Between the Kelani and the Mahaweli, from the Panduwasnuwara castle to the Kelaniya temple and the cinnamon country at Beruwala, the Maya Rata is the Sinhalese rice and coconut country where Parakramabahu I made his name, and it becomes the heart of the Sinhalese state after Magha (a later event).
In 1200 it is run by local chiefs under royal officers at Panduwasnuwara (the castle Parakramabahu rebuilt as Parakramapura) and the ports of Chilaw and Colombo. It supplies troops, rice and the cinnamon of the south-west.
Who he is
- Name
- not named in any source we reached
- Title
- Chiefs and lords of the Maya Rata (the middle country)
- Since
- the Maya Rata is the old home of Parakramabahu I (Dakkhinadesa); the chiefs of 1200 are not named
- Born
- not known
- Family
- Local families.
- Confidence
- low
The English Wikipedia on the Kingdom of Polonnaruwa lists the Maya Rata in its infobox and says Vijayabahu III centralised it in 1232; it gives no chief of 1200.
Overlord
Queen Lilavati, loosely
What it holds
- Panduwasnuwara (Parakramapura) castle and its district
- The west-coast ports: Chilaw (Salavata), Colombo (Kolamba), Kalpitiya, Beruwala, Puttalam salt lagoon
- Kelaniya temple and the Kelani valley
- The cinnamon country and the gem country of Ratnapura
How it was acquired
By Parakramabahu I's rule of it before he became king (1153).
Allies and rivals
Loyal to the Sinhalese crown; rival to the Ruhuna lords and to the Tamil north in trade.
How things stand that morning
Settled and obedient. No rising is recorded.
Wealth
Rice, coconuts, cinnamon, gems, salt (Puttalam), port dues.
Military
Local levies and castle garrisons; no number.
Threats
- The coup at Polonnaruwa
- Raids by sea
What the year holds
What happened next, if nothing in play changes it. Each event carries what it depends on and what would stop it.
- 1215 and after (outside 1200)After Magha takes Polonnaruwa the Sinhalese court retreats to the Maya Rata (Dambadeniya, 1220s).Depends on: Magha's conquest. Stopped by: A successful defence of the north.
Places of note
- Panduwasnuwara (Parakramapura): Royal castle of the south-west.
- Kelaniya: Buddhist temple on the Kelani.
Where the sources disagree
- The campaign board has Colombo, Chilaw and the pearl banks under 'Lanka (Polonnaruwa)': we keep them in the Maya Rata chiefs' ground and leave the cinnamon and gem country to this record.
- The seat is given as Kurunegala (gazetteer) for lack of a named seat in 1200; Panduwasnuwara is the royal castle, not in the gazetteer.
Evidence: Infobox mention only for the Maya Rata in 1200.
"The campaign board" is OMNIA's working map. These notes record where its earlier claims were checked against the sources.
On the map: Drawn as one province.
Primary sources for Lanka (Polonnaruwa)
Chronicles, registers, sagas and inscriptions written in or near 1200 that cover this entry. Each has its own page with editions, translations and where to read it.
- The Lesser Chronicle (the continuation of the Mahavamsa), Dhammakitti and later monks of the Mahavihara tradition (the first continuation about the 13th century (chapters 37 to 79), carried on in stages to the 18th century). The only narrative source for Lanka in 1200. Read online
- Epigraphia Zeylanica: lithic and other inscriptions of Ceylon, Various (the Polonnaruwa kings' chanceries), edited by D. M. de Zilva Wickremasinghe, H. W. Codrington and S. Paranavitana (inscriptions of the 3rd century BC to the 18th century; the series ran from 1904). Prints with translation the stone records of the Polonnaruwa kings who held or lost the throne around 1200. Read online
- South Indian Inscriptions (Archaeological Survey of India), Various (Chola, Pandya and other chanceries and temple scribes), edited by E. Hultzsch, V. Venkayya, H. Krishna Sastri and successors (inscriptions of the 7th to 17th centuries; the series ran from 1890). The temple inscriptions printed here are the primary record of the Tamil country in 1200. Read online
- The Book of Roger (the Pleasure of Him who Longs to Cross the Horizons), Muhammad al-Idrisi (completed 1154 at Palermo). The nearest Arabic geography in time to 1200 for the Indian Ocean. Read online
- A Description of the Foreign Peoples (Records of Foreign Nations), Zhao Rukuo (Zhao Rugua) (1225 at Quanzhou). The best single text for the island world around 1200, written by the superintendent of maritime trade at Quanzhou from merchants' reports a generation after the date. Read online
- Description of the Foreign Peoples (Chau Ju-kua), Zhao Rukuo (趙汝适) (about 1225, while superintendent of maritime trade at Quanzhou). The Song customs officer's survey of the overseas world, compiled from merchants and from Zhou Qufei, a generation after 1200 but describing trade routes that were the same in 1200. Read online
Sources and studies
Last revised 4 November 2026. Published 4 November 2026. Suggest a correction on the OMNIA Discord.