Maha Senadhipathi Tennekoon Dissave occupies a prominent
place in the political and military history of seventeenth-century Sri Lanka.
His authority within the Kandyan kingdom and his later defection to the Dutch
East India Company have attracted sustained scholarly attention. Yet the deeper
historical significance of Tennekoon Dissave lies not only in his own career,
but also in the genealogical tradition that situates him as a great-grandson of
Vidiya (Veediya) Bandara, the renowned sixteenth-century
commander-in-chief of the Kingdom of Kotte.
This lineage—preserved primarily in the Tudugala Vidagama
Pevathi Bandaravaliya and corroborated in part by the Rājāvaliya—connects
the turbulent politics of late medieval Kotte with the aristocratic power
structures of the Kandyan period. An examination of these sources—Sinhala
chronicles, clan-based ola manuscripts, and later historiography—reveals both
the strength of this genealogical memory and the methodological challenges
involved in reconciling it with established chronology.
Vidiya Bandara in the Political Order of
Sixteenth-Century Kotte
Vidiya Bandara was a sixteenth-century Sinhalese military
commander and commander-in-chief of the Kingdom of Kotte who rose to prominence
under King Bhuvanaikabahu VII (r. 1521–1551). Born in the early 1500s,
following the fragmentation of the kingdom after the death of King Parakramabahu
VIII, he ascended through martial prowess, becoming instrumental in
repelling invasions, including the major campaign of 1539 led by King Mayadunne
of Sitawaka. In that confrontation, Kotte relied heavily on Portuguese
military support.
Vidiya Bandara’s career thus unfolded at the intersection of
dynastic warfare and the earliest sustained European intervention in Sri Lankan
politics. His campaigns involved resistance against Sitawaka and, at times,
against Portuguese encroachment; his relationship with the Portuguese was
complex and situational, shifting with changing political circumstances. Vidiya
Bandara is remembered in Sri Lankan historiography as both an emblem of
indigenous military resistance and a cautionary figure whose ambition
complicated prospects for wider unity.
Dynastic Marriage and the Rājāvaliya Account
Dynastic marriage was central to Vidiya Bandara’s rise. The Rājāvaliya
records that King Bhuvanaikabahu VII—who had married a princess of the Gampola
royal house and fathered a daughter—also had two nephews, Vidiya Bandara
and Tammita Bandara (sons of his sister). Of these, the elder, Vidiya
Bandara, was married to the king’s daughter. The chronicle renders this with
the following Sinhala passage:
භුවනෙකබාහු
රජ්ජුරුවන්ට උඩරට ගම්පළ වරිගෙන් බිසෝ කෙනෙකුන් දෝළිගෙනත් කුමාරිකාවකුත් ලැබගෙන
මහරජකම් කරන සඳ භුවනෙකබාහු රජුගේ ඇවැස්ස බෑණාවරු දෙදෙනෙක, ඔවුහු කව්රුද යත්? වීදියේ බණ්ඩාරය, තම්මිට බණ්ඩාරය යන මේ දෙදෙනයි,
ඉන් වැඩිමහළු වීදියේ බණ්ඩාරට
භුවනෙකබාහු රජ්ජුරුවන්ගේ දෝනියන් දී උන්නේය.
“King Bhuvanaikabahu took to wife a princess from the
royal family of Gampola in the hill-country, and had a daughter by her. He also
had two nephews, sons of his sister, namely Vidiye Bandara and Tammita Bandara,
to the eldest of whom his daughter was given in marriage.”
This marriage firmly embedded Vidiya Bandara within the
royal house of Kotte. The union produced two sons: the elder became Dom João
Dharmapala, the last king of Kotte who later ruled under Portuguese
protection, while the younger was Vijayapala Bandara, later styled
Prince of Matale.
