1. Parakramabahu I oversaw the expansion and beautification of his capital, constructed extensive irrigation systems, reorganised the country's army, reformed Buddhist practices, encouraged the arts and undertook military campaigns in South India and Burma.
In 1140, Parakramabahu following the death of his uncle, Kitti Sri Megha, Prince of Dakkinadesa, ascended the throne of Dakkhinadesa.
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 Vikramabahu was however regarded as the greatest in dignity as he possessed Rajarata with its sites of religious and historical importance.
The chronicle states further as, Parakramabahu I's birth was predicted by a figure akin to a god seen in a dream by his father, King Manabharana of Dakkhinadesa.
When Sankha tried to inform Kitti Sri Megha of the prince's journey, Parakramabahu I had him killed.
Parakramabahu I then seized Buddhagama and all of Sankha's property.
Parakramabahu I continued his journey, having evaded a force sent against him by Kitti Sri Megha, who feared complications with the court of Polonnaruwa, and traveled through the Malaya region to Gajabahu's court.
In Dakkhinadesa, Parakramabahu I was reluctant to enter the capital Sankhatthali to see his uncle, King Kitti Sri Megha, until persuaded by his mother Ratnavali to do so.
Parakramabahu I formed an administration center called Parakramapura, solely for him.
Parakramabahu I ordered the construction of canals and dams, and cleared a large area of forest around them for new fields.
Parakramabahu I decided to expand the region by entering the war, which spanned for over a decade.
Parakramabahu I first decided to reorganize the guards of Dakkhinadesa kingdom.
Parakramabahu I would have been able to field war elephants, cavalry, and siege engines, and his force represented a serious threat to Gajabahu's power in the north.
Around 1150, Parakramabahu I made his first move by seizing control of Malaya, strategically securing his eastern flank.
Parakramabahu I then moved his forces against various chieftains on the border of Rajarata.
Parakramabahu I himself did not participate in the invasion of Rajarata, but was responsible for the overall strategy of the campaign, which was based on the writings of Kautilya.
Parakramabahu I ordered the troops of the Dakkhinadesa army to treat Gajabahu with respect and not to pillage Rajarata.
Parakramabahu I sent his senapathi Deva to restore order to Polonnaruwa, but he found himself in battle with Manabharana of Ruhuna before he could reorganize his troops.
Parakramabahu I put to death many of Gajabahu's senior officials, and imprisoned Gajabahu, letting him starve to death.
Gajabahu, who had been set free by Parakramabahu I, left Polonnaruwa before Parakramabahu I arrived and decided to leave the country by ship.
However, an attack by some of Gajabahu's followers on Parakramabahu I's troops reignited hostilities between the two, and Parakramabahu I had to send his army to capture Gajabahu.
Parakramabahu I was immediately crowned king of Rajarata, but the war was far from over.
On this occasion Parakramabahu I decided to vanquish Manabharana once and for all; "Not even in Rohana will I permit King Manabharana who is here crushed in war, to find a hold".
Rakkha was commanded to hold the fords at the Mahaweli while Parakramabahu I himself attacked from Dakkhinadesa into Ruhuna.
Parakramabahu I found himself facing dissension within his own ranks and the defeat of his forces in Malaya; Manabharana even recaptured Polonnaruwa and advanced into Giritale.
Parakramabahu I's forces were overtaken at the Mahaweli River by Parakramabahu's army and annihilated; the king returned to the south in time to pass away from a combination of disease and exhaustion.
Parakramabahu I was finally the unquestioned lord of the entire island of Sri Lanka, even though it had been at the cost of around five years of incessant warfare.
Parakramabahu I celebrated by summoning Manabharana's son to Polonnaruwa and concluding a peace with him, followed by a lavish coronation ceremony.
Parakramabahu I established himself at Polonnaruwa from 1153 onwards and ruled over the entirety of Sri Lanka for the next 33 years.
One of Parakramabahu I's ambitions was the reunification of these groups into one order, as had existed at the time of Dutugamunu.
Parakramabahu I, having abolished his office at Parakramapura of Dakkhinadesa, turned his attention on Polonnaruwa.
Parakramabahu I ordered the construction of hospitals, which he visited on several occasions.
Parakramabahu I expanded Polonnaruwa's defensive walls, constructing an elaborate three-walled complex featuring turrets for archers and fourteen gates.
At the center of Polonnaruwa Parakramabahu I expanded and beatified the royal palace, with audience halls and bathing ponds.
Parakramabahu I continued his program of hydraulic works begun in Dakkhinadesa, including the renovation and reconstruction of reservoirs and canals wrecked during the Chola invasion.
Parakramabahu I built the Parakrama Samudra which is 2,400 hectares of water.
Parakramabahu I had to suppress wars against him in Ruhuna on several occasions.
Parakramabahu I dispatched another general, Bhuta, to assist Rakkha, who had become bogged down in conflict in Ruhuna.
Parakramabahu I issued an order prohibiting the sale of elephants to foreign countries and did away with the age old custom of presenting an elephant to every foreign vessel which brought him gifts.
Parakramabahu I later had the Sri Lankan envoys imprisoned and tortured, and had all their possessions, including their money, their elephants and their vessels confiscated.
Parakramabahu I perceived insults to the Sri Lankan ambassador to Burma and later summoned them and declared,.
Parakramabahu I ordered the Sri Lankan currency of Kahapana to be used in the areas under his and Vira Pandyan control.
The expedition that was sent with Srivallabha at its head captured and destroyed several places in Ceylon, including Pulaicceri and Matottam, where Parakramabahu I was gathering his forces; it seized many elephants and set fire to a considerable area extending over twenty kadams from east to west and seventy kadams from north to south, killing some of the Singalese chieftains of the locality and taking other soldiers captive as prisoners of war.
The Culavamsa states only that Parakramabahu I "carried on rule for thirty-three years", and that he died in Polonnaruwa.
Parakramabahu I was succeeded by Vijayabahu II of Polonnaruwa, described as his "sister's son", who he had summoned from Sinhapura, capital of Kalinga.
Vijayabahu II brought back the friendly relations between Polonnaruwa and Rammana, who Parakramabahu I fought against during his reign.