Kalinga Magha or Gangaraja Kalinga Vijayabahu (Tamil: கலிங்க மாகன் / கலிங்க மாகோன் / கங்கராஜ காலிங்க விஜயவாகு மகன், Sinhala: කාලිංග මාඝ, Odia: କଳିଙ୍ଗ ମଘା) was an invader from the Kingdom of Kalinga who usurped the throne from Parakrama Pandyan II of Polonnaruwa in 1215.[3] A massive migration followed of Sinhalese people to the south and west of Sri Lanka, and into the mountainous interior, as they.attempted to escape his power.[4] 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.
Several theories exist about Magha, these theories range from defining him as an eastern Ganga king to a member of the Sinhalese Kalinga dynasty established by Kalinga Lokeshvara. Some historians identify him as the Kulankayan Cinkai Ariyan[5] mentioned in the Jaffna Tamil chronicles, stating that Kulanka is actually a corruption of Kalinga. A Tamil inscription found in Gomarankadawala, Trincomalee District proves that Kalinga Magha was consecrated as King of Polonnaruwa under the name of Gangaraja Kalinga Vijayabahu by Kulothunga Chola III.[6]
The exacts origin of Kalinga Magha is unknown, however due to his name, he is often referred to be from Kalinga, a historical place which corresponds mainly with present-day Odisha along with some northern parts of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.[7][8] According to Indrapala, Kalinga Magha belongs to Eastern Ganga Dynasty which ruled Kalinga Kingdom. He also seems to be related to the Kalinga branch of the Sinhalese Kingdom, and Nissanka Malla Deva of Polonnaruwa. Eastern Ganga dynasty arose with a matrimonial alliance of Western Gangas and Chalukya-Cholas of Tanjore, related to Kulotunga Chola.
A late theory identifies him as the founder of the Jaffna kingdom and the first king of the Aryacakravarti dynasty. Many later Tamil works of Jaffna, mistake Kalinga Magha of the Eastern Ganga dynasty of Kalinga with the Aryacakravarti kings of Jaffna, who actually belongs to Aryacakravarti lineage of the Pandya Kingdom, hailing from Tenkasi region of Pandyan Country. But this theory has contradictions found both in Sinhala and Tamil accounts. The Cūḷavaṃsa, a Pali account, makes a clear distinction between Kalinga Magha, whom it describes as "the plague from the Kalinga that came with an Army of Kerala mercenaries" and Arya Chakrawartin whom it describes as a Pandyan brahmin general, though not of Arya branch of pandiyans but a Aryan who also called Arya brahmána, but still very powerful".[9] Kailaya Malai, a Jaffna chronicle, also describe the founder of Jaffna kingdom as a Pandyan whose family was connected with Ramanathapuram and who was asked to rule Jaffna in order to save the population that was suffering from various invasions without a king to protect them. The Cekaracecekaramalai written during the Aryacakravarti rule in Jaffna asserts that the direct ancestors of the Kings belonged to a group of 512 Ariyar (a Brahmin priestly caste) of the Pasupata sect of the Rameswaram Hindu temple. The source also claims that two out of the 512 were selected as Kings of Ariyars. It also explains that a direct ancestor of the kings was a scribe in the Pandyan kingdom and was called during a war with other kingdoms to assist the king, and that the ancestors of the kings fought in wars against kings in the Hoysala and Karnataka even the present royal family of jaffana claims the Brahmin origin of kashyapa gotra instead of great Pandyan ancestory.[10][11]
The invasion of Kalinga Magha happened in a period of intense rivalry between two branches of the Sinhala royal family for the succession to the throne of Rajarata: the Arya branch which descended from Mithra (sister of king Vijayabahu I) who married a Pandyan prince and the Kalinga branch, descended from Vijayabahu I.
The family tree of Vijayabahu I, the origin of Kalinga branch and Arya branch of Sinhala royal family
After the death of Parakramabahu I, who belonged to the Arya (or Pandya) branch, the country fall into the hands of foreign invaders both from Kalinga and Pandya dynasty. It is in this context of intense rivalry between Kalinga and Pandya dynasties, that Kalinga Magha, the "plague from Kalinga", (which was by then allied with the Chola dynasty) arrived in Lanka.
Jetavanaramaya, one of the many massive stupas raided during Magha's reign.
