Kalinga Magha































Kalinga Magha
Kulankayan Cinkai Ariyan
Reign 1215–1236
Predecessor Parakrama Pandyan II
Successor Chandrabhanu
House
Chodaganga dynasty[1][2]
Dynasty Aryacakravarti dynasty
Religion Hinduism



Jetavanaramaya, one of the many massive stupas raided during Magha's reign.


Kalinga Magha (Tamil: கலிங்க மாகன் / கலிங்க மாகோன் / காளிங்க மகன், Sinhalese: කාලිංග මාඝ, Odia: କଳିଙ୍ଗ ମଘା) also known as Magha the Tyrant and Kulankayan Cinkai Ariyan,[3] is an invader who is remembered primarily for his aggressive conquest. He is identified as the founder of the Jaffna kingdom and first king of the Aryacakravarti dynasty. According to the Segarāsasekara-Mālai belong the first Aryacakravarti king of Jaffna to Eastern Ganga dynasty of Kalinga, who were descendants of Western Gangas and Cholas.[4] His family was connected to the rulers of Ramanathapuram in Tamil Nadu. Kalinga Magha’s relatives of Ramanathapuram administered the famous temple of Rameswaram.[5] He usurped the throne from Parakrama Pandyan II of Polonnaruwa, in 1215.[6] His reign saw the massive migration of native Sinhalese to the south and west of Sri Lanka, and into the mountainous interior, in a bid to escape his power.[7] Magha was the last ruler to have his seat in the traditional northern seat of native power on the island, known as Rajarata; so comprehensive was his destruction of Sinhalese power in the north that all of the successor kingdoms to Rajarata existed primarily in the south of the island.




Contents






  • 1 Origin theories


  • 2 Invasion and Reign


  • 3 Mention of Kalinga Magha in Culavamsa


  • 4 The Rise of Dambadeniya


  • 5 See also


  • 6 References


  • 7 External links





Origin theories


The origin of Kalinga Magha is unknown, but due to his name, he is often referred to be from Kalinga, a historical place which corresponds to present-day Odisha and northern parts of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.[8][9] Although his ethnicity has given rise to other various theories.


The most favored theory states that he was a prince from the Chodaganga dynasty who ruled Kalinga.[10][11] They were descended from the Western Ganga dynasty and the Tamil Chola dynasty.[12][13][14]



Invasion and Reign


Kalinga Magha landed in Karainagar in 1215 AD with a large army of 24,000[15]Tamil and Malayali soldiers.[16] He camped his soldiers in Karainagar and Vallipuram and brought the Jaffna principality under his control. Kalinga Magha then marched to Polonnaruwa, defeated Parakrama Pandyan II and ruled it for 21 years. He was expelled from Polonnaruwa in 1236 and withdrew to Jaffna which he ruled till 1255.[17]



Mention of Kalinga Magha in Culavamsa


The Culavamsa, describes him as a "Damila Warrior of Kalinga", meaning a Tamil ariyan from Kalinga.[18] It has been speculated that Magha may have had a claim through the Kalingan dynasty established by Nissanka Malla in 1187, who was the uncle of Chodaganga of Polonnaruwa.[19] Whatever his pretext however he swiftly lost any potential support amongst the populace by the sheer violence of his invasion.


Having executed Parakrama Pandya and ransacked the temples of Anuradhapura and Polonnaruwa, Magha was crowned king by his own soldiers and settled in the capital of Pulatthinagara. The army have been described in the Culavamsa to be ruthless, and to have destroyed the Buddhist religion, ransacking and destroying many Stupas.[20]



The Rise of Dambadeniya


It was during this time that the centre of native power on Ceylon began to shift to the south. During Magha's reign the chief priests of Pulatthinagara took two of Rajarata's most sacred relics - the Buddha's alms bowl and the sacred Tooth Relic - and 'on the mountain Kotthumala in a safe region ... buried both the relics carefully in the earth and so preserved them'.[21] This was not the first time this had happened; it was, however, to be the last, as neither was ever returned to the north.


Resistance to the invaders began to coalesce around a series of inaccessible towns and fortresses constructed in the mountainous interior of Ceylon. The fortress of Yapahuwa was one of the first of these, founded by the Senapathi (General) Subha;[22] another was Gangadoni, founded by the general Sankha, barely 15 miles ('two yojanas') from Magha's capital. From these places the various nobles 'gave as little heed to the infamous army of the Ruler Magha, though ... as to a blade of grass and protected without fear that district and the Order [of Buddhist monks]'.[23]


The man who eventually emerged as the leader of the resistance was Vijayabahu III, who the chronicles identify as a descendant of Sirisamghabodhi (242-244 or 251-253),[24] a king of Rajarata, though it is possible that the relationship was through marriage.[25] He appears to have spent an extended period of time in 'inaccessible forest' avoiding the forces of Magha. Sometime in the 1220s however he drove the Tamil forces from Mayarata (Dhakkinadesa) and established his capital at Jambudhoni (Dambadeniya).[26] Vijayabahu's most emphatic statement of authority however was the recovery of the two sacred relics (around 1222), which he paraded through the lands he controlled and invested in a freshly constructed temple.


Vijayabahu's reign was largely spent reconstructing the shattered Buddhist infrastructure of the Sinhalese in Mayarata, and indeed many of the religious traditions he established were to last into modern times.[27]
Occasionally raids into Kalinga-controlled territory were mounted, but it was not until the reign of is son, Parakramabahu II(1234-1267) that a concerted effort was made to drive the invaders out.


