Lilavati of Polonnaruwa

Queen Lilavati
Queen of Polonnaruwa
The fairly common copper massa coin of Lilavati
Queen Consort of Polonnaruwa
Reign	1153-1186
Queen Regnant of Polonnaruwa
Reign	1197–1200 1209–1210 1211–1212
Predecessor	Chodaganga Anikanga Mahadipada Lokissara
Successor	Sahassamalla Lokissara Parakrama Pandya

Queen Lilavati (reigned 1197–1200, 1209–10, and 1211–12) was the second woman in Sri Lankan history to rule as sovereign in her own right. Lilavati rose to prominence as the wife of Parakramabahu I, king of the Kingdom of Polonnaruwa. Being of royal descent herself, she then ruled as sole monarch on three different occasions in the near-anarchy following Parakramabahu's death, with the backing of various generals. The primary source for her life is the Culavamsa, specifically chapter LXXX.

It is known that Lilavati was the daughter of Sirivallabha and his wife Sugala, and that she had a brother, also called Manabharana. She would have met her future husband when still young as Parakramabahu was her cousin, the son of her uncle Manabharana of Dhakkinadesa. Following his death, Kittisrimegha ascended to the throne of Dhakkinadesa, and Manabharana's family came to live with Sirivallabha in Ruhuna. It is not known at what point she married Parakramabahu.

Lilavati's family – in particular her brother Manabharana of Ruhuna (who was married to both of Parakramabahu's sisters, Mitta and Pabhavati), and the Queen Mother, Sugala – had a very difficult relationship with Parakramabahu. Manabharana fought against Parakramabahu on several occasions, whilst Sugala "had not a mind capable of reflection and was inclined herself by nature to evil". It is not known what role Lilavati played in the complex scheming between them.

Lilavati's activities during the energetic reign of her husband are not known. As first mahesi ("queen consort"), she would have been the highest-ranking woman in court; her children (if any) would have had first claim to the throne, and on occasion she may even have accompanied the king on campaign. However the Culavamsa does not mention this, or indeed suggest she had any children by Parakramabahu.

The queen re-emerges in the sources in the anarchy following Parakramabahu's death. Vijayabahu II, described as a 'poet king', lasted only a year before he was murdered by 'a traitor...of the Kulinga (sic) clan' named Mahinda. Mahinda in his turn was deposed by Kittinissanka, a Kalinga prince who had been Vijayabahu's chief minister. Kittinissanka reigned from 1187 to 1196 as Nissanka Malla of Polonnaruwa.

Following Nissanka Malla's death, his younger brother Vikramabahu ascended to the throne, and was deposed after only a few months by his nephew Chodaganga. Chodaganga was then deposed by the 'powerful general' Kitti, who, rather than seizing the throne for himself, had Lilavati consecrated sovereign queen.