Kalinga Magha landed in Karainagar in 1215 AD with a large army of 24,000[18] Kerala and Tamil soldiers.[19] 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 by a faction of Arya (Pandya) dynasty Sinhalese kings and withdrew to Jaffna with the Sinhalese throne which he ruled till 1255.[20]
Mention of Kalinga Magha in Culavamsa
The Culavamsa, describes him as 'an unjust king sprung from the Kalinga line'.[21]
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.[22] 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 from Kerala 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.[23]
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 Kothmalé in a safe region ... buried both the relics carefully in the earth and so preserved them'.[24] 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;[25] 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]'.[26]
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),[27] a king of Rajarata, though it is possible that the relationship was through marriage.[28] 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).[29] 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.[30] 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'.[31] 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;[32] 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.
^Wright, Arnold (1907-01-01). Twentieth Century Impressions of Ceylon: Its History, People, Commerce, Industries, and Resources. Asian Educational Services. ISBN9788120613355.
^Chattopadhyaya, Haraprasad (1994). Ethnic unrest in modern Sri Lanka: an account of Tamil-Sinhalese race relations. M.D. Publications Pvt. Ltd. ISBN9788185880525. Retrieved 24 February 2012.
^Sivaratnam, C. (1968-01-01). The Tamils in Early Ceylon. Author.
^"இலங்கை தமிழர் வரலாறு: புதிய தகவல்களைக் கூறும் 13ஆம் நூற்றாண்டு கல்வெட்டு". 22 November 2021.
^"Kalinga | ancient region, India". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 2017-03-14.
^Wenzlhuemer, Roland (2008-01-23). From Coffee to Tea Cultivation in Ceylon, 1880-1900: An Economic and Social History. BRILL. ISBN9789047432173.
^"The Chulawamsa, p132 (description of Magha), p204 (description of Arya Chakrawarti)" (PDF).{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
^Barnett, Lionel D. (1999-04-30). Antiquities of India: An Account of the History and Culture of Ancient Hindustan. Atlantic Publishers & Dist. ISBN9788171564422.
^The Ceylon Journal of Historical and Social Studies. Ceylon Historical and Social Studies Publications Board. 1972-01-01.
^Jörn Rüsen (January 2008). Time and History: The Variety of Cultures. Berghahn Books, 01-Jan-2008 - History - 262 pages. p. 72. ISBN9780857450418.
^Sivaratnam, C. (1968-01-01). The Tamils in Early Ceylon. Author.
^The Ceylon Journal of Historical and Social Studies. Ceylon Historical and Social Studies Publications Board. 1972-01-01.
^T. Sabaratnam,Sri Lankan Tamil Struggle, A journalist who reported the Sri Lankan ethnic crisis for over 50 years , Chapter 4
^McGilvray, Dennis B. (2008-04-16). Crucible of Conflict: Tamil and Muslim Society on the East Coast of Sri Lanka. Duke University Press. ISBN978-0822389187.
^T. Sabaratnam, Sri Lankan Tamil Struggle, A journalist who reported the Sri Lankan ethnic crisis for over 50 years , Chapter 4
^A Short History of Ceylon, H. W. Codrington, 1926, London, ch
^Wright, Arnold (1907-01-01). Twentieth Century Impressions of Ceylon: Its History, People, Commerce, Industries, and Resources. Asian Educational Services. ISBN9788120613355.
