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{{Short description|Kings of the Jaffna Kingdom in Sri Lanka}}
{{good article}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2019}}
{{Royal house
| surname = Arya Chakravarti
| estate = Jaffna Kingdom
| coat of arms = File:Jaffna Royal family.jpeg
| country = [[Sri Lanka]]
| titles = Cinkaiariyan, Cetukavalan, Kangkaiariyarkoon
| founder = [[Kulasekara Cinkaiariyan]]
| final ruler = [[Cankili II]] in [[Jaffna Kingdom]]
| current head =
| founding year = 1277 CE
| dissolution = 1619
| cadet branches = None
}}
The '''Arya Chakravarti dynasty''' ({{langx|ta|ஆரியச் சக்கரவர்த்திகள் வம்சம்}}, [[Sinhalese language|Sinhalese]]: ආර්ය චක්‍රවර්තී රාජවංශය) were kings of the [[Jaffna Kingdom]] in [[Sri Lanka]]. The earliest Sri Lankan sources, between 1277 and 1283, mention a military leader of this name as a minister in the services of the [[Pandyan Empire]]; he raided the western Sri Lankan coast and took the politically significant [[relic]] of the [[Gautama Buddha|Buddha]]'s [[tooth]] from the [[History of Sri Lanka|Sinhalese]] capital city of [[Yapahuwa]]. Political and military leaders of the same family name left a number of [[inscriptions]] in the modern-day [[Tamil Nadu]] state, with dates ranging from 1272 to 1305, during the late [[Pandyan Empire]]. According to contemporary native literature, such as ''Cekaracecekaramalai'', the family also claimed lineage from the [[Iyer|Tamil Brahmins]] of the prominent [[Hindu]] [[pilgrimage]] [[temple]] of [[Ramanathaswamy Temple, Rameswaram|Rameswaram]] in the modern [[Ramanathapuram District]] of India.<ref name=":1" /> They ruled the Jaffna kingdom from the 13th until the 17th century, when the last of the dynasty, [[Cankili II]], was ousted by the [[Portuguese Empire|Portuguese]].

== Theories of origin ==
The origins of the Aryacakravarti are claimed in contemporary court chronicles; modern historians offer some competing theories.

=== Pandyan feudatory family ===
[[File:Pandya Kingdom (south India).png|thumb|right|Pandyan tribute-paying territories circa 1250, include what eventually became the Jaffna kingdom in Sri Lanka]]
From the thirteenth-century inscriptions commemorating dignitaries calling themselves Aryacakravartis in present-day [[Tamil Nadu]] we can deduce that they hailed from the coastal region of present-day [[Ramanathapuram District]], which they called ''Cevvirukkai Nadu''. They administered land and held important military ranks. It is believed that most of them belonged to the modern Ramanathapuram District who had become prominent during the days of the Pandyan king [[Maaravaramban Kulasekara Pandyan I|Maravarman Kulasekaran]].<ref name=P11>{{Cite book|url=http://noolaham.org/wiki/index.php/The_Kingdom_of_Jaffna?uselang=en|title=The Kingdom of Jaffna|last=Pathmanathan|first=Subramanium|publisher=M. Rajendran|year=1978|page=11|language=ta|archive-url=https://archive.today/20201110110548/https://noolaham.net/project/38/3706/3706.pdf|archive-date=10 November 2020|access-date=10 November 2020|url-status=live}}</ref> The kings of [[Jaffna Kingdom]] claimed the title ''Sethukavalar'' meaning "the guardian of ''Cetu''".<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Kj_aWm4DeFEC|title=The Sri Lanka Reader: History, Culture, Politics|last=Holt|first=John|publisher=Duke University Press|year=2011|isbn=978-0822349822|page=83|language=en}}</ref>