Soon after his accession the Culavamsa describes how the King 'set about subjugating by the power of his majesty and
by the might of his loving spirit ... the forces of the foe in Lanka'.[28] It would appear however that Magha had by this point either died or been deposed, as the chronicles make no mention of him taking part in the wars between Parakramabahu and the Kalinga. Instead it names two Damila kings, Mahinda and Jayabahu, as having established fortifications in Polonnaruwa;[29] both are, in due course, defeated by the resurgent forces of Dambadeniya. Magha does not re-appear in the historical record; his fate remains a mystery.



See also



  • List of monarchs of Sri Lanka

  • History of Sri Lanka



References





  1. ^ K. M. De Silva,History of Ceylon: From the earliest times to 1505. 2v, Ceylon University Press, 1960, p.691


  2. ^ Rasanayagam, M., Ancient Jaffna, p303-304


  3. ^ Sivaratnam, C. (1968-01-01). The Tamils in Early Ceylon. Author..mw-parser-output cite.citation{font-style:inherit}.mw-parser-output q{quotes:"""""""'""'"}.mw-parser-output code.cs1-code{color:inherit;background:inherit;border:inherit;padding:inherit}.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-free a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/65/Lock-green.svg/9px-Lock-green.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-registration a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d6/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-gray-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-subscription a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-red-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration{color:#555}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription span,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration span{border-bottom:1px dotted;cursor:help}.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-error{display:none;font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-error{font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration,.mw-parser-output .cs1-format{font-size:95%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-left{padding-left:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-right{padding-right:0.2em}


  4. ^ K. M. De Silva,History of Ceylon: From the earliest times to 1505. 2v, Ceylon University Press, 1960, p.691


  5. ^ T. Sabaratnam,Sri Lankan Tamil Struggle, A journalist who reported the Sri Lankan ethnic crisis for over 50 years, Chapter 4


  6. ^ Wright, Arnold (1907-01-01). Twentieth Century Impressions of Ceylon: Its History, People, Commerce, Industries, and Resources. Asian Educational Services. ISBN 9788120613355.


  7. ^ Chattopadhyaya, Haraprasad. Ethnic unrest in modern Sri Lanka: an account of Tamil-Sinhalese race relations. M.D. Publications Pvt. Ltd. Retrieved 24 February 2012.


  8. ^ "Kalinga | ancient region, India". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 2017-03-14.


  9. ^ Wenzlhuemer, Roland (2008-01-23). From Coffee to Tea Cultivation in Ceylon, 1880-1900: An Economic and Social History. BRILL. ISBN 9789047432173.


  10. ^ Barnett, Lionel D. (1999-04-30). Antiquities of India: An Account of the History and Culture of Ancient Hindustan. Atlantic Publishers & Dist. ISBN 9788171564422.


  11. ^ The Ceylon Journal of Historical and Social Studies. Ceylon Historical and Social Studies Publications Board. 1972-01-01.


  12. ^ Sivaratnam, C. (1968-01-01). The Tamils in Early Ceylon. Author.


  13. ^ The Ceylon Journal of Historical and Social Studies. Ceylon Historical and Social Studies Publications Board. 1972-01-01.


  14. ^ Patnaik, Durga Prasad (1989-01-01). Palm Leaf Etchings of Orissa. Abhinav Publications. ISBN 9788170172482.


  15. ^ T. Sabaratnam,Sri Lankan Tamil Struggle, A journalist who reported the Sri Lankan ethnic crisis for over 50 years , Chapter 4


  16. ^ McGilvray, Dennis B. (2008-04-16). Crucible of Conflict: Tamil and Muslim Society on the East Coast of Sri Lanka. Duke University Press. ISBN 0822389185.


  17. ^ T. Sabaratnam,Sri Lankan Tamil Struggle, A journalist who reported the Sri Lankan ethnic crisis for over 50 years , Chapter 4


  18. ^ Lanka, Social Scientists Association of Sri (1987-01-01). Facets of ethnicity in Sri Lanka. Social Scientists Association.


  19. ^ A Short History of Ceylon, H. W. Codrington, 1926, London, ch


  20. ^ Wright, Arnold (1907-01-01). Twentieth Century Impressions of Ceylon: Its History, People, Commerce, Industries, and Resources. Asian Educational Services. ISBN 9788120613355.


  21. ^ Culavamsa, LXXXI, 17-19 Archived 2006-09-27 at the Wayback Machine.


  22. ^ The Culavamsa, LXXXI, 2-3


  23. ^ Culavamsa, LXXXI 9-11


  24. ^ Culavamsa LXXXI 10


  25. ^ Codrington, A Short History, ch.V


  26. ^ Culavamsa LXXXI 15-16


  27. ^ Chapter Archived 2006-09-27 at the Wayback Machine.


  28. ^ Culvamsa, LXXXIII, 8-11


  29. ^ Culavamsa LXXXIII 14




External links




  • [1] Resources on Sri Lankan history.


  • [2] An account of the shift of Sinhalese power to the south of Sri Lanka.






Preceded by
Parakrama Pandyan II
(Polonaruwa Kingdom)


Jaffna Kingdom
1215–1255
Succeeded by
Chandrabhanu









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