Mayadunne of Sitawaka

Mayadunne
King of Sitawaka
Reign	1521 - 1581
Born	1501
Birthplace	Kotte, Kingdom of Kotte
Died	1581
Place of death	Avissawella, Kingdom of Sitawaka
Buried	Kingdom of Sitawaka
Predecessor	Dharmapala
Successor	Rajasimha I
Offspring	Rajasimha I
Father	Vijaya Bahu VII

Mayadunne (Sinhala: මායාදුන්නේ) (1501–1581) was a king of the Kingdom of Sitawaka, who ruled for 30 years between 1521 and 1581. Mayadunne was a fierce opponent of the Portuguese, who had arrived on the Island in 1505. He devoted his whole life attempting to oust his brother Bhuvanekabahu, the king of Kotte and thereby preserve the independence of Lanka, which was being undermined by the Portuguese intrigue. He constantly invaded the territory of Bhuvanekabahu of Kotte.^[1]

Early life

Mayadunne was born in 1501 in Kotte of the Kingdom of Kotte. He was the son of Vijaya Bahu VII who reigned as king from 1509 to 1521. Mayadunne was the youngest child born to Vijaya Bahu VII and his main Queen. He had two full brothers, Bhuvanekabahu and Raigama Bandara, Bhuvanekabahu who was also king of Kotte from 1521 to 1551.

Wijayaba Kollaya

Main article: Wijayaba Kollaya

In 1521 together with his two full brothers Bhuvanekabahu and Raigama Bandara, who were born to the main queen of Vijaya Bahu VII, he revolted against his father, suspecting him of planning to pass the throne of Kotte to one of Vijaya Bahu VII's other queen's sons (Devaraja) after his death. Although Mayadunne was the youngest of the three brothers he was the mastermind behind this revolt which ended with the death of their father Vijaya Bahu VII (he was assassinated by a hired foreigner) and the Kotte Kingdom was divided between the three brothers. This incident is known as "Wijayaba Kollaya" and can roughly be translated as the "Spoiling of Vijayabahu". Bhuvanekabahu came to power as Bhuvanekabahu VII of Sri Lanka and he got established in the Kotte Kingdom with a region roughly including present day Colombo, Gampaha, Districts, North Western Province and Southern Province coastline. Raigama Bandara got established in Raigama with his control roughly over present day Kalutara District & Southern Province except the coastilne (which was under Kotte Kingdom). Mayadunne got established in the Kingdom of Sitawaka (Present day Avissawella) controlling roughly the modern day Sabaragamuwa Province (Kegalle, Ratnapura Districts).

Reign

Since Mayadunne was the main actor during the rebellion against their father, Bhuvanekabahu VII was from the beginning suspicious of him and developed close ties with the Portuguese who had established a fort in Colombo (1517). Before long Mayadunne got popular support from the local chiefs and population who didn't like Bhuvanekabahu VII collaborating with Portuguese. Mayadunne led several invasion against Kotte but Bhuvanekabahu VII was able to drive Sitawakan forces back with the help of Portuguese. During the first phase of these battles Mayadunne was helped by an anti-Portuguese Kingdom in Calicut, India. The Portuguese wanted to kill Mayadunne fearing one day he will become a greater threat to their foothold on the Island but Bhuvanekabahu VII didn't let them to conduct an all out invasion against Sitawaka.

Several years later after Raigam Bandara died, in 1538, Mayadunne annexed the Kingdom of Raigama to Sitawaka. The all out rivalry between Sitawaka and Kotte started to unroll here on. By this time the Buddhist monks in Kotte who were responsible of the Dantha Dhathuwa, the Sacred Tooth Relic of Buddha, secretly smuggled it into Sitawaka and placed it under the protection of Mayadunne since they saw Portuguese as hostile towards Buddhism. According to the local tradition if someone has the ownership of the Tooth Relic he can claim the throne of all the Kingdoms within Sri Lanka. Mayadunne's popularity grew rapidly among locals and similarly Bhuvanekabahu VII of Kotte and later Dharmapala of Kotte had to rely more and more on Portuguese for help. Mayadunne started frequent attacks against the Kotte Kingdom and more and more of the lands of Kotte became part of Sitawaka. Since Kotte lacked local support the Portuguese automatically became the protectors of that Kingdom. Hence the rivalry between Kotte and Sitawaka turned into a rivalry between Sitawaka and Portuguese.

Sinhalese–Portuguese War

Main article: Sinhalese–Portuguese War

See also: Battle of Mulleriyawa

Mayadunne and the Kingdom of Sitawaka was apart of the Sinhalese–Portuguese War which was an effort to get rid of the occupying Portuguese forces and stop them from colonizing the island. At the time, it was the worst ever defeat by a colonial power on eastern soil. Mayadunne and his son Rajasigha fought the Portuguese in the Battle of Mulleriyawa and won, where the Kingdom of Sitawaka emerged all-powerful, able to challenge the Portuguese who lost the opportunity to ensure their total control of the island.

Death and Legacy

Due to the fact that he stood against Portuguese invaders and stopping them from conquering the whole island, Mayadunne is considered one of the greatest kings of Sri Lanka. He died at the ripe age of 80 years in 1581.

See also

• Mahavamsa
• List of monarchs of Sri Lanka
• History of Sri Lanka

References

1. ^ http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~lkawgw/gen3000.html

External links

• Kings & Rulers of Sri Lanka

Mayadunne of Sitawaka Born: ? 1501 Died: ? 1581
Royal titles
Preceded by Dharmapala	King of Sitawaka 1521–1581	Succeeded by Rajasimha I

Persondata
Name	Mayadunne Of Sitawaka
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	1501
Place of birth	Kotte, Kingdom of Kotte
Date of death	1581
Place of death	Avissawella, Kingdom of Sitawaka