Furthermore, the title ''Cakravarti'' seem to have been commonly used in the Pandyan kingdom as a [[caste]] or job title. Compound titles exist, such as ''Maravacakravarti'' that belonged to a [[Maravar]] chief as well as ''Malavacakravarti'' that belonged to a ''Malava'' chief. ''Ariyar'' in [[Tamil language|Tamil]] could denote a noble or a learned person, a [[Brahmin]] or alternatively a person from [[Aryavarta]]. Thus the title ''Ariyacakravarti'' seems to fit the structure of similarly used titles across the Pandyan kingdom.<ref>{{Cite book|url=http://noolaham.org/wiki/index.php/The_Kingdom_of_Jaffna?uselang=en|title=The Kingdom of Jaffna|last=Pathmanathan|first=Subramanium|publisher=M. Rajendran|year=1978|pages=11–13|language=ta|archive-url=https://archive.today/20201110110548/https://noolaham.net/project/38/3706/3706.pdf|archive-date=10 November 2020|access-date=10 November 2020|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.whatisindia.com/inscriptions/south_indian_inscriptions/volume_22/part_1/miscellaneous.html
|title= Salem District, Namakkal Taluk, Namakkal. Narasimha-Perumal Temple – In The Underground Cellar, Near The Entrance Into The Central Shrine (A.R. No. 11 of 1906)
|access-date=2008-03-17|work= South Indian Inscriptions}}</ref> Inscriptions of 12th century mentions that the title ''Ariyacakravarti'' was a title earned in the military service under the Pandyan kingdom, the title is frequently referenced in the inscription of [[Maaravaramban Kulasekara Pandyan I|Maravarman Kulasekaran]] in Ramanthapuram.<ref name=":0" />

Some of the dignitaries noted in the inscriptions are one Devar Arayacakravarti, Alakan Arayacakravarti, Minatungan Arayacakravarti and Iraman Arayacakravarti of whom Devar Arayacakravarti has at least two known inscriptions of which one at Sovapuri in Ramanathapuram in 1272 is the earliest. He caused a second inscription (1305) in Tirupulani in Ramanathapuram to be engraved thus indicating he was a minister or a feudatory. Notably the inscriptions also had the epithet ''Sethumukam'' signifying "in the order of Sethu."<ref name=P11 />

According to a [[Sri Lanka|Sinhalese]] [[primary source]] ''[[Culavamsa]]'', a [[warlord]] or minister named Aryacakravarti invaded the Sinhalese capital of [[Yapahuwa]] on behalf of the Pandyan king Maaravarman Kulasekaran between the years 1277–1283 and took the politically significant Buddha's [[tooth]] [[relic]].<ref>Kunarasa,''The Jaffna Dynasty'', p. 66</ref><ref>Gnanaprakasar, ''A Critical History of Jaffna'', p. 83</ref>

=== Brahmins from Rameswaram ===
{{See also|Ramanathaswamy Temple, Rameswaram}}
[[File:Ramanathaswamy temple7.JPG|thumb|left|[[Rameswaram]] temple – Aryacakravarti kings claimed origin as [[Iyer|Tamil Brahmin]] priests of [[Pasupata]] sect from this temple<ref>Gnanaprakasar, S. ''A critical history of Jaffna'', p. 84</ref>]]
The ''Cekaracecekaramalai'' written during the Aryacakravarti rule in Jaffna asserts that the direct ancestors of the Kings belonged to a group of 512 Ariyar (a [[Brahmin]] priestly [[caste]]) of the [[Pasupata]] sect of the Rameswaram Hindu temple. The source also claims that two out of the 512 were selected as Kings of Ariyars.<ref name=":1">Pathamanathan, ''The Kingdom of Jaffna'', p. 9</ref> It also explains that a direct ancestor of the kings was a scribe in the Pandyan kingdom and was called during a war with other kingdoms to assist the king, and that the ancestors of the kings fought in wars against kings in the [[Hoysala]] and [[Karnataka]].<ref name=p4.5/><ref>Kamath, ''A concise history of Karnataka : from pre-historic times to the present'', p. 118</ref>

