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Kusumāsana Devi
Kusumāsana Devi being welcomed by the General Conquistador Pedro Lopes de Sousa
Queen regnant of Kandy
Reign	1581
Predecessor	Karalliyadde Bandara
Successor	Rajasinha I
Queen consort of Kandy
First Tenure	1594–1604
Predecessor	Queen Consort Nilupulmala Kirawelle
Second tenure	1604–10 July 1613
Successor	Queen Consort Suriya Devi
Born	c.1578 Royal Palace, Kandy, Sri Lanka.
Died	10 July 1613 (aged 35) Welimannatota Palace, Kegalle.
Burial	Rockhill Estate, Kegalle.
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
Names Sri Kusum Astane Maha Biso Bandara
House	House of Siri Sanga Bo
Dynasty	Lambakarna
Father	Karalliyadde Bandara
Mother	Denawaka Kusumasana Devi (Gallegama Adasin) of Kirawelle
Religion	Roman Catholicism prev. Theravada Buddhism

Kusumāsana Devi (died 10 July 1613), also known as 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 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. 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. 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

• A biographical tele series was aired in the 2019 in TV Derana, where Vidhushi Uththara portrayed the role.

See also

• List of Sri Lankan monarchs

References

Citations

1. ^ Obeyesekere 2017, p. 161.
2. ^ Rajiva Wijesinha: Political Principles and Their Practice in Sri Lanka

Bibliography

• Obeyesekere, Gananath (2017). "Between the Portuguese and the Nāyakas: the many faces of the Kandyan Kingdom, 1591– 1765". In Biedermann, Zoltan; Strathern, Alan (eds.). Sri Lanka at the crossroads of history. London: UCL Press. ISBN 9781911307846.

External links

• Kings & Rulers of Sri Lanka
• Codrington's Short History of Ceylon

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• 16th-century women monarchs
• 16th-century monarchs in Asia
• House of Siri Sanga Bo
• Monarchs of Kandy
• Remarried queens consort
• Queens regnant in Asia
• 1613 deaths
• Sinhalese queens
• People of the Kingdom of Kandy
• Sri Lankan Roman Catholics
• Converts to Roman Catholicism from Buddhism
• 16th-century Roman Catholics
• Sri Lankan history stubs