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51-521: The king, of South Indian ancestry , faced powerful opposition from the Sinhalese chieftains who sought to limit his power. A successful coup was organized by the chieftains, ending 2358 years of self-rule on the island and resulting in the imprisonment of the king in Vellore . The treaty is unique in that it was not signed by the monarch on the throne but by members of his court and other dignitaries of

102-422: A contingent of relatives with royal lineage ultimately making Kandy their permanent home. The king, however, died childless soon after, having nominated as his successor , his eldest brother in-law who had been living in the court ever since his sister had married the king. Thus by this peculiar mode of succession the son of Narenappa Nayaka who claimed kingship with the ruling Madurai Nayak family now ascended

153-582: A mahesi or from brother to brother. However, when Narendra Sinha's brother-in-law succeeded the throne, the Sinhalese Kandyan aristocracy had no problem with this new form of succession. The practice of marrying princesses from Madurai is said to have come into occurrence as the Kandy kings insisted on consorts from the Suryavamsa lineage to grace their coronation and to produce heirs acceptable to

204-536: A military intervention. The pretext was provided by the seizure of a number of British merchants, who were detained on suspicion of spying and were tortured, killing several of them. An invasion was duly mounted and advanced to Kandy without resistance, reaching the city on 10 February 1815. On 2 March, the kingdom was ceded to the British under a treaty called the Kandyan Convention . On the 2nd of March,

255-521: A reign of 35 years which the people saw as a great religious revival, and had a sentimental attachment to the King. Brother of Kirti Sri Rajasinha, the new king who ascended the throne as Sri Rajadhi Rajasinha. He came from Madurai as a child along with his brother. Hence he was raised as Kandyan and Sinhalese ; emerging as a brilliant pupil of the Malwatte Temple's chief Prelate at that time. He

306-584: A royal prisoner in Vellore Fort the erstwhile King received a privy purse , which his descendants continued to receive from the Government of Ceylon until it was abolished in 1965. Sri Wikrama Rajasinha died of dropsy on 30 January 1832 aged 52 years. For centuries Kandy , originally known as Senkadagala, has been the bastion of Sri Lanka 's culture and its spiritual centre. The palace complex at Kandy includes Sri Lanka's most venerated shrine ,

357-575: Is a catch-all representing the various minority communities of the country. As depicted on a mural in Cave no. 2 at Dambulla Viharaya , King Dutugemunu on his campaign against Ellalan - an invading South Indian ruler- in 162 BC is depicted with a banner containing a lion figure carrying a sword in its right forepaw, a symbol of the Sun and one of the Moon. This flag was known as the only ancient representation of

408-549: Is said to have been entrusted the task of protection of the island of Lanka by Lord Buddha himself. Thus even after conversion to Buddhism, the kings were devoted to Lord Vishnu as a part of veneration of the protector of the Buddhist island. Flag of Sri Lanka The flag of Sri Lanka ( Sinhala : ශ්‍රී ලංකාවේ ජාතික කොඩිය , romanized:  Sri Lankave jathika kodiya ; Tamil : இலங்கையின் தேசியக்கொடி , romanized:  Ilankaiyin teciyakkoṭi ), also called

459-466: The Sinha Flag or Lion Flag , consists of a golden lion holding a kastane sword in its right fore-paw in a maroon background with four gold bo leaves, one in each corner. This is bordered by gold, and to its left are two vertical stripes of equal size in teal and orange , with the orange stripe closest to the lion. The lion and the maroon background represent the Sinhalese race , while

510-563: The British and exiled to Vellore Fort in India. The Nayaks of Kandy were notable for re-establishing the long-dormant tradition among the Sinhalese monarchs of marrying from South Indian nobility, and for their childless marriages resulting in non-linear succession. The Kandy Nayaks were practicing Vaishnavite Hindus , however were also patrons of Theravada Buddhism and paid tribute to

561-590: The Government of Sri Lanka possesses the original copy of the convention. Nayaks of Kandy The Nayaks of Kandy (also referred to as the Kandyan Nayak Dynasty , Sinhala : මහනුවර නායක්කාරවරු Mahanuwara Nayakkarawaru , Tamil : கண்டி நாயக்கர் ) were the rulers of the Kingdom of Kandy between 1739 and 1815, and the last dynasty to rule on the island. The term Nayak is derived from

