Kingdom of Dambadeniya

Dambadeniya Kingdom

King Vijayabahu III- From 1232 AD - 1236 AD

King Vijayabahu III is the first king of Dambadeniya kingdom. Native Sinhalese began to move to the south or Maya rata because of the hard Tamil ruler Kalinga Magha as mentioned in Polonnaruwa kingdom. While he was the king of Polonnaruwa, king Vijayabahu III (a descendant of king Sirisangabo) became the king of Dambadeniya.

He conveyed tooth relic and Lord Buddha's alms bowl to Dambadeniya from it's hiding place Kotmale. His reign was largely spent reconstructing the shattered Buddhist infrastructure of the Sinhalese.

The picture shown below is Vijayasundararama temple at Dambadeniya which was used as the tooth relic shrine in Dambadeniya era.

King Parakramabahu II- From 1236 AD - 1271AD

Then his elder son Parakramabahu became the king of Dambadeniya and he recovered Polonnaruwa from Kalinga people by 1244 AD.
His nick name was "Kalikala Sahithya Sarvagnana Panditha Parakramabahu" because he was a great poet and experienced in literature. Kav Silumina is one of his creations.

Then he abdicated in favor of his eldest son VijayaBahu and he was sent for the completion of recovery of Polonnaruwa and Anuradhapura areas.

King Vijayabahu IV - From 1271 AD to 1273 AD

King Vijayabahu IV became the sole king after king Panditha Parakramabahu's death. He could bare the crown only for 2 years because he was assassinated by his general Mitta.

Next king of the country was king Vijayabahu's younger brother Buwanekabahu and he moved the capital from Dambadeniya to Yapahuwa.

The coins used in Dambadeniya era are shown below. Those are used in the reigns of king Parakramabahu II, king Vijayabahu IV and king Buwanekabahu respectively.

The name of relevant king is appears on each coin and those are written using brahmee letters.

Kingdom of Polonnaruwa

The Kingdom of Polonnaruwa was the second major Sinhalesekingdom of Sri Lanka. It lasted from 1055 under Vijayabahu I to 1212 under the rule of Lilavati. The Kingdom of Polonnaruwa came after the Anuradhapura Kingdom was invaded by Chola forces under Rajaraja I and after the Kingdom of Ruhuna, where the Sinhalese Kings ruled during Chola occupation

Polonnaruwa is second in importance as royal city to Anuradhapura. In the 11th Century the capital was moved from Anuradhapura to Polonnaruwa, as it was hoped that this new kingdom in such an inaccessible area would be better protected from the notorious raids from the Indian Sub-Continent. As a result Polonnaruwa became a splendid kingdom and capital. During the reigns of king Parakrama Bahu the Great (1153 - 1186) and his successor Nissanka Malla 1187 - 1196 the Singhalese kingdom reached its last golden age, of which the splendour of its buildings and palaces the impressive irrigation system with artificial lakes, tanks and channels give clear evidence. Royal Citadel The Citadel housed the palace and the administrative buildings of King Prakramabahu, the Great (12th century AD) and is enclosed by a huge rampart more than a metre thick. According to historical records the King's Palace had been seven stories high with a thousand chambers. The remains of three stories and a few of the chambers can be seen. The Council Chamber where the King met his ministers is situated a few metres away in front of the palace. It is an impressive building with fine stone carvings. The Royal Bath is outside the rampart with a flight of steps leading to it. The beautiful bath is made of stone with a small pavilion probably used as a changing room. Gal Vihara Gal Vihara or the Rock Temple of the 12th century is a magnificent group of stone Buddha images that had been originally enclosed in brick buildings. They are masterpieces of Buddhist sculpture in Sri Lanka and had been the work of King Parakramabahu, the Great. Parakrama Samudra Parakrama Samudra, which means 'Sea of Parakramabahu', is a man made irrigation tank to the southwest of the ancient city covering an area of over 23 square kilometres. It has been restored more or less in its original form. The tank bund is about 13 km. long and 12 metres high. Other Ruins in Polonnaruwa Alahana Pirivena: A Monastic university complex extending over more than eighty hectares erected by King Parakramabahu I in the 12th Century. Demala Maha Seya: (The Great Tamil Dagoba) A Dagoba that King Parakramabahu wanted to build in Polonnaruwa using South Indian prisoners of war to surpass the mighty Ruwanvelisaya of Anuradhapura but was never completed. Galpotha: (The Stone-book) A huge stone inscription of King Nissankamalla (12th Century) on a granite block measuring 8 metres in length and 4.3 metres in width recording among other things the King's invasion of India. Hatadage: A relic chamber built by King Parakramabahu I to house the sacred Tooth Relic. Hindu Shirines: Remains of Hindu Shrines dedicated to God Shiva built during the Chola occupation of Polonnaruwa in the 10th century. Kiri Vehera: The best preserved dagoba in Polonnaruwa built in the 12th Century by Queen Subhadda one of the wives of King Parakramabahu, where the original plaster is still intact. Lankatillake: A large Buddha image house with a collosal Buddha image built by King Parakramabahu. Lotus Pond: A stone pond built in the shape of a lotus flower in eight parallel tiers probably to provide seating to the monks while bathing. Nissanka Latha Mandapa: A stone structure with pillars built in the shape of floral stems constructed by King Nissankamalla (12th century) to listen to the chanting of Pirith (recital of Buddhist scriptures) by the monks. Ronkoth Vehara: A fairly well preserved large dagoba built by King Parakramabahu emulating the Ruwanvelisaya of Anuradhapura. Sathmahal Prasada: An unidentified edifice getting the name from its seven stories. Vata-da-ge: A circular relic chamber built enclosing a dagoba that had been a popular architectural style in ancient Sri Lanka.

