{"id":58461,"date":"2016-09-07T21:51:59","date_gmt":"2016-09-08T03:51:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/?p=58461"},"modified":"2016-09-07T12:45:49","modified_gmt":"2016-09-07T19:45:49","slug":"the-kingdom-of-jaffna","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/2016\/09\/07\/the-kingdom-of-jaffna\/","title":{"rendered":"THE \u201cKINGDOM OF JAFFNA\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"

KAMALIKA\u00a0 PIERIS<\/em><\/span><\/h2>\n

Jaffna was originally an island called \u2018Nagadipa\u2019 , separated from the mainland by a narrow strip of water. It became linked to the mainland only in the 18 century. It was a part of the Sinhala kingdom and under the Sinhala king till the 13th century. The Vallipuram manuscript shows that during the time of king Vasabha, (67-111 AD) his minister ordered that a vihara be built in Nagadipa.\u2019 Tilak Hettiarachchy, examining the history of kingship in the early Anuradhapura period suggests that though \u2018epigraphic data is not available for the north, the fact that the king built viharas in this area is proof of its being within the king\u2019s territory.\u2019<\/p>\n

Three coins which could be assigned to Sinhala kings have been found in Jaffna area.\u00a0 The first coin found at Kadurugoda, (Kantarodai) has been assigned to Parakrama bahu I (1153-86). It is considered to be an extremely rare coin. The second coin, a Massa coin of the Dambadeniya period is assigned to Parakrama bahu II (1236-70). The third coin is assigned to Parakrama bahu VI.\u00a0 During British rule, the government agent, Mr. J. P. Lewis, on\u00a0 a visit to Vallipuram learnt that the Police Vidane there was in possession of a gold coin which had been discovered in 1890. He obtained the \u2018find\u2019 and sent it to the Archaeological Commissioner,\u00a0 H. C. P. Bell, for identification. It turned out to the Iraka or Daraka,\u00a0 a Sinhalese coin of very debased gold.<\/p>\n

Jaffna ports were used for\u00a0 sea travel during the Anuradhapura period. \u2018Jambukola pattana,\u2019 (modern Kankesanturai)\u00a0 was an important embarkation port for India. There was a high road from Jambukola pattana to Anuradhapura to facilitate this. \u2018Uratota\u2019 (modern Kayts) was an important commercial port in\u00a0 the Polonnaruwa period. The Nainativu Tamil inscription datable to the reign of Parakramabahu I, suggests that foreign vessels laden with merchandise arrived at the port of \u2018Uraturai.\u2019 An inscription of 1178 declares that the Sinhalese were building ships and assembling troops at Uratota and other places in order to make a fresh invasion of South India.<\/p>\n

Jaffna was a part of the Sinhala Buddhist civilization. There are remains of Buddhist temples at Kantarodai (Kadurugoda) and other places in the Jaffna peninsula. A.D.N. Fernando pointed out that Delft also had ruins of dagobas and brahmi inscriptions. Malini Dias says a stone image of the Buddha about 8 feet in height was unearthed near Vishnu temple in Vallipuram, in 1903, together with ruins of buildings, pottery and coins. The statue was gifted to Thailand in 1906 by the British governor Henry Blake. It is now in Bangkok.<\/p>\n

P.A.T. Gunasinghe says the place names of Jaffna only make sense if they are seen as translations of Sinhala names. He points out that \u2018vil\u201d means \u2018bow,\u2019 and \u2018pay\u2019 means \u2018net\u2019 in Tamil. Therefore names like Kokuvil and Manipay only make sense when they are seen as the Tamilization of the Sinhala words Kokavila and Mampe. Valikamam and Vimankam are meaningless in Tamil, but make sense if the villages originally bore the Sinhala names of Valigama and Vimangama. Some place names like Polvattai refer to the Sinhala used in 14th century. Gunasinghe says that Jaffna was populated by Sinhalese in the medieval period, though the area between Jaffna and Anuradhapura may have had Tamil settlements in the medieval period.<\/p>\n

Jaffna went under foreign rule very easily. A Malay (Javaka) ruler, called Chandrabanu, from Ligor ( present day Nakon Sri Tammarat , Thailand) invaded the Dambadeniya kingdom around 1247. Chandrabanu attacked at Yapahuwa with troops from Chola and Pandya kingdoms. His intention was to take over the whole country.Parakrama bahu II\u00a0 (1236-70) defeated him. Chandrabanu\u00a0 did not return to Malaya but ended up in Jaffna. Chandrabanu\u2019s coins have been recently found in the north. Place names such as Chavakaccheri suggest that the Malays may have stayed in Jaffna peninsula for some time.<\/p>\n

