King Rajasinghe II and the Kandyan Military as Described in the Tennekoon (1676) Report

On 25 March 1676, a dispatch was sent from Colombo to the directors of the Dutch East India Company in Holland. At the time, the Dutch exercised firm control over Colombo and other coastal regions of Sri Lanka, while much of the island’s interior lay beyond their authority. These inland areas were under the rule of King Rajasinghe II and were commonly known as the Kandyan territories, or the uplands.

Enclosed with this dispatch was a remarkable report titled “Translaat uijt het Singalees, wegens de constitutie der Bovenlanden en van den Coninck Ragia Singa, samen gesteld bij Tinnecon Apohamy, geweesn Dessave der Seeven Corles.” 

Translated into English, the title reads: “Translation from the Sinhalese concerning the constitution of the upland regions and of King Ragia Singa, compiled by Tinnecon Apohamy, formerly Dissave of the Seven Korales.”

This document, hereafter referred to as the Tennekoon Report, provides a rare and detailed contemporary account of the Kandyan kingdom. It describes the system of governance, methods of revenue collection, military organization, geography, and diplomatic relations of the upland state. The report also offers valuable insight into the reign of King Rajasinghe II, who ruled from 1629 to 1687.

Its author, Tennekoon Appuhamy—identified in the Dutch text as Tinnecon Apohamy—was uniquely qualified to compile such a report. As a former Dissave of the Seven Korales and Maha Senadhipathi (Chief Commander) of the Kandyan army, he possessed intimate knowledge of regions beyond Dutch control and direct access to the inner workings of the royal court—information known only to the king’s most trusted chiefs.

Condition of King Rajasinghe II

The report opens with a detailed description of the condition and status of King Rajasinghe II in the later years of his reign, providing a contemporaneous account of the king’s age, declining health, physical incapacity, and mental state.

The report states:

“De Jaren Vande Coninck van Ceilon Rajasimha Raja Zijn gepasseert der getal van 67, en is omtrent 20 jaeren geleden in sijn beenen met een sieckte beginnen vande knien nederwaerts op de wijse van Bera-bery, waer door hij niet en kan staen noch gaen, maer moet gedragen worden, wanneer hij van d’een plaets tot d’ander gaen wil, in een pallanquin. Hij heeft verscheyde middelen gebruyckt, doch sonder verbetering, jae van jaer tot jaer is de sieckte verergert met groote pijnen. Soo dat hij nu soo diep met dese sieckte is doordrongen, dat hij niet en verdraegt met de voeten den aerde te betreden. Hij comt maer eenmael daegs te voorschijn om te eten. Sijn verstand en memorie is soo vergaen, dat hij dickmael in eenen dagh twee of drie mael tegenstrijdige bevelen geeft. Om dese sieckte te boven te komen, heeft hij sich selfs opium doen eten, waer door hij vergeet het gene hij een uer te voren bevolen heeft. Hij heeft geen wettige kinderen.”

This passage may be translated as follows:

“The years of the King of Ceylon, Rāja Simha Rāja, have passed the number of sixty-seven, and about twenty years ago he was afflicted in his legs with a disease beginning at the knees and spreading downward, in the manner of beriberi, whereby he cannot stand nor walk, but must be carried, when he wishes to go from one place to another, in a palanquin. He has used various remedies, but without improvement; indeed, from year to year the disease has worsened with great pain, so that he is now so deeply afflicted that he cannot endure to tread the ground with his feet. He appears only once a day, to eat. His understanding and memory have so declined that he often, in a single day, gives two or three contradictory commands. In order to overcome this illness, he has even caused himself to take opium, by which he forgets what he commanded an hour before. He has no legitimate children.”

The report then proceeds to summarize the strength and distribution of the Kandyan military forces.

Statement of the Strength of the Highlands, with Its Distribution

(Declaringe vande macht des Bovenlanden met haer verdeelinge)

Under Rannewocke (Ranavaka), Mohottiyār — Lascarins: 500
Under Mendewocke (Mädavaka), Mohottiyār — Musketeers: 400
Under Ammaracan (Amarakōn), Mohottiyār — Gingal-armed arquebusiers: 450
Uva Mohotty Appuhāmy with the Atapattus: 750
Under Nietepittie (Nikapitiya), Mohottiyār, the Great Atapattu: 850
Davata Mohottiyār: 500
(These receive a daily ration in the same manner as the Atapattu)
Under Ettoepalle (Etupalla) Appuhamy with the lascarins of Matale: 800
Balagalla Appuhamy, Dissava of Uva, with the lascarins of that district: 12,000
Parigella Appuhamy with the men of Udapallata: 300

Total: 16,550

By presenting together an account of the king’s deteriorating condition and a detailed enumeration of military forces, this opening section of the report captures both the personal vulnerability of King Rajasinha II and the institutional strength of the Kandyan kingdom.

Note: The original Dutch text was transcribed and translated using ChatGPT and Transkribus; as a result, some inaccuracies may be present.

References

Nationaal Archief. (n.d.). Scan of archival file NL-HaNA_1.04.02_1321_0271 [Archival scan]. https://www.nationaalarchief.nl/onderzoeken/archief/1.04.02/invnr/1321/file/NL-HaNA_1.04.02_1321_0271

Paulusz, J. H. O. (1954). Rāja Siṃha: His military and other resources: Report by Disāva Tennekoon in 1676. Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Ceylon, 5, 160–162.