Second Marriage and Alliance with Sitawaka
Following the death of Bhuvanaikabahu VII’s daughter, Vidiya
Bandara entered into a second marriage of political significance. The Rājāvaliya
provides the background: Samudra Devi, daughter of Prince
Thaniyawalla of Madampe, had earlier married a Soli (Chola) prince and
borne two sons, Vidiya and Tammita. Vidiya was later brought from Madampe to
Kotte and married into the Kotte royal house. After the death of his first
wife, Mayadunne gave his youngest daughter, Kuda Tikiri Adahasin, in marriage
to Vidiya Bandara, thereby restoring peace with a valiant military figure who
had also been regarded as a rebel. The chronicle passage reads:
මාදම්පේ
වැඩ සිටි තනියවල්ල රජ්ජුරුවන්ගේ දෝණියෝ සමුද්රදේවී සොළී රජ කෙනෙකුන්ට දාව වැදූ
කුමාරයින් වීදියේ අදහසින් තම්මිට අදහසින් යන දෙන්නාගෙන් වීදියේ අදහසින් මාදම්පෙන්
කෝට්ටේට ගෙන්නවා භුවනෙකබාහු රජ දුවණියන් දීලා සිටිකල්හි භුවනෙකබාහු රජුගේ දුවණියෝ
ආයාස ගතියකින් ඉකුත් වූවාය නැවත සන්තානයට මායාදුන්නේගේ කුඩා ටිකිරි අදහසින් වීදියේ
රජ්ජුරුවන්ට ගෙනත් දී සන්තාන විය.
“Here it must be noticed that Samudradevi, the daughter
of King Taniyawalla, who resided at Madampe, was married to a Soli prince, to
whom she bore two sons, viz.: Prince Vidiye and Prince Tammita. The elder,
Prince Vidiye, was brought from Madampe to Kotte, where he married a daughter
of King Bhuvaneka Bahu, who died from constitutional weakness. After this,
Mayadunne, having brought his youngest daughter, gave her as wife to Prince
Vidiye, and made peace with him.”
Through these two marriages—to daughters of Bhuvanaikabahu
VII and of Mayadunne—Vidiya Bandara’s children were anchored within the royal
networks of both Kotte and Sitawaka. Because both Bhuvanaikabahu VII and
Mayadunne are sons of Vijayabahu VI, the royal descent of Vidiya
Bandara’s offspring is situated within the broader Siri Sangabo dynastic
tradition.
Maternal Lineage: Rājāvaliya’s Extended Narrative
The Rājāvaliya situates Vidiya Bandara within a
maternal genealogical framework descending from Parakramabahu VI.
Crucially, it preserves a detailed narrative of violent succession and
household composition that must be presented in full because it establishes the
royal status of Prince Thaniyawalla of Madampe, Vidiya Bandara’s
maternal grandfather. The chronicle passage reads:
අම්බුළුගල
රජ මධ්යම රාත්රියේ පණ්ඩිත පරාක්රමබාහු රජ මරාදමා පසුවදා රාජභවනය සරසා වීරපරාක්රමබාහු
(VIII) නම
තබාගෙන සිංහාසන ප්රාප්තවිය. පණ්ඩිත පරාක්රමබාහු රජ නව අවුරුද්දක් රාජ්යශ්රීය
අනුභව කෙළේය යි දැනගතයුතුයි. වීරපරාක්රමබාහු රජ කුමාරවරු සතරදෙනෙකුත්
කුමාරිකාවකුත් ලැබ සැපසේම දෙවිසි අවුරුද්දක් රාජ්යය කර ස්වර්ග පදවිය ලද ඉක්බිති ඒ
රජුගේ පුත් වැඩිමහලු කුමාරයින්ට ධර්මපරාක්රමබාහු (IX) නම් තබා සිංහාසනප්රාප්ත කළාහ.
විජයබාහු රජ්ජුරුවෝත් රාජසිංහ රජ්ජුරුවෝත් මැණික්කඩවර නුවර කරවා බාල අවස්ථාවේම
එකතැන එක දෝළිය සරණපාවාගෙන විසුවෝය. බාලකුමාරයා රයිගම්නුවර විසුවේය. ධර්මපරාක්රමබාහු
රජුගේ මවු බිසවට නගා වූ කුමාරිකාව අම්බුළුගල රජහට දී අගමෙහෙසුන් කොට ඉඳ බාල බිසෝ
අදහසින් ඒ රජහට දාව වැදූ කුමාරයෝ දෙදෙනෙක උහුනම් සකලකලාවලල රජ උඩුගම්පළ උන්නේය.