kalinga, magha, gangaraja, kalinga, vijayabahu, tamil, கல, கன, கல, கங, கர, ஜயவ, மகன, sinhala, odia, କଳ, ମଘ, invader, from, kingdom, kalinga, usurped, throne, from, parakrama, pandyan, polonnaruwa, 1215, massive, migration, followed, sinhalese, people, south, w. Kalinga Magha or Gangaraja Kalinga Vijayabahu Tamil கல ங க ம கன கல ங க ம க ன கங கர ஜ க ல ங க வ ஜயவ க மகன Sinhala ක ල ග ම ඝ Odia କଳ ଙ ଗ ମଘ was an invader from the Kingdom of Kalinga who usurped the throne from Parakrama Pandyan II of Polonnaruwa in 1215 3 A massive migration followed of Sinhalese people to the south and west of Sri Lanka and into the mountainous interior as they attempted to escape his power 4 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 Kalinga MaghaGangaraja Kalinga VijayabahuKing of PolonnaruwaReign1215 1236PredecessorParakrama Pandyan IISuccessorParakramabahu II as King of Dambadeniya King of JaffnaReign1215 1255SuccessorChandrabhanuBornKalingaHouseChodaganga 1 2 Several theories exist about Magha these theories range from defining him as an eastern Ganga king to a member of the Sinhalese Kalinga dynasty established by Kalinga Lokeshvara Some historians identify him as the Kulankayan Cinkai Ariyan 5 mentioned in the Jaffna Tamil chronicles stating that Kulanka is actually a corruption of Kalinga A Tamil inscription found in Gomarankadawala Trincomalee District proves that Kalinga Magha was consecrated as King of Polonnaruwa under the name of Gangaraja Kalinga Vijayabahu by Kulothunga Chola III 6 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 linksOrigin theories EditThe exacts origin of Kalinga Magha is unknown however due to his name he is often referred to be from Kalinga a historical place which corresponds mainly with present day Odisha along with some northern parts of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana 7 8 According to Indrapala Kalinga Magha belongs to Eastern Ganga Dynasty which ruled Kalinga Kingdom He also seems to be related to the Kalinga branch of the Sinhalese Kingdom and Nissanka Malla Deva of Polonnaruwa Eastern Ganga dynasty arose with a matrimonial alliance of Western Gangas and Chalukya Cholas of Tanjore related to Kulotunga Chola A late theory identifies him as the founder of the Jaffna kingdom and the first king of the Aryacakravarti dynasty Many later Tamil works of Jaffna mistake Kalinga Magha of the Eastern Ganga dynasty of Kalinga with the Aryacakravarti kings of Jaffna who actually belongs to Aryacakravarti lineage of the Pandya Kingdom hailing from Tenkasi region of Pandyan Country But this theory has contradictions found both in Sinhala and Tamil accounts The Cuḷavaṃsa a Pali account makes a clear distinction between Kalinga Magha whom it describes as the plague from the Kalinga that came with an Army of Kerala mercenaries and Arya Chakrawartin whom it describes as a Pandyan brahmin general though not of Arya branch of pandiyans but a Aryan who also called Arya brahmana but still very powerful 9 Kailaya Malai a Jaffna chronicle also describe the founder of Jaffna kingdom as a Pandyan whose family was connected with Ramanathapuram and who was asked to rule Jaffna in order to save the population that was suffering from various invasions without a king to protect them The Cekaracecekaramalai written during the Aryacakravarti rule in Jaffna asserts that the direct ancestors of the Kings belonged to a group of 512 Ariyar a Brahmin priestly caste of the Pasupata sect of the Rameswaram Hindu temple The source also claims that two out of the 512 were selected as Kings of Ariyars It also explains that a direct ancestor of the kings was a scribe in the Pandyan kingdom and was called during a war with other kingdoms to assist the king and that the ancestors of the kings fought in wars against kings in the Hoysala and Karnataka even the present royal family of jaffana claims the Brahmin origin of kashyapa gotra instead of great Pandyan ancestory 10 11 The most favored theory states that Magha was a prince from the Eastern Ganga dynasty Chodaganga who ruled Kalinga 12 13 They were descended from the Kalinga Chandravanshi lineage and also from the Tamil Chola dynasty from the maternal side 14 15 16 17 Invasion and Reign EditThe invasion of Kalinga Magha happened in a period of intense rivalry between two branches of the Sinhala royal family for the succession to the throne of Rajarata the Arya branch which descended from Mithra sister of king Vijayabahu I who married a Pandyan prince and the Kalinga branch descended from Vijayabahu I The family tree of Vijayabahu I the origin of Kalinga branch and Arya branch of Sinhala royal family After the death of Parakramabahu I who belonged to the Arya or Pandya branch the country fall into the hands of foreign invaders both from Kalinga and Pandya dynasty It is in this context of intense rivalry between Kalinga and Pandya dynasties that Kalinga Magha the plague from