Dictionary of Pali Proper Names v2.c27.889

v2.c27.889

1. Parakkamabāhu I.—King of Ceylon (1153-86). He was the son of the eldest of the three brothers, Mānābharaṇa, Kittisirimegha and Sirivallabha, who ruled over Dakkhiṇadesa and Rohaṇa. He was born at Puṅkhagāma in the Dakkhiṇadesa, where Mānābharaṇa was ruler. His birth was accompanied by various miracles. Vikkamabāhu II., the then reigning king at Pulatthipura, hearing of this, wished to bring the boy up at his own court and make him his heir in place of his own son. But Mānābharaṇa refused to consent to this, and soon after died. Thereupon his brother Kittisirimegha took over Dakkhiṇadesa and left Rohaṇa to Sirivallabha, who brought Mānābharaṇa’s widow Ratnāvalī with her two daughters Mittā and Pabhāvatī and her son Parakkama, to his capital of Mahānāgakula. Meanwhile Vikkamabāhu dies and is succeeded by his son Gajabāhu, who maintains his position in spite of the attacks of Kittisirimegha and Sirivallabha. Parakkama, finding no scope for his talents in Rohaṇa, seeks his uncle Kittisirimegha, who receives him joyfully and takes him to live in his capital at Saṅkhatthalī. There Parakkama finishes his education, and his coming of age is celebrated under the direction of the Senāpati Saṅkha of Badalatthali. Sirivallabha dies in Rohaṇa and is succeeded by his son, the younger Mānābharaṇa. Parakkama’s ambitious spirit makes him restless, and he is discontented at the prospect of serving a petty principality. He wishes to seek royal dignity in Rājarattha, and refuses to listen to his uncle’s dissuasion, who assures him that he is only influenced by his love for him and fears for his safety. But Parakkama leaves Saṅkhatthalī secretly and goes to Badalatthali, where the general Saṅkha is slain because he informed the king of Parakkama’s flight. Parakkama then goes to Buddhagāma near the frontiers of the Rājarattha. The inhabitants make repeated attempts to check his advance, but he repels these by his valour.