The monarchs of Sri Lanka, also referred to as the Sinhalese monarchy, were the heads of state and rulers of the Sinhala Kingdoms located in present-day Sri Lanka, from 543 BCE (according to chronicles) until its abolition in 1815 CE.
The Sinhalese monarchy began with the settlement of North Indian Indo-Aryan speaking immigrants to the island of Sri Lanka. The Landing of Vijaya (as described in the traditional early chronicles of the island, the Dipavamsa and Mahavamsa) recounts the date of the establishment of the first Sinhalese Kingdom in 543 BCE when Indian prince Prince Vijaya (543–505 BCE) and 700 of his followers arrived in Sri Lanka, establishing the Kingdom of Tambapanni.Mittal (2006) p 405 In Sinhalese mythology, Prince Vijaya and followers are told to be the progenitors of the Sinhalese people. However, according to the story in the Divyavadana, the immigrants were probably not led by a scion of a royal house in India, as told in the romantic legend, but rather may have been groups of adventurous and pioneering merchants exploring new lands.Paranavithana (1936) p 459 On the other hand, other historians such as G.C. Mendis have suggested that the Vijaya story is a myth and has no historical basis.MENDIS, G. C. “The Mahābhārata Legends in the Mahāvaṃsa.” The Journal of the Ceylon Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain & Ireland 5, no. 1 (1957): 81–84. http://www.jstor.org/stable/45377709.
The Sinhala Kingdoms comprised the political states of the Sinhalese people and their ancestors; it existed as a series of successive kingdoms known by the city in which the administrative centre of the kingdom was located. These are, in chronological order: the kingdoms of Tambapanni, Upatissa Nuwara, Anuradhapura, Polonnaruwa, Dambadeniya, Gampola, Kotte, Sitawaka and Kandy. The last Sinhala Kingdom came to an end in 1815 with Sri Vikrama Rajasinha of Kandy after generations of European colonial influences and upheaval in the royal court.
During the two millennia of Sinhalese kingdoms, other political entities also existed on the island, including the Jaffna Kingdom, the Vanni chieftaincies and the Portuguese and Dutch colonies. These political entities are considered separate from the Sinhala Kingdoms. A separate page lists the monarchs of the Jaffna Kingdom.
During the reign of Devanampiya Tissa (307–267 BCE), Buddhism was introduced to the island by Ashoka of India.Mendis (1999), p. 11 By the time of Kithsirimevan (304–332 CE), Sudatta, the subking of Kalinga and Hemamala brought the Tooth Relic of the Buddha to Sri Lanka due to unrest in the country.Blaze (1995), p. 58 Kithsirimevan carried it in procession and placed the relic in a mansion named Datadhatughara.Wijesooriya (2006), p. 89 He ordered this procession to be held annually, and this is still done as a tradition in the country to this day. The Tooth Relic of the Buddha soon became one of the most sacred objects in the country and a symbol of kingship. The person who was in possession of the Tooth Relic would thereafter be considered the rightful ruler of the country.Blaze (1995), p. 59
The role of the monarch was absolute. The monarch was head of state but would be aided with high level officials and a board of ministers. The monarch was later seen as the supreme ruler throughout the island, even at times when they did not have absolute control over it.Perera (2001), p. 48 However, the earliest inscriptions dating from the 3rd to 2nd century BCE suggest that the island was divided into several regional principalities and chieftaincies until the wars of unification fought by King Dutugamunu.Gunawardana, R.A.L.H., ‘Prelude to the State: An Early Phase in the Evolution of Political Institutions in Ancient Sri Lanka’, in Gunawardana, R.A.L.H., S. Pathmanathan and M. Rohanadeera (eds.), Reflections on a Heritage: Historical Scholarship on Premodern Sri Lanka, Volume 1, part 1, Central Cultural Fund, Colombo, 1998, pp. 83- 122. These early kings sought to establish control over the whole island, though in reality this was more of an aspiration. However periods of effective control over the whole island did exist from time to time.De Silva (1981), p. 21 The monarch also held judicial power and influence. Judicial customs, traditions and moral principles based on Buddhism were used as the bases of law. The laws and legal measures were proclaimed by the monarch, and were to be followed by the justice administration.Rambukwelle (1993), p. 38 However the monarch was the final judge in legal disputes, and all cases against members of the royal family and high dignitaries of the state were judged by them, although this power was to be exercised with care and after consulting with their advisers.Siriweera (2004), p. 92