During [[Jatavarman Sundara Pandyan]]'s rule the Pandyas overwhelmed their Hoysala enemies and killed the Hoysala monarch [[Vira Someshwara]] in 1254.<ref name=p15>Pathamanathan, ''The Kingdom of Jaffna'', p. 15</ref>

A study of their epithets, such as ''Teevaiyarkoon'' ("King of Teevai"), ''Kantamalayaariyarkoon'' ("Ariyan King of Kantamalai") and ''Ceetukaavalan'' ("Protector of Cetu") confirms their connections to Rameswaram Hindu temple, as Teevai, [[Cetu]] and Kantamalai are all names for the same location: Rameswaram.<ref name=p15 />

=== Ganga dynasty ===
{{Main|Eastern Ganga Dynasty}}
In the opinion of Rasanayagam Mudaliar<ref>Rasanayagam, M., ''Ancient Jaffna'', pp. 303–304</ref> and Swami Gnanapragasar the Aryacakravarti dynasty was connected to the [[Eastern Ganga Dynasty]]. Rasanayagam believes that a Brahmin from the town of Rameswaram married into the surviving family members of the [[Kalinga Magha]], an invader claiming to be from [[Kalinga (historical kingdom)|Kalinga]] kingdom in India. Magha apparently belonged to the [[Eastern Ganga Dynasty]]. The [[Royal flag of the Jaffna kingdom]] is similar to the Royal insignia of the Eastern Gangas. Gangas themselves also claimed Brahmin origins{{citation needed|date=August 2025}}. The [[Setu coins]] minted by the Aryacakravarti kings also have a similar symbol.<ref>Perera, H., ''Ceylon & Indian History from Early Times to 1505 A.D.'', p. 353; Coddrington, H., ''Ceylon Coins and Currency'', pp. 74–75</ref>

Swami Gnanapragasar believes that the first Ariyacakravarti also called ''Cinkaiariyan'' (Ariyan from [[Nallur (Jaffna)|Cinkainakar]]) was Kalinga Magha himself.<ref name=p4.5>Pathamanathan, ''The Kingdom of Jaffna'', pp. 4–5</ref> Three main arguments are adduced to support the claim that these kings were of Eastern Ganga descent. The first is the similar device on their coins; the bull couchant and the crescent surmounting it were struck on coins issued by the Eastern Gangas and Ariyacakravartis. The second is the traditions of their origins are almost identical. The last is the assumption of titles ''Kangkainaadan'' (From the country of [[Ganges]]) and ''Kangkaiariyan'' (''Ariyan'' from the Ganga dynasty).<ref name=p4.5 /> According to [[S. Pathmanathan]]'s history of the Jaffna kingdom,<ref>Spence, ''Sri Lanka: History and the Roots of Conflict'', p. 116</ref> these only establish similarity, but not any conclusive direct connections. Pathmanathan believes that we cannot categorically link the Aryacakravarti dynasty with Eastern Gangas and can explain most of the similarities based on influence, even [[Western Ganga Dynasty]] descendants who had moved into [[Tamil people|Tamil]] lands after their defeat by the [[Chola Empire]] around the year 1000 and interpret them simply as reflecting a claim of origin from the Hindu holy city of [[Varanasi]] on the banks of the holiest river [[Ganges]].<ref name=p4.5 /><ref>Kamath, ''A concise history of Karnataka: from pre-historic times to the present'', p. 118</ref>

