Vijayabahu I.

Vijayabahu I (1039–1110) was a Sinhala medieval king of Sri Lanka who ruled from 1055 to 1110.

etymology

The ruler's name Vijayabahu is a Sanskrit word composition, where vijaya - विजय - victory and bahu - बहु - means poor or much . Vijayabahu is thus the victorious arm or just the victorious one (the one with many victories).

Life

Velakkara inscription from Vijayabahu I in Polonnaruwa

Vijayabahu I, also Vijayabahu I of Polonnaruwa , was born in 1039 as Prince Krīthi (or Krītti ) in a royal family. His father was King Moggallana II , his mother Queen Lokitha . He had a younger brother who was to succeed him as Jayabahu I in 1110. His sister Mitta married a Pandya prince and had three sons with him. One of her grandchildren would later reign as Parakramabahu I from 1153 to 1186 .

With his second wife Tilokasundari (also Thilokasundari ) Vijayabahu had a son Vikramabahu I and a daughter named Ratnavali . Vikramabahu I succeeded Jayabahu I, who only ruled for a very short time, to the throne in 1111.

Vijayabahu grew up in a country occupied by the Chola from Tamilakam (southern India). Only the southern province of Ruhuna was still independent, where Vijayabahu assumed his rule in 1055. In a campaign that would last 17 years, Vijayabahu succeeded in driving the Chola off the island in 1070. After more than a century, the island was reunited. In his very long reign of 55 years, he reintroduced Buddhism in Sri Lanka and was able to repair the damage to the country's infrastructure caused by the wars.

Vijayabahu I died in 1110. Because of his old age and long reign, he was known as Mahalu Vijayabahu (the old Vijayabahu) and is commonly referred to as Maha Vijayabahu (Vijayabahu the Great).

Early days

At the age of fifteen, Prince Krīthi defeated Lokissara , the last Sinhalese ruler in Ruhuna, and thus became king himself in 1055 under the name Vijayabahu. According to the Panakaduwa Thamba Sannasa , an inscription on copper sheets dedicated to his most senior officer, Vijayabahu attributes his success to the protection of Budalna or Buddha Raja Naga . Nevertheless, the Chola continued to attack him and his contingent of troops in Ruhuna, but Vijayabahu managed to bring the entire southern province completely under his control by 1058.

First attempt at taking Polonnaruwa

After the consolidation of Ruhuna, Vijayabahu I. wanted to conquer Polonnaruwa , the capital of Sri Lanka. In 1066 he undertook a first attack on the capital, was able to conquer it, but only hold it for a short time, as the Chola army under Virarajendra Chola had received reinforcements from southern India and forced him to flee.

After Vijayabahu I. had withdrawn to Wakirigala and gathered forces there for a new attack, he was faced with rebellious Sinhalese leaders who wanted to dispute his throne from him. Vijayabahu was able to master the rebels, but as a result did not have enough strength for a further attack on the capital occupied by the Chola army. Instead he chose Katharagama in Ruhuna as the new capital and reorganized his troops there.

Second attack on Polonnaruwa

Vijayabahu I.'s attack plan

With the death of Virarajendra Chola between 1069 and 1070 civil war-like unrest broke out in the Chola Empire in southern India. This diverted attention from Sri Lanka and gave Vijayabahu a new opportunity to attack the now more or less isolated Chola troops in Polonnaruwa one more time. He had the support of Burma and the Pandya , who wanted to weaken the chola.

Starting from the Walawe located Mahanagakula in the south Vijayabahu sent three armies to be able to take care of Polonnaruwa three fronts in the pliers. An army advanced along the west coast to the port of Mahathittha to intercept any reinforcements from southern India. Parts of this army later turned via Anuradhapura towards Polonnaruwa and attacked from the northwest. The rest remained at the ports on the northwest coast for security reasons. A second army followed the east coast and approached Polonnaruwa's eastern flank via Magama . The third main contingent, commanded by the king, advanced north through the interior. Trapped on three sides, Polonnaruwa was besieged for seven months before Vijayabahu's troops could penetrate the city. In 1070 Vijayabahu became lord of Polonnaruwa and thus also ruler of Thambapanni (as the then Sri Lanka was called).

coronation

After his victory in Polonnaruwa, Vijayabahu faced further rebellions. His coronation was therefore delayed until 1072 (or 1073). Polonnaruwa was renamed Vijayarajapura and became the capital of the new kingdom. The coronation ceremony took place in a specially built palace in Anuradhapura, the former capital. Its queen was Lilavati , the daughter of Jagatipala from Kanauj . He also married Princess Tilokasundari from Kalinga in order to create a closer bond with the Kalinga.

Velakkara rebellion

Around 1084 or 1085 there was another quarrel with the Chola, as they harassed a retinue sent from Vijayabahu to the Western Chalukya . The king then wanted to declare war on the Chola under Kulothunga Chola I. However, his decision was rejected by the Velakkara mercenaries in his army and mutiny broke out. In the course of the unrest, several army generals were killed and the royal palace burned down. Vijayabahu even had to flee to Wakirigala again, but then returned to Polonnaruwa to take it. The rebellion was finally put down, the leaders of the rebels captured and executed.

Relationship to Buddhism

During the rule of the Hindu Chola in Sri Lanka, Buddhism had suffered greatly and there were only a few monks left. Even the five monks needed for the Upasampada inauguration ceremony could no longer be found anywhere in Sri Lanka. In order to reestablish Buddhism in the country, Vijayabahu I therefore needed the help of the Burmese king Anawrahta , who sent consecrated monks from Burma to Sri Lanka. Through her initiation ceremonies and her teaching in Tripitaka , it was possible to make Buddhism a home in Sri Lanka again.

In addition, Vijayabahu had several abandoned or destroyed Buddhist temples restored. A new temple was even built in Polonnaruwa to house the Buddha's tooth relic . Allegedly, monks from both countries are said to have come together to create an acceptable version for deviating textual interpretations of the Tripitaka.

Construction activities

Vijayabahu I. ordered the restoration of water basins that had been destroyed in the wars, and many new ones were built. The restoration of the irrigation system in the Rajarata area (northern province) was very important for the development of the country, as Sri Lanka was mainly dependent on the rice culture.

Roads were also laid under Vijayabahu, for example to Sri Pada , which were equipped with resting places known as Ambalama for the benefit of the pilgrims. The Ambagamu inscription shows that entire villages and their fields were made available for pilgrims and clergy.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ KM De Silva: A History of Sri Lanka . University of California Press, 1981, ISBN 0-520-04320-0 , pp. 61- .
2. ^ Codrington, HW: A Short History of Ceylon . Macmillan & Co., London 1926, ISBN 0-8369-5596-X .
3. ↑ Bokay, Mon: Relations between Ceylon and Burma in the 11th Century AD . In: Artibus Asiae . tape 23: 93 , 1966, doi : 10.2307 / 1522637 .

predecessor	Office	successor
Kassapa VII.	Ruler of Sri Lanka 1055–1110	Jayabahu I.