Aggabodhi VI was King of
Anuradhapura
Anuradhapura ( si, අනුරාධපුරය, translit=Anurādhapuraya; ta, அனுராதபுரம், translit=Aṉurātapuram) is a major city located in north central plain of Sri Lanka. It is the capital city of North Central ...
in the 8th century, whose reign lasted from 741 to 781. He succeeded his uncle
Mahinda I as
King of Anuradhapura
The Anuradhapura Kingdom ( Sinhala: , translit: Anurādhapura Rājadhāniya, Tamil: ), named for its capital city, was the first established kingdom in ancient Sri Lanka related to the Sinhalese people. Founded by King Pandukabhaya in 437 B ...
and was succeeded by his cousin
Aggabodhi VII.
He took the regnal name of Silamegha and appointed his cousin Aggabodhi (son of King
Mahinda I} as the yuva raja. The yuva raja was instrumental in eliminating the lawlessness prevailing in the country. The corrupt officials who suffered from this able administration gained the King Silamegha's ears by telling him that he was the king in name only while the administration of the country was by prince Aggabodhi (yuva raja).
The yuva raja detecting this change of heart from the king fled to Ruhuna and collected a large army where he initiated a civil war. He was defeated at Kadalinivatha and the former yuva raja became a fugitive in the hill country (Malaya District).
King Silamegha was a good man and he remembered the good things done by prince Aggabodhi. The king set out unattended to Malaya district. A reconciliation was effected. Prince Aggabodhi became yuva raja again. This time, the King' daughter Sangha was given in marriage to him.
During the King Silamegha's time, the renown of the expertise and the excellence of the Sinhalese engineers in irrigation tank building has spread far and wide and King Djaya-pida of Kashmir has asked for their service in A.C. 745 (Rajatharangani-a history of Kashmir).
Embassies were sent to China in 742 A.C., 746 A.C., 750 A.C. and the last in 762 A.C. during King Silamegha's reign. (Chinese chronicle Tshi-foo Yuen-kwei). Pearls, golden flowers, precious stones, ivory and pieces of fine cotton clothes were sent as gifts to the Chinese emperor in the embassy of 742 A.C. by King "Chi-lo-me-kia" Silamegha) according to the chronicle. A Brahmin was the ambassador of the 746 A.C. embassy to the Chinese court, carrying head ornaments of gold, precious neck pendants, forty webs of fine cotton cloths and the "Maha Parinibbana Sutra" of Buddhism.
King Silamegha died in the fortieth year of his reign. During his reign extensive repairs were carried out in Abhayagiri Vihara and at Thuparamays. The stone pillars of Thuparamaya were set in a different order and repairs were carried out at four other viharas.
See also
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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-Ary ...
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History of Sri Lanka
The history of Sri Lanka is intertwined with the history of the broader Indian subcontinent and the surrounding regions, comprising the areas of South Asia, Southeast Asia and Indian Ocean.
The early human remains found on the island of Sri La ...
References
External links
Kings & Rulers of Sri LankaCodrington's Short History of Ceylon
Monarchs of Anuradhapura
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