=== Javaka-Kalinga invaders ===
{{Main|Indianized kingdom}}
[[File:Nakhon Si Thammarat Chedi Phra Baromathat.jpg|thumb|right|The [[Buddhist]] [[stupa]] ''Chedi Phrae Boromadhatu'' built by [[Chandrabhanu]] of the ''Padmavamsa'' [[Lineage (anthropology)|lineage]] in [[Tambralinga]] (now [[Thailand]])]]
S. Paranavitana offered a novel surmise explaining the origins of the Ariyacakravarti. According to him the Aryacakravarti are descendants of [[Chandrabhanu]] a [[Malays (ethnic group)|Malay]] chieftain,<ref>Malays and all South East Asians are knows an ''Javakas'' or "[[Javanese people|Javanese]]" in Indic literature.</ref> who invaded the island from [[Tambralinga]] in 1247. According to him refugees and immigrants from the Indian kingdom of [[Kalinga (historical kingdom)|Kalinga]] founded similarly named Kingdoms in [[South East Asia]], and some of them came due to various reasons to north Sri Lanka and founded the [[Jaffna Kingdom]].<ref>{{Cite journal | last = Paranavitana | first = Senarat | title = The Aryan Kingdom in North Ceylon | journal = Journal of the Ceylon Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society | volume = II | pages = 174–224 }}</ref> This view has been refuted by noted Indian historian K.A. Nilakanta Sastry as having no credible evidence,<ref>{{Cite journal | last = Sastry | first = K.A. Nilakanta | title = Ceylon and Sri Vijaya | journal = Journal of the Ceylon Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society | volume = VIII | pages = 125–140 }}</ref> and other historians such as Louis Charles Damais (1911–1966), an expert on [[Indonesia]]n studies,<ref>{{Cite journal | last = Damais | first = Luis Charles | title = transcription Chinoise- Ho -ling comme designation de Java | journal = Bulletin de l'École Française d'Extrême-Orient| volume = III | pages = 93–141 }}</ref> Yutaka Iwamoto (1910–1988), a [[Buddhist]] scholar, and S. Pathmanathan. They assert that there were no kingdoms in South East Asia called ''Kalinga'' and such assertions are based on erroneous readings of the [[Chinese language|Chinese]] name for a locality called ''Ho-ling'' which actually stood for ''Walain'' not Kalinga. Further S. Pathmanathan asserts that Chandrabhanu had categorically claimed ''Padmavamsa'' [[Lineage (anthropology)|lineage]] whereas S. Paranavitana had adduced a ''Gangavamsa'' lineage to the Aryacakravarti. Further he notes that the inscriptions that S. Paranavitana used to make his theory have not been deciphered by any other scholar to imply a ''[[Javaka]]'' connection to the Aryacakravartis.<ref>Pathamanathan, ''The Kingdom of Jaffna'', pp. 5–8</ref><ref>Liyanage, ''The Decline of Polonnaruwa and the rise of Dambadeniya'', p. 136; ''Recuil des Inscriptions du Siam'' II, 26, tr. 27.</ref>

== Other sources ==
=== Contemporary chronicles ===
The earliest local Tamil chronicles on Jaffna Kingdom were composed in the Middle Ages. A prose work,''[[Yalpana Vaipava Malai]]'', compiled by poet Mayilvakana Pulavar in 1736, cites four earlier writings such as ''Kailaya Malai'', ''Vaiya Padal'', ''Pararasasekaran Ula'' and ''Rasamurai'' as its source. Of which ''Rasamurai'' (or list of kings) has not been found and all what we know about is through ''Yalpana Vaipava Malai''. These, composed not earlier than the 14th century, contain folkloric legends mixed with historical anecdotes. But an astrological work, ''Cekarasacekara Malai'', written during the rule of Cekarasacekaran V (1410–1440)<ref>The throne name of Gunaveera Cinkaiariyan.</ref> by Soma Sarman has verifiable historical information and has been used extensively by historians from Humphrey Coddrington to S. Pathmanathan to reconstruct the kingdom's early history.<ref>Gnanaprakasar, ''A Critical History of Jaffna'', p.#; Pathmanathan, ''The Kingdom of Jaffna'', pp. 14–16</ref>

