1410 AC - 1415 AC

The Chinese admiral Zheng He, who served under Emperor Yongle of China, is said to have arrived in Sri Lanka in AD 1411. As mentioned in the section on King Veera Alakeshwara, after a battle with King Veera Alakeshwara, he captured the king and took him to China.
Chinese records state that the capture of the king was made possible due to intelligence provided by one of the king’s own military officers. It is believed that these military secrets were passed to the Chinese admiral by a spy of Parakramabahu Epa.
It is also mentioned that a person named “Yehipa Naina” was later appointed as the representative ruler of the Chinese emperor. Historians believe that this individual may have been Parakramabahu Epa of Senkadagala, who provided intelligence that led to the capture of Veera Alakeshwara.
Later, Parakramabahu Epa of Senkadagala is said to have become the ruler of Kotte.
Some texts describe this king as a brother of King Veerabahu II, while others state that he was a son of Veera Alakeshwara. However, the most widely accepted view is that he was the grandson of the military commander Senalankadhikara, an official under King Bhuvanekabahu IV.
This king ruled the Kotte Kingdom until around AD 1215, after which the kingdom came under King Parakramabahu VI.
A key feature of royal succession during this period was that the throne passed through the king’s sister’s lineage.
Historical records state that Prince Veera Alakeshwara seized the throne by killing his brother, King Veerabahu II. This act was not in accordance with the traditional succession system.
Therefore, the nobles of the upcountry did not accept this and installed a prince from the lineage of Senalankadhikara, naming him Parakramabahu and making him the ruler of Senkadagala, as recorded in the Asgiriya palm-leaf manuscript.
We have previously discussed that Senalankadhikara had two children: King Vikramabahu IV and Princess Jayasiri.
As mentioned earlier, after King Vikramabahu IV, the throne passed to King Bhuvanekabahu V, the son of his elder sister (Princess Jayasiri).
After him, the throne was taken by Kumara Alakeshwara, which caused dissatisfaction within the royal family. He was later expelled, and Veera Alakeshwara seized the throne, being the brother of the husband of Bhuvanekabahu V’s sister.
However, Veerabahu, who had a rightful claim through the sister’s lineage, expelled his brother Alakeshwara and took the throne.
Later, Veera Alakeshwara returned from India with an army, killed King Veerabahu II, and seized the throne again.
(According to A Concise History of Ceylon by C.W. Nicholas and Senarath Paranavithana, published in 1961, shortly after 1396 Veerabahu went to Kotte to capture Veera Alakeshwara. It is also stated that Veerabahu died in 1396, and thereafter his sons Vijaya Epa and Thunaseya ruled until Veera Alakeshwara returned.)
Since this situation contradicted traditional succession norms, the upcountry nobles may not have accepted it. Therefore, they installed a descendant of the Senalankadhikara lineage—through the sister’s line of King Vikramabahu IV—as Parakramabahu of Senkadagala.
Based on the principle that succession passed through the sister’s lineage, it can be assumed that this ruler was a descendant of Senalankadhikara’s daughter.
— Isura Wickramaarachchi, Mahavansa Pradeepikawa