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612-798: The Sanskrit word Nāyaka (meaning "leader, governor"). Their rise to power came about as a result of the death of Vira Narendrasinha , who left no legitimate heir- the throne passed to his brother-in-law, who was crowned as Sri Vijaya Rajasinha in 1739. They were of Nayakkar origin, spoke Sinhala and Tamil , and used both Sinhala and Tamil as their court languages and also they used Telugu with their family members and with their familiars They are also credited for building various Vishnu temples in Sri Lanka dedicated to their clan deity Vishnu , known as Upulvan in Sinhala. A prominent one of them

663-542: The British an excuse to seize the Kingdom. The Adigar manipulated the king into beginning a military conflict with the British, who had gained a strong position in the coastal provinces. War was declared and on 22 March 1803 the British entered Kandy with no resistance, Sri Vikrama Rajasinha having fled. The adigar massacred the British garrison in Kandy in June and restored the king to the throne. Pilimitalava plotted to overthrow

714-407: The British. After failing to surrender (after 3 weeks of notice), the exasperated king dismissed Ehelepola, confiscated his lands, and ordered the imprisonment and execution of his wife and children. A propagandised account of the execution was widely circulated by sympathisers. Ehelepola fled to British-controlled territory, where he persuaded the British that Sri Vikrama Rajasinha's tyranny deserved

765-761: The Buddhist sanghas . The stability and power of the Kandyan Nayaks were heavily reliant on the support from the Madurai and Thanjavur branches of the House, particularly in the form of military assistance against the Portuguese and Dutch with alliances cemented by intermarriage between Kandy and South India. Thus, intermarriage across the Palk Strait became a matter of policy for Kandy in 17th and 18th centuries. The Nayakkar -led dynasty of Kandy

816-744: The Dalada Maligawa or Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic . Raja Maha Vihara (Gangarama) was built at Kandy by the second Nayak king Kirti Sri Rajasinha while his successor Sri Rajadhi Rajasinha was a lavish patron of Buddhism . The first Nayak king Sri Vijaya Rajasinha is noted for various erection of Buddhist statues throughout the Kingdom. The Kandy Lake overlooking Kandy was commissioned by Sri Vikrama Rajasinha . The Kandy Nayaks are credited for establishing numerous Vishnu temples in Sri Lanka dedicated to their clan deity Vishnu. In Sinhalese culture, Vishnu, hailed as Upulvan ,

867-693: The English Governor of Madras to assist him in expelling the Dutch. This envoy, a junior Kandyan Official in the military made a clandestine trip to Madras Fort, and the English responded by sending their councillor John Pybus. John Pybus, a writer of the British East India Company , sailed to Kandy with a backup of five ships and about 200 armed men. A British vessel brought Pybus to Trincomalee on 5 May 1762. The Dutch knew of

918-736: The Kandyan standard was the replacement of the four spearheads at the flag's corners by four bo leaves, a design choice made under the direction of Nissanka Wijeyeratne , Permanent Secretary to the Ministry of Cultural Affairs and Chairman of the National Emblem and Flag Design Committee. According to the Buddhist Mahavamsa chronicle, the Sinhala Buddhists descended from Prince Vijaya, whose father ( Sinhabahu )

969-406: The King and seize the crown for himself, but his plot was discovered, and, having been pardoned on two previous occasions, he was executed. The disgraced adigar was replaced by his nephew, Ehelepola, who soon came under suspicion of following his uncle in plotting the overthrow of Sri Vikrama Rajasinha. A rebellion instigated by Ehalepola was suppressed, after which he then fled to Colombo and joined

1020-542: The King to cede the three four and seven Korales and Puttlam and hand over the entire coastline of island to the Dutch. The king was not agreeable to any demand that diminished his sovereignty and was deliberately delaying a settlement hoping for help from the English in Madras after his discussion and negotiations with John Pybus 1762. The King in mid-1762 sought help from George Pigot , Governor of Fort St George Madras for assistance. The British were eager to obtain

