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King Sri Vijaya Rajasinghe (1739-1747)

Sri Viajaya Rajasinge
© Sachitha Gunathilaka

With the accession of King Sri Vijaya Rajasinghe, there occurred a new dynasty  known as the Nayak dynasty. Thus, in order to maintain a peaceful environment. He tightened the kinship with Sinahalese royal lineage and chiefs by offering them various posts and gifting lands. Also, he embraced Buddhism and carried on the administration according to Buddhist principles. He offered the ‘Rajaguru’ position to venerable Velivita Saranankara thero and according to his request, the king sent messengers to Siam and Jegu to  restore higher ordination, But these attempts were unsuccessful. During that time, some Catholic priests had fled to Udarata due to the suppressing actions of Dutch against Catholicism. These priestswrote books criticizing  Buddhism. Thus the king held a trial, destroyed those books and banished the priests. Likewise, the King Sri Vijaya Rajasinghewon the hearts of Buddhists in Udarata.

Nevertheless, historians argue that the Udarata Kingdom declined due to the Nayak dynasty. During the reign of Nayak kings, the power of the chiefs in the Kandyan court enhanced. Also, disputes  developed between Sinhalese chiefs  nad the king. In addition, the disputes between Sinhalese chiefs and Nayak chiefs resulted in the loss of loyalty of the Sinhalese people.

King Sri Vijaya Rajasinghe died in 1747, rendering the Kandyan throne heirless.

Comments

  • Vimashi
    07/06/2023 at 09:30

    Banda

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