Vimaladharmasuriya - II

Vimaladharmasurya - II (ruled 1687–1707) was a king of Kandy who succeeded his father, Rajasinghe - II. He allowed Joseph Vaz to settle in his kingdom and allowed him to preach the Christian faith. 

Childhood

Brought up a bhikku for a long period in his childhood, King Vimaladharmasurya - II was naturally of peaceful temperament. During his childhood though, a sufficient number of Buddhist priests were not able to conduct the higher ordination (upasampada) ceremony.

Contributions to Buddhism in Sri Lanka

He invited 33 priests from Burma and established the higher ordination that helped protect Buddhism.

The Dutch

During the reign of King Vimaladharmasurya - II, many attempts made by the Dutch to capture the Kandyan Kingdom had failed. However the Dutch gained control of the Kandyan Kingdom's foreign trade.

Relations with Daud Khan Panni

In the year 1703, the Mughal commander at Coromandel, Daud Khan Panni spent 10,500 coins to purchase 30 to 50 War elephants from Ceylon. These purchases were acknowledged by Vimaladharmasurya - II of Kandy.

        END

  < Back