Vimaladharmasūriya I was a king of
Kandy
Kandy ( si, මහනුවර ''Mahanuwara'', ; ta, கண்டி Kandy, ) is a major city in Sri Lanka located in the Central Province. It was the last capital of the ancient kings' era of Sri Lanka. The city lies in the midst of hills ...
from 1590 to 1604. His reputation was built when he successfully repulsed two major
Portuguese offensives on Kandy, the
Battle of Danture in 1594 and the
Battle of Balana
A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...
in 1602, in both of which the Portuguese were humiliatingly defeated.
Origin
Name
Vimaladharmasuriya I is referred to by four names by different sources. Rajavaliya mentions his early name as Konappu Bandara and says he is the son of a Kandyan chieftain, Weerasundara Bandara of Peradeniya. Reports of early Dutch visitors Sebald de Veert and Joris van Spilbergen mention him as Don João da Austria. Joao Rebeiro mentions one Don Juan
Appuhamy, a commoner who was sent to conquer the kingdom of Kandy and of Konnapu Bandara. Historians have also noted that from 1604 to 1617 there is little information available as to what happened in the Kandyan Kingdom. Therefore, there is the possibility of mixing up of several personalities by later historians in reconstructing the history of that period. As per the deed given by this king to the chief commander of
Campaign of Danture
The Danture campaign comprised a series of encounters between the Portuguese and the Kingdom of Kandy in 1594, part of the Sinhalese–Portuguese War. It is considered a turning point in the indigenous resistance to Portuguese expansion. For t ...
, his mother's name is Kosbokke Gedara Vimalu, after whom he took up his name Vimaladharmasuriya.
Early life
Vimaladharmasuriya I, known as Konappu Banḍāra or Galagoda Wimaladharmasurya Bandara before his ascension, was the son of a distinguished aristocrat, from
Hatara kōrale (‘four districts’) (roughly equivalent to today’s
Kegalla District),
Galagoda Weerasundara Bandara. Vimaladharmasuriya's father was murdered by
Rajasinghe l. As a result Banḍāra had to flee to
Portuguese Goa
Old Goa ( Konkani: ; pt, Velha Goa, translation='Old Goa') is a historical site and city situated on the southern banks of the River Mandovi, within the Tiswadi ''taluka'' (''Ilhas'') of North Goa district, in the Indian state of Goa.
The ...
where he became a Catholic convert as Dom João de Áustria.
Trouble in the Kingdom
Rajasinghe l invaded Kandyan Kingdom in 1582 with the help of Veerasundara Bandara and overthrew the Kandyan ruler
Karalliyadde Bandara
Karalliyadde Banḍāra was King of Kandy, who ruled from 1552 to 1582. During his reign Banḍāra publicly embraced Catholicism, brought to the island by the Portuguese. He and his infant daughter princess Kusumāsana Devi fled the kingdom with ...
. During the invasion,
Karaliyadde Bandara was able to decamp from Kandy with his wife, younger daughter (
Kusumasana Devi) and nephew
(Yamasinghe Bandara). But him and his wife died on the way while his nephew and daughter was able to reach Portuguese fort at
Mannar. Rajasinghe I made Veerasundara Bandara the ruler of the
Kandyan Kingdom
The Kingdom of Kandy was a monarchy on the island of Sri Lanka, located in the central and eastern portion of the island. It was founded in the late 15th century and endured until the early 19th century.
Initially a client kingdom of the Kin ...
. But soon became suspicious of him. Rajasinghe I tricked Veerasundara Bandara to come to Seethawaka and killed him.
Under the Portuguese and Baptism
Because of his father's murder Konappu Bandara secretly ran away from Kandy to the Portuguese fort at Colombo. He was sent to
Goa
Goa () is a state on the southwestern coast of India within the Konkan region, geographically separated from the Deccan highlands by the Western Ghats. It is located between the Indian states of Maharashtra to the north and Karnataka to the ...
by the
Portuguese
Portuguese may refer to:
* anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal
** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods
** Portuguese language, a Romance language
*** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language
** Portu ...
and in there he was Baptised as Dom João and learned fighting techniques from Portuguese. It was said that he attended some of the battles there with the Portuguese. The ruler appointed by Rajasinghe l for the Kandyan Kingdom was Nikapitiye Bandara who turned out to be a ruthless ruler and people were brood upon him.
Reign
Kingship
King Vimaladharmasuriya is regarded by some historians as the Kandyan Kingdom's second founder, responsible for its revival. He was baptized under the
Portuguese
Portuguese may refer to:
* anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal
** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods
** Portuguese language, a Romance language
*** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language
** Portu ...
name of Dom João da Austria. In 1594 he married Princess
Kusmasana Devi
Kusumāsana Devi (died 10 July 1613), also known as , was ruling Queen of Kandy in 1581. She was deposed, but queen consort of Kandy by marriage to Vimaladharmasuriya I of Kandy from 1594 to 1604.