තනියවල්ල රජ මාදම්පේ උන්නේය.
“When the king of Ambulugala made his entry into the city
of Kotte, King Pandita Parakramabahu caused the palace doors to be closed, slew
the queens, and remained inside with his three sons. But at midnight he was
slain by the king of Ambulugala; on the following day that king adorned the
palace and ascended the throne under the name Vira Parakramabahu (VIII). It
should be known that King Pandita Parakramabahu had enjoyed royal dignity for
nine years. King Vira Parakramabahu reigned happily for the space of twenty
years; he had four princes and one princess, and thereafter attained heaven. On
his death, his eldest son was raised to the throne under the name Dharma
Parakramabahu IX. Prince Vijayabahu and Prince Rajasinha built the city of
Menikkadawara, and while still young lived together in one place, sharing a
single consort; the younger prince resided in the city of Rayigama. The younger
sister of the mother of King Dharma Parakramabahu was given in marriage to the
king of Ambulugala, who made her his principal queen; and by a lesser queen he
had two sons: Prince Sakalakalawalla, who resided at Udugampola, and Prince
Taniyawalla, who resided at Madampe.”
This passage establishes Prince Taniyawalla as a
royal son of King Vira Parakramabahu VIII, and thus places his daughter Samudra
Devi—and her son Vidiya Bandara—firmly within the royal genealogical
network descending from Parakramabahu VI.
Summary of the Rājāvaliya lineage relevant here:
King Parakramabahu VI
↓
Prince Ambulugala → King Vira Parakramabahu VIII
↓
Prince Thaniyawalla (Madampe)
↓
Samudra Devi
↓
Vidiya Bandara
Descent to Tennekoon Dissave in the Vidagama
Bandaravaliya
The Tudugala Vidagama Pevathi Bandaravaliya, a clan
ola manuscript preserved in family holdings and discussed in later scholarship,
preserves the tradition that links Vidiya Bandara to the Tennekoon
family. According to this record, Vidiya Bandara’s son Suriya Bandara
was taken into the household of King Rajasinha I of Sitawaka, who lacked
an heir and therefore brought his nephew into the royal circle. The
Bandaravaliya supplies the following Sinhala passage:
මෙම
වීදියේ බණ්ඩාර වෙනුවට උපන් සූරිය බණ්ඩාර සීතාවක වැඩ සිටිය රාජසිංහ මහරාජොත්තමයාණන්
වහන්සේට කුමාර කෙනෙක් නැති නිසා පෙරළියා පෙරලි කලක් මාගේ ඇවෑමෙන් මීට කිසි කෙනෙක්
නැත කියා ඒත්තු වෙමින් බෑණවන සූරිය බණ්ඩාර ඇති කර වදාරා...
“The great King Rajasinha of Sitavaka thought ‘the rebel
has rebelled’; yet, having no issue to succeed him, he brought Suriya Bandara,
the son of Vidiye Bandara—who was also the king’s nephew—into his household.”
The Bandaravaliya reports that Suriya Bandara’s descendants
suffered decline under Portuguese rule. One son died in Portuguese captivity,
leaving two sons and a daughter, Visidagama Kumarihamy. The elder son
was granted the title Tennekoon Mudiyanse and appointed Dissave of
Matota—identified in clan tradition as Maha Senadhipathi Tennekoon
Dissave, later prominent at the Kandyan court and ultimately associated
with the Dutch.
