, the King fled the throne and joined Portuguese with his Daughter and son-in-law, princess Kusumasana and Yamasinghe Bandara. Then they were baptized as Don Katharina and Don Philip.

Beyond that, there are no historical documents regarding the King.

King I Vimaladharmasooriya (1591-1604)

When the King I Rajasinghe was attacked in Kandy in 1582, he received additional assistance from a person named Veera Surendra. But the King assassinated that individual following a dispute after several years. Then Konappu Bandara, the son of Veera Surendra got involved with Portuguese. Then he changed his identity to Don John and began studying the Portuguese language.

The Portuguese wanted to unite Kandy and give the throne to Don Katharina (princess Kusumasana) or Don Philip (Yamasinghe Bandara). Then they dispatched Konappu Bandara and his team to Kandy to wage war on the rulers. At that time the reign was ruled by King I Rajasinghe (Seethawaka Rajasinghe) from Seethawaka reign. Seethawaka Rajasinghe was defeated by Konappu Bandara and Don Philip got the throne in the reign.      

After that Don Philip was killed by Konappu Bandara and crowned as I Vimaladharmasooriya in 1591. The Portuguese were then disappointed with Konappu Bandara. Following the incident, the Portuguese declared war on the King. Don Katharina was supposed to be given the throne. In 1594, they dispatched a battle to defeat the King, but the King defeated them all. Danture war is the name given to this conflict. After that the King obtained legal kingship as a result of his engagement with Don Katharina.

The tooth relic was hidden in the shrine of Delgamuwa when the King brought it to Kandy.

The arrival of the Dutch in 1602 was another significant moment during this era. The Portuguese believed that the King would make a deal with the Dutch which would cause them problems. They conducted another war against the King in 1603 in order to keep them apart. The King won the war which became known as the Balana war because it took place in the Balana reign.

After that the King handed-over the throne to his brother, Prince Senarath because his son was at a younger age. The King died in 1604, 13 years as ruler.    

King Senarath (1604-1635)

This was the brother of King I Vimaladharmasooriya. During the reign, the commanding officer of the Portuguese, Don Geronimo de Asawedu launched an attack on Kandy but it was in vain. The only problem for the King was Portuguese attacks on the villages. As a result, people flocked to Kandy and stayed.

After several years, the King divided the reign into three parts and ensured them to the King’s sons, prince Vijayapala, Kumarasinghe and Rajasinghe. Again In 1630, the Portuguese waged war against the King and were all beaten by the King’s battalion, led by Prince Rajasinghe in the area known as Randeniwala. The King died in 1635 after 31 years of kingship.

King II Rajasinghe (1635-1687)

King II Rajasinghe was the son of King Senarath. He ruled Kandy. The biggest issue he had was the control of the beach areas in the country by the Portuguese. During that time, the Portuguese harassed the villagers who were near the border of the kingdom. The main goal of the King was to force the Portuguese from the island.

In 1637, the King and the Dutch reached an agreement to drive the Portuguese out of Sri Lanka. Following this occurrence, the Portuguese declared war on the King in 1638 commanded by Diego de Merlo. All of them were defeated by the King. The conflict is known as the Gannoruwa war. The Portuguese then fled to Colombo Fort after closing their forts in the Manikkadawara and Malwana regions.

The Dutch stormed the Portuguese fort in Batticaloa after hearing that the King had attacked them. In 1638, the King agreed to a second deal with the Dutch. The King was dissatisfied with the Dutch because he learned the statements in the agreement were not adequately clarified. Later, the Dutch and the Portuguese signed a peace treaty from 1642 to 1650. During this time, there were no attacks.

However the Dutch were attacked and took control of Anguruwathota fort in Kalutara in 1652, Colombo fort in 1656, Jaffna and Mannar forts in 1658. As a result, the Dutch gained control of the marine areas of Sri Lanka.

The warrior King died in 1687.   

King II Vimaladharmasooriya (1687-1707)

This was the son of King II Rajasinghe. He was able to maintain the connections with Dutch without being harassed and also he was not an experienced King. As a result the aristocratic rule was established in Kandy.

Culavamsa or Chulavamsa said that the King conducted a lot of things to improve Buddhism in the country. Chulavamsa is a record that contains important historical information. He built a house in Kandy to hold the tooth relic.

The King died in 1707 after 20 years’ rule.

King Sri Weera Parakrama Narendrasinghe (1707-1739)

King Sri Weera Parakrama Narendrasinghe was the son of King II Vimaladharmasooriya.

He was the last of the Sinhala dynasty’s rulers. The King had no desire to rule over the country as well as the educational and agricultural industries. The Kings in the latter years of Kandy’s monarchy including this King, were married princesses from South India. As a result, several South Indians were in charge of the King’s governance. Because of that, the aristocracy of Kandy tried to kill the King but failed.

The King has made significant contributions to Buddhism. The King rebuilt the relic temple that his father had established. As the last King of the Sinhala dynasty, he died in 1739.

