Parakramabahu I
King of Polonnaruwa (1153–1186), unifier of Sri Lanka
Parākramabāhu I (Sinhala: මහාරජ පරාක්රමබාහු (Maharaja Parakramabahu), c. 1123–1186), or Parakramabahu the Great, was the king of Polonnaruwa from 1153 to 1186. He oversaw the expansion and beautification of his capital, constructed extensive irrigation systems, reorganised the country's army, reformed Buddhist practices, encouraged the arts and undertook military campaigns in South India and Burma. The adage, "Not even a drop of water that comes from the rain must flow into the ocean without being made useful to man" is one of his most famous utterances."
In 1140, Parakramabahu following the death of his uncle, Kitti Sri Megha, Prince of Dakkinadesa, ascended the throne of Dakkhinadesa. Over the next decade, he strengthened both the region’s infrastructure and its military. Following a protracted civil war, he secured power over the entire island around 1153 and remained in this position until his death in 1186. During Parākramabāhu I's reign, he launched a punitive campaign against the kings of Burma, aided the Pandyan dynasty against the Chola dynasty in southern India and maintained extensive trade relations with China, Angkor, and countries in the Middle East. Within the island, he consecrated religious monuments, built hospitals, social welfare units, canals and large reservoirs, such as the Parakrama Samudra, but also banned the advanced practices and books of Mahayana Buddhism.
Background
Early
The island of Sri Lanka was disrupted by Cholas, following an invasion by Raja Raja Chola I, who took advantage from an internal strife and conquered nearly half of the island. It was not until his successor, the island was almost under Chola control.
Begin with the source’s own compact description: “Parakramabahu I” is king of Polonnaruwa (1153–1186), unifier of Sri Lanka. The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through Parakramabahu, King and Polonnaruwa, not as a finished interpretation.
Why this record matters
The phrase “king of Polonnaruwa (1153–1186), unifier of Sri Lanka” supplies a clear boundary for inquiry. It also exposes the unanswered questions: who defined that boundary, when it became stable and which sources sit outside it.
Biographical claims are most persuasive when dates, appointments and relationships can be traced to records created close to the events described. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jun 11, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q3610015. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1123, 1186, 1153 and 1140.
Later biographies can compress uncertainty and repeat inherited reputations, so apparently settled claims may still require comparison. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
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This entry incorporates text from “Parakramabahu I” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.