King Vijayabahu I [1055-1110 CE]

Predecessor		Successor
Chola Invaders [1017-1070 CE] – Rajarata Kassapa VII [1054-1055 CE] – Rohana	Vijayabahu I [1055-1110 CE]	Jayabahu I [1110-1111 CE]
COMPLETE LIST OF RULERS OF SRI LANKA

King Vijayabāhu I (r. 1055–1110 CE), also called Mahalu Vijayabāhu in ancient Sinhala texts, born under the name Kitti, is honored in Sri Lankan history as the Liberator of Lanka for bringing an end to seventy-seven years of Chola domination in Rajarata and restoring political unity to the island.

Royal Heritage and Childhood

Kitti was born around 1037 CE to Prince Moggallāna and Princess Lokitā. His lineage combined the Manavamma and Dāthopatissa royal bloodlines, providing him with a legitimate claim to kingship after the direct line of Anuradhapura kings became extinct. His childhood was spent in concealment amid the forests and mountains of Ruhuna, where he lived as a refugee to escape Chola forces determined to eliminate surviving Sinhalese royals. During these precarious years, he and his family were sheltered by the loyal chieftain Buddharāja, also known as Lord Budal of Sittarubim, surviving largely on forest roots and herbs.

Rise to Power and the Struggle for Ruhuna

Kitti entered military life at a remarkably young age. By thirteen, he was already an accomplished archer, driven by the ambition to free his country from a vastly superior occupying power. His first recorded battle was against the military commander Loka (1048-1054) at Hunuvila. At sixteen, he confronted Loka’s successor, Kassapa VII (1054-1055 CE), whom he slew in battle. It took him a further two years to bring the whole of Ruhuna under his authority.

At eighteen, having secured undisputed control of Ruhuna with the support of Buddharāja, Kitti assumed rulership under the royal name Vijayabāhu. Kataragama initially remained his seat of government following his accession.

Early Chola Campaigns against Vijayabāhu

News of Vijayabāhu’s accession in Ruhuna prompted the Chola viceroy at Polonnaruwa to dispatch a substantial force to suppress him. Recognizing the disparity in strength, Vijayabāhu abandoned Kataragama as a tactical withdrawal. The Chola troops entered and plundered the city before returning to Rajarata. Vijayabāhu then relocated his base to Sippatthalaka, probably near present-day Hambantota.

In time, he transferred his seat of government to Tambalagama, likely near Talava. Around 1065 CE, disturbances erupted throughout Chola-occupied Rajarata, with the populace refusing to pay tribute. Chola reinforcements were swiftly sent from India, landing at Mahātittha (Mantai) and brutally restoring control. After subduing Rajarata, the Chola army advanced into Ruhuna in the eleventh year of Vijayabāhu’s reign (1066 CE).

The Battle of Magul Maha Viharaya

At this critical juncture, two of Vijayabāhu’s leading commanders defected to the Cholas. Faced with this betrayal, he withdrew to Magul Maha Vihāraya near Palatupana and fortified the position. The site, accessible only through a narrow pass and commanding a wide view, proved ideal for defense. The ensuing battle was decisive: the Chola army suffered a crushing defeat, and a substantial booty fell into Vijayabāhu’s hands.

Emboldened by this victory, Vijayabāhu advanced to Polonnaruwa without resistance. His occupation was brief, however, as fresh Chola troops were dispatched by King Vīrarājendra. Vijayabāhu retreated to Vakirigala in the Kegalle district. A Chola inscription dated 1067 CE records a Sinhalese defeat near Anuradhapura and claims the capture of Vijayabāhu’s queen.

Internal Revolt and Military Consolidation

Following the lifting of the siege at Vakirigala, in 1069, Vijayabāhu returned to Ruhuna to suppress a rebellion led by the brother of Kassapa VII, whom he had slain fourteen years earlier. The rebel fled into Chola-held territory after defeat. At this time, the Chola Empire was increasingly threatened by the Western Chalukyas, limiting its capacity to focus on Sri Lanka. Vijayabāhu used the next four years to reorganize and strengthen his forces.