Life
In her infancy she and her father Karaliy ...
who, as Dona Catherina, was put forward by the Portuguese as the rightful claimant to the throne and became king. After renouncing
Christianity
Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...
and embracing
Buddhism
Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religions, Indian religion or Indian philosophy#Buddhist philosophy, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha. ...
, Vimaladharmasuriya constructed a two-tiered shrine close to his palace in order to sanctify his capital,
Kandy
Kandy ( si, මහනුවර ''Mahanuwara'', ; ta, கண்டி Kandy, ) is a major city in Sri Lanka located in the Central Province. It was the last capital of the ancient kings' era of Sri Lanka. The city lies in the midst of hills ...
, and accommodate the politically-important
relic of the tooth of the Buddha
The relic of the tooth of Buddha (Pali ''danta dhātuya'') is venerated in Sri Lanka as a sacred cetiya relic of Lord Buddha, who is the founder of Buddhism, the fourth largest religion worldwide.
History The relic in India
According to Sri Lanka ...
.
Welcoming the Dutch
The Dutch explorer
Joris van Spilbergen
Joris van Spilbergen (1568 in Antwerp – January 31, 1620 in Bergen op Zoom) was a Dutch naval officer.
Joris van Spilbergen was born in Antwerp in 1568.
His first major expedition was in 1596, when he sailed to Africa.
He then left for As ...
offered an alliance to fight off the Portuguese. Following these negotiations,
Sebald de Weert
Sebald or Sebalt de Weert (May 2, 1567 – May 30 or June 1603) was a Flemish captain and vice-admiral of the Dutch East India Company (known in Dutch as ''Vereenigde Oost-Indische Compagnie'', VOC). He is most widely remembered for accurately p ...
was officially sent by Admiral
Wybrand van Warwijck to mount a joint counter-attack against the Portuguese. The alliance ended in disaster, however, during a drinking party, where the Dutch became rowdy, De Weert according to
François Valentijn
François () is a French masculine given name and surname, equivalent to the English name Francis.
People with the given name
* Francis I of France, King of France (), known as "the Father and Restorer of Letters"
* Francis II of France, King o ...
insulted the queen, and De Weert and all 47 Dutchmen accompanying him consequently were killed. An alliance would not be possible again until 1612, when a new envoy,
Marcellus de Boschouwer, established a treaty with
Senarat of Kandy
Senarath Adahasin was king of the Kingdom of Kandy from 1604 to 1635. He is said to be the successor to king Vimaladharmasuriya I, Wimaladharmasuriya I of Kandy. However first hand accounts are not available concerning what happened after the dea ...
, ultimately leading to the eviction of the Portuguese from the island, and about one century of Dutch rule in coastal regions, until the British in turn took the island in 1815.
Buddhism
At the time of Vimaladharmasuriya's coronation Buddhism was on the verge of disappearing from the island. The king learned that ordained Buddhist monks no longer existed on the island so he sent one of his ministers to
Lower Burma and reestablished Buddhism in Kandy. By this time, the relic of the tooth of the Buddha was hidden in
Delgamuwa Raja Maha Vihara
Delgamuwa Raja Maha Vihara ( si, දෙල්ගමුව රජ මහා විහාරය) is an ancient Buddhist temple situated in Kuruvita of Ratnapura District, Sri Lanka. This temple is reputed as the hiding place of the tooth relic of ...
in
Sabaragamuwa Province. The king brought the tooth relic to Kandy and built a two-storied
Temple of the Tooth
The Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic or Sri Dalada Maligawa, ( si, ශ්රී දළදා මාළිගාව) is a Buddhist temple in Kandy, Sri Lanka. It is located in the royal palace complex of the former Kingdom of Kandy, which hou ...
near the
Royal Palace of Kandy to house the relic. He also repaired many ruined Buddhist temples throughout his kingdom such as Gadaladeniya, Lakathilaka and Ridi Viharaya.
[Culavamsa]
See also
*
List of Sri Lankan monarchs
The Sinhalese monarch -- anachronistically referred to as the Kings of Sri Lanka—featured the heads of state of the Sinhala Kingdoms, in what is today Sri Lanka.
The Sinhalese monarchy originates in the settlement of North Indian Indo ...
References
Citations
Bibliography
*
External links
Kings & Rulers of Sri LankaCodrington's Short History of Ceylon
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vimaladharmasuriya 01 Of Sri Lanka
1604 deaths
Sinhalese kings
Buddhist monarchs
Converts to Buddhism
Converts to Buddhism from Roman Catholicism
Converts to Buddhism from Christianity
Year of birth unknown
Place of birth unknown
Date of death unknown
Monarchs of Kandy
House of Dinajara
16th-century Sinhalese monarchs
17th-century Sinhalese monarchs