Around 1258,\u00a0\u00a0 Jatavarman Sundara Pandya \u00a0ruler of the Tamil kingdom of India, invaded Chandrabanu\u2019s territory and levied tribute. Jatavarman Vira Pandya invaded in 1263, killed Chandrabanu and placed his son as a vassal ruler in Jaffna. Father and son ruled for a total period of about 55 years. \u00a0In 1286, the Pandyas again invaded and placed the first of the Ariyachakravarti rulers in charge in Jaffna.\u00a0 He was Cinkaiyariyan, a powerful\u00a0 general from the Pandya kingdom. He ruled at Nallur<\/p>\n

P.A.T. Gunasinghe pointed out that unlike most kings, Ariyachakravarti left no inscriptions. The tradition of leaving inscriptions was there at the time, and there is one relevant inscription in Kegalle, but none in Jaffna, indicating that this kingdom was not an independent one but was a part of the south Indian Pandya kingdom. Jaffna became, according to Vernon Mendis a Pandyan principality\u201d.<\/p>\n

Later, succession disputes arose in the Pandya kingdom in South India and the kingdom became unstable.\u00a0 Malik Kafur, a Muslim from Gujerat attacked and took the Pandya capital of Madurai in 1311.\u00a0 This would have helped Ariyachakravarti \u00a0to strengthen his position in Jaffna. The area under Ariyachakravarti in Sinhaladvipa\u00a0 grew in size and by 1344 the pearl fisheries around Mannar were in his hands. Gunasinghe says that the Jaffna principality probably extended along the north-western coast.<\/p>\n

Ariyachakravarti\u00a0 owned armed pirate vessels and a merchant marine service which operated as far as Yemen. He spoke fluent Persian. Ariyachakravarti was able to send Ibn Batuta safely to Adams Peak. Ariyachakravarti attacked Vikramabahu III (1359-74) and exacted tribute. The territory conquered by Ariyachakravarti included Colombo, Negombo, Wattala and Chilaw. Rajavali<\/em> states that Tamil agents were stationed at various places including seaports to collect the tribute.<\/p>\n

P.A.T Gunasinghe says that this period of control by Jaffna did not exceed 29 years. It was probably much less. Nissanka Alagakkonara, a powerful minister in Vickramabahu\u2019s court, challenged the Jaffna king. According to the Rajavali<\/em>, he did so by hanging the king\u2019s tax collectors. Ariyachakravarti attacked by land and sea. Alagakkonara defeated him at Colombo and Kotte and pushed upward taking back all territory except Jaffna, in which he was not interested. The tribute ended.<\/p>\n

Historians are definite that there was no territorial annexation of the Sinhala kingdom by Jaffna, though revenue was handed over. Gunasinghe says Vickramabahu III remained a sovereign, independent king, not politically subordinate to anybody, and moreover, claiming authority over the whole country. After Alagakkonara died, Ariyachakravarti invaded again His army advanced from Jaffna to Matale. The king, Buvanekabahu V (1374-1408) ran away, but the army took control without him and defeated Ariyachakravarti.<\/p>\n

Jaffna then went under a new south Indian ruler, the Vijayangara Empire of Karnataka. The Vijayangara Empire\u00a0 ruled over \u00a0the whole of south India from 1366 to 1646. Their capital was at Hampi and the language was Kannada. By 1364 they had taken over the Pandya kingdom of Madurai. Jaffna was made to pay tribute and when it tried to rebel, prince Virupaksha of the Vijayangara Empire invaded and brought Jaffna under control. This is indicated in his inscription dated 1365. Vijayanagara\u00a0 also tried to invade the Sinhala\u00a0 kingdom but was repulsed. Jaffna was under Vijayanagara in 1507. \u00a0Vijayanagara\u00a0 continued to claim tribute from Jaffna \u00a0until the Portuguese arrived. Jaffna was\u00a0 conquered by the Portuguese in 1560 . The\u00a0 Jaffna ruler fled to Tanjore and returned with an army and was promptly defeated by the Portuguese who also had got reinforcements from South India.<\/p>\n

The Sinhala king never abandoned his\u00a0 desire to bring the whole island, including Jaffna under him. Jaffna\u00a0 went\u00a0 under\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Sinhala rule for brief periods.\u00a0 Parakramabahu VI\u00a0 ( 1411-66) sent Sapumal Kumaraya to conquer the peninsula.\u00a0 Sapumal\u00a0 subdued the Vanni and\u00a0 took over Jaffna \u00a0and\u00a0 the island came under one king.\u00a0 G.V.P. Somaratne says there were Sinhalese in Jaffna when Sapumal entered. The\u00a0 Jaffna ruler ran away to south India and did not return for two\u00a0 decades.\u2019<\/p>\n

