House of Vijaya Vijayan dynasty
Royal house
Flag of King Dutugamunu, as depicted in theDambulla Viharaya cave no.2[1]
Country	Kingdom of Tambapanni Kingdom of Anuradhapura
Founded	543 BC
Founder	Prince Vijaya
Current head	Extinct
Final ruler	Subharaja
Titles	King of Tambapanni King of Upatissa Nuwara King of Anuradhapura
Dissolution	66 AD

TheHouse of Vijaya (also known as theVijayan dynasty and sometimes referred to as the "Great Dynasty") was the first recordedSinhalese royal dynasty that ruled over the islandSri Lanka. According to Sri Lankan folklore,Prince Vijaya is the traditional first king of Sri Lanka, founding theKingdom of Tambapanni and the dynasty subsequently founding theKingdom of Upatissa Nuwara and finally theAnuradhapura Kingdom.^[2][3][4]

There were 37 Vijayan monarchs who reigned during a span of 609 years and ruled all but 80 of them. The dynasty ended whenVasabha of the House of Lambakanna I seized power in 66 AD.^[5]

In 543 BC, princeVijaya (543–505 BC) arrived in Sri Lanka, having been banished from his homeland inSingur, India. He eventually brought the island under his control and established himself as king. After this, his retinue established villages and colonies throughout the country. One of these was established by Anuradha, a minister of King Vijaya, on the banks of a stream called Kolon and was named Anuradhagama.^[6][7]

According to popular tradition, the Kingdom of Tambapanni was founded byPrince Vijaya and his 700 followers after landing on the island, in a district near modern dayMannar which is believed to be the district of Chilaw,^[8][9] after leavingSuppāraka.^[10] It is recorded the Vijaya made his landing on the day of Buddha's death.^[11] Vijaya claimedTambapanni his capital and soon the whole island come under this name. Tambapanni was originally inhabited and governed byYakkhas, having their capital atSirīsavatthu and their queenKuveni.^[12] According to theSamyutta Commentary, Tambapanni was one hundredleagues in extent.

After landing in Tambapanni, Vijaya is believed to have metKuveni, a legendary queen of theyakkhas, who was disguised as a beautiful woman but was really ayakkini (devil) named Sesapathi.^[13]

During the end of his reign Vijaya, who was having trouble choosing a successor, sent a letter to the city of his ancestors,Sinhapura, in order to invite his brotherSumitta to take over the throne.^[14] However Vijaya had died before the letter had reached its destination so the elected minister of the people^[15]Upatissa, the Chief government minister or prime minister and leading chief among theSinhalese becameregent and acted as regent for a year. After his coronation which was held in the Kingdom of Tambapanni, he left it building another one bearing his own name. While his was king, Upatissa established the new capitalUpatissagāma, in which the kingdom was moved to from theKingdom of Tambapanni. When Vijaya's letter arrived Sumitta had already succeeded his father as king of his country, and so he sent his sonPanduvasdeva to rule Upatissa Nuwara.^[14]

Upatissagāma was seven or eight miles further north ofTambapanni.^[16][9][17] It was named after the regent kingUpatissa, who was the prime minister ofVijaya.

In 377 BC, KingPandukabhaya (437–367 BC) madeAnuradhapura his capital and developed it into a prosperous city.^[18][19] Anuradhapura (Anurapura) was named after the minister who first established the village and after a grandfather of Pandukabhaya who lived there. The name was also derived from the city's establishment on theauspicious asterism called Anura.^[20] Anuradhapura was the capital of all the monarchs who ruled from the dynasty.^[21]

The consecration ceremonies and rituals associated with kingship began during the reign of Devanampiya Tissa,^[22] under the influence of Ashoka of India.^[23] The whole country was brought under the rule of a single monarch by Dutthagamani for the first time. Before this, it had several principalities independent of the Anuradhapura Kingdom.^[22] The king of Anuradhapura was seen as the supreme ruler throughout the island, even at times when he did not have absolute control over it.^[24]

Several invasions have been made against the Anuradhapura Kingdom, all of which were launched fromSouth India. The first invasion recorded in the history of the country is during the reign ofSuratissa (247–237 BC), where he was overthrown by two horse dealers from South India named Sena and Guththika. After ruling the country for 22 years, they were defeated byAsela (215–205 BC), who was in turn overthrown by another invasion led by aChola prince namedEllalan (205–161 BC).^[25] Elara ruled for 44 years before being defeated by Dutthagamani.^[26] The country was invaded again in 103 BC byfive Dravidian chiefs, who ruled until 89 BC when they were defeated byValagamba.

The House of Vijaya claimed a close relationship to theShakya dynasty, family of theGautama Buddha.^[27]

• Sinhapura
• Shakya

• Blaze, L. E (1995).The Story of Lanka. Asian Educational Services.ISBN 978-81-206-1074-3.
• Moratuwagama, H. M. (1996).සිංහල ථුපවංසය—Sinhala Thupavansaya [Sinhala Thupavamsa] (in Sinhala). Rathna Publishers.ISBN 978-955-569-068-3.
• Perera, Lakshman S. (2001).The Institutions of Ancient Ceylon from Inscriptions. Vol. 1. International Centre for Ethnic Studies.ISBN 978-955-580-055-6.
• Senaveratna, John M. (1997).The story of the Sinhalese. New Delhi: Asian Educational Series.ISBN 81-206-1271-X. Retrieved13 August 2014.
• Siriweera, W. I. (2004).History of Sri Lanka. Dayawansa Jayakodi & Company.ISBN 978-955-551-257-2.
• Wijesooriya, S. (2006).A Concise Sinhala Mahavamsa. Participatory Development Forum.ISBN 978-955-9140-31-3.
• Yogasundaram, Nath (2008).A Comprehensive History of Sri Lanka. Vijitha Yapa Publishers.ISBN 978-955-665-002-0.

• Genealogy of the House of Vijaya

• House of Vijaya
• 6th-century BC establishments in Sri Lanka
• 1st-century disestablishments in Sri Lanka

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