Kusumasana Devi Explained

Kusumāsana Devi
Succession:Queen regnant of Kandy
Reign:1581
Predecessor:Karalliyadde Bandara
Successor:Rajasinha I
Succession1:Queen consort of Kandy
Reign1:1594–1604
Reign-Type1:First Tenure
Reign-Type2:Second tenure
Predecessor1:Queen Consort Nilupulmala Kirawelle
Reign2:1604–10 July 1613
Successor2:Queen Consort Suriya Devi
Spouse:Dom Filipe aka Yamasinghe Bandara
Vimaladharmasuriya I (m. 1594)
Senarat (m. 1604)
Issue:Prince Filipe Jnr.
Maha Astane
Suriya Mahadasin
Santana Mahadasin
Kumarasinghe
Vijayapala
Rajasinha II of Kandy
Full Name:Sri Kusum Astane Maha Biso Bandara
Royal House:House of Siri Sanga Bo
Dynasty:Lambakarna
Father:Karalliyadde Bandara
Mother:Denawaka Kusumasana Devi (Gallegama Adasin) of Kirawelle
Birth Date:c.1578
Birth Place:Royal Palace, Kandy, Sri Lanka.
Death Date:10 July 1613 (aged 35)
Death Place:Welimannatota Palace, Kegalle.
Place Of Burial:Rockhill Estate, Kegalle.
Religion:Roman Catholicism
prev. Theravada Buddhism

Kusumāsana Devi (died 10 July 1613), also known as Portuguese: Dona Catherina, 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 Portuguese: Dona Catarina.

Queen regnant

After the death of her father in 1581, the Portuguese installed her as a client ruler in the Campaign of Danture. She was at this point a teenager. She succeeded her father Karaliyadde Bandara as king of Kandy. The attempt was a disaster, with Portuguese forces completely wiped out. She was deposed by Rajasinha I of the Kingdom of Sitawaka in the same year she ascended the throne.

Queen consort

In 1594, she became the Queen Consort to Vimaladharmasuriya I of Kandy to solidify his rule after the defeat of King Rajasinhe I three years prior.[1] 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.[1] 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

See also

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Notes and References

  1. Rajiva Wijesinha: Political Principles and Their Practice in Sri Lanka