| Vijayabahu I | |
|---|---|
| King of Polonnaruwa | |
 Polonnaruwa Velakkara inscription of Vijayabahu I | |
| King of Polonnaruwa | |
| Reign | 1070-1110 |
| Coronation | 1072/1073 |
| Predecessor | Kulothunga Chola I (as the Chola emperor) |
| Successor | Jayabahu I |
| King of Ruhuna | |
| Reign | 1055-1070 |
| Predecessor | Kassapa VII |
| Successor | Himself as King of Polonnaruwa |
| Born | Keerthi 1039 Ruhuna, Mummudichola Mandalam, Chola Empire (modern day Matara, Sri Lanka) |
| Died | 1110 (aged 71) Polonnaruwa, Kingdom of Polonnaruwa (modern day Polonnaruwa, Sri Lanka) |
| Consort | Leelavati of Kannauj Thilokasundari of Kalinga |
| House | House of Vijayabahu |
| Dynasty | Polonnaruwa |
| Father | Moggallana of Ruhuna |
| Mother | Lokitha |
| Religion | Buddhism |
Vijayabahu I (born Prince Keerthi) (ruled 1055–1110), also known as Vijayabahu the Great, was a medieval king of Sri Lanka. Born to a royal bloodline, Vijayabahu grew up under Chola occupation. He assumed rulership of the Ruhuna principality in the southern parts of the country in 1055. Following a seventeen-year-long campaign, he successfully drove the Cholas out of the island in 1070,[1][2][3][4] reuniting the country for the first time in over a century.[5][6] During his reign, he re-established Buddhism in Sri Lanka and repaired much of the damage caused to infrastructure during the wars. He offered the Thihoshin Pagoda(Lord of Sri Lanka Buddha image) to Burma king Alaungsithu and it is now still in Pakokku.
- ^ K. M. De Silva (1981). A History of Sri Lanka. University of California Press. pp. 61–. ISBN 978-0-520-04320-6. Retrieved 19 April 2012. "In their expulsion from the island"
- ^ Bangalore Suryanarain Row (1905). A History of Vijayanagar: The Never to be Forgotten Empire. Asian Educational Services. pp. 40–. ISBN 978-81-206-0860-3.
- ^ Akira Hirakawa; Paul Groner (1993). A History of Indian Buddhism: From Śākyamuni to Early Mahāyāna. Motilal Banarsidass. pp. 126–. ISBN 978-81-208-0955-0.
- ^ Spencer, George W. (May 1976). "The Politics of Plunder: The Cholas in Eleventh-Century Ceylon". The Journal of Asian Studies. 35 (3): 405–419. doi:10.2307/2053272. JSTOR 2053272.
When the Cholas were finally driven out of the Island. page 412
- ^ Codrington, H.W (1926). A Short History of Ceylon. London: Macmillan & Co. ISBN 9780836955965. OCLC 2154168.
- ^ "A BRIEF HISTORY OF SRI LANKA". Tim Lambert. localhistories.org. Retrieved 2008-09-12.