of them pulled the queens’ earrings.
While doing so, their ears were wounded as the
heavy earrings were mercilessly ripped off. Hence, the frightened queens were all
bleeding. The bloodstains in the jacket kept for the exhibition are believed to be due
to this incident.
The portrait of the young queen touched my heart. Her subtle eyes were filled with
unspoken sadness. Her tight lips were not adorned with a smile nor displayed any
happiness. I felt that her side tilted head was a gesture of loneliness. Her sadness is
so overwhelming that it conquered her charming beauty, and it surely conquered my
heart. Her name and tragic end haunted me. Hence, I decided to know more about
her. Who was she? Where did she come from? What happened to her? This is a
journey we embark on together, to meet our last queen, Venkata Rangammal.
The portrait
The portrait we see today was originally painted by the English artist William Daniel
(1749 – 1840). Old descriptions say that she was very young and extremely pretty
and was excited to see herself being transformed into a work of art on paper. It is
also said that she was graceful and elegant, perfect as a queen.
Studying the portrait, one can see that she is seated on a chair, against a
mountainous landscape. She seems to be draped in a saree, and a thick shawl
wrapped covering her shoulders. The jacket she is wearing has long sleeves. She is
wearing several decorated neckpieces, earrings, and a small tilak on her forehead.
Her hair is tied and adorned with flowers.
Who was she?
Sri Venkata Rangammal Devi was one of the many wives of king Sri
Wikramarajasinghe. She was known as a Randoli (chief queen). while the king had
more concubines known as Rididolis and Yakadadolis.
She was not a Sinhalese queen although she is the last queen of ours. She was a
Nayak or a Nayakkar who were of Telugu origin and spoke Telugu, Tamil, and
Sinhala. It is believed that the Kandy Nayak family is related to the Thanjavur Nayak
kingdom that was in power during the 16th – 17th centuries in Tamil Nadu. historical
data says that the Nayaks were the provincial governors appointed by the
Vijayanagar empire.
According to history, the Vijayanagar empire flourished during the 14th – 15th
centuries. After its collapse in the 16th century, the provincial governors, the Nayaks
declared an independent kingdom and ruled.
How did Nayak dynasty land in Sri Lanka?
The last known Sinhalese king Sri Veeraparakrama Narendra Singha’s randoli or
chief queen Pramila was a Madurai Nayak princess. The Madurai Nayaks were of
Telugu origin, and their origin was known to be in the states of Andra Pradesh and
Tamil Nadu.
Pramila is the first reported Nayak princess to land in Sri Lanka. Sinhalese kings had
married princesses from many south Asian kingdoms; they were political alliances.
Sinhalese princesses have also been married to princes or kings of other south
Asian kingdoms.
It is said that when Narendra Singha sent messengers to Madurai in order to bring a
princess, descendants of the glorious Madurai Nayak dynasty, responded to the
offer. It was Narenappa Nayaka’s daughter who was sent to marry the king. Along
with the princess, the now fading dynasty’s family, actually whole kith and kin arrived
in Kandy and settled there.
When Narendra Singha died without children, he appointed his queen’s brother to be
the next king. He was a Nayak prince. Accordingly, Sri Vijaya Rajasinghe becomes
the first Nayak king of Sri Lanka. That is how the Nayak line rose to power in Sri
Lanka.
The four Nayak kings were known to be good rulers. They were great patronages of
Buddhism. They were able to protect the Kandyan kingdom from the raging foreign
invasions. Unless to the vicious Kandyan chieftains, Sri Wikramarajasingha would
have been able to secure the power of the Kandyan kingdom and defeat the British.
The fate of Rangammal, 18 February 1815
The British Governor Robert Brownridge declared war against the king in January
1815. As the king fled Kandy, he was once again betrayed by the Kandyan Nilames
and was trapped by the British in Meda Mahanuwara.
Several troops were dispatched to capture the king. The troop where Dies Mudali
was in met D’Oyly, Colonel Hardy, Colonel Hook, many senior officers, Mudliars, the
British, Ja people, Sepoy soldiers, Ehelepola, Molligoda, Pilimatalawwe, Ekneligoda,
Mahavalathanna, and a large number of chieftains (Nilames) on their way to Meda
Mahanuwara.
While traveling towards Meda Mahanuwara, Ekneligoda and a few more
encountered a young village boy. Out of fear the little boy pleaded to spare his life
and said that in return he will tell them where the king was hiding. At this point,
Ekneligoda tied the little boy with a rope and asked him to take them to the place
where the king was.
The boy took them towards a house where the main door was guarded by two village
women. Ekneligoda knocked on the door and demanded the king to open it. But as
the king did not do so, he ordered his people to break open the door. The door broke
open. At this moment people who accompanied Ekneligoda rushed inside the house
and they tore all the clothes that were worn by the two queens and grabbed their
jewellery. They were bleeding as their heavy earrings were brutally removed from
their ears.
Followed by the two queens the king was brutally forced out of the house.
Ekneligoda was verbally abusing the king and had called him a swine. He wanted to
tie the king using ropes but Dies Mudali had opposed and then offered his shawl
instead. Dies Mudali has reportedly expressed his deep disgust and grief about the
manner in which Ekneligoda insulted the king.
The two queens shivering out of fear and shame were holding the two arms of Dies
Mudali. Upon Dies Mudali’s request, Colonel Hardy and Hook arrived at the place
within an hour’s time and treated the royals with due respect and care. They were
given clothes and refreshments. Palanquins were brought for them. The king was
taken back to Kandy with all honour and respect that a king deserves. It is recorded
that not a single Kandyan or Ja people accompanied this parade; only the British and
the people of down south were following this parade.
After the doomsday
In 1815, the British and the Kandyan Nilames signed an agreement, popularly known
as the Udarata Giwisuma (The Kandyan Convention of 1815), where the sovereignty
of the Sinhala monarch was surrendered to the British.
Meanwhile, the king, his four queens, his mother, and his relatives were held at
Teldeniya for some time before they were sent to Colombo.
In Colombo…
Dr. Henry Marshall who was in charge of the king’s health while he has held in
Colombo says that the king was 5 feet, 10 inches tall, broad, and well-built with a
prominent chest. He was handsome and had a very pleasant face with a beard. He
describes how charismatic the king was.
It is reported that the queens were extremely timid and frightened. They were
suffering mentally and physically during these days.
Last days in Vellore…
