Kalinga Magha

Kalinga Magha or Gangaraja Kalinga Vijayabahu (Tamil: கலிங்க மாகன் / கலிங்க மாகோன் / கங்கராஜ காலிங்க விஜயவாகு மகன், Sinhala: කාලිංග මාඝ) was an invader from the Kingdom of Kalinga who usurped the throne from Parakrama Pandyan II of Polonnaruwa in 1215. A massive migration followed of Sinhalese people to the south and west of Sri Lanka, and into the mountainous interior, as they attempted to escape his power. Magha was the last ruler to have his seat in the traditional northern seat of native power on the island, known as Rajarata; so comprehensive was his destruction of Sinhalese power in the north that all of the successor kingdoms to Rajarata existed primarily in the south of the island.

Several theories exist about Magha, these theories range from defining him as an eastern Ganga king to a member of the Sinhalese Kalinga dynasty established by Kalinga Lokeshvara. Some historians identify him as the Kulankayan Cinkai Ariyan mentioned in the Jaffna Tamil chronicles, stating that Kulanka is actually a corruption of Kalinga. A Tamil inscription found in Gomarankadawala, Trincomalee District proves that Kalinga Magha was consecrated as King of Polonnaruwa under the name of Gangaraja Kalinga Vijayabahu by Kulothunga Chola III.