.

Kingdom of Ruhuna

The Kingdom of Ruhuna was a medieval era Sinhala kingdom located in southern part of Sri Lanka. The capital was known as Magama, near modern Tissamaharama in the Southern Province. The boundaries of the Kingdom of Ruhuna are Mahaveli River from North, and Kalu Ganga River from North West.

While the majority of the people of Ruhuna are Buddhists, the rest are composed of the followers of Christianity, Islam, and Hinduism. The culture is mainly built upon the teachings of the Buddha. Many ancient Buddhist temples are found throughout Ruhuna. The Kiriwehera in Kataragama, the Gotapabbatha vihara in Godawaya, Thissamaharamaya and other temples and dagabas are of great historical value. Kataragama and Devinuwara are considered sacred places because of the temples dedicated to God Kataragama and God Vishnu respectively, who believed from ancient times to be guarding the people and land of Sri Lanka. The serene statues of the Buddha built in the recent past remain evidence of the profundity of the artists of Ruhuna. Concerning biodiversity and ecological variation, Ruhuna stands a dominant landmark in the world. The Sinharaja rain forest and the Bundala and Yala national parks have been recognised all over the world as important heritage sites. Mean while the corral reefs of the southern ocean strip are of extremely high biodiversity.

Ruhuna and its past Ruhuna, one of the three kingdoms of Sri Lanka some centuries back in history, still remains in glory and pride, even after many social and political upheavals caused by foreign invasions and natural disasters. The reason is clear; Ruhuna has been blessed with invaluable resources in terms of people, terrain, flora and fauna, climate and geography; and the people of Ruhuna have played an incomparable role in every aspect of the life of Sri Lanka including the culture, knowledge transmission, trade, industry, defence, etc. The beautiful golden southern beach extending from the historical city of Galle to the river of Palatupana supports hundreds of thousands people in earning a decent living by fishing, tourism, agriculture, and small industries and draws the attention of the rest of the world who are in search of places of scenic beauty to spend their holiday.
The ancient ports in Kirinda and Godawaya do still serve as fishing harbours. Due to the obstacles faced in transport along the land route famous as the Silk Road, many ancient merchants used the sea route. Ancient records show that this was known as the silk road of the sea, muhudu seda mavatha. The ports along the Ruhuna coast proved to be ideal harbours for merchant ships and thereby became popular among voyagers. This made Sri Lanka famous in the world and promoted her products in international markets. Traditional Fishing Methods of South
				As a result, Sri Lanka has maintained commercial and diplomatic relations with a considerable number of ancient kingdoms in the world. Pliny records that a delegation of Sri Lankans was received by the Emperor of Rome subsequent to the assistance and hospitality extended by the people of Sri Lanka to a group of sailors from Rome stranded on a Sri Lankan beach. This establishes that Sri Lanka's international relations come from a long way in history. All these relationships were built upon the silk road of the sea in which Ruhuna has played a main role. Light house, Dondra
As the records of the history reveal, since the seventh century Dondra has been the homeland of the royal family of Ruhuna and their princess was married to the royal family of Anuradhapura. Their son king Manawamma started the lambakarna royal family which lasted through out the latter part of the kingdom of Anuradhapura and extended to the kingdom of Polonnaruwa. This highlights the involvement of Ruhuna in ancient Sri Lanka and her administration and statecraft.