This article is a list of monarchs that have reigned over the nine successive kingdoms of the Sinhalese monarchy. It is based on the traditional list of monarchs as recorded in the chronicles of the island, in particular the Mahavamsa and Rajavaliya. It is not a list of ethnically Sinhalese monarchs as it contains all rulers of the Sinhalese kingdoms, both Sinhalese and foreign. Each monarch belongs to one of nine royal houses (Vijaya, Lambakanna I, Moriya, Lambakanna II, Vijayabahu, Kalinga, Siri Sanga Bo, Dinajara and Nayaks), and follows a tradition of regnal names that span the entirety of the monarchy. For example, Vijayabahu was used 7 times over multiple kingdoms and multiple royal houses over a period of 500 years and there is no overlap of names, Vijayabahu I, II, III, IV, V, VI, VII. The same is true for Aggabodhi, Bhuvanaikabahu, Kassapa, Mahinda, Parakramabahu and others.
Notes This list should be used with the following factors kept in mind. Firstly, the dates provided for the earliest monarchs are difficult to objectively verify; those particularly difficult to know have been denoted with a (?) mark. The date August 20, 1200 is the earliest known fixed date in Sri Lankan history, which was for the coronation of Sahassa Malla.
Another thing to be noted is that several monarchs had usurped the throne of Lanka including Sinhalese monarchs such as Anikanga, Chodaganga, Sri Vallabha of Polonnaruwa and Mahinda VI. The usurpers may have received support from rival kingdoms such as the Cholas.
Note on chronology It should be borne in mind that there is controversy about the base date of the Buddhist Era, with dates between the 6th century BCE and 4th century BCE being advanced as the date of the parinibbana of the Buddha.Witzel, Michael (2019). "Early 'Aryans' and their neighbors outside and inside India". Journal of Biosciences. 44 (3): 58. doi:10.1007/s12038-019-9881-7. ISSN 0973-7138. PMID 31389347. S2CID 195804491. As Wilhelm Geiger pointed out, the Dipawamsa and Mahawansa are the primary sources for ancient South Asian chronology; they date the consecration (abhisheka) of Ashoka (268 BCE according to modern scholarship) to 218 years after the parinibbana. Chandragupta Maurya ascended the throne 56 years prior to this, or 162 years after the parinibbana. The approximate date of Chandragupta's ascension is within two years of 321 BCE (from Megasthenes). Hence the approximate date according to the Mahavamsa of the parinibbana is between 485 and 481 BCE.
According to Geiger, the difference between the two reckonings seems to have occurred at sometime between the reigns of Udaya III (946–954 or 1007–1015) and Pârakkama Pandya (c. 1046–1048), when there was considerable unrest in the country. However, mention is made of an embassy sent to China by Cha-cha Mo-ho-nan in 428. The name may correspond to 'Raja (King) Mahanama', who (by the traditional chronology) reigned about this time.S G M Weerasinghe, A history of the cultural relations between Sri Lanka and China: an aspect of the Silk Route, Colombo: Central Cultural Fund, 1995, , p.40
Furthermore, the traveller-monk Xuanzang, who attempted to visit Sri Lanka about 642, was told by Sri Lankan monks (possibly at Kanchipuram) that there was trouble in the kingdom, so he desisted;Stephen Spencer Gosch, Peter N. Stearns, Premodern Travel in World History, Routledge, 2008; , p.93 this accords with the period of struggle for the throne between Aggabodhi III Sirisanghabo, Jettha Tissa III and Dathopa Tissa I Hatthadpath in 632–643.
