King Buwanekabahu VII [1521-1551 CE]

Predecessor		Successor
Vijayabahu VI [1513-1521 CE] -House of Siri Sangabo-	Buwanekabahu VII [1521-1551 CE] -House of Siri Sangabo-	Dharmapala [1551-1597 CE] -House of Siri Sangabo-
COMPLETE LIST OF RULERS OF SRI LANKA

The reign of King Bhuvanaikabāhu VII (r. 1521–1551 CE) marks a decisive and tragic phase in the history of Sri Lanka. Rising to power after a violent palace coup, his rule coincided with the irreversible fragmentation of the Kōṭṭe Kingdom and a growing dependence on the Portuguese to preserve his throne. Although he remained a Buddhist throughout his life, later chroniclers condemned his policies, portraying him as the ruler who facilitated foreign domination and accelerated the decline of Buddhism in the southwestern lowlands.

Royal Lineage and Early Childhood

Bhuvanaikabāhu VII was the eldest son of King Vijayabāhu VI (identified in some traditions as Vijayabāhu VII). He belonged to the Savuḷu (Savulu) dynasty, a ruling house of Kaliṅga or Jāvaka origin that had emerged as the dominant Sinhala lineage after the Gampola period.

His upbringing was shaped by an unusual family arrangement. According to the Rājāvaliya and Portuguese sources, his father, Vijayabāhu VI, and his uncle, Śrī Rājasinha, shared a single wife, a princess of the Kirivälle royal house. From this union, Bhuvanaikabāhu had two younger surviving brothers, Pararājasinha (later known as Rayigam Bandāra) and the ambitious Māyādunnē, as well as an elder brother, Mahā Rayigam, who died in childhood. Raised within the courts of Kōṭṭe and Rayigama, the brothers were eventually drawn into a succession crisis when their father attempted to exclude them in favor of an adopted son, Devarājasinha.

Rise to Power: The Vijayabā Kollaya

Bhuvanaikabāhu VII came to the throne through the event remembered as the Vijayabā Kollaya (The Sacking of Vijayabāhu) in 1521 CE. After learning of their father’s plan to eliminate them, the three princes fled the capital. Bhuvanaikabāhu and Pararājasinha sought temporary refuge in Yāpāpatuna (Jaffna), while Māyādunnē travelled into the central highlands to obtain military support from King Jayavira of Kandy.

With the backing of a strong Kandyan force, the brothers returned to Kōṭṭe. The city’s guards and inhabitants refused to resist them, remaining loyal to the princes. To avoid the sin of shedding royal blood, they hired a foreigner named Salmā (or Salaman) to enter the palace and assassinate Vijayabāhu VI. After the king’s death, the realm was divided: Bhuvanaikabāhu VII was crowned ruler of Kōṭṭe; Pararājasinha received Rayigama; and Māyādunnē founded the Kingdom of Sītāvaka.

Reign and the Portuguese Alliance

Bhuvanaikabāhu VII inherited the richest and most populous part of the island, including the major ports and about 2,800 villages. Yet his position was never secure. His reign was dominated by continuous conflict with Māyādunnē, who sought supremacy over the entire island.

This rivalry forced Bhuvanaikabāhu into an increasingly close alliance with the Portuguese based in Kolamba (Colombo). In 1525, he supported them against a fleet sent by the Zamorin of Calicut, an ally of local Muslim traders who opposed the Portuguese cinnamon monopoly. Over time, Bhuvanaikabāhu became entirely reliant on Portuguese military protection. By 1533, he formalized this dependence through a treaty that raised the annual cinnamon tribute to the Portuguese crown.

Contributions to the Country and the Effigy Crowning

Bhuvanaikabāhu’s most consequential and controversial political act was his attempt to secure the throne for his grandson, Dharmapāla. As he had no legitimate son by his chief queen, Māyādunnē remained his lawful successor under traditional custom. To prevent this, Bhuvanaikabāhu sent an extraordinary embassy to Lisbon in 1540/41, led by his minister Śrī Rādhārākṣa Paṇḍita.

The delegation carried a golden effigy of Dharmapāla, which was ceremonially crowned before King João III of Portugal. The Portuguese monarch pledged to defend Dharmapāla’s claim, effectively transforming Kōṭṭe into a client state under European protection.

