After the victory at Polonnaruwa, Vijayabahu had to face more rebellions. This caused him to delay his coronation, which took place in 1072 or 1073, eighteen years after being crowned as Vijayabahu in Ruhuna and after a
military campaign that lasted seventeen years. Polonnaruwa was renamed “Vijayaraja pura” and chosen as the capital, making Vijayabahu the first Sinhala king of the
Polonnaruwa kingdom. The coronation ceremony was held in a palace built for this purpose in
Anuradhapura, the former capital of the country. Vijayabahu took Lilavati, the daughter of Jagatipala of
Ayodhya as his queen. Jagatipala was a prince from the North Indian city of
Ayodhya, who had usurped the throne of
Ruhuna from a
Pandyan prince and ruled
Ruhuna for 4 years in the chaos following
Kassapa VI's death. Jagatipala was killed in a
Chola invasion of
Ruhuna. He also married Tilokasundari, a princess from
Kalinga, with the view of strengthening ties with the Kalingas. King Vijayabahu I had given his sister Mitta's hand in marriage to a Tamil
Pandyan prince and that Pandyan prince would go on to become the father of Manabharana, who in turn was the father of Parakramabahu I. During the Chola rule and the wars, Buddhism in the country had suffered a lot and Buddhist monks were few. Five ordained monks—necessary for the
upasampada (ordination) of Buddhist monks—could not be found in the whole country. To re-establish Buddhism in the country, Vijayabahu sought help from King
Anawrahta in
Burma. As a result, ordained monks were sent from Burma to Sri Lanka. These monks helped to re-establish Buddhism by ordaining new monks and teaching the
Pitaka. In addition to this, Vijayabahu also repaired several Buddhist temples that were abandoned and destroyed. A new temple was also constructed in Polonnaruwa for the keeping of the
sacred tooth relic of the Buddha.The history says that the monks in both countries got together to make an acceptable version in the scriptures when some interpretations of the "Thripitaka" were different with each other. Vijayabahu also reconstructed a number of
tanks in
Rajarata destroyed during the wars, in addition to constructing several new tanks. This reconstruction of the
irrigation system in Rajarata area was important to the development of the country since the country depended mainly on
paddy cultivation. Around 1084/1085, another quarrel with the Chola kingdom erupted when some ambassadors of Vijayabahu sent to
West Chalukya were harassed by them. However, the king's decision for another war against the Chola Empire caused the
Velakkara mercenaries serving in Vijayabahu's army to rebel against him. He also granted villages and cultivations for the service of the pilgrims and the shrine. This is recorded in the "Ambagamu" inscription which situated by the King Vijayabahu I. During his period he restored the Kurundi Viharaya.
Death Vijayabahu died in 1110, having reigned as king of Sri Lanka for fifty-five years. He was then known as “Mahalu Vijayabahu” (Vijayabahu the old) due to his age and long rule of the country. He is also commonly referred to as Maha Vijayabahu (Vijayabahu the great). == Legacy ==