The Culture of Ruhuna Ruhuna or the down south of Sri Lanka is famous for its unique culture from ancient times. The culture based on the fishing community still dominating along the Ruhuna coast. Several fishing harbours are scattered along the Ruhuna coast. Hambantota, Godawaya, Dondra are to name a few. Traditional fishing methods and equipment are still being used by the community and large scale modernized fishing also can be seen. Traditional Fishing Vessel
Hambantota Fishing Harbour				Godawaya Fishing Harbour
Traditional wooden masks and puppets made in Ambalangoda are world renowned for their artistic value. This traditional industry has been able to attract tourists coming from different parts of the world. A traditional mask
				Ancient customs, for example, rituals carried out in invoking blessings of the ancient local gods upon the people and their property, or in appeasing the devils who are a threat to the people's existence, play an important role in the lives of the people of Ruhuna. These rituals are considered great cultural events because of their aesthetic value and are staged today as dance forms An event in a ritual, a man dressed to a devil
Ruhuna has been the cradle for numerous works of art and literature which have entertained the people for generations, by enhancing their literacy and perception of life. Literary giants in the calibre of Martin Wickramasinghe and Kumarathunga Munidasa are immortal in the minds of the Sri Lankans for their great writings such as Madolduwa and Magul Kama etc. The well-known woman poet Gajaman Nona and the famous royal jester Andare, both had a great command in satire, are always remembered with Ruhuna and its cultural treasures.
Kumarathunga Munidasa - Famous Author				Gajaman Nona - Famous Poetess from Ruhuna
Influence of Invaders in the colonial period was also a considerable factor in modelling the lifestyles of the people of South. Galle fort and Matara fort are still standing out with their pride providing evidence of the past and their culture. Today these places have become tourist attractions of the down south.				Galle fort
				The Church in the fort
Religious Background
Gotapabbatha vihara in Godawaya				Devinuwara Temple of God "Visnu"
				Weherahena Buddha statue
Wawurukannala colossal Buddha statue
Ruhuna in Ecology Perspective
						One of the best sites for bird watching
Sinharaja Rainforest - Famous all over the world for richness in biodiversity					Bundala national park
Yala National Park - One of the best wild parks in Sri Lanka
Tourism		So there is no wonder about Ruhuna becoming a tourist attraction. Many tourists especially from Europe come here to enjoy communion with nature with the atmospheric changes by the sea, with the sight of wild animals and birds, and with the company of the unsophisticated people of Sri Lanka.

Anuradhapura Kingdom

in the early ages of the Anuradhapura Kingdom, Sinhalese economic was based on farming and made their early settlements mainly near the rivers of the east, north central, and north east areas, which supplied the water for farming for the whole year. The king was the ruler of country, the law, the Army and the protector of faith. Devanampiya Tissa (250-210 BC), a Sinhalese King of the Maurya clan. His links with Emperor Asoka led to the introduction of Buddhism by Mahinda (son of Asoka) in 247? BC. Sangamitta, (sister of Mahinda) brought a Bodhisapling via Jambukola (Sambiliturei). This king's reign was crucial to Theravada Buddhism, and for Sri Lanka.

