Martanda Cinkaiariyan ( ta, மார்த்தாண்ட சிங்கையாரியன்) (died 1348) ascended the throne of

Jaffna Kingdom The Jaffna Kingdom ( ta, யாழ்ப்பாண அரசு, si, යාපනය රාජධානිය; 1215–1624 CE), also known as Kingdom of Aryachakravarti, was a historical kingdom of what today is northern Sri Lanka. It came i ...

under the throne name Pararasasekaram III. He is one of the early

Aryacakravarti The Arya Chakravarti dynasty ( ta, ஆரியச் சக்கரவர்த்திகள் வம்சம், Sinhalese language, Sinhalese: ආර්ය චක්‍රවර්තී රාජවංශය) were kings of the Jaffna ...

kings about whom

historical History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbrella term comprising past events as well ...

and epigraphical evidence is available. He was noted by

Ibn Battuta Abu Abdullah Muhammad ibn Battutah (, ; 24 February 13041368/1369),; fully: ; Arabic: commonly known as Ibn Battuta, was a Berbers, Berber Maghrebi people, Maghrebi scholar and explorer who travelled extensively in the lands of Afro-Eurasia, ...

in his well-known travelogue as well as he has left behind a few inscriptions. He oversaw the international trade of the Jaffna kingdom with

Yemen Yemen (; ar, ٱلْيَمَن, al-Yaman), officially the Republic of Yemen,, ) is a country in Western Asia. It is situated on the southern end of the Arabian Peninsula, and borders Saudi Arabia to the Saudi Arabia–Yemen border, north and ...

via the kingdom's powerful trading ships. Martanda Cinkaiariyan accompanied Battuta to the peak of ''Sivanoli Padam Malai'' along with Yogis and other Hindus and companions of the king who visited the sacred Shiva site annually.

Ibn Battuta

, a Moroccan traveller described his rule in his travelogue. Ibn Battuta mentions that the King had a large navy, and was seen trading in

pearls A pearl is a hard, glistening object produced within the soft tissue (specifically the mantle (mollusc), mantle) of a living animal shell, shelled mollusk or another animal, such as fossil conulariids. Just like the shell of a mollusk, a pea ...

cinnamon Cinnamon is a spice obtained from the inner bark of several tree species from the genus ''Cinnamomum''. Cinnamon is used mainly as an aromatic condiment and flavouring additive in a wide variety of cuisines, sweet and savoury dishes, breakfa ...

and ahil and had cordial relationship with Indian rulers. In his travelogue it was noted that the king has encamped in the

Puttalam Puttalam ( si, පුත්තලම, translit=Puttalama; ta, புத்தளம், translit=Puttaḷam) is the largest town in Puttalam District, North Western Province, Sri Lanka. Puttalam is the administrative capital of the Puttalam ...

are where he had his seasonal capital. He was encamped due to the

pearl A pearl is a hard, glistening object produced within the soft tissue (specifically the mantle) of a living shelled mollusk or another animal, such as fossil conulariids. Just like the shell of a mollusk, a pearl is composed of calcium carb ...

ing season.Peebles, ''History of Sri Lanka'', p.31-32

Military exploits

The primary source such as ''

Yalpana Vaipava Malai Yalpana Vaipava Malai ( ta, யாழ்ப்பாண வைபவமாலை) is a book written by a Tamil poet named Mayil Vaakaanar ( ta, மயில் வாகனார்) in 1736. This book contains historical facts of the early Tam ...

'' records that Martanda was forced to subdue Vanniar chieftains from the Vanni region who had rebelled against him. An inscription dated in the 3rd regnal year of Vikramabahu III (1357–1374), found at the ''Medawala Rajamaha Vihara'' in the

Kandy District Kandy District ( si, මහනුවර දිස්ත්‍රික්කය, ta, கண்டி மாவட்டம்) is a district of the Central Province of Sri Lanka. Its area is 1906.3 km². Administrative divisions Ethnic ...

records a treaty between that king and an

named Martanda (Sin ai Ariyan) of Jaffna. In the

Medawala inscriptions Martanda Cinkaiariyan ( ta, மார்த்தாண்ட சிங்கையாரியன்) (died 1348) ascended the throne of Jaffna Kingdom under the throne name Pararasasekaram III. He is one of the early Aryacakravarti kings about ...

of 1359 found near a

bo-tree ''Ficus religiosa'' or sacred fig is a species of fig native to the Indian subcontinent and Indochina that belongs to Moraceae, the fig or mulberry family. It is also known as the bodhi tree, pippala tree, peepul tree, peepal tree, pipal tree ...

at Medawala in Harispattuva reveals that Martanda appointed tax collectors to collect taxes from the villages of Sinduruvana, Balawita,

Matale Matale ( Sinhala: මාතලේ, ta, மாத்தளை, translit=Māttaḷai) is the administrative capital city of the Matale District. It is the most urbanised and populated centre in the district. Matale is also the second largest muni ...

, Dumbara and Sagamathunarata which belonged to the Gampola kingdom. It is believed that because of Martanda's incursions into Four Korales (a medieval division of western Sri Lanka) belonging to Gampola kingdom as well as other sections of Udarata kingdom came under the control of

Jaffna kingdom The Jaffna Kingdom ( ta, யாழ்ப்பாண அரசு, si, යාපනය රාජධානිය; 1215–1624 CE), also known as Kingdom of Aryachakravarti, was a historical kingdom of what today is northern Sri Lanka. It came i ...

. The ''

Rajaveliya Rajavaliya (line of kings) is an ancient chronicle of Sri Lanka. It contains the history of King Vijaya to King Vimaladharmasuriya ΙΙ. It is the only chronicle which contains continuous history of Sri Lanka written in Sinhalese language. Altho ...

'' a

primary source In the study of history as an academic discipline, a primary source (also called an original source) is an artifact, document, diary, manuscript, autobiography, recording, or any other source of information that was created at the time under ...

written during that period too refers to the fact that the Aryacakravartis collected taxes from Udarata and Southern lowlands.de Silva, A ''History of Sri Lanka'', p.136 Some historians attribute the

Kotagama inscriptions The Kotagama inscription found in Kegalle District in Sri Lanka is a record of victory left by the Aryacakravarti kings of the Jaffna Kingdom in western Sri Lanka.Rasanayagm, ''Ancient Jaffna'', p.364 The inscription reads; Some historians ...

which describes a victory by an unknown Aryacakravarti to him but others date it to the 15th century based on language usage.Rasanayagm, ''Ancient Jaffna'', p.364

Notes

References

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Cinkaiariyan, Martanda 1348 deaths Kings of Jaffna Sri Lankan Hindus Sri Lankan Tamil royalty Year of birth unknown