Chandrabhanu

Tambralinga

According to the inscription no.24 found at wat Hua-wieng (Hua-wieng temple) in Chaiya near to Nakhon Si Thammaraj, Chandrabhanu is a ruler of Tambralinga and was of Padmavamsa (lotus dynasty). He began to reign in 1230, he had built the Phrae Boromadhatu a buddhist stupa in Nakhon Si Thammaraj to hold the Buddha's relic.

Following his death in Lanka, the throne of Tambralinga was succeeded by his younger brother, Sri Dharmasokaraja V.

First invasion of Sri Lanka

It was recorded by the Mahawamsa, the historic chronicle of Sri Lanka to have invaded Sri Lanka in 1247 in search of Buddha's relict that Sri Lanka already had. According to Sri Lankan sources he was a Javaka chieftain and a sea pirate from the kingdom of Tambralinga. Although King Parakramabahu II (1236–70) from the Sinhalese Kingdom of Dambadeniya was able to defeat him, Chandrabhanu moved north and secured the Tamil throne for himself around 1255. Jatavarman Sundara Pandyan of the Pandyan Empire in Tamilakkam intervened in 1258 and made Chandrabhanu submit to Pandyan rule, annually offering precious jewels and elephants in tribute. A second attempt by Chandrabhanu to invade from the north prompted the south Indian Prince Jatavarman Veera Pandyan, brother of emperor Jatavarman Sundara Pandyan to intervene in 1262–1264. Chandrabhanu was killed in the battle. Veera Pandyan proceeded to plant the Pandyan bull victory flag at Koneswaram temple, Konamalai. Savakanmaindan, son of Chandrabhanu, inherited the northern Tamil throne upon his father's death.

Chandrabhanu's son

Chandrabhanu's son Savakanmaindan submitted to Pandyan rule and was rewarded, he was allowed to retain control of the Jaffna kingdom while Sundara Pandyan remained king of Pandyan. Marco Polo, describing Sundara Pandyan's empire as the richest in the world, visited the Jaffna kingdom upon docking at Trincomalee, and described the locals under king Sendemain's rule as mostly naked and feeding on rice and meat. The land was abundant with rubies and other precious stones, although by this stage Savakanmaindan had stopped paying tributes to the Pandyans. When Savakamaindan embarked on an invasion of the south, the Pandyan Dynasty under King Maravarman Kulasekara Pandyan I again invaded and defeated his forces in the late 1270s. However, to further the power of Tamil hard power in the region, they eventually installed one of their ministers in charge of the invasion, Kulasekara Cinkaiariyan, an Aryacakravarti as the King. In the local Tamil language, all South East Asians are known as Javar or Javanese. There are number of place names in the Jaffna peninsula which pertains to its South East Asian connections. Chavakacheri means a Javanese settlement. Chavahakottai means a Javanese fort all alluding to Chandrabhanu's brief rule in the north.{{cite web|author=Codrington, Humphry William |title=Short history of Sri Lanka:Dambadeniya and Gampola Kings (1215-1411)|url=http://lakdiva.org/codrington/chap05.html|publisher=Lakdiva.org|work=

Notes

References

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• {{cite book | last = Kunarasa | first = K

References

1. Nishantha Joeseph, Sujeewa. "Sinhalese Kings". Jayasinghe Book Publishers.
2. India's interaction with Southeast Asia,by Govind Chandra Pande p.286
3. Cœdès, George. (1968). "The Indianized states of Southeast Asia". University of Hawaii Press.
4. Liyanage, A. ''The Decline of Polonnaruwa and the rise of Dambadeniya, (Colombo, 1968) p.136;'' ''Recuil des Inscriptions du Siam'' II, 26, tr.27.
5. Chatchai Sukrakarn. (October 2005). "พระเจ้าศรีธรรมาโศกราช".
6. Bennett, Mathew ''The Hutchinson Dictionary of Ancient and Mediaeval warfare'', p.100
7. deSilva 67
8. de Silva, A ''History of Sri Lanka'', p.91-92
9. Kunarasa, K ''The Jaffna Dynasty'', p.#