1071-544: The Nayak king Kumara Krishnappa , who reigned at Madurai (1562–1572), is said to have conquered Kandy . Kumara Krishnappa killed the then reigning Kandy king, sent the late king's wife and children to Anuradhapura and placed his own brother-in-law Vijaya Gopala Naidu as his viceroy in Kandy. The last king of the Kandy Mahanuwara dynasty, Narendra Sinha, died in 1739 without an offspring from his queen. His queen

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1122-529: The Vijayanagara Empire collapsed in the mid-16th century some of these governors declared independence and established their own kingdoms in Gingee , Thanjavur , Madurai and Chandragiri . They were of Nayakkar origin, spoke Tamil and used Sinhala and Tamil as their court languages. but they used Telugu with their familiars. According to a Telugu work called Sinhaladvipa Katha ,

1173-466: The arrival of Pybus through their spies and they were kept informed of his movements. Pybus took an exhausting covert trip to meet the King on 24 May 1762. After several talks without any conclusive decisions Pybus left after a month. The King gave him a ring , sword , a gold chain with breast jewels and left the country crossing the river at Puttalam pass while the Dissawa who accompanied Pybus presented

1224-523: The country were due to his action. He married a bride from the Royal family of Madurai. When the king ascended the throne he sought a wife from South India . For this purpose he sent messengers to Madurai in 1739. Since the Madurai Nayaks had now lost the power and prestige they enjoyed in the days of Vijayaranga Chokkanatha , the family members thought it advisable and even desirable to accept

1275-492: The country." The Kandy King, Kirti Sri Rajasinha (Kirti Sri Maha Raja), married two daughters of Vijaya Manan Naicker, the grandson of Vijaya Raghava Nayaka of Tanjore and also brought some dispossessed Nayaks of Tanjore to live in Kandy. He also married the daughter of one Nadukattu Sami Nayakkar in 1749. He further married three more Nayakkar queens from Madurai , but had no children from them. He had six daughters and two sons by his Sinhalese wife ( Yakada Doli ), daughter of

1326-441: The envoys to Ceylon for the daughter's nuptial ; settled in Kandy with their kith and kin. Narenappa Nayaka was destined to be not only the father-in-law of one king, but the father of the next two kings of Kandy; for his two sons, the one five or six years old in 1740, and the other still an infant were successively to succeed Sri Vijaya Rajasinha. Sri Vijaya Rajasinha married another Madurai princess in 1747. Each bride brought

1377-461: The humiliation, the new Dutch governor Van Eck had immediate plans to attack Kandy, but the weakness in fortification and garrison forbade the Dutch. Later they did attach in 1764 and in 1765. Hence, in the early part of 1763 the Dutch were only consolidating their positions and gradually expelling Kandyans from the territories taken over from Dutch. Throughout 1763 the King continually sought peace and sent his envoys to discuss terms. The Governor wished

1428-524: The kingdom was ceded to the British under a treaty called the Kandyan Convention. Sri Vikrama Rajasinha was captured and sent along with his family and attendants as a royal prisoner by the British to Vellore Fort in southern India. A son was born to him while he was in exile but he died without issue. The King then adopted the son of his daughter as his own son who was titled Alagia Manawala Sinhala Raja . During Sri Vikrama Rajasinha's time as

1479-447: The kingdom. The convention gained a degree of infamy when, according to apocryphal sources, Ven. Wariyapola Sri Sumangala Thero, a Buddhist monk of the kingdom, seized and trampled a Union Jack hoisted by the British, demanding the flag of Kandy be left flying until the convention was signed. The authenticity of the native signatures have recently been called into question. The proclamation consisted of 12 clauses. The archives of

1530-417: The late Dissave (Headman) of Bintenna and granddaughter of the blind and aged Mampitiya Dissave. Both his sons survived the king and his daughters' married Nayakkar relatives of the king. Mampitiya's sons claim for the throne was overlooked and the choice fell on the king's brother who was living in court. The king died on 2 January 1782, of the injuries caused two months before by a fall from his horse after