The Sinhalese chronicles, such as ''Culavamsa'', ''Rajavaliya'' and a number of Sandesya chronicles, such as ''Kokila Sandesaya'' and ''Selalihini Sandesaya'', have valuable information on the early and middle period of the kingdom, its activities and its eventual occupation by the rival [[Kotte Kingdom]] in 1450–1467. ''Culavamsa'' mentions in detail the arrival and the conquest of the Sinhalese capital Yapahuwa by a minister named Aryacakravarti during the period 1277 to 1283. It also mentions that the minister carried away the Budha's relic from the capital to [[Pandyan Kingdom]].<ref>Pathmanathan, ''The Kingdom of Jaffna'', p. 8</ref>
The ''Rajavaliya'' a [[primary source]] written during the 17th century refers to the fact that the Aryacakravartis collected taxes from [[Kandyan kingdom|Udarata]] and southern lowlands.<ref>de Silva, ''A History of Sri Lanka'', p. 136; {{cite web
|url = https://archives.sundayobserver.lk/2005/04/10/fea08.html
|title = Looking anew at Kandyan combat strategies
|access-date = 2008-12-02
|work = Betty Weerakoon
|url-status = live
|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110605222544/http://www.sundayobserver.lk/2005/04/10/fea08.html
|archive-date = 2011-06-05
}}</ref>

The conquest by a certain [[Sapumal Kumaraya]], a military leader sent by the Kotte king, seemed to have left an indelible impression on the [[Sinhalese people|Sinhalese]] [[intellectuals|literati]]. The victory of Sapumal Kumaraya is sung in the ''Kokila Sandesaya'' ("Message carried by Kokila bird") written in the 15th century by the principal monk of the Irugalkula Tilaka Pirivena in Mulgirigala. The book contains a contemporary description of the country traversed on the road by the [[cookoo]] bird from [[Dondra Head|Devi Nuwara]] ("City of Gods") in the south to [[Nallur (Jaffna)|Nallur]] ("Beautiful City") in the North of Sri Lanka.
{{Blockquote|Beloved Kokila, wing the way to Yapa Patuna. Our Prince Sapumal has driven away from there King Arya Chakravarti, and has established himself in war-like might. To him, I offer this message. Arya Chakravarti beheld his glory, dazzling as the glory of the sun. He beheld his might which was poised throughout the eighteen ''ratas''. Thereupon grief entered into his heart, he abandoned his realm and fled beyond the sea.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.beyondthenet.net/medit/esalacover.htm|title=Buddhist Jaffna|access-date=2008-01-04|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110719172604/http://www.beyondthenet.net/medit/esalacover.htm|archive-date=2011-07-19|url-status=dead}}</ref>}}

=== Inscriptions ===
;Lahugala
Parakramabahu V (1344–59) a king of Gampola who ruled from Dedigama retreated to the southeast of the island, to a place called Magul Maha Viharaya in the [[Ampara District]] after a confrontation with the Aryacakravarti. This is evident from inscriptions in a place called Lahugala.<ref>Holt, ''Buddha in the Crown: Avalokitesvara in the Buddhist Traditions of Sri Lanka'', p. 102</ref>
;Medawela
The [[Medawala inscriptions]] dated 1359 found near a [[Sacred fig|bo-tree]] at Medawala in Harispattuva reveal that [[Martanda Cinkaiariyan]] appointed tax collectors to collect taxes from the villages belonging to the [[Gampola]] kingdom.<ref>de Silva, ''A History of Sri Lanka'', p. 136</ref>
;Kotagama
The [[Kotagama inscriptions]] found in [[Kegalle District]] are a record of victory left by the Aryacakravarti kings of the [[Jaffna Kingdom]] in western Sri Lanka.<ref name=R>Rasanayagm, ''Ancient Jaffna'', p. 364</ref><ref>Coddrington, ''Short history of Ceylon'', p. 89</ref> The inscription was assigned to the 15th century by H.C.P. Bell, an archeologist, and Mudaliar Rasanayagam, based on [[Paleography|paleographic analysis]] of the style of letters used. If this late date is to be accepted then this inscription stands in contrast to generally accepted theory based on Sinhalese literature that [[Alagakkonara]] the local chieftain who confronted the Aryacakravarti kings in 1391 was victorious in his effort.<ref name=R /><ref>Coddrington, K. ''Ceylon coins and currency'', pp. 74–76; {{cite web|url=http://www.dailynews.lk/2007/11/05/fea01.asp |title=From Devundera to Dedigama |access-date=2007-11-19 |work=S. Pathiravithana |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071106124243/http://www.dailynews.lk/2007/11/05/fea01.asp |archive-date=6 November 2007 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
;Rameswaram temple
[[Jeyaveera Cinkaiariyan]] or his successor is credited with an inscription dated 1414 in the [[South India]]n [[Hindu]] temple [[Rameswaram#Hindu holy city|Rameswaram]] about renovating its [[sanctum sanctorum]]. It indicated that the stones for the renovations were shipped from the city of [[Trincomalee]] in present-day eastern Sri Lanka. This inscription was destroyed in 1866.<ref>Gnanaprakasar, ''A Critical History of Jaffna'', pp. 99–102; Kunarasa, ''The Jaffna Dynasty'', pp. 67–68</ref>
;Tenkasi Ten
The Tenkasi Ten inscription of Arikesari Parakrama Pandya of [[Tirunelveli|Tinnevelly]] who saw the backs of kings at Singai, Anurai,' and elsewhere, may refer to kings of Singai and Anurai. Singai or [[Singai Nagar|Cinkainakar]] being the capital of Arayacakravartis and Anurai the name for any Sinhalese capital; it is dated between 1449/50 and 1453/54.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://lakdiva.org/codrington/chap06.html
|title= The Kotte Dynasty and its Portuguese allies
|access-date=2008-01-03 |work=Humphry Coddrington| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20071210180428/http://lakdiva.org/codrington/chap06.html| archive-date= 10 December 2007 | url-status= live}}</ref>

