Kalinga Magha
Gangaraja Kalinga Vijayabahu / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Kalinga Magha or Gangaraja Kalinga Vijayabahu (Tamil: கலிங்க மாகன் / கலிங்க மாகோன் / கங்கராஜ காலிங்க விஜயவாகு மகன், Sinhala: කාලිංග මාඝ) was an invader from the Kingdom of Kalinga who usurped the throne from Parakrama Pandyan II of Polonnaruwa in 1215.[3] A massive migration followed of Sinhalese people to the south and west of Sri Lanka, and into the mountainous interior, as they attempted to escape his power.[4] Magha was the last ruler to have his seat in the traditional northern seat of native power on the island, known as Rajarata; so comprehensive was his destruction of Sinhalese power in the north that all of the successor kingdoms to Rajarata existed primarily in the south of the island.
Kalinga Magha | |
---|---|
Gangaraja Kalinga Vijayabahu | |
King of Polonnaruwa | |
Reign | 1215–1236 |
Predecessor | Parakrama Pandyan II |
Successor | Parakramabahu II (as King of Dambadeniya) |
King of Jaffna | |
Reign | 1215–1255 |
Successor | Chandrabhanu |
Born | Kalinga |
House | Chodaganga[1][2] |
Several theories exist about Magha, these theories range from defining him as an eastern Ganga king to a member of the Sinhalese Kalinga dynasty established by Kalinga Lokeshvara. Some historians identify him as the Kulankayan Cinkai Ariyan[5] mentioned in the Jaffna Tamil chronicles, stating that Kulanka is actually a corruption of Kalinga. A Tamil inscription found in Gomarankadawala, Trincomalee District proves that Kalinga Magha was consecrated as King of Polonnaruwa under the name of Gangaraja Kalinga Vijayabahu by Kulothunga Chola III.[6]