Recent indological research has indicated that the Parinibbana of the Buddha may be even later than previously supposed. A majority of the scholars at a symposium held in 1988 in Göttingen regarding the problem were inclined towards a date of 440–360 BCE. However, the Theravada Buddhist canon was first put into writing in Sri Lanka, and the chronology of the following list is based on the traditional Therevada/Sri Lankan system, which is based on a parinibbana date of 543 BCE, sixty years earlier than the Mahayana calendar. Dates after c. 1048 are synchronous.
The Mahavamsa was complied nearly a millennium after the purported date of Vijaya's arrival, and the traditional chronology and relationships of the earliest kings have been called into question by some scholars.W. D. J. Benilie Priyanka Emmanuel, Civilization in its Own Words: Inscriptions and Archaeology in Ancient Sri Lanka, University of California, PhD, 2000 p.42Ajith Amarasinghe, Finding Sinhabahu: An analysis of the early history of Sri Lanka documented in ancient chronicles, Vijitha Yapa Publications, 2019KM Da Silva, A History of Sri Lanka, 1981, pp.3-4 Referring to the period following Devanampiya Tissa's rule, archaeologist W. D. J. Benilie Priyanka Emmanuel states:
Kingdom of Tambapanni (543–437 BCE)
House of Vijaya (543–437 BCE)
Portrait Name Birth Death King from King until Marriages ClaimVijaya?Sinhapurason of Sinhabahu, and Sinhasivali505 BCETambapanni543 BCE505 BCEKuvenitwo children Pandu PrincessFounded KingdomMarriage to KuveniUpatissa(regent)--505 BCE504 BCEPrince Vijaya's Chief MinisterPanduvasdeva--504 BCE474 BCENephew of VijayaAbhaya-454 BCE474 BCE454 BCESon of PanduvasdevaTissa(regent)--454 BCE437 BCEYounger brother of Abhaya
Anuradhapura Kingdom (437 BCE–1017 CE)
House of Vijaya (437–237 BCE)
Portrait Name Birth Death King from King until Relationship with predecessor(s)Pandukabhaya474 BCE367 BCE437 BCE367 BCEGrandson of Panduvasudeva Nephew of Abhaya and TissaMutasiva-307 BCE367 BCE307 BCESon of PandukabhayaDevanampiya Tissa-267 BCE307 BCE267 BCESon of MutasivaUttiya--267 BCE257 BCESon of MutasivaMahasiva--257 BCE247 BCESon of MutasivaSuratissa-237 BCE247 BCE237 BCESon of Mutasiva
Sena and Guttika (237–215 BCE)
Portrait Name Birth Death King from King until ClaimSena and Guttika--237 BCE215 BCEDefeated Suratissa in battle
House of Vijaya (215–205 BCE) Portrait Name Birth Death King from King until Relationship with predecessor(s)Asela?Son of Mutasiva205 BCEAnuradhapura215 BCE205 BCESon of Mutasiva
Elara (205–161 BCE) Portrait Name Birth Death King from King until ClaimElara235 BCEChola Empire161 BCEAnuradhapura205 BCE161 BCEDefeated Asela in battle
House of Vijaya (161–103 BCE)
Portrait Name Birth Death King from King until Relationship with predecessor(s)Dutugamunu the Great (a.k.a. Duṭṭha Gāmaṇi or Dutugemunu or Duttagamini Abaya) --161 BCE137 BCE*Defeated Elara*Eldest son of Kavan Tissa*Originally the ruler of RuhunaSaddhā Tissa--137 BCE119 BCE*Brother of DutugemunuThūlathana(Tulna) --119 BCE119 BCE*Second son of Saddha TissaLañja Tissa--119 BCE109 BCE*Older brother of Thullattana*Oldest son of Saddha TissaKhallāṭa Nāga(Kalunna) --109 BCE103 BCE*Brother of Lanja Tissa*Third son of Saddha TissaVaṭṭagāmaṇi Abhaya(a.k.a. Valagambahu I)(Walagamba)--103 BCE103 BCE*Fourth son of Saddha Tissa
The Five Dravidans (103–89 BCE)