Ehelepola Nilame
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Ehelepola Nilame ඇහැලේපොළ නිලමේ | |
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Second Adigar | |
In office 1808–1811 | |
Preceded by | Megastenne |
Succeeded by | Molligoda |
Personal details | |
Born | 1773 Kingdom of Kandy |
Died | 1829 Mauritius |
Spouse | Ehelepola Kumarihami |
Children | Ehelepola Loku Bandara Ehelepola Madduma Bandara Ehelepola Tikiri Manike Ehelepola Dingiri Menike |
Parents |
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Education | Yatawatte Pirivena |
Occupation | Civil servant |
Ehelapola Wijesundara Wickramasinghe Chandrasekara Seneviratna Jayatillake Ekanayaka Amarakone Wahala Panditha Mudiyanse (
Early life
He was born to a Radala family of courtiers who came from the village of Ehelepola, and was educated by the chief priest, Yatawatte, before joining the royal court as part of the royal household. He was the son of a chieftain named Wijayasundere Wickremasinghe Chandrasekere Seneviratne Senanayake Jayatillake Ekanayaka Amarakoon Rajapakse Wahala Pandita Mudiyanse Adikaram and Pilimatalawe Kumarihami, sister of Pilimatalawe Pallegampaha Adikaram. His grandfather was awarded the position of Mohottala of the Dadimunda Shrine, Aluthnuwara by King Kirti Sri Rajasinghe and was the youngest out of four brothers who belonged to the family of Madawla Kulatunga, a Kandyan Radala family who had been chieftains of the Uva Province for centuries. The second eldest of the four brothers was Weliwita Sri Saranankara Thero, the last Sangharaja of Sri Lanka.
Royal service
Ehelepola's first appointment was to the post of Paniwidakara Nilame by the king, and was later appointed Udagampahe Adigar in 1808 succeeding Megastenne on his death. Ehelepola was appointed
Rebellion
The king fell out of favor with the Ehelepola and when a revolt broke out in Sabaragamuva, Ehelepola was sent to suppress it. When Ehelepola failed to return on the king's summons, Molligoda was dispatched to capture and return with Ehelepola. Following an engagement with Molligoda's men, Ehelepola went to the coastal areas of the island to gain support to overthrow the king.
Molligoda returned to Kandy with 47 chiefs of Sabaragamuwa as prisoners, who were executed in a day followed by the brutal execution of Ehelepola's family. After these executions, the king lost popular support and riots broke out in response. As a result, the king fled to Hanguranketha. Ehelepola joined the British forces with the plan to overthrow the British after the capture of Kandy in January 1815.
The
Later life and death
After the capture of Kandy by the British, Ehelepola was banned from various activities, such as riding his white horse in public, to prevent the people of Ceylon from viewing him as the possible king of Kandy.
Prior to the
References
- ^ [Gamagē, N.J. (1980) Karatoṭa Nā Himi. Tihagoda: Nimal Jē. Gamagē. ]
- ^ "The last days of Ehelepola Adikaram: A grudge that rewrote history". Archived from the original on 2014-05-21. Retrieved 2019-08-04.