The Colas c17.17

c17.17

The Cōḻa invasion had one permanent result. Anurādhapura, the capital of Ceylon for over 1000 years, was finally destroyed by the armies of Rājarāja. Polonnaruwa, formerly a military outpost of the ancient capital as seen from its alternative name Kandavura Nuvara (the camp-city), now became the capital under the Cōḷas. While the earlier Tamil invaders of Ceylon had aimed at the overlordship only of Rāja-raṭṭha, the Cōḷas were bent upon the mastery of the whole island. This decided the choice of their capital. There is practically no trace of Cōḷa rule in Anurādhapura. When Sinhalese sovereignty was restored under Vijayabāhu I, he crowned himself at Anurādhapura, but continued to have Polonnaruwa for his capital, as it was more central and rendered easier the task of controlling the turbulent province of Rōhaṇa.³¹ Polonnaruwa was renamed Jananātha-mangalam,³² after another title assumed by Rājarāja about the middle of his reign.³³ Rājarāja's inscriptions have been found in Ceylon.³⁴