1581-598: The lion flag of the Sinhalese but in 1957, the lion figure on it was defaced by a vandal. This basic design continued to be in use until 1815, when the Kandyan Convention ended the reign of the country's last native monarch, Sri Vikrama Rajasinha , replacing his royal standard (used as the Flag of the Kingdom of Kandy ) with the Union Flag as the nation's accepted flag. The government of British Ceylon later established its own flag, while Sri Vikrama Rajasinha's standard

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1632-529: The monopoly of trading in cinnamon, pepper, betel nut (puwak) from the Kandyan Kings also wanted to expel the Dutch from the coasts. A reason to call on the British for assistance by the Kandyan King in 1762 was that after the treaty of Paris, the Dutch poured troops into Sri Lanka . They were bent on capturing Kandy from six directions (1764). Anticipating such a scenario the King sent an envoy to

1683-580: The offer from the king of Kandy. Hence the family of Bangaru Thirumala , who was now residing in Vellaikuruchi Fort near Thirupachetiram in Sivaganga Zamin responded. Two brothers Rama Krishnappa Nayaka and Narenappa Nayaka, kinsmen of Bangaru Tirumala Nayaka meet the Kandyan envoys at Ramnad . Narenappa Nayaka had a daughter of marriageable age and agreed to the Kandyan request. The brothers with their families and some kins accompanied

1734-548: The people. The Brother-in-law of King Vira Narendra Sinha , Narendra Singha's first wife's brother, from the Madurai Nayak house, ascended the throne of Kandy , as Sri Vijaya Rajasinha. The new king, considered to be a man of considerable culture, devoted his entire attention to the furtherance of the majority religion Buddhism despite being a Hindu . He is said to have commissioned life sized images of Buddha in recumbent, standing and sitting postures to be cut in

1785-694: The public who, for the first time since the fall of the Kandyan Kingdom, had seen its actual design. Member of Parliament for Batticaloa , Mudaliyar A. Sinnalebbe , suggested in Parliament on January 16, 1948, that the Lion Flag should be accepted as the national flag. In 1948, the flag was adopted as the national flag of the Dominion of Ceylon, undergoing two changes: one in 1953 and a redesign in 1972. A notable feature of 1972's adaptation of

1836-678: The purpose of advancing Buddhism in Sri Lanka, also building the Raja Maha Vihara (Gangarama) was built at Kandy . Kirti built the existing inner temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic , and caused the Mahavansa chronicle to be continued from the time of Parâkkamabâhu IV down to his own reign. In 1761 King Kirti Sri Rajasinha attacked the Dutch garrisons and forts at Matara , Katuwana , Tangalle , Marakade and Urubokke , completely destroying them, and killing Dutch while some surrendered and ended as prisoners. In order to revenge

1887-406: The rock caves in various parts of the country. His reign also marked several conflicts with the Dutch who were ruling the coastal provinces, based on trading issues. Sri Vijaya Rajasinha destroyed the churches and initiated a persecution against the Portuguese and Dutch, which was continued under Kirti Sri Rajasinha . It ceased only because the king considered that certain calamities which fell upon

1938-664: The saffron border and four bo leaves represent the concepts of meththa , karuṇā , muditā and upecka respectively. The stripes represent the country's two largest ethnicities, with the orange representing the Tamils inhabitants—namely the Sri Lankan Tamils and the Indian Tamils of Sri Lanka —and the teal stripe representing the Sri Lankan Moors ( Muslims of Sri Lanka ). The golden yellow border

1989-451: The ships commander Samuel Cornish a gold chain and a ring in the name of King "Kirti Sri Rajasinha". John Pybus in his notes described the King as a man of tolerable stature, reddish in complexion and very brisk in his movements. Pybus was amazed as to how the kandyans had managed to fight a war with Dutch and had captured Matara Dutch Fort. He wrote that "They had put every European to the sword except two officers who are now prisoners of

2040-470: The throne of Kandy as Kirti Sri Rajasinha. Kirti Sri Rajasinha was a prince from the Nayaks of Madurai royal family and brother-in-law to Sri Vijaya Raja Singha. He succeeded his brother-in-law to the throne in 1751. He devoted the first few years of his reign to the advancement of literature and religion. The king, later with the Dutch assistance got down to learning Bhikkus from Siam ( Thailand ) for