Elara (205-161 BC), a Tamil King who ruled "Pihiti Rata", i.e., Sri Lanka north of the mahaweli, after killing King Asela. During Elara's time,Kelani Tissa was a sub-king of Maya Rata (south-west) and Kavan Tissa was a regional sub-king of Ruhuna (south-east). Kavan Tissa builtTissa Maha Vihara, Dighavapi Tank and many shrines in Seruvila. Dutugemunu (161-137 BC) – Eldest son of King Kavan Tissa, who was a young man 25 years of age, defeated the South Indian Tamil Invader Elara (over 64 years of age) in single combat, described in theMahavamsa. Dutugemunu is depicted as a Sinhala "Asoka". The Ruwanwelisaya, built by this king is a dagaba of pyramid-like proportions. It was an engineering marvel.

Pulahatta (or Pulahatha) deposed by Bahiya, was deposed by Panaya Mara, deposed by Pilaya Mara, murdered by Dathiya 88 BC – deposed by Valagambahu, ending Tamil rule. Valagambahu I (89-77) BC – restored the Dutugamunu dynasty. The Mahavihara Theravada - Abhayagiri (pro-Mahayana) doctrinal disputes arose at this time. The Tripitaka was written in Pali at Aluvihara, Matale. Chora Naga(Mahanaga) (63-51) BC; poisoned by his consort Anula. Queen Anula (48-44 BC) – Widow of Chora Naga and Kuda Tissa, was the first Queen of Lanka. She had many lovers who were poisoned by her. She was finally killed by: Kuttakanna Tissa. Vasabha (67-111 AD) –Vallipuram gold plate; he fortified Anuradhapura and built eleven tanks; many edicts. Gajabahu I (114-136) – invaded the Chola kingdom and brought back captives. He recovered the tooth relic of the Buddha.

In those centuries there was a huge Roman trade with the ancient Tamil country (present day Southern India) and Sri Lanka, establishing trading settlements which remained long after the fall of the Western Roman empire.

Mahasena (274-301) – The Theravada (Maha Vihara) was persecuted and Mahayana surfaced. Later the King returned to the Maha Vihara. Pandu (429) - first of seven Pandiyan rulers, ending with Pithya, 455; Dhatusena (459-477), his uncle, Mahanama wrote the Mahavamsa, he built "Kalaweva". His son Kashyapa (477-495), built the famous sigiriya rock palace. Some 700 rock graffiti give a glimpse of ancient Sinhala.

History of Sri Lanka

The chronicle records and archaeological discoveries of human beings and their events which happened in an area known as Sri Lanka is called the History of Sri Lanka. The number of archaeological evidences and chronicles written by Sri Lankans and non-Sri Lankans, exploring the history of more than 10,000 years.

The archaeological discovery of the Balangoda Man providing the evidences of a 30,000 years past civilization. With the famous chronicles of Sri Lanka, the Mahawansa, the Dipavamsa, the Culavamsa and the Rajaveliya which has the recorded Sri Lankan history from the beginnings of the Sinhalese monarchy in the 6th century BC to the arrival of European Colonialists in the sixteenth century, up until thedisestablishment of the monarchy in 1815. There are some historical records about the country also included in the famous Indian chronicles of sage Valmiki's Ramayana, Mahabharata and the ancient books of Gautama Buddha's teachings.

The period after sixteenth century, some coastal areas of the country was ruled by the Portuguese, Dutchand British. After the year 1815 the entire nation was ruled by the British Colonialists until the political independence granted in 1948 and becomes a sovereign state after 1972. The Sri Lankan people's armed uprisings happened against the British colonial rule in 1818 Uva Rebellion and in 1848 Matale Rebellion.

The new constitution was introduced in 1978 the Executive President as the head of state, was happened after the armed youth uprising in 1971 known as 1971 April Rebellion. The Sri Lankan Civil War started in 1983 and again another armed youth uprising happened in 1987-89 period and the 26 year civil war ended in year 2009.

The significant cultural changes happened after introducing the Buddhism in 3rd century BC by ArhathMahinda (was the son of Indian emperor Ashoka the Great), after sixteenth century arrival of European Colonialists and after 1977 the new open economic policies also changed the cultural values in the country.