The City of Polonnaruwa
While
Vijayabahu's victory and shifting of Kingdoms to the more strategic
Polonnaruwa is considered significant, the real Polonnaruwa Hero of the
history books is actually his grandson, Parakramabahu I. It was his
reign that is considered the Golden Age of Polonnaruwa, when trade and
agriculture flourished under the patronage of the King, who was adamant
that no drop of water falling from the heavens was to be wasted, and
each be used toward the development of the land; hence, irrigation
systems far superior to those of the Anuradhapura Age were constructed
during Parakramabahu's reign, systems which to this day supply the water
necessary for paddy cultivation during the scorching dry season in the
east of the country. The greatest of these systems, of course is the
Parakrama Samudraya or the Sea of Parakrama, a tank so vast that it is
often mistaken for the ocean. It is of such a width that it is
impossible to stand upon one shore and view the other side, and it
encircles the main city like a ribbon, being both a defensive border
against intruders and the lifeline of the people in times of peace. The
Kingdom of Polonnaruwa was completely self-sufficient during King
Parakramabahu's reign.
However, with the exception of
his immediate successor, Nissankamalla I, all other monarchs of
Polonnaruwa, were slightly weak-willed and rather prone to picking
fights within their own court. They also went on to form more intimiate
matrimonial alliances with stronger South Indian Kingdoms, until these
matrimonial links superseded the local royal lineage and gave rise to
the Kalinga invasion by King Kalinga Magha in 1214 and the eventual
passing of power into the hands of a Pandyan King following the Arya
Chakrawarthi invasion of Sri Lanka in 1284. The capital was then shifted
to Dambadeniya.The city Polonnaruwa was also called as Jananathamangalam during the short Chola reign.
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