The Kingdom of Dambadeniya
The reign
of Dambadeniya was erected in 1232, while the reign of Polonnaruwa was ruled by
Kalinga Magha. King II Panditha Parakramabahu from Dambadeniya reign, was the
King who defeated Kalinga Magha. Especially in that case, King III Vijayabahu
also played a significant part in-order to gain the victory.
Who were the Rulers ruled in Dambadeniya?
1. King III Vijayabahu (1232 - 1236)
2. King II Panditha Parakramabahu (1236 - 1270)
3. King IV Vijayabahu (1270 - 1272)
4. King I Buwanekabahu (1272 - 1284)
5. King III Parakramabahu (1287 - 1293)
King
III Vijayabahu (1232 - 1236)
The people
immigrated from Polonnaruwa to the Ruhuna reign due to the invasions by Kalinga
Magha.
During King
Kalinga Magha’s reign in Polonnaruwa, Sinhala princes were able to build citadels
in a number of locations throughout the Kingdom. These were the locations of Yapahuwa,
Ruhuna, Minipe and Dambadeniya. Prince Vijayabahu established citadels around
Dambadeniya. He became the King of Vanni and Maya reigns by
defeating the people of Kalinga Magha. Vanni and Maya were the
regionals of Sri Lanka.
The tooth
relic and the other treasures were brought from Polonnaruwa due to the
invasions of Kalinga Magha and kept in the Kothmale area. After gaining the
throne, the King built a temple on Beligala Mountain near Kegalle and housed the
artifacts within.
He repaired
all the devastated Buddhist temples, including Kelaniya and commissioned
Sinhala writers to re-write the writings and documents that Kalinga Magha had
destroyed.
King
II Panditha Parakramabahu (1236 - 1270)
King II
Panditha Parakramabahu was the son of King III Vijayabahu. He was known as
‘Kalikala Sahithya Sarwathra Panditha’ because of his extensive literary
expertise. The King built a temple in Dambadeniya and treasured the tooth relic
that his father had placed in a temple on Beligala Mountain in Kegalle.
The King pledged
to protect the island from Kalinga Magha at the ceremonial festival. Kalinga
Magha was aware that King II Panditha Parakramabahu will attack Polonnaruwa at
some time in the future. As a result, he recruited men from South India to fight
for him.
During the
reign, the King was attacked by Chandrabhanu from Thamralinga in India.
Then the King gave the command to assault Chandrabhanu to Prince Weerabahu.
After that, Prince Weerabahu, a close relative of the King was victorious in
the conflict.
In 1255, King
II Panditha Parakramabahu launched an attack and defeated Kalinga Magha in
Polonnaruwa, the worst king of the time. In the conflict, the King received
assistance from King Pandya. Chandrabhanu attacked the island again in 1261, but
the King defeated him with the assistance of King Pandya.
King II
Panditha Parakramabahu served the nation and Buddhism in a great way. He rebuilt
all of the wrecked temples and religious sites and returned all of the
properties to its legitimate owners.
He built
temples not only at Dambadeniya, but also in Kurunegala, Yapahuwa, Kelaniya,
Aththanagalla, Bentota and Dondra on the island. He made the pathways to the Sri
Pada more convenient for the comfort of the pilgrims.
The King
penned one of the greatest works of poetry known as ‘Kausilumina’.
He rendered invaluable service to Sinhala Literature as a well-known academic. The
major literature novels Aththanagalu wanshaya and Thupavanshaya
were also written during the reign.
When the
King got old, he assumed that the throne would be passed down to a son. The
King’s five sons were Vijayabahu, Buwanekabahu, Thilokamalla, Parakramabahu and
Jayabahu, while his son-in-law was Weerabahu.
The throne will be held by Prince Vijayabahu among these six princes, according to the King and other government officials. Following that, Prince Vijayabahu governed the country as IV Vijayabahu. He was the eldest son of the King.
King IV
Vijayabahu (1270 - 1272)
King IV
Vijayabahu was a legendary King in history. Unfortunately he died after only two
years as King.
He placed his younger brothers throughout the country. Prince Parakramabahu and Prince Vijayabahu were assigned to the Dambadeniya kingdom to assist King II Panditha Parakramabahu, father of the King who was nearing the end of his reign. The King accompanied Prince Weerabahu on a tour of the Kingdom to meet the needs of the people. The invader known as Chandrabhanu came up against conflict once more. The King won the battle with the support of Prince Weerabahu after waging it. He rebuilt various cities throughout the country, including the sacred city of Anuradhapura and Gampola and as well as a temple in Kurunegala.
He handed
up the throne of Dambadeniya to his younger brother Buwanekabahu and the King
left Dambadeniya and proceeded to Polonnaruwa. The King rebuilt the Kingdom of Polonnaruwa
and returned the tooth relic to Polonnaruwa with the guidance of his father.
The two
years after the coronation, the soldier known as Miththa defeated
this greatest King in his Palace. After receiving the news, Prince Buwanekabahu
the younger brother of the King was fled to the Yapahuwa area. Then Miththa entered
Dambadeniya and attempted to claim the crown. While he addressing the royal
council in the Palace, the brave commander named Takuraka was
defeated Miththa by his sword.
Takuraka
was sent by prince Buwanekabahu from Yapahuwa. The throne was thereafter given
to Prince Buwanekabahu, who was sworn in as King I Buwanekabahu in Dambadeniya.
King
I Buwanekabahu (1272 - 1284)
After a
brief reign in Dambadeniya, King I Buwanekabahu built his kingdom in Yapahuwa.
The ‘Pali’ version of the ‘Thripitaka’ was written in this reign.
He presented it to all of the major temples within the country. All Buddhist
records are written in a language called ‘Pali’.
He built a
relic temple in Yapahuwa and transported the tooth relic from Polonnaruwa to it.
During the reign, the tooth relic was stolen by a person known as ‘Aarya
Chakrawarthi’ who is from Pandya and hand-over it to the King Kulasekara in
Pandya.
The King
died in 1284. From 1284 to 1287, there were no ruler for the country.
King
III Parakramabahu (1287 - 1293)
King III
Parakramabahu was the son of King IV Vijayabahu (1270 - 1272). He ruled
Polonnaruwa during his reign and there were significant relationships between
Pandya and Sri Lanka.
At that time,
King Kulasekara was the ruler of Pandya. King III Parakramabahu travelled to
Pandya and returned with the tooth relic that had escaped from Sri Lanka during
the reign of King I Buwanekabahu.
He was the
last King of Polonnaruwa and Dambadeniya kingdoms.
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