1210 AC - 1211 AC

After King Anikanga, the throne was taken by Queen Lilawathi. Details about this are given under Queen Lilawathi’s reign. After her second year on the throne, the king who ascended, Lokeshwara, is described. King Lokeshwara came here with a large Tamil army, removed Queen Lilawathi from the throne, and seized power. Did he bring the entire island under his own control? The Mahavamsa states that no part of the kingdom was broken by any armed attack. This name is also mentioned in agreement with the chronicle in texts like the Pujavaliya. There is no doubt that King Lokeshwara belonged to the Kalinga dynasty. Because he had a conflict with the Soli, the army he brought could not have been Tamil, according to Professor Senarath Paranavithana.
Some information about King Lokeshwara not mentioned in the chronicles is revealed from an inscription belonging to his period. From it, he is described as:
“Kalinga Kula Tilakaya Maana, Sirisagabo Lokeshwara Bahu Chakravarti.”
From this, it is clear that he belonged to the Kalinga dynasty and used the Buddhist honorary title Sirisagabo. The inscription also contains information about his strategy to restrain the Soli from interfering with his campaign. Based on the above, it is evident that King Lokeshwara had to fight against the Soli. However, such a battle is not mentioned in the chronicles. The reason for speculating about this is due to this absence.
Between RA 1178–1216, the Soli country was ruled by King Kulothunga III. Although the Soli rulers did not act collectively to invade Lanka immediately after the defeat of Vijayabahu I, it can be assumed that they did not refrain from supporting attacking princes. King Parakramabahu I also struck the Soli, which may have reduced their intentions regarding Lanka. However, the inscriptions of King Kulothunga III indicate that he set foot on the soil of Lanka’s king. This is an exaggeration, not reality. Possibly, the Soli army brought by Anikanga was provided by him. Also, Anikanga’s commander Chamunakka was the one who killed him. It can be assumed that Lokeshwara had to fight using the remaining Soli forces. As noted in the inscription, he displayed his skill in achieving victory from that battle and earned recognition from the Lokeshwara officials. However, his power in the kingdom was not stable. King Lokeshwara’s reign was limited to ten days.