King Parakramabahu I - House of Vijayabahu | Polonnaruwa - (1153 - 1186) - Sri Lankan History - Kings - Governors - Prisidents

King Parakramabahu I

House of Vijayabahu | Polonnaruwa - (1153 - 1186)

Parākramabāhu I (Sinhala: 'මහා පරාක්‍රමබාහු ') (Tamil: 'முதலாவது பராக்கிரமபாகு ') 'Maha Parākramabāhu' (Parākramabāhu the Great);1123–1186 was king of Sri Lanka from 1153 to 1186. During his reign from his capital Polonnaruwa, he unified the three sub kingdoms of the island, becoming one of the last monarchs in Sri Lankan history to do so. He oversaw the expansion and beautification of his capital, constructed extensive irrigation systems, reorganized the country's army, reformed Buddhist practices, encouraged the arts and undertook military campaigns in southern India and in Myanmar. The adage "not even a little water that comes from the rain must flow into the ocean without being made useful to man" is one of his most famous utterances.

Parākramabāhu spent much of his youth in the courts of his uncles Kitti Sri Megha and Sri Vallabha, the kings of the principalities of Dakkhinadesa and Ruhuna respectively, as well as in the court of the King of Rajarata, Gajabahu II. He succeeded his uncle Kitti as king of Dakkhinadesa around 1140 and over the next decade improved both Dakkhinadesa's infrastructure and military. Following a protracted civil war, he secured power over the entire island around 1153 and remained in this position until his death in 1186. During Parākramabāhu's reign, he launched a punitive campaign against the kings of Myanmar, aided the Pandyas against the Chola Empire in southern India and maintained extensive trade relations with China and countries in the Middle East.[4] Within the island, he consecrated religious monuments, built hospitals, social welfare units, canals and large reservoirs, such as the Sea of Parakrama.

PHOTO GALLERY

Thivanka Pilmageya
Polonnaruwa,

ක්‍රි.ව. 1153 – 1186 අතර කාලයේ පොලොන්නරුව රාජධානියේ රජ වූ මහා පරාක්‍රමබාහු රජතුමා කරවූ ජේතවනාරාම සංකීර්ණයේ විහාර ගෙය තිවංක පිළිම ගෙයයි. මෙය උතුරු වෙහෙර ලෙසද හඳුන්වා ඇත. පොළොන්නරුවේ...

Built : King Parakramabahu I,
Reconstruction : King Parakkamabahu II,

King Parakramabahu I
Polonnaruwa,

Parākramabāhu I (Pali Mahā Parākaramabāhu 1123–1186) was king of the Kingdom of Polonnaruwa from 1153-86. During his reign from the capital city of Polonnaruwa, he unified the three lesser kingdoms of the island, becoming one of the last monarchs in Sri Lankan history to do so. He oversaw the expansion and beautification of his capital, constructed extensive irrigation systems, reorganized the country's army, reformed Buddhist practices, encouraged the arts and undertook...

Built : King Parakramabahu I,

Polonnaruwa Watadage
Polonnaruwa,

The Polonnaruwa Vatadage is an ancient structure dating back to the Kingdom of Polonnaruwa of Sri Lanka. It is believed to have been built during the reign of Parakramabahu I to hold the Relic of the tooth of the Buddha or during the reign of Nissanka Malla of Polonnaruwa to hold the alms bowl used by the Buddha. Both these venerated relics would have given the structure a great significance and importance at the time. Located within the ancient city of Polonnaruwa, it is the best...

Built : King Parakramabahu I,

Parakrama Samudraya
Polonnaruwa,

Parakrama Samudra (or King Parakrama's sea or the Sea of King Parakrama) is a shallow reservoir, consisting of five separate reservoirs(thopa, dumbutulu, erabadu,boo, katu tanks) connected by narrow channels in Polonnaruwa, Sri Lanka.

The northernmost reservoir is the oldest and referred to as Topa wewa (Sinhalese wewa = lake or reservoir) built around 386 AD. The middle section Eramudu wewa and the southernmost portion, at the highest elevation, is Dumbutula...

Built : King Parakramabahu I,