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Malayan invasions of Sri Lanka occurred in the mid-13th century, when the Malayan rulerChandrabhanu Sridhamaraja ofTambralinga, invadedSri Lanka twice during the reign of kingParakramabahu II of Dambadeniya. Both invasions were successfully repulsed by theKingdom of Dambadeniya.

TheRajarata civilization of Sri Lanka ended with the fall ofPolonnaruwa toKalinga Magha, a conqueror from theEastern Ganga dynasty.^[1] Kalinga Magha's brutal reign in Polonnaruwa caused a massive human migration from the region of Rajarata to theSouth. Not long after, several political states emerged in the southern region, and thekingdom of Dambadeniya inMaya Rata was one of them. Parakramabahu II, who became the second monarch of Dambadeniya in 1236, was strengthening his army during the time to defeat and banish Magha from Sri Lanka.

While preparing for the battle with Kalinga Magha,Chandrabhanu, aJavaka or 'Malayan ruler' from the South-eastTambralinga kingdom^[2][3] (present-dayThailand) invadedSri Lanka in 1244 all of a sudden, with a host armed with blow-pipes and poisoned arrows. He may have been asea-pirate, and descended on the Island later on.^[4] It is unknown why Chandrabhanu actually wanted to invade the country, but it is most accepted that he invaded Sri Lanka with the aim of claiming thesacred tooth relic of the Buddha in Sri Lanka.^[4] To handle the unexpected Malayan an invasion, Prince Veerabahu, the nephew of Parakramabahu II was sent by force to oust Chandrabhanu.^[2]

Chandrabhanu was defeated, but he was able to moveNorth (present-dayJaffna) and secure the Tamil throne for several years. Not long after, he began setting up a plan to re-invade Dambadeniya. He declared himself as the king of Jaffna and adopted the regnal name 'Srīdḥarmarāja'.

Chandrabhanu's reign in Jaffna gave the opportunity to thePandya Empire to intervene with territorial control in the North, and thus the Pandya kingSadayavarman Sundara Pandyan invaded and Chandrabhanu had to submit to Pandya rule as a vassal.

However, despite the invasions, he was able to spend his time in religious and pious works. According to contemporary records, he held a convocation to reform the Buddhistpriesthood, and repaired and constructedBuddhist temples throughout the region.^[4]

Due to these activities, this cunning king was soon able to win the hearts of theSinhalese andTamils living in the North. Taking advantage of this opportunity, King Chandrabhanu gathered a large army from the north and invaded Dambadeniya to capture theTooth Relic.

However, King Parakramabahu II mobilized an army in favor ofJatavarman Veera Pandyan, the emperor of the Pandyan kingdom and fought with Chandrabhanu. According to historical records, King Chandrabhanu was defeated and killed in the war.

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Veera Pandyan proceeded to plant the Pandyan bull victory flag atKoneswaram temple, Konamalai. TheKudumiyamalai Prasasti of the eleventh year of Veera Pandyan I reign relates the riches this conquest brought the Pandyans.Savakanmaindan, who had resisted Jatavarman Veera Pandyan I's forces in Jaffna Patnam, inherited the Jaffna throne upon his father's death and proclaimed himself the king ofJaffna in 1262.

Savakanmaindan professed initial contumacy to Pandyan rule but eventually submitted.^[5] He was rewarded and allowed to retain control of the Jaffna kingdom while Sundara Pandyan remained the regions overlord.Marco Polo, describing Sundara Pandyan's empire as the richest in the world, visited theJaffna kingdom upon docking atTrincomalee, and described the locals under the rule of kingSendemain as mostly naked and feeding on rice and meat. The land was abundant with rubies and other precious stones, although at this stage Savakanmaindan was not paying tributes to the Pandyans. When Savakamaindan embarked on another invasion of the south, the Pandyas underMaravarman Kulasekara Pandyan again invaded and defeated his forces in the late 1270s. However, to further the Tamilhard power in the region,^[6] they eventually installed one of their ministers in charge of the invasion,Kulasekara Cinkaiariyan, anAryacakravarti as the King.^[7][8] In the localTamil language, all South East Asians are known asJavar orJavanese. There are number of place names in theJaffna peninsula which pertains to its South East Asian connections.Chavakacheri means a Javanese settlement. Chavahakottai means a Javanese fort all alluding to Chandrabhanu's brief rule in the north.

Jaffna then existed as a tributary state to the Pandyas and received independence in 1323, after the Pandyan Empire was annexed by theDelhi Sultanate and subsequently by theVijayanagaras. It continued to exist as an independentkingdomuntil 1619.

Meanwhile, in Southeast Asia,Tambralinga was annexed in the late-13th century by the emergingAyutthaya Kingdom, with the region being renamed asNakhon Si Thammarat. The area would stay underThai influence for centuries after this conquest, being a province of the succeedingRattanakosin Kingdom and modernizedKingdom of Thailand.

• Sri Lankan Malays
• Savakanmaindan
• Relic of the tooth of the Buddha

• History of Sri Lankan Malays
• History of Indonesian kingdoms
• Magha the Tyrant - Polonnaruwa (1215 - 1255)
• Codrington's Short History of Ceylon - Chapter V

• 13th century in Sri Lanka
• Wars involving Sri Lanka
• Kingdom of Dambadeniya
• Military history of Sri Lanka
• Military campaigns involving Sri Lanka

• CS1 Sinhala-language sources (si)
• Articles with short description
• Short description matches Wikidata