King Sri Vijaya Rajasinghe (1739-1747)

This was the brother of King Weera Parakrams’s princess.

King Sri Vijaya Rajasinghe was the first King of Nayakkar clan. During the rule of Nayakkar, the Kandy nobility known as Radala wielded more influence than the Kings. The top seats of governance were given to the people who came with the princess from South India because the King was married to a south Indian princess as previous rulers.

The most important thing was that the King and his entourage were all Buddhists including South Indians and that all of the princesses attended Buddhist festivals. They also composed Buddhist works. The King visited the sacred city of Anuradhapura, as well as the Mahiyanganaya Stupa and Sri Pada. There were also some festivals that he organized there. 

The King rebuilt many Buddhist temples throughout the island including the Aluvihare temple in Matale. The Dutch were dissatisfied with the Nayakkar Kings since they made the most profit out of the sales. The Nayakkars were well-versed in all aspects of the Sri Lankan – South Indian commercial relationships. As a result, the connection between the Dutch and the King was severed in 1739.

King Keerthi Sri Rajasinghe (1747-1782)

King Keerthi Sri Rajasinghe was the brother of King Vijaya Rajasinghe’s princess (1739-1747). He was a member of the Nayakkar clan and also a Buddhist. He was able to accomplish a lot for Buddhism. The King decided to create the Siam Nikaya (Siamese sect) within the country in 1753 with the assistance of Upali thero from Siam AKA Myanmar. The Shyamopali Nikaya was thereafter created. The King appointed Welivita Sri Saranankara thero as the chief priest of Sri Lanka.

During this era, the Chief Temple of Malwathu and the Sangharaja Pirivena were built as well as he developed Buddhist education and other Buddhist related projects. The King constructed a new relic temple in Kandy and rebuilt temples around Sri Lanka, including the temple of Dambulla, Aluwiharaya in Matale, Wakirigala temple and the Ridee Viharaya in Kurunegala as well as others.

During this season, people in the southern division of the country, battled against the Dutch due to their harassment. After that, the King attacked the Dutch and took control of the forts of Hanwella and Matara. Then the Dutch attacked again in 1765 to the Kandy and it ended in failure. In 1766, the chief person of the Dutch sent an agreement to the King which included sentences beneficial to the Dutch. But the King dismissed it.

 

King Sri Rajadhi Rajasinghe (1782-1798)

He was the brother of King Keerthi Sri Rajasinghe and he continued all the Buddhist related things done by his brother.

The King was a well-educated person in Pali, Sanskrit and Sinhala languages. He built a Stupa and offered a steel Buddha statue as a sacrifice in Gangarama temple.

During this time, the British were asked King to help them to drive away Dutch from the country. But the King dismissed the request. In 1795, Dutch were attacked by the British in Trincomalee harbour and they took refuge there. After that, they continuously attacked Jaffna, Kalpitiya and finally to the Colombo Fort in 1796. They didn’t try to invade Kandy since they lacked the necessary power.

King Sri Wickrama Rajasinghe (1798-1815)

The throne was traditionally assigned to the prince Muththusami who was the brother of King Sri Rajadhi Rajasinghe’s princess. However, a man named Pilimathalauwe Adikaram handed the throne over to Prince Kannasami who was the son of King Sri Rajadhi Rajasinghe’s brother. Pilimathalauwe Adikaram was a government official. Then the Prince Kannasami became the King and crowned as King Sri Wickrama Rajasinghe in 1798.

Then prince Muththusami managed to flee Kandy and joined the British forces.

The British force then attacked Kandy, but the Sinhalese destroyed the majority of them. The others were confined to Kandy because of the spillage of the Mahaweli River. They were also unable to communicate with headquarters in Colombo. Following that, the rest of the survivors died from fevers and a lack of food.

Pilimathalauwe Adikaram attempted to keep the King under his control in order to meet his demands. A guy who was known as Leuke Disawe, a major army member of the King, was killed by the King at this time owing to a personal affair. This incident enraged Pilimathalauwe Adikaram. Then he attempted to assassinate the King. Pilimathalauwe Adikaram had been assassinated by the King before that. Then the position was thereafter given to Ehelepola Adikaram.

Molligoda was dissatisfied with this and attempted to split the King and Ehelepola Adikaram by sending false information to the King. Unfortunately, the King slaughtered the family members of Ehelepola Adikaram, wife and three children, including Madduma Bandara, the legend, after hearing such things.

Then Ehelepola Adikaram managed to flee Kandy and join the British forces.

People in the reign were also unhappy with the King because of his harassment. The British troops, led by Ehelepola Adikaram arrived in Kandy in 1815 and seized the authority. Then the King escaped from the reign. Later, the King was apprehended by the British army and sent to India as a prisoner of war.

The Paththirippuwa, which was in the tooth relic temple as well as the lake adjoining the temple, was built by the King.

The last monarch of Sri Lanka passed-away in 1832.