Kusumāsana Devi (died 10 July 1613), also known as , was ruling Queen of Kandy in 1581. She was deposed, but queen consort of Kandy by marriage to Vimaladharmasuriya I of Kandy from 1594 to 1604.

Life

In her infancy, she and her father Karaliyadde Bandara fled the kingdom to the Portuguese. Later she was baptised by the Portuguese and named .

Queen regnant

After the death of her father in 1581, the Portuguese installed her as a client ruler in the

Campaign of Danture The Danture campaign comprised a series of encounters between the Portuguese and the Kingdom of Kandy in 1594, part of the Sinhalese–Portuguese War. It is considered a turning point in the indigenous resistance to Portuguese expansion. For ...

. She was at this point a teenager. She succeeded her father Karaliyadde Bandara as king of

Kandy Kandy (, ; , ) is a major city located in the Central Province, Sri Lanka, Central Province of Sri Lanka. It was the last capital of the Sinhalese monarchy from 1469 to 1818, under the Kingdom of Kandy. The city is situated in the midst of ...

. The attempt was a disaster, with Portuguese forces completely wiped out. She was deposed by Rajasinha I of the

Kingdom of Sitawaka The kingdom of Sitawaka (, ) was a kingdom located in south-central Sri Lanka. It emerged from the division of the kingdom of Kotte following the Wijayaba Kollaya, Spoiling of Vijayabahu in 1521. Over the course of the next seventy years it cam ...

in the same year she ascended the throne.

Queen consort

In 1594, she became the Queen Consort to

Vimaladharmasuriya I of Kandy Wimaladharmasūriya I was a king of Kandy from 1592 to 1604. His reputation was built when he successfully repulsed two major Portuguese offensives on Kandy, the Battle of Danture in 1594 and the Battle of Balana in 1602, in both of which the ...

to solidify his rule after the defeat of King Rajasinhe I three years prior.Rajiva Wijesinha:
Political Principles and Their Practice in Sri Lanka
' Finally, she married her former brother-in-law Senarat who succeeded to the throne following the death of King Vimaladharmasuriya in 1604, also to solidify his legitimacy as ruler. Her ascendancy was contingent on converting to Buddhism, but she secretly taught Catholicism to her subjects during her life. She had three children by King Vimaladharmasuriya - Mahastana , Surya and Santana. She also had three children, Kumarasingha Astana, Vijayapala Astane and Deva Astane by King Senerath Bandara. Earlier she had a son, Prince Philip Jnr. from her first husband, Yamasinghe Bandara and died few weeks after birth. Mahastana died in 1612 after six days of sickness. Her youngest son Mahastane later succeeded his father as King Rajasinhe II, known for the agreement with the Dutch to end Portuguese rule. She fell sick after her son Mahastane died in 1612, with her illness attributed to excessive grief by Philippus Baldaeus. She died on 10 July 1613 at the age of 35.

In popular culture

* A biographical tele series was aired in the 2019 in TV Derana, where Vidhushi Uththara portrayed the role.

References

Citations

Bibliography

External links

Kings & Rulers of Sri Lanka

Codrington's Short History of Ceylon
16th-century women monarchs 16th-century monarchs in Asia House of Siri Sanga Bo Monarchs of Kandy Remarried queens consort Queens regnant in Asia Sinhalese monarchs 1613 deaths People of the Kingdom of Kandy Catarina, Dona Converts to Roman Catholicism from Buddhism 16th-century Roman Catholics {{SriLanka-hist-stub