Yalpana Vaipava Malai

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Yalpana Vaipava Malai (Tamil: யாழ்ப்பாண வைபவமாலை) is a book written by a Tamil poet called Mayilvagana Pulavar 1736 A.D. This book contains historical facts of the early Sri Lankan city of Jaffna. The book which may have been written around 1736 during the Governorship of Jan Maccara, the then Dutch Governor of Jaffna. It was translated from Tamil by C. Brito, and was first published in 1879. The work is looked upon as one of great authority among the Tamils of Jaffna.

The author says that he referred the books Kailaya Malai, Vaiyai Padal and Pararajasekaran Ula for his work. It is said that these books are composed not earlier than the fourteenth Century A. D., contain folklore; legends and myths mixed with historical anecdotes. Today, except the Kailaya Malai which has been printed, and a few manuscript copies of Vaiya Padal, the other works are very rare and hardly procurable. The fact that all the statements made in the Kailaya Malai including those that will be proved as to be misconceptions, were bodily taken and introduced into the Vaipava Malai, stamps it with the impress of an attempt at history on the part of that 'well meaning villager, Mailvagana Pulavar.

[edit] Contents

The book is one of the rare books which contains facts about the Ariyachakravsrtis who ruled Jaffna and some parts of north Sri Lanka. It starts with The King Vibeeshana who ruled Sri lanka after the Rama Ravana war according to the hindu epic of Ramayana. Then it refers the Mahawamsa and states about the ariyan prince Vijaya and his son Panduvasan, the rulers from north India. According to Yalpana Vaipava Malai the history of Jaffna starts wih a blind musician called Panan or Yalpadi. He received a land called Manatri from the ruler of Sri Lanka. Manatri was renamed as Yalpanam by Panan.

Then it comes with the Koolangai Chakravarti who was the ruler of Jaffna after Panan. It further states about the Formation of Nallur, arrival of tamils, and other kings of Jaffna.

According to Yalpana Vaipava Malai, during the eighth century Ugrasinghan, a prince of the dynasty of the legendary Vijaya, coming with an army from India, descended upon Sri Lanka and captured one half of the Island. He established his capital first at Katiramalai, known now as Kantarodai, and then shifted it to Singhai Nagar, a town on the eastern coast of the Jaffna Peninsula. Though the story of Ugrasinghan has generally been rejected by scholars," some are of the view that this story is "based on a historical fact", namely that Ugrasinghan has been confused with Manavamma who was helped by the Pallava King Narasinghavarman.

After stating facts about the Potugese rule the history ends with some facts of the Dutch rule.