Vimaladharma

Vimaladharmasuriya I, also spelled Vimala Dharmasuriya I, was a king of Sri Lanka's Kingdom of Kandy who reigned from 1592 to 1604. He belonged to the Sinhala royal line and is remembered for consolidating control in the central highlands during a period of Portuguese expansion along the coast. His accession followed a time of political fragmentation, and he drew support from Buddhist clergy and local chieftains to strengthen his rule.

A central act of his reign was the transfer of the Sacred Tooth Relic to the hill capital, which reinforced his religious legitimacy and anchored the royal authority around the temple complex at Dalada Maligawa in Kandy. He sought to fortify the kingdom's defenses and pursue a degree of independence in foreign relations, combining negotiation with resistance in dealings with Portuguese authority.

Vimaladharmasuriya's rule also saw the strengthening of Buddhist institutions and patronage of the sangha, contributing to a sense of Sri Lankan Buddhist identity in the central region. His reign laid the groundwork for a durable Kandyan polity that would endure for centuries as a salient center of political and religious life in Sri Lanka, maintaining a degree of autonomy amid European colonial pressures. He died in 1604, and the Kandyan line continued through his heirs, shaping subsequent resistance to external rule.