# Nissanka Malla Seizes the Throne (1187)

URL: https://allhistories.com/sri-lanka/timeline/1187-nissanka-malla-seizes-the-throne
Location: Polonnaruwa, Sri Lanka
Themes: main-event

In 1187 Nissanka Malla took the throne at Polonnaruwa by killing Mahinda VI, who had reigned five days. Wikipedia says he had come to Polonnaruwa at the invitation of Vijayabahu II and served as a subordinate ruler. His accession ended the House of Vijayabahu and began the House of Kalinga, and he reigned until 1196 or 1197. His inscriptions at Dambulla and the Ruwanwelisaya link him to the Kalinga dynasty and to the line of Prince Vijaya, and the Galpota inscription names his parents as Jayagopa and Parvati and declares that non-Buddhists should not hold power. The location of Kalinga and Sinhapura is debated: some scholars place them in Sumatra or the Jaffna peninsula. Wikipedia describes him as the only Polonnaruwa king after Parakramabahu I to rule the whole island. He reduced the heavy taxes of his predecessor and distributed money and land, but his inscriptions overstate his achievements. Dates differ by a year in the sources, and his birth is given as 1157 or 1158. At this point in the timeline (1187), King Nissanka Malla (1187 – 1196) ruled the Polonnaruwa Kingdom.

## Why it matters
His accession brought a new dynasty of Kalinga origin to the throne and opened the unstable final decades of the Polonnaruwa kingdom.

Ruler at the Time: [King Nissanka Malla](https://allhistories.com/sri-lanka/rulers/nissanka-malla-156)

## Sources
- [Wikipedia — Nissanka Malla of Polonnaruwa](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nissanka_Malla_of_Polonnaruwa)
- [Wikipedia — Vijayabahu II of Polonnaruwa](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vijayabahu_II_of_Polonnaruwa)
- [Wikipedia — Kingdom of Polonnaruwa](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kingdom_of_Polonnaruwa)