and fought against the army of Alakeshvara
and captured him along with some others as
prisoners, and went back to China.
Several buildings, constructed during the
Gampola ruling period still remain and
Lankathilaka and Gadaladeni temples built by
king Buvanekabahu IV are prominent among
them.
Kotte Kingdom
We mentioned above that minister Nissanka
Alakeshvara built a strong fortress in Kotte
during the Gampola ruling period. But, the Kotte
kingdom was established by king Parakramabahu
VI. His father was one Jayamahalena. His
mother was Sunethra Devi. Since there were
adversaries during the last part of the Gampola
ruling period, prince Parakramabahu had to
live in hiding. Here, Veedagama Thero provided
him protection. Afterwards, in 1412 prince
Parakramabahu came to power in Rayigama
with the courtesy of Veedagama Thero. After
three years’ time in 1415 he came to Kotte,
which was famous as a safe place, and held his
coronation. From then on he ruled the country
for a long time until 1467. These are prominent
in King Parakramabahu’s service.
- Bringing Wanni areas under the Kotte kingdom.
- Winning Jaffna by sending the army under
prince Sapumal. - Suppressing the rebellion raised by Count
Jothiya, who was the provincial ruler of Uda
Rata. - Uniting the country under the Kotte kingdom
and making the country prosperous. - Making a great contribution to the enhancement
of country’s education and literature.
As there was not an heir to the throne after
king Parakramabahu VI's demise, the son of
his daughter, Ulakudaya Deviya, acceded to the
throne in the name of Jayabahu. But his ruling
time was short. Prince Sapumal, who was assigned
to rule Jaffna by King Parakramabahu VI after
capturing Jaffna, came with an army, besieged
Kotte capital and usurped power by assassinating
king Jayabhu. He became the king in the name of
Buvanekabahu VI in 1469. At the beginning of his
ruling a rebellion named Pasyodun Rata Sinhala
Peraliya or Sinhala Sange started. This rebellion
was suppressed by prince Ambulugala under
the guidance of King Buvanekabahu. The king
forgave the rebel leaders including Kekulandala
Siriwardana Pathiraja. The inscription made
for this is known as ‘Abhayadana Shilalipiya’ or
‘Dedigama Inscription’.After the demise of king Buvanekabahu VI, one
of his sons named Panditha Parakramabahu
came to power. He was known as Parkaramabahu
VII and his ruling time was not a long one.
Prince Ambulgala, who was in charge of ruling
affairs in Sathara Koralaya, came, dethroned
Panditha Parakramabahu and became the king
in the name of Veera Parakramabahu VIII. It is
believed that he came to power in 1490 A.D. The
Portuguese arrived in this country during his
ruling time in 1505.Jaffna and the VanniyarsThe ruling unit, which started in the Jaffna
area after the downfall of Rajarata civilization,
is known as the Jaffna kingdom. There are no
contemporary sources to study the beginning
and the history of this kingdom and the most
famous book which assists to study its history is
Yalpana Vayipava Maleyi. But it was written in
the 18th century. Apart from these, the Tamil texts
such as Kayilaya Maleyi and Shegarashashekara
Maleyi are also important.The founder of the Jaffna kingdom was Vijay
Kulankeyi Arya Chakravarthi. There is a
description in the Yalpana Vayipava Maleyi
text about twelve rulers such as Kulashekara,