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Aryachakravarti kings of Jaffna

A Tamil Shaiva kingdom in the north of Lanka whose kings, descended by tradition from Brahmin warriors of Rameswaram, ruled from Nallur for over three centuries until the Portuguese took it in 1619.

  1. The Arya Chakravarti met by Ibn Battutac. 1344
  2. Kanakasuriya Cinkaiariyanc. 1440–1450, 1467–1478
  3. Cankili I1519–1561
  4. Ethirimanna Cinkam1591–1615
  5. Cankili II1617–1619
Period: c. late 13th century–1619 CERegion: The Jaffna peninsula and the north of Sri Lanka, with the pearl banks of the Gulf of MannarCapitals: Nallur
Photo: lakpuratravels · CC BY 2.0

01Setu on the coins

The Aryachakravartis appear as Pandya generals in the late 13th century, and Jaffna tradition, set down in the Yalpana Vaipava Malai, makes them a family from Rameswaram. Their copper coins carry a seated Nandi and the word Setu, the bridge of Shri Rama, and their kings took the alternating throne-names Pararajasekaran and Segarajasekaran. In 1344 the Moroccan traveller Ibn Battuta landed at Puttalam and was received by a powerful king he calls Arya Chakravarti, master of the pearl fishery, who gave him guides to Adam’s Peak.

02Between Kotte and Vijayanagara

Jaffna paid tribute to Vijayanagara for a time in the 15th century. Around 1450 Sapumal Kumaraya, adopted son of Parakramabahu VI of Kotte, conquered the north and held it for some seventeen years before he left to take the Kotte throne. The Aryachakravarti king Kanakasuriya Cinkaiariyan, who had fled to India, then came back and restored the line. Jaffna stayed independent of Kotte from then until the Portuguese came.

Koneswaram, Trincomalee
Place · Ancient shrine praised in the Tevaram (7th century); destroyed 1622; rebuilding begun 1952, reopened 1963Koneswaram, TrincomaleeThe Shiva temple on Swami Rock at Trincomalee, sung by the Nayanars, razed by the Portuguese in 1622 and rebuilt on the same cliff between 1952 and 1963.Read →

03Cankili and the Portuguese

Cankili I, who took the throne in 1519, resisted Portuguese missions in the north; in 1544 he had several hundred Catholic converts at Mannar put to death, and the Portuguese sent expeditions against him. The last king, Cankili II, was defeated by Phillippe de Oliveira in 1619, taken to Goa and executed there. The Portuguese pulled down the Shaiva temples of Jaffna, Nallur among them. The Nallur Kandaswamy temple that stands today was rebuilt in 1734.

The rulers

  1. 1The Arya Chakravarti met by Ibn BattutaMaster of the pearl banksc. 1344
  2. 2Kanakasuriya CinkaiariyanRestored the line after Sapumal Kumarayac. 1440–1450, 1467–1478
  3. 3Cankili IResisted the Portuguese1519–1561
  4. 4Ethirimanna Cinkam1591–1615
  5. 5Cankili IILast king; executed at Goa1617–1619

What they left

  • Nallur, the royal seat, and its Kandaswamy temple
  • Setu coins with the seated Nandi
  • The Shaiva Tamil culture of Jaffna

Places

Koneswaram, TrincomaleeRebuilt
The Age of Great Kingdoms

Koneswaram, Trincomalee

The Shiva temple on Swami Rock at Trincomalee, sung by the Nayanars, razed by the Portuguese in 1622 and rebuilt on the same cliff between 1952 and 1963.

Nallur Kandaswamy TempleRebuilt
The Age of Great Kingdoms

Nallur Kandaswamy Temple

The great Murugan temple of Jaffna, burnt by the Portuguese in 1620 and rebuilt in 1734. Its 25-day festival is the largest Hindu gathering in Sri Lanka.

On the timeline

  • 1619 CE

    Portuguese annex the Jaffna kingdomWar

    The Portuguese captured Cankili II, the last king of Jaffna, and took him to Goa, where he was executed. Temple destruction across the peninsula followed.