Buddhism and Literature during his Reign

The reign of Bhuvanaikabāhu VII is widely regarded as a period of cultural and religious decline in the coastal regions. Although the king personally remained a Buddhist and repeatedly refused baptism, his reliance on the Portuguese allowed Catholic missionaries to gain influence. In 1543, the first permanent Franciscan mission, led by Fr. João de Villa de Conde, arrived in Kōṭṭe. The king granted them land and financial support, but his tolerance toward their activities disappointed the missionaries, who sought active royal conversion.

Literary production continued, though without the brilliance of the earlier Kōṭṭe renaissance. Works such as the Saddharmālaṅkāraya, a collection of Buddhist narratives, belong to this period. However, persistent warfare and increasing Portuguese hostility toward non-Christian institutions encouraged monks and scholars to abandon Kōṭṭe for the safer realms of Sītāvaka and Kandy.

The Fall: Death at Kelaniya

Bhuvanaikabāhu VII died under suspicious circumstances in mid-1551 CE. While residing at his palace in Kelaniya during renewed fighting with Sītāvaka, he was shot dead while looking out from a pavilion window.

The Portuguese claimed the incident was accidental, attributing the fatal shot to a soldier named Antonio de Barcelos who was allegedly aiming at a pigeon. Nevertheless, contemporary gossip and later historians suspected deliberate assassination, either orchestrated by Māyādunnē or by the Portuguese Viceroy Dom Affonço de Noronha, who regarded the aging king as an obstacle to full colonial dominance. After his death, Buddhist monks fled Kōṭṭe, the Sacred Tooth Relic was secretly removed, and the kingdom effectively became a puppet state under his Christian grandson, Dharmapāla.

Ancient Manuscripts Detailing the Sovereigns of Sri Lanka

Sovereigns of Sri Lanka are chronicled in several ancient manuscripts. These texts not only record the lineages of kings but also the significant events and developments of their reigns. Some of the most significant ancient sources are:

Dipavamsa: compiled between the 3rd and 4th centuries CE, and the earliest known historical chronicle
Mahavamsa: Initially compiled by Mahanama Thero in the 5th or 6th century CE, this chronicle was later expanded upon by other authors who added additional chapters. Covers events up until the reign of King Mahasena of Anuradhapura
Culavamsa: Starts where the Mahavamsa stops and records the history of Sri Lankan rulers from the 4th century to 1815. Mahavamsa and Culavamsa are often seen as one extended chronicle, commonly referred to simply as the Mahavamsa.
Pujavaliya: Written by a monk in or around 1266 during the reign of King Panditha Parakrama Bahu of Dambadeniya Kingdom
Rajavaliya: A 17th-century historical chronicle of Sri Lanka, covering the history of the island from its beginnings up to the accession of King Vimaladharmasurya II in 1687.

References

Abeyasinghe, T. B. H. (1995). Portuguese rule in Kōṭṭe, 1594-1638. In K. M. de Silva (Ed.), History of Ceylon: Volume II (pp. 123-143). University of Peradeniya.
Codrington, H. W. (1933). The Gampola period of Ceylon history. Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society (Ceylon Branch), 32(86), 260–309.
De Silva, C. R. (1977). The rise and fall of the Kingdom of Sitawaka. The Ceylon Journal of Historical and Social Studies, 7(1), 1-43.
Ferguson, D. (1909). The history of Ceylon, from the earliest times to 1600 A.D., as related by João de Barros and Diogo do Couto. Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society (Ceylon Branch), 20(60), 1-445.
Geiger, W., & Rickmers, C. M. (1929). Culavamsa: Being The More Recent Part Of The Mahavamsa: Vol. Part II–II. Pali Text Society. (Original work published 1815)
Gunasekara, B. (1900). The Rajavaliya, a Historical Narrative of Sinhalese Kings Vijaya to Vimala Dharma Suriya II. George J. A. Skeen.
Paranavitana, S. (1961). The emperor of Ceylon at the time of the arrival of the Portuguese in 1505. University of Ceylon Review, 19, 10–29.
Somaratna, G. P. V. (1969). Political history of the Kingdom of Kötte (c. A.D. 1400-1521) [Unpublished doctoral dissertation]. University of London.
Valentijn, F. (1978). François Valentijn’s Description of Ceylon (S. Arasaratnam, Trans.). Hakluyt Society. (Original work published 1724)

Predecessor		Successor
Vijayabahu VI [1513-1521 CE] -House of Siri Sangabo-	Buwanekabahu VII [1521-1551 CE] -House of Siri Sangabo-	Dharmapala [1551-1597 CE] -House of Siri Sangabo-
COMPLETE LIST OF RULERS OF SRI LANKA