The Final Campaign against the Cholas

By 1070 CE, conditions were favorable for a decisive assault on Polonnaruwa. Kulottunga Chola I had just ascended the Chola throne and was preoccupied with internal consolidation and Chalukya threats. Vijayabāhu launched a coordinated, multi-pronged campaign.

One army advanced through the western regions, capturing key Chola strongholds including Nuvarakale, Batalagoda, Venaruva, Manikdena, Talagalla, Nikaravatiya, and Mahamadagalla, before seizing Anuradhapura and advancing to Mahatittha. The fall of this port severed Chola communications with South India. A second force advanced from the east, capturing Sakamam and other eastern settlements before turning inland toward the Mahaweli Ganga River. Vijayabāhu himself marched via Mahiyangana and prepared the final assault on Polonnaruwa.

The decisive battle was fought outside the city. With no prospect of reinforcement or retreat, the Chola forces refused to surrender and fought to the last. Vijayabāhu entered Polonnaruwa in triumph in 1070 CE. Chola rule over Sri Lanka, lasting seventy-seven years, was finally extinguished. At thirty-three years of age and in the fifteenth year since assuming rule in Ruhuna, Vijayabāhu emerged victorious after seventeen years of relentless warfare.

Consecration and Administration

Vijayabāhu held his formal consecration as king of all Lanka in 1073 CE, three years after liberation, constructing a modest palace at Anuradhapura from reused building materials. Despite this, he selected Polonnaruwa as his permanent administrative capital, owing to its strategic control over crossings of the Mahaweli Ganga River. He appointed his brother Virabahu as uparaja and Jayabahu as adipada of Ruhuna, reorganized the administration, and established a system of taxation. In 1074 CE, a revolt led by three high-ranking brothers of the royal court was swiftly suppressed, and its instigators were executed.

Royal Marriages and Dynastic Legacy

About the same time, the queen of a former king of Sri Lanka, Jagatpala (r. 1043-1046) , escaped from her captivity in a Chola prison on the main-land and returned to Sri Lanka with her youthful daughter Lilavati. King Vijayabahu had Lilavati consecrated as his mahesi (queen). They had a daughter named Yasodhara who had two daughters named Lilavati and Sugala.

Eager to get a son to succeed him, the king married another queen, Tilokasundari, a princess from Kalinga. She had a son Vikramabahu (later King Vikramabahu I) by her besides five daughters. One daugheter of Yasodhara, princess Lilavati was given in marriage to Vikramabahu.

Vijayabahu’s sister Mitta was given in marriage to a Pandya prince, whose son Manabharaņa married Ratanavali , one of the five daughters of Vijayabahu by Tilokasundari, and the issue of this last marriage was the famous Parākramabahu I. Vijayabahu is said to have prophesied the birth of a great ruler as the son of Ratanavali.

Fortification of Polonnaruwa

Vijayabahu transformed Polonnaruwa into a heavily fortified city. Massive walls with bastions and parapets enclosed the settlement, faced with gleaming stucco and pierced by four fortified gates. A wide and deep moat surrounded the city, while an inner ring of walls protected the royal palace.

Restoration of the Kingdom and the Buddhist Order

Decades of war and plunder had impoverished the land and nearly extinguished the Buddhist Order. To restore monastic succession, Vijayabahu sent envoys to King Anuruddha of Ramanna (now Burma), inviting learned monks to re-establish ordination lineages. He also erected numerous religious buildings in Polonnaruwa, including the Temple of the Tooth Relic, known today as the Atadage.

Vēḷaikkāra Mercenaries and the Rebellion

The guardianship of the Tooth Relic was entrusted to the Vēḷaikkāra mercenaries, a professional Tamil military corps that served as royal bodyguards. These soldiers were likely former Chola troops who pledged loyalty to Vijayabahu after the fall of Polonnaruwa. In the thirteenth year of his reign (1086 CE), the Vēḷaikkāras rebelled when the king was preparing an invasion of the Chola mainland following the mutilation of a Sinhalese envoy who was heading for Karnataka Kingdom. The Vēḷaikkāras captured the king’s sister Mitta and her two sons, burned the palace, and plundered the countryside. Vijayabāhu ultimately crushed the revolt and executed its leaders.

