Vijayabāhu

Name taken by six Sri Lankan kings from the 11th to the 15th centuries. The greatest of these was Vijayabāhu I (1059-1114), who later took the name Sirisaṇghabodhi. In the early part of his reign he conquered and united a number of provinces, including Anurādhapura, as well as defeating the Indian Coḷa forces. When peace had been established he sent messengers to the Mon king in order to bring monks from that country to assist in the restoration of the Saṃgha in Sri Lanka. He became a great patron of Buddhism, having many copies of the Tripiṭaka made, and constructing many vihāras for monks. He also had the Dhammasaṇgaṇī, the first book of the Abhidharma, translated into Sinhalese, but the translation has since been lost. See also Bhuvanekabāhu; Pulatthinagara.