Lineage according to the Bandaravaliya:
Vidiya Bandara
↓
Suriya Bandara
↓
Bandara (name not preserved)
↓
Maha Senadhipathi Tennekoon Dissave (Tennekoon Mudiyanse)
Conflicting Traditions and Chronological Problems
The Bandaravaliya also preserves a much longer and more
problematic genealogy that ascribes Vidiya Bandara’s maternal origins to a
South Indian ruler named Tennekoon Niththadu Mudiththa Perumal, and it
even connects to a King Dapulusen said to have ruled in Dondra in
Śaka 712 (790 CE); the manuscript then attributes descendants to
Buddhist year 1779 (1236 CE)—dates that are irreconcilable with Vidiya
Bandara’s sixteenth-century life. These clear chronological inconsistencies
indicate genealogical telescoping and the operation of clan memory rather than
literal, year-by-year genealogy.
Such narratives should be treated as ancestral memory and
prestige claims—they may preserve echoes of distant South Indian
connections or ancient land grants (for example, as reflected in copper-plate
traditions), but they cannot be read straightforwardly as accurate generational
chronology.
Reconciliation and Methodological Note
The most defensible method is to treat the Rājāvaliya
as providing the dynastic backbone—a relatively coherent framework that
links Vidiya Bandara’s maternal line to Parakramabahu VI via Prince Ambulugala
and Prince Thaniyawalla—while reading the Tudugala Vidagama Pevathi
Bandaravaliya as preserving important clan memory that supplies
local names, titles and a direct sequence to the Tennekoon family but that must
be handled cautiously where dates and cross-generational links conflict.
Taken together, these sources support the working conclusion
that Maha Senadhipathi Tennekoon Dissave was plausibly the
great-grandson (in clan tradition) of Vidiya Bandara, and that the royal
lineage connecting them to Parakramabahu VI is most securely established
through the maternal genealogy recorded in the Rājāvaliya.
Genealogy Chart (Summary)
Royal line (Rājāvaliya)
Parakramabahu VI
↓
Vira Parakramabahu VIII
↓
Prince Thaniyawalla (Madampe)
↓
Samudra Devi
↓
Vidiya Bandara
Clan tradition (Tudugala Vidagama Pevathi Bandaravaliya)
Vidiya Bandara
↓
Suriya Bandara
↓
Bandara (name not preserved)
↓
Maha Senadhipathi Tennekoon Dissave
Final Observations
Vidiya Bandara remains a pivotal and contested figure in Sri
Lankan history—an exceptional military leader whose personal ambition also
contributed to the fragmentation that made the island more susceptible to
external intervention. The Tudugala Vidagama Pevathi Bandaravaliya, read
critically alongside the Rājāvaliya, preserves a plausible genealogical
chain linking him to Maha Senadhipathi Tennekoon Dissave. While
chronological anomalies in the clan manuscript require caution, the convergence
of chronicle evidence and family tradition allows this lineage to be
reconstructed with reasonable confidence.
References
Primary sources
- රාජාවලිය
[Rājāvaliya]. Edited by B. Gunasekara. Colombo: Government Printer,
1891. (Sinhala)
- Gunasekara,
B. (Trans.). The Rajavaliya: A Historical Narrative of Ceylon.
Colombo: Government Printer, 1900.
- Tudugala
Vidagama Pevathi Bandaravaliya (family ola manuscript). Text &
discussion in: Paulusz, J. H. O. (1970). The Tudugala family: Some
notes on the Tudugalas in the reign of Rajasinha II. The Ceylon
Historical Journal, Vol. 17. Tisara Prakasakayo.
Secondary sources
- Paulusz,
J. H. O. (1970). The Tudugala family: Some notes on the Tudugalas in
the reign of Rajasinha II. The Ceylon Historical Journal, Vol.
17. Tisara Prakasakayo.
- Pieris,
P. E. (1902). Notes on Some Sinhalese Families in Ceylon:
Navaratne–Tennekoon (Vol. 1).
- Pieris,
P. E. (1903). Notes on Some Sinhalese Families in Ceylon:
Navaratne–Tennekoon (Vol. 2).
- de Silva, K. M. A History of Sri Lanka. University of California Press, 1981. (for political & military context of sixteenth-century Kotte and Sitawaka)