Lilavati of Polonnaruwa

Lilavati (also Leelawathi, Leelavathi) reigned as Queen of Polonnaruwa in 1197–1200, 1209–1210, and 1211–1212. She was the fourth woman in Sri Lankan history to rule as sovereign in her own right. Lilavati rose to prominence as the wife of Parakramabahu I, king of the Kingdom of Polonnaruwa. Being of royal descent herself, she then ruled as sole monarch on three occasions in the near-anarchy following Parakramabahu's death, with the backing of various generals. The primary source for her life is the Culavamsa, specifically chapter LXXX.

It is known that Lilavati was the daughter of Sirivallabha Pandya and his wife Sugala, and that she had a brother, also called Manabharana. She would have met her future husband when still young as Parakramabahu was her cousin, the son of her uncle Manabharana Pandya of Dhakkinadesa. Following his death, Kittisrimegha ascended to the throne of Dhakkinadesa, and Manabharana's family came to live with Sirivallabha in Ruhuna. It is not known at what point she married Parakramabahu.

Lilavati's family – in particular her brother Manabharana Pandya of Ruhuna (who was married to both of Parakramabahu's sisters, Mitta and Pabhavati), and the Queen Mother, Sugala – had a very difficult relationship with Parakramabahu. Manabharana fought against Parakramabahu on several occasions, It is not known what role Lilavati played in the complex scheming between them.

Reign and Death

Lilavati's activities during the energetic reign of her husband are not known. As first mahesi ("queen consort"), she would have been the highest-ranking woman in court; her children (if any) would have had first claim to the throne, and on occasion she may even have accompanied the king on campaign. However the Culavamsa does not mention this, or indeed suggest she had any children by Parakramabahu.

The queen re-emerges in the sources in the anarchy following Parakramabahu's death. Vijayabahu II, described as a 'poet king',

Kulottunga III's earlier claim was made in an Inscription dating to 9th year of his reign ( 1187 ), when he claimed a victory over the Sinhalese. His conquest of Sri Lanka began to describe since his 10th regnal year ( 1188 ), as his Inscriptions have mentioned. At the time king nissankamalla still was the ruler of polonnaruwa kingdom of Sri Lanka. So the evidence of cholas suggest that their expedition may indeed have reached the island and achieved some initial success, but there is no evidence that kulottunga III was successfully established lasting control over Sri Lanka.

The chola claim became more clear in a Inscription of 1199, during the reign of lilavati, which described the conquest of Sri Lanka. However, the claim is not supported by evidence of a permanent chola occupation. The Sinhalese evidence suggests that chola forces invaded the island but ultimately defeated and expelled by kitti. A. Liyanagamage treats the chola claim as probably referring to a temporary military success rather than an actual conquest.

A medieval sinhala poem called sasadavata, which was written during Lilavati's reign, records three invasions from the chola empire. According to sasadavata, genaral kitti successfully defeated these three invasions. The sasadavata and the later sasadavata sannaya have described a detailed explanation about that. According two them, two of the invading cholas arrived at mahathiththa (Mannar) and advanced towards Anuradhapura. Genaral kitti successfully defeated these two invasions. And the third invasion landed on salavattota (Chilaw) and successfully advanced as far as sripura in dakkhinadesa, but general kitti ultimately defeated them again.

The geographical and narrative details of above invasions come from the sasadavata sannaya, whose composition is later than the sasadavata itself. K. Indrapala considered the evidence of the sasadavata significant because the poem itself was contemporary with the events it describes. He noted that even if the sasadavata sannaya's detailed account is set aside, the poem's evidence to chola invasions and genaral kitti's victories can't easily be dismissed.

The evidence from the Chola inscriptions and Sinhalese sources can therefore be reconciled without accepting Kulottunga III's claims as literal evidence of conquest. Chola forces evidently reached Sri Lanka and may have achieved an initial advantage, but the invasions were soonly checked. Kitti emerged as the main military leader responsible for defeating and driving back the invading forces. Kulottunga III's claims of conquest appear to have been based on temporary military successes rather than a lasting conquest of the island.