histoy G-10 E

The weakness of the king was that he did not
have a good knowledge on administration. The
result of this was that the Kandyan chieftains
strengthened their power further.

This king, as his father, married a South Indian
princess. They did not have children from this
marriage. The result of this was that the queen’s
brother inherited the kingship, following the
South Indian tradition.

Nayakkar Dynasty

King Sri Vijaya Rajasinghe (1739 -1747 A.D.)

King Sri Veera Parakrama Narendrasinghe
passed away in year 1739, without leaving an heir
to the throne. In this case, in accordance with
the South Indian tradition, the queen’s brother
prince Sri Vijaya Rajasinghe became the king of
the Kandyan kingdom. The new royal dynasty,
which was started with this king, is known as the
Nayakkar dynasty. The major challenge that King
Sri Vijaya Rajasinghe faced was the strengthened
power of the chieftains of the Kandyan council of
the palace. To ameliorate this situation the king
appointed his relatives to the council.

Even though this king, who had embraced
Buddhism and grown in the association of
the Buddhist Bhikkus, acted to bring higher
ordinance from Burma according to the
instructions given by Weliwita Saranankara
Thero, his effort was not successful.

King Sri Vijaya Rajasinghe, who married a South
Indian princess, passed away in 1747 without
leaving a royal heir as he did not have children.

King Keerthi Sri Rajasinghe (1747 -1781 A.D)

After the death of king Sri Vijaya Rajasinghe, his
wife’s brother Keerthi Sri Rajasinghe accecded to
the throne of the Kandyan kingdom in 1747. It has
been recorded that since Keerthi Sri Rajasinghe

was at a very young age as 16 years old when he

came to power, his father Narenappa Nayakkar

interfered in the affairs of the ruling.

When king Keerthi Sri Rajasinghe came to

power, Buddhism in this country was of a very

decaying state. Therefore, according to the

instructions of Weliwita Saranankara Thero, the

king acted to create a Buddhist revival in the

country. Following are the several steps taken by

the king for that.

 Establishing higher ordinance again by

sending messengers to Thailand by the king and

accompanying the Bhikkus led by Upali Thero.

With this the beginning of the present day Siyam

sect took place.

 Renovating the temples in upcountry as well as

in low country.

 Granting the post of Sangaraja to Saranankara

Thero and assisting the Thero to create a Buddhist

revival.

 During the years between 1760 and 1765 the

good relationship between the Dutch and Kandy

collapsed. As a result, there were a few fights

between the two sides. Those conflicts ended

when the king and the Dutch signed a peace

pact between them in 1766. King Keerthi Sri

Rajasinghe too passed away without leaving an

heir to the Kandyan throne.

King Rajadhirajasinghe (1781-1798 A.D)

After the death of king Keerthi Sri Rajasinghe,

his brother became the king of Kandy in the

name of Rajadhirajasinghe. By this time disputes

were developing between the Kandyan chieftains

and the Nayakkar kings.

An important event that took place during his

ruling time was seizing the coastal areas of Sri

Lanka by the English in 1796. King Rajadhi

rajasinghe too passed away without a successor

in 1798.