Puviraja Pandaram

Puviraja Pandaram ( _ta. புவிராஜ பண்டாரம்) (died 1591) ruled the Jaffna Kingdom during a period of chaos during and after the death of his father Cankili I in 1565. He became the King in 1561 when due to a local uprising against Cankili 1. Although he was the nominal King, Cankili I wielded real power behind the throne until his death in 1565. After Cankili's death Puviraja Pandaram lost power to one Kasi Nainar and Periyapillai. After the death or abdication of Periyapillai in 1582, Puviraja Pandarm was nominated as the king for the second time. [Kunarasa, K "The Jaffna Dynasty", p.84]

During his second tenure he attempted to wrest the control of the Pearl rich Mannar Island from the Portuguese by attacking the fort by sea and land. He was defeated in both attempts.

After the occupation of Kandy by Rajasimha I of Sitavaka, Puviraja Pandaram gave refuge and protection to the sole surviving member of the Kandyan Royal family, the infant, Princess Kusumasana, who was baptized, as Dona Catherina (The daughter of Karaliedde Bandara) [She later traveled with the Portuguese General Conquistador Pedro Lopez De Souza from Mannar to Kandy where she was placed on the throne. The Emperor Vimaladharmasuriya I defeated the Portuguese who had occupied Kandy and seized and married 12 year old Dona Catherina who was his cousin. Later two of Dona Catherina's sons, Vijayapala and Kumarasimha, traveled to South India and married two princesses from Jaffna (nieces of Cankili II), who were living there, after fleeing Portuguese aggression in Jaffna] .

Eventually Puviraja Pandaram was killed [Abeyasinghe, T "Jaffna under the Portuguese", p.3] in a battle during the second Portuguese expedition against Jaffna Kingdom lead by Andre Furtado de Mendonca in 1591. He was succeeded by his son Ethirimanna Cinkam.Nadarajan, V "History of Ceylon Tamils", p.90]

Notes

References

*cite book | last = Nadarajan | first = Vasantha | title = History of Ceylon Tamils | publisher = Vasantham |year=1999 | location = Toronto
pages = 146 | isbn =
*cite book | last = Kunarasa | first = K
title = The Jaffna Dynasty | publisher = Dynasty of Jaffna King’s Historical Society |year=2003
location = Johor Bahru | pages = 122 | isbn = 9-55-8455-00-8
*cite book | last = Abeysinghe | first = Tikiri | title = Jaffna under the Portuguese | publisher = Stamford Lake |year=2005 | location = Colombo | pages = 66 | isbn = 9-55-1131-70-1