=== Travelogues ===
[[File:Jaffna Royal family.jpeg|thumb|Image of [[Singai Parasasekaran]], his sons Pandaram, Paranirupsingan and [[Cankili I]]]]
;Marco Polo
[[Marco Polo]] was a [[Republic of Venice|Venetian]] trader and explorer who gained fame for his worldwide travels. These were recorded in the book ''Il Milione'' ("The Million" or ''[[The Travels of Marco Polo]]''). He reached a port in the northern part of present-day Sri Lanka between 1292 and 1294. According to him the local king was an independent ruler who did not pay tribute to any other monarchs.<ref>Gnaprakasar, ''A critical history of Jaffna,'' p. 84</ref> He named the king as ''Cantheman'', which is considered to be a corruption of ''Cinkaiariyan''.<ref>Nadarajan, ''History of Sri Lanka'', p. 75</ref> Polo's was followed by a visit by [[John of Montecorvino]], who was a [[Franciscan]] missionary, traveller and statesman. He wrote in December 1291 (or 1292), the earliest noteworthy account of the [[Coromandel Coast|Coromandel coast]] furnished by any Western European. According to him, he saw the wreckage of sixty seagoing vessels in the general area of Jaffna.<ref>Natarajan, ''History of Ceylon Tamils,'' p. 76</ref>

;Ibn Batuta
[[Abu Abdullah Muhammad Ibn Battuta]] was a [[Morocco|Moroccan]] [[Berber people|Berber]]<ref>Ross E. Dunn, ''The Adventures of Ibn Battuta – A Muslim Traveler of the 14th Century'', University of California, 2004 {{ISBN|0-520-24385-4}}.</ref> scholar and [[Jurisprudence|jurisprudent]] from the [[Maliki]] Islamic law, and at times a ''[[Qadi]]'' or judge. He is best known as a traveler and explorer. He spent a few days as a guest of an Aryacakravarti in 1344 and wrote a detailed account of his encounter. According to him, the king controlled the economically important [[Pearl hunting|pearlfishing trade]] in the [[Palk Straight]]s and had trading links with countries as far as [[Yemen]]. The monarch also spoke [[Persian language|Persian]] and was located in the western coastal area of the island, in [[Puttalam]] region. He was also noted as receiving tribute of [[cinnamon]] from other southern rulers.<ref>Gnanaprakasar, ''A Critical history of Jaffna,'' pp. 85–88</ref>
;Giovanni de Marignolli
[[Giovanni de' Marignolli]], a notable traveller to the Far East in the 14th century, came to Sri Lanka sometimes between 1330 and 1350. He wrote in great detail about the country, its peoples and customs. According to him, the northern part of the island was ruled by a queen, with whom he had many audiences, who also lavished him with precious gifts. This queen is considered to be the mother of an Aryackaravarti and a [[regent]] who ruled on behalf of her young son. The so-called "[[Catalan Map]]" drawn in 1375 also indicates that northern Sri Lanka was ruled by a queen.<ref>Natarajan, ''History of Ceylon Tamils'', pp. 78–79</ref> Before Marignolli, there was another traveler, Friar Ordrick, who landed in Jaffna in 1322; he also wrote about the prosperity of the kingdom. According him {{blockquote|"The gold, silver and pearls this king had in his possession cannot be found anywhere else in the world".<ref>Natarajan, ''History of Ceylon Tamils,'' p. 77</ref>}}