Kalinga which was by then allied with the Chola dynasty arrived in Lanka Jetavanaramaya one of the many massive stupas raided during Magha s reign Kalinga Magha landed in Karainagar in 1215 AD with a large army of 24 000 18 Kerala and Tamil soldiers 19 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 by a faction of Arya Pandya dynasty Sinhalese kings and withdrew to Jaffna with the Sinhalese throne which he ruled till 1255 20 Mention of Kalinga Magha in Culavamsa EditThe Culavamsa describes him as an unjust king sprung from the Kalinga line 21 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 22 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 from Kerala 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 23 The Rise of Dambadeniya EditIt 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 Kothmale in a safe region buried both the relics carefully in the earth and so preserved them 24 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 25 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 26 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 27 a king of Rajarata though it is possible that the relationship was through marriage 28 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 29 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 30 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 31 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 32 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 EditList of Sri Lankan monarchs History of Sri LankaReferences Edit K M De Silva History of Ceylon From the earliest times to 1505 2v Ceylon University Press 1960 p 691 Rasanayagam M Ancient Jaffna p303 304 Wright Arnold 1907 01 01 Twentieth Century Impressions of Ceylon Its History People Commerce Industries and Resources Asian Educational Services ISBN 9788120613355 Chattopadhyaya Haraprasad 1994 Ethnic unrest in modern Sri Lanka an account of Tamil Sinhalese race relations M D Publications Pvt Ltd ISBN 9788185880525 Retrieved 24 February 2012 Sivaratnam C 1968 01 01 The Tamils in Early Ceylon Author இலங க தம ழர வரல ற ப த ய தகவல கள க க ற ம 13ஆம ந ற ற ண ட கல வ ட ட 22 November 2021 Kalinga ancient region India Encyclopedia Britannica Retrieved 2017 03 14 Wenzlhuemer Roland 2008 01 23 From Coffee to Tea Cultivation in Ceylon 1880 1900 An Economic and Social History BRILL ISBN 9789047432173 The Chulawamsa p132 description of Magha p204 description of Arya Chakrawarti PDF a href Template Cite web html title Template Cite web cite web a CS1 maint url status link Pathamanathan The Kingdom of Jaffna p 9 Cite web title Kailaya malai p 84 url https noolaham net project 540 53990 53990 pdf 7Curl status live Cite web title The History of the Current Royal Family of Jaffna url https www jaffnaroyalfamily org royalfamily html Barnett Lionel D 1999 04 30 Antiquities of India An Account of the History and Culture of Ancient Hindustan Atlantic Publishers amp Dist ISBN 9788171564422 The Ceylon Journal of Historical and Social Studies Ceylon Historical and Social Studies Publications Board 1972 01 01 Jorn Rusen January 2008 Time and History The Variety of Cultures Berghahn Books 01 Jan 2008 History 262 pages p 72 ISBN 9780857450418 Sivaratnam C 1968 01 01 The Tamils in Early Ceylon Author The Ceylon Journal of Historical and Social Studies Ceylon Historical and Social Studies Publications Board 1972 01 01 Patnaik Durga Prasad 1989 01 01 Palm Leaf Etchings of Orissa Abhinav Publications ISBN 9788170172482 T Sabaratnam Sri Lankan Tamil Struggle A journalist who reported the Sri Lankan ethnic crisis for over 50 years Chapter 4 McGilvray Dennis B 2008 04 16 Crucible of Conflict Tamil and Muslim Society on the East Coast of Sri Lanka Duke University Press ISBN 978 0822389187 T Sabaratnam Sri Lankan Tamil Struggle A journalist who reported the Sri Lankan ethnic crisis for over 50 years Chapter 4 Culavamsa Chapter 80 lines 58 59 https archive org details in ernet dli 2015 277099 page n173 mode 2up A Short History of Ceylon H W Codrington 1926 London ch Wright Arnold 1907 01 01 Twentieth Century Impressions of Ceylon Its History People Commerce Industries and Resources Asian Educational Services ISBN 9788120613355 Culavamsa LXXXI 17 19 Archived 2006 09 27 at the Wayback Machine The Culavamsa LXXXI 2 3 Culavamsa LXXXI 9 11 Culavamsa LXXXI 10 Codrington A Short History ch V Culavamsa LXXXI 15 16 Chapter Archived 2006 09 27 at the Wayback Machine Culvamsa LXXXIII 8 11 Culavamsa LXXXIII 14External links Edit 1 Resources on Sri Lankan history 2 An account of the shift of Sinhalese power to the south of Sri Lanka Preceded byParakrama Pandyan II Polonaruwa Kingdom1215 1236 Succeeded byParakramabahu II Kingdom of Dambadeniya Preceded bynew state formed Jaffna Kingdom1215 1255 Succeeded byChandrabhanu Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Kalinga Magha amp oldid 1134443754, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
