Kingdom
of Polonnaruwa
The decline
of Anuradhapura began after the invasion from South India known as the ‘Soli’
defeated the final King in Anuradhapura, King V Mihindu (1001 - 1017).
All of the monarchs
listed below were active during the reign of Polonnaruwa which lasted from 1055
to 1255 following the collapse of the Kingdom of Anuradhapura. The rulers listed
below were associated with important characteristics of the country, nation,
religion and people. Polonnaruwa was controlled by 19 different rulers till the
reign of Dambadeniya will began.
Who were the Rulers ruled in Polonnaruwa?
1. King I Vijayabahu (1055 - 1110)
2. King I Jayabahu (1110 - 1111)
3. King I Vikramabahu (1111 - 1132)
4. King II Gajaba (1132 - 1153)
5. King I Parakramabahu (1153 - 1186)
6. King II Vijayabahu (1186 - 1187)
7. King VI Mihindu (1187)
8. King Keerthi Sri Nishshankamalla (1187 - 1196)
9. King Weerabahu (1196)
10. King II Vikramabahu (1196)
11. King Chodaganga (1196 - 1197)
12. Queen Leelawathi (1197 – 1200)
13. King Sahassamalla (1200 - 1202)
14. Queen Kalyanawathi (1202 - 1208)
15. Princess Dharmashoka (1208 - 1209)
16. King Anikanga (1209)
17. Queen Leelawathi / 2nd Time (1209 – 1210)
18. King Lokeshwara (1210 - 1211)
19. Queen Leelawathi / 3rd Time (1211 – 1212)
20. King Parakrama Pandya (1212 - 1215)
21. King Kalinga Magha (1215 - 1255)
King I Vijayabahu (1055-1110)
Invasions from South India were common at the end of Anuradhapura’s region. The division of people called Soli were the most harmful invasions to Sri Lanka. As a result, the Anuradhapura period began to deteriorate, and the Polonnaruwa era gradually emerged. In the beginning, the Polonnaruwa kingdom was also ruled by the Soli and also they renamed the kingdom as Jananatha Puram. After that, Soli were defeated by King 1st Vijayabahu and anointed as the first King in Polonnaruwa kingdom. The Kingdom’s name was then changed to Polonnaruwa by the King.
The King
grew up in the Ruhuna area with his family. The King was known as “Keerthi” on
his small stage. The individual who guarded the Royal family in Ruhuna was
known as Sithnaaru Bima Budal Na. He worked as a security guard. The King
wrote an inscription named Panakaduwa Inscription including all the details
of his small stage and also the details of the person called “Sithnaaru Bima
Budal Na”.
Considering
one of the most important things, the King chose Polonnaruwa as the Kingdom
because the harbour in Gokannathiththa also known as Trincomalee harbour is
much closer to Polonnaruwa than Anuradhapura. The King could command it from
Polonnaruwa.
King
I Parakramabahu (1153-1186)
He was
anointed as King in 1153. King ‘1st Parakramabahu’ is credited with
creating one of Sri Lanka’s largest lakes, ‘Parakrama Samudraya’. Not only for
the irrigation industry but also agriculture and he dedicated his life to
Buddhism for all eternity.
He got Sri
Lanka’s economy back on track by exporting grains to other countries around the
world.
With the
aid of the incumbent of the ‘Dimbulagala’ temple, he reconciled Sinhalese and
Hindu people as well as achieving peace for monks around Sri Lanka. The King
began to build the largest Stupa in Polonnaruwa named ‘Demala Maha Stupa’.
Sri Lanka was at its most self-sufficient during the period of King I Parakramabahu.
King II Vijayabahu (1186 - 1187)
King II
Vijayabahu ascended to the throne following the death of King I Parakramabahu (1153-1186). He was
a poet who knew everything there was to know about the subject. The King
despatched a poem to the king of Burma now known as Myanmar on a mission
to rebuild the relations between the two kingdoms which were destroyed during
the reign of King I Parakramabahu.
King Mihindu defeated King II Vijayabahu and took control of the Polonnaruwa kingdom.
King Keerthi Sri Nishshankamalla (1187 - 1196)
One of the most powerful rulers during the Polonnaruwa
Reign. He was the prince of King II Vijayabahu. After the Mihindu, the King who
defeated King II Vijayabahu, was beaten by King Keerthi Sri Nishshankamalla,
after 5 days of Mihindu’s Kingship.
He was born in 1157. He established the “Galpotha”
inscription in Polonnaruwa and filled it with all the details about his youth.
He was also benefiting Buddhism and the irrigation industry.
He constructed the tooth relic temple in Polonnaruwa. He restored the temple of
Dambulla (Dambulu Viharaya) and renamed it as ‘Rangiri Dambulla’. He created
the lakes of Ranthisa, MiniHora, Ganhala and Padi.
Galpotha Inscription
King Keerthi Sri Nishshankamalla established the largest inscription
in Sri Lanka. This is located in Polonnaruwa in-front of the Sathmahal Prasaadaya.
The King’s person brought the plane stone from Mihinthalaya Mountain,
which measures 26 feet in length, 4 feet in width and 3 feet in height. It featured
information about the industrial projects done by the King.
The King was victorious in his wars against the people of South
India in South India. It describes in the inscriptions in Dambulu Viharaya.
Furthermore, the King constructed the ‘Nishshankeshwaram’ temple in Pandya in South India. The King was doing a lot for Buddhism and the people in his region as well. It describes in the inscription which was established near Ruwanweliseya in Anuradhapura.
King
Kalinga Magha (Kalinga Vijayabahu) (1215 - 1255)
The degradation of the reign of Polonnaruwa occurred during
this time. Kalinga was a person who arrived from another country to Polonnaruwa
with thousands of people and defeated the King Parakrama Pandya to take the
kingdom (1212 - 1215).
The Kalinga army known as ‘Bhilla’ overpowered the
people in the reign and whatever they owned.
They demolished temples, hundreds of stupas and other
religious structures as well as burning religious literature and recordings
from the past. The citizens and the monks from the kingdom of Polonnaruwa
travelled to the reign of Ruhuna with all of their associated possessions,
particularly the tooth relic of Buddha.
While the Kingdom of Polonnaruwa began to deteriorate, the Kingdom of
Dambadeniya formed gradually. Kalinga was defeated by King II Parakramabahu,
the second King of Dambadeniya Reign.
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