=== Portuguese colonial documents ===
[[File:Nallur Kandasamy front entrance.jpg|thumb|left| Tradition claims that the [[Nallur Kandaswamy Temple]] was constructed by the first Aryacakravarti king.]] In his ''Temporal and Spiritual Conquest of Ceylon'', Father Queroz records a tradition as {{Blockquote|In course of time, there came some [[Brahmins|Brahmanes]], natives of [[Gujarat|Guzarata]] called Arus, who claiming royal descent; and with the favor of [[Madurai Nayak Dynasty|Nayque of Madura]], they erected a [[Ramanathaswamy Temple, Rameswaram|pagoda]] at [[Rameswaram|Ramancor]], whence they began to have trade and friendship with the king of [[Jaffna Kingdom|Jaffnapatae]], and one of them married a daughter of the king; and finally her descendants became heirs to the Kingdom.<ref>Fernao de Queyroz, ''The Temporal and Spiritual Conquest of Ceylon'' p. 48</ref>}}

This rendition is fraught with many errors but the basic story line seems to fit the modern consensus. Father Queroz's time line is also anachronistic. The Aryacakravarti dynasty came to power long before the ascendancy of the Madurai Nayaks as well as the Brahmins of Rameswaram had established a temple even longer before. Also the Gujarati origin of the Kings paternal line also in not in conformance with native claims of origin from the city of Varanasi which is in today's [[Uttar Pradesh]] not in the historical Gujarat.<ref>Pathamanathan, ''The Kingdom of Jaffna'', p. 10</ref>

== Current consensus ==
The current consensus held by historians such as S. Pathmanathan, Patrick Peebles and K.M. de Silva is that the Aryacakravartis were a Pandyan feudatory family that took power after the chaos created by the invasions of Kalinga Magha and Chandrabhanu. That the family was connected to the Ramanathapuram Hindu temple and was of [[Iyer|Tamil Brahmin]]{{citation needed|date=August 2025}} origin. It may have married into the family of [[Eastern Ganga dynasty|Eastern Gangas]] or even for that matter the Chandrabanu's successors, but the direct undeniable evidence for it is lacking. The influence of Eastern gangas in its royal flag and the coins is indisputable. Kulingai Cakravarti mentioned by the Tamil chronicles of the Kingdom may have been Kalingha Magha.<ref>Coddrington, ''Ceylon Coins and Currency'', p. 74</ref><ref>Coddrington, ''Short history of Ceylon'', pp. 91–92</ref><ref>Pathmanathan, ''The Kingdom of Jaffna'', pp. 1–13</ref><ref>de Silva, ''A History of Sri Lanka'', p. 132</ref><ref>Peebles, ''The history of Sri Lanka'', pp. 31–32</ref>

