Parakramabahu II, also known as Panditha Parakramabāhu, was the King of Dambadeniya in 13th century, whose reign lasted from 1234 to 1269. As a pioneer in literature, he was bestowed with the honorary title "Kalikala Sahitya Sarvagna Pandita". Parakramabahu's reign is notable for the creation of numerous Sinhalese literal works such as, Kausilumina, Pūjāvaliya, Pāli Vishuddḥi Mārgaya, Thūpavaṃsa and Sidhath Sangarāva. He launched a campaign against the Eastern Ganga invader Kalinga Magha, and successfully expelled him in 1255, unifying Sri Lanka under one rule. He succeeded his father Vijayabahu III as King of Dambadeniya, and was succeeded by his elder son, Vijayabahu IV, after his death.
Life before kingship
Parakramabahu II was born in Sirivardhanapura, as mentioned in the chronicle Pujavaliya, to king Vijayabahu III of Dambadeniya. In 1220, Vijayabahu was crowned as the king of Dambadeniya, whose descendants trace their ancestry back to king Sri Sangha Bodhi of Anuradhapura. Thus, this king is regarded as the first monarch of the House of Siri Sanga Bo.
According to a popular legend, the day after the birth of Parakramabahu II, his mother (also the chief royal consort of Vijayabahu III) died and the king remarried a Muhammadan, and not long after, a son named Wattimi was born to the concubine.
Amidst the objections by the Buddhist monks and ministers of the royal court, the concubine (the prince's mother) planned to kill prince Parakramabahu, the true heir to the Sinhalese throne, to let Wattimi proclaim kingship. Aware of the threat, the king secretly handed over prince Parakramabahu to a village resident through his ministers, and Parakramabahu grew up in the village, which is also thought to be the reason for his patronage of literature.
After the death of Vijayabahu III, Wattimi usurps the throne of Dambadeniya, but his rule turns out to be unpopular, and the chiefs of the Sinhalese court soon lured him to a high place at Kurunegala threw him over the precipice. His tomb, in the hands of the Muhammadans, was venerated also by the Sinhala, to whom he is known as Gale Bandara.
The royal elephant of the kingdom was used to trace Parakramabahu, as the ministers believed that the elephant would worship their true heir as an act of identification. This legend mentions that after searching throughout the village, the elephant recognized Parakramabahu, who was then fully grown-up as an adult and had forgotten his true identity.
Parakramabahu II was crowned as the second king of Dambadeniya after the incident in 1236.
Reign in Dambadeniya and Campaign against Magha
Parakramabahu's first act after his coronation was to build a Temple of the Tooth in his kingdom. At the ceremony of depositing the Tooth Relic of the Buddha, he promised to save the country from the cruel invader named Kalinga Magha (a.k.a. Gangaraja Kalinga Vijayabahu). Due to this, the people of the country, including the Buddhist monks, became very enlightened about Parakramabahu II.
While preparing for the battle, the king had to face another invasion in his eleventh year (1244-1245), by a Javaka or Malay ruler named Chandrabhanu from the Tambralinga kingdom of Southeast Asia. The reason Chandrabhanu invaded Sri Lanka is uncertain, but historians suggest that he invaded the politically fragmented island in the aim of claiming the relic of the Tooth of the Buddha.
Although Chandrabhanu's initial invasion of the country wasn't a success, he settled in the North of Sri Lanka with an aim of re-invading the island.
Parakrmabahu II successfully pushed Kalinga Magha out of Polonnaruwa by 1244, and finally expelled him entirely from Sri Lanka in 1255, ending Magha's brutal 40-year rule. The fate of Magha after his banishment remains unknown.
Malay invasions
Parakramabahu II had to face two Malay invasions in his reign; the first one occurred in 1244, led-by Chandrabhanu of Tambralinga. The invasion was successfully repulsed. However, Chandrabhanu settled in the North (present-day Jaffna) with an intent to re-invade Dambadeniya. He adopted the regnal name 'Srīdḥarmarāja' and re-constructed Buddhist temples in the region.
Although not mentioned in historical chronicles, there's solid evidence that a huge Pandyan invasion, launched by Sadayavarman Sundara, occurred sometime between the years 1254 and 1256. Dambadeniya wasn't much affected, but Chandrabhanu had to submit his territory of Jaffna to Pandya rule as a vassal.