A Critical History Of Jaffna: The Tamil Era (HB)

About the Book;-The author reveals that the origin of the Jaffna kingdom is obscure and stills the subject of controversy among historians. Among mainstream historians, the widely accepted view is that the Kingdom of the Aryacakravarti dynasty in Jaffna began in 1215 with the invasion of a previously unknown chieftain called Magha, who claimed to be from Kalinga in modern India. He deposed the ruling Parakrama Pandyan II, a foreigner from the Pandyan Dynasty who was ruling the Kingdom of Polonnaruwa at the time with the help of his soldiers and mercenaries from the Kalinga, modern Kerala and Damila (Tamil Nadu) regions in India. After the conquest of Rajarata, he moved the capital to the Jaffna peninsula which was more secured by heavy Vanni forest and ruled as a tribute-paying subordinate of the Chola empire of Tanjavur, in modern Tamil Nadu, India. This prompted the Pandyan Empire in modern South India to intervene and Chandrabhanu submitted to Pandya rule in 1258.