2091-469: The throne, faced many conspiracies and reigned through one of the most turbulent periods in Sri Lanka's history. During his time, the British who had succeeded the Dutch in the Maritime Provinces had not interfered in the politics of the Kandy. But Pilimatalava, the first Adigar of the King, started covert operations with the British to provoke the King into acts of aggression, which would give

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2142-504: The throne. The king also had a concubine from a high caste, who had a son with him named Unambuwe, and did survive. The bar to his succession was the lack of royal status in the mother. Thus, the king nominated, as his successor, the brother of his first queen who had remained at the court ever since his sister married him. According to the law of succession that prevailed in Ceylon , the throne passed almost always from father to son, born of

2193-467: The vacant throne. The controversial Adigar was also seen as one of the main reason for the demise of the dynasty. The next King who ascended the throne was Prince Kannasamy, the former Kings' nephew, barely 18 years old. He was crowned under the title of Sri Vikrama Rajasinha. He would also be the last King of the Kandy Nayakar dynasty and the last of Sri Lanka . During his time the British colony

2244-472: Was a Madurai Nayak princess. Narendra Sinha's had nominated a brother of his Madura queen to succeed him; and he was crowned under the assumed title of Sri Vijaya Raja Sinha. Thus, Sri Vijaya Rajasinha succeeded the throne and established the Kandy Nayak line. The last king of the Kandy Mahanuwara dynasty was Vira Narendra Sinha who ruled from 1707 to 1739. This king ascended the throne in 1707 when he

2295-479: Was fully established in other parts of Sri Lanka. There was a rival claimant to succeed King Sri Rajadhi Rajasinha, the brother of Queen Upendramma , who had a stronger claim. However, Pilimatalawe, the first Adigar (prime Minister) choose the South Indian Prince to the Kandyan throne, with reportedly deep-seated plans to usurp the throne to set a new dynasty of his own. The young King, upon ascending

2346-404: Was quite a sophisticated person and learned many languages amongst which were Pali and Sanskrit . A lavish patron of Buddhism , he was a great aficionado of poetry and he himself was a poet. He died childless in 1798 without nominating a successor. The burden fell on Pilimatalava , the first Adigar (Prime Minister) Pilimatalawe, an able, ambitious and intriguing chief, to select a successor to

2397-416: Was seventeen and was considered to be a very pious and scholarly. In 1708 the king married a bride from Madurai Royal family, the daughter of Pitti Nayakkar. Again, in 1710, he married another bride from Madurai. He had no children by either of the queens. He also had a secondary Kandyan wife from noble family of Matale . They had a son. However, the children of the secondary wife were not considered heirs to

2448-601: Was taken to England and kept at the Royal Hospital Chelsea . As the independence movement in Sri Lanka gained strength in the early 20th century, E. W. Perera and D. R. Wijewardena discovered the original Lioness Flag in Chelsea. A photo of it was published in Dinamina , in a special edition marking a century since the loss of self-rule and Sri Lankan independence. The flag provoked much interest from

2499-544: Was the Kandy Vishnu Temple established at their capital Kandy. A cadet branch of the Madurai Nayak dynasty, the Kandyan Nayaks were related to the Thanjavur Nayaks as well. Both Madurai and Thanjavur nayaks belonged to Nayakkar caste. In total, four Nayak monarchs ruled in Kandy, the last of whom, Sri Vikrama Rajasinha, was deposed as a result of the Kandyan nobility's collusion with

2550-543: Was the last dynasty of the island before being fully colonized by the British Crown in 1815. The flag of the Kandy Nayaks based on the ancient Sinhala flags, a yellow lion holding a sword against a red background, is the main feature of the current Sri Lankan flag . The Nayaks of South India started as governors of Vijayanagara Empire ruling parts of Tamil Nadu during the 14th and 15th centuries. After

2601-473: Was the son of a lion and a human princess. This myth is reflected in the national flag, with its lion symbolizing the Sinhala race. The national flag of Sri Lanka represents the country and its heritage as a rallying device. Most symbols in the flag have been given distinctive meanings. The colors of the national flag are specified in the document "SLS 1: 2020: Specification for the National Flag of

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