Sapumal Kumaraya ruled Jaffna\u00a0 for 16 years, after which he returned to\u00a0 Kotte to take over the throne\u00a0 as Buvaneka bahu VI ((1469-77). He was not interested in retaining Jaffna and Jaffna reverted to Vijayangara. However,\u00a0 it may have paid tribute to Kotte because a sannasa issued by Dharma Parakrama bahu IX\u00a0 (1489-1513)declared that he was the king of Kotte, Kandy and Jaffna (trisinhala adhiswara). Buvaneka bahu VII\u00a0 (1521-51)had wanted the Portuguese to take\u00a0 Jaffna\u00a0 and give it\u00a0\u00a0 to him.\u00a0 Senerat (1604-35)\u00a0\u00a0 arranged marriages for two of his sons, with the nieces of Jaffna\u2019s ruler, Sankili. The nieces were living in Tanjore. Senerat invaded\u00a0 and took Jaffna in 1628.\u00a0 The Portuguese won it back in 1629.<\/p>\n

There never was an independent Kingdom at Jaffna. Jaffna was merely a vassal state of the Pandya kingdom. University of Ceylon History of Ceylon<\/em> described it as ‘none too strong and small in size’. K. M de Silva said that it \u00a0did not control \u2018anything more than the Jaffna peninsula, some adjacent regions on the coast and some parts of the interior’ . Pathmanathan says the 7 principalities the Vanni paid tribute to Jaffna and that Queyroz had included them as part of the Kingdom of Jaffna. Other historians\u00a0 say it did not control even the Vanni, which remained independent even during Dutch times. It\u00a0 was\u00a0 unable to resist invasions and\u00a0 was\u00a0 dominated by South India. It had had no significant achievements and \u00a0historians took\u00a0 no notice of it. None of the Tamil kings, except perhaps Cankili ( 1519-1560),\u00a0\u00a0 compared favorably with the kings of Sitawaka or Kandy.<\/p>\n

However, the\u00a0 Tamil Separatist Movement\u00a0 made much of the\u00a0\u00a0 \u2018Kingdom of Jaffna\u2019. A. J. Wilson states that \u2018a \u00a0fair section of the island was in under Tamil rule’ (States of South Asia p 297). This \u2018kingdom\u2019 was the subject of S. Pathmanathan’ s book\u00a0 ‘Kingdom of Jaffna’ ( 1978) ,\u00a0 a revised version of his Ph. D, thesis. This work traces the history of the kingdom from the beginning to the mid-15th century. Pathmanathan observes that the first kings of the Kingdom of Jaffna were not even Sri Lankan Tamils. They were Arya Chakravartis from South India, who invaded Jaffna in the 13th century, and established a kingdom with the help of the Pandyan kings of South India. Thereafter, according to Pathmanathan, the Kingdom of Jaffna became a ‘maritime province of some importance’ and enjoyed some respite from foreign raids until the Vijayanagara conquest.<\/p>\n

Pathmanathan’s research clearly indicates the limitations \u00a0within which any claims could be made regarding this kingdom. The main source for the history of\u00a0 this \u2018kingdom\u2019 is the Yalapana Vaipava Malai written in 1736 at the request of the Dutch governor.\u00a0\u00a0 Pathmanathan admits that this work is defective in chronology and genealogy. No specific contributions any king is recorded in it. Of the ten kings who are said to have ruled till 1450, only 4 are known in sources other than in Yalpana Vaipava malai.<\/p>\n

Jaffna has no historical records which confirm the existence of a formal kingdom at Jaffna. \u2018Local Tamil chronicles don\u2019t give a clear account of the beginning of the kingdom or its rulers, admitted Pathmanathan. They do not provide clear information on important issues, such as the origins, or even the date of the founding of the Ariyachakravarti dynasty. There is no proper chronology of its kings. Regnal dates for some of them are lacking. K.M.de Silva\u2019s History of\u00a0 Sri Lanka<\/em>\u00a0 lists\u00a0 17 \u2018kings of Jaffna.\u2019 He provides dates only for the last four and these dates start from 1478. De Silva refuses to furnish dates before that and says that even from the 1478 onwards, \u2018there are problems with regard to regnal dates\u2019.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

KAMALIKA\u00a0 PIERIS Jaffna was originally an island called \u2018Nagadipa\u2019 , separated from the mainland by a narrow strip of water. It became linked to the mainland only in the 18 century. It was a part of the Sinhala kingdom and under the Sinhala king till the 13th century. The Vallipuram manuscript shows that during the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[104],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-58461","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-kamalika-pieris"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/58461","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=58461"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/58461\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=58461"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=58461"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=58461"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}