Major Inscriptions

The Panākaduva Copper Plate records Vijayabāhu’s gratitude to Lord Budal for protecting him during childhood. The Ambagamuva Rock Inscription commemorates royal benefactions to pilgrims at Adam’s Peak, including the grant of Gilimalaya village. The Polonnaruwa Tamil Slab Inscription, probably issued by the Vēḷaikkāras, credits Vijayabahu with purifying the Three Nikayas and constructing the Temple of the Tooth Relic.

Works of King Vijayabahu I

Re-established the Buddhist monastic order in Sri Lanka by obtaining upasampadā ordination from the Rāmañña country (present-day Myanmar), thereby restoring the higher ordination lineage.
Constructed the Atadage in Polonnaruwa to enshrine the sacred Tooth Relic and the Bowl Relic of the Buddha.
Restored the three relic shrines associated with the three monastic fraternities in Mahagama (Ruhuna), which had previously been destroyed by Magha.
Restored two Thuparama shrines, though the sources are unclear as to whether these were located at Mahagāma or at Anuradhapura and Polonnaruwa.
Built five large saṅghāvāsa (residential dwellings for monks) at Budalavitthi, the site where the funeral pyres of his parents had been lit.
Restored several important monasteries, including Paṇḍavāpi Vihāraya, Paṭhina Vihāraya, Rakkhacetiyapabbata Vihāraya, Mandalagiri Vihāraya, Madhutthala Vihāraya, Uruvelā Vihāraya, the vihāra at Devanagara, and the Mahiyangana Vihāraya.
Restored the cave temple at Sītalaggāma, Jambukola Vihāraya, Girikandaka Vihāraya, Kuruindiya Vihāraya, the cave shrine of Jambukola, Bhallātaka Vihāraya, Paragāmaka Vihāraya, and Kāsagalla Vihāraya.
Restored Candagiri Vihāraya, Velagāmi Vihāraya, the Vihāraya at the village of Mahāsena, the monastery at Anuradhapura, and the Temple of the Bodhi Tree.
Constructed numerous irrigation reservoirs, including Mahāheli, Sareheru, Mahādattika, Kaṭunnaru, Paṇḍavāpi, Kalalahallika, Eraṇḍegalla, Dīghavatthuka, Maṇḍavataka, Kittaggabodhipabbata, Valahassa, Mahādaragalla, Kumbhilasobbhaka, Pattapāsana, and Kāṇa.
By repairing the Tilavatthuka canal, restored the water supply that enabled the Minneriya reservoir to be refilled.
His brother, the Uparāja Vīrabahu, restored the Baddhaguṇa Vihāraya, which had been destroyed by the Cholas.
Yasodharā, the king’s daughter, built a massive image house at Kapuramūlayatana and erected a lofty pāsāda at the Selantarasamuha Vihāraya.

References

Geiger, W., & Rickmers, C. M. (1929). Culavamsa: Being The More Recent Part of The Mahavamsa: Vol. Part I–II. Pali Text Society. (Original work published 1815)
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. (1895). A Contribution to the History of Ceylon: Translated from Pujavaliya. H.C. Cottle.
Gunasekara, B. (1900). The Rajavaliya, a Historical Narrative of Sinhalese Kings Vijaya to Vimala Dharma Suriya II. George J. A. Skeen.
Mendis, O. (1998). The story of the Sri Lankans: A Small People with a Great History of Over 2500 Years from the Tiny Island in the Indian Ocean. A Sridevi Publication.
Nicholas, C. W., & Paranavitana, S. (1961). A Concise History of Ceylon: From the Earliest Times to the Arrival of the Portuguese in 1505. University of Ceylon.
Obeyesekere, D. (1911). History of Ceylon : Outlines of Ceylon History. The Times of Ceylon Colombo.
Sastri, N. (1954). Vijayabâhu I, The Liberator of Lanka. Journal of the Ceylon Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society, IV (new series).

Predecessor		Successor
Chola Invaders [1017-1070 CE] – Rajarata Kassapa VII [1054-1055 CE] – Rohana	Vijayabahu I [1055-1110 CE]	Jayabahu I [1110-1111 CE]
COMPLETE LIST OF RULERS OF SRI LANKA