Cankili I (died 1565), also known as Segarasasekaram, is the most remembered Jaffna kingdom

Jaffna Kingdom

The Jaffna kingdom , also known as Kingdom of Aryacakravarti, of modern northern Sri Lanka was a historic monarchy that came into existence around the town of Jaffna on the Jaffna peninsula after the invasion of Magha, who is said to have been from Kalinga, in India...

 king in the Sri Lankan Tamil history. He was very active in resisting Portuguese colonial inroads into Sri Lanka. He also inherited his throne via palace intrigues in which number of heir apparent’s died under mysterious circumstances. At the end, he was removed from power by a local uprising that led to his son Puviraja Pandaram

Puviraja Pandaram

Puviraja Pandaram ruled the Jaffna Kingdom during a period of chaos during and after the death of his father Cankili I in 1565. He became the King in 1561 when due to a local uprising against Cankili 1. Although he was the nominal King, Cankili I wielded real power behind the throne until his...

 taking nominal power from him.

Biography

His father, Singai Pararasasegaram, had two principal wives and a number of concubines. His first wife, Rajalaksmi, had two sons, Singhabahu and Pandaram. Singai Pararasasegaram second wife was Valliammal, she bore him Paranirupasingham. Cankili's mother had Cankili and a daughter named Paravai. As part of palace intrigues, Cankili was able to ascend the throne.

Rule

Cankili I resisted all contacts with the Portuguese and even massacred 600 - 700 Parava

Paravas

Parava or Paravar , also known as Parathavar , Bharathar , Bharathakula Pandyar or Bharathakula Kshathriyar is a caste in southern India that in ancient times were subordinate Tamil chiefs and coastal fishermen, as well as, according at least to one modern writer, "ferocious...

 Catholics in the island of Mannar

Mannar Island

Mannar Island, formerly called Manar Island, is part of Mannar District, Sri Lanka. It is linked to the rest of Sri Lanka by a causeway.It has an area of about 50 square kilometres, mainly covered with vegetation and sand.Rama's Bridge or Rama Setu ,[1] is a chain of limestone shoals, between...

 who were brought from India

India

India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

 to Mannar

Mannar, Sri Lanka

Mannar , formerly spelled Manar, is the capital of Mannar District, Sri Lanka. It is located on Mannar Island.Mannar is known for its baobab trees and for its fort, built by the Portuguese in 1560 and taken by the Dutch in 1658 and rebuilt; its ramparts and bastions are intact, though the interior...

 by the Portuguese to take over the lucrative pearl

Pearl

A pearl is a hard object produced within the soft tissue of a living shelled mollusk. Just like the shell of a mollusk, a pearl is made up of calcium carbonate in minute crystalline form, which has been deposited in concentric layers. The ideal pearl is perfectly round and smooth, but many other...

 fisheries from the Jaffna kings. He was removed from power due to a local uprising that led his son Puviraja Pandaram

Puviraja Pandaram

Puviraja Pandaram ruled the Jaffna Kingdom during a period of chaos during and after the death of his father Cankili I in 1565. He became the King in 1561 when due to a local uprising against Cankili 1. Although he was the nominal King, Cankili I wielded real power behind the throne until his...

take nominal power. He wielded real power behind the throne until his death in 1565.