== Notes ==
{{Reflist|2}}

== References ==
{{refbegin|2}}
*{{cite book
| last = de Silva | first = K.M. | author-link = K. M. de Silva | title = A History of Sri Lanka | publisher = Vijitha Yapa | year= 2005 | location = [[Colombo]]
| isbn = 955-8095-92-3 | page = 782}}
*{{cite book | last = Abeysinghe | first = Tikiri | title = Jaffna under the Portuguese | publisher = Stamford Lake | year= 2005 | location = [[Colombo]] | id = {{Listed Invalid ISBN|955-1131-70-1}} | page = 66}}
*{{cite book | last = Kunarasa | first = K.
| title = The Jaffna Dynasty | publisher = Dynasty of Jaffna King's Historical Society | year= 2003
| location = [[Johor Bahru]] | isbn = 955-8455-00-8 | page = 122}}
*{{cite book | last = Gnanaprakasar | first = Swamy | title = A Critical History of Jaffna | publisher = Asian Educational Services | year= 2003 | location = [[New Delhi]] | isbn = 81-206-1686-3 | page = 122}}
*{{cite book | last = Pathmanathan | first = Sivasubramaniam | author-link = Sivasubramaniam Pathmanathan | title = The Kingdom of Jaffna: Origins and early affiliations | publisher = Ceylon Institute of Tamil Studies | year= 1974 | location = [[Colombo]] | page = 27 }}
*{{cite book
| last = Spence | first = Jonathan | title = Sri Lanka: History and the Roots of Conflict| publisher = Routledge| year= 1990 | location = US
| isbn = 0-415-04461-8 | page = 253}}
*{{cite book
| last = Holt | first = John Clifford | title = Buddha in the Crown: Avalokitesvara in the Buddhist Traditions of Sri Lanka | publisher = Oxford University Press| year= 1991 | location = US
| isbn = 0-19-506418-6 | page = 304}}
*{{cite book |last = Rasanayagam |first = Mudaliyar | title = Ancient Jaffna, being a research into the History of Jaffna from very early times to the Portuguese Period |url = https://archive.org/details/ancientjaffna00muda | publisher = Everymans Publishers Ltd, Madras (Reprint by New Delhi, AES in 2003)| year= 1926 | isbn = 81-206-0210-2 | page = [https://archive.org/details/ancientjaffna00muda/page/390 390]}}
*{{cite book | last = Coddrington | first = H.W. | title = Ceylon Coins and Currency| publisher = Vijitha Yapa | year= 1996 | location = [[New Delhi]] | isbn = 81-206-1202-7 | page = 290}}
*{{cite book | last = Coddrington | first = H.W. | title = Short History of Ceylon
| publisher = AES | year= 1994 | location = [[New Delhi]] | isbn = 81-206-0946-8 | page = 290}}
*{{cite book | last = Peebles | first = Patrick | title = The History of Sri Lanka| publisher = Greenwood Press | year= 2006 | location = United States | isbn = 0-313-33205-3 | page = 248 }}
*{{cite book |last= Kamath|first= Suryanath U.|title= A concise history of Karnataka: from pre-historic times to the present|orig-year=1980|year= 2001|publisher= Jupiter books|location= Bangalore|oclc= 7796041 |lccn= 80905179}}
*{{cite book | last = Liyanagamage | first = Amaradasa. | title = The decline of Polonnaruwa and the rise of Dambadeniya (circa 1180–1270 A.D.)| publisher = Dept. of Cultural Affairs| year= 1968 | location = [[Colombo]] | asin= B0006C248I | page = 782 }}
{{refend}}

{{Jaffna kingdom}}
{{Sri Lankan Tamil people}}
{{Rulers of Jaffna Kingdom}}

[[Category:Dynasties of Sri Lanka]]
[[Category:Hindu dynasties]]
[[Category:Jaffna kingdom]]
[[Category:13th-century establishments in India]]
[[Category:13th-century establishments in Sri Lanka]]
[[Category:1619 disestablishments in India]]
[[Category:1619 disestablishments in Asia]]
[[Category:17th-century disestablishments in Sri Lanka]]
[[Category:Transitional period of Sri Lanka]]

Aryacakravarti dynasty - Revision history

MartinDietrich8 at 02:00, 6 January 2026