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Pandara Vanniyan (, ) was a Tamil Chieftain who ruled in Vanni Nadu reigned from 1785 - 1803 in 18th century AD and early 19th century AD. He is referred to by some as the last Tamil king in Sri Lanka, who also rose to revolt against the British Ceylon and Dutch Ceylon, who died battling the British colonial rule on the island. He was officially declared a National Hero of Sri Lanka in 1982.
The beginnings of the people of the Vanni (Vanniar), who were ruled over by Vanniar Chieftains, has not been clearly established, but there is evidence of settlements in the region dating back 2000 years. Furthermore, there is information on the Konesar Kalvettu and in the old 'Vya' song of sixty Vanniar coming from Madurai in South India, accompanying the royal bride for the king at Anuradhapura in the first century BC.
Around 1782, the continued conflicts came to an end when the Dutch Empire, who had by then arrived in Sri Lanka, once and for all defeated the Vanniars. It has been noted that "The Dutch Empire met nowhere a more determined resistance than from one of the native princesses, the Vannichi (widow) Maria Sembatte, whom they carried away as prisoner, and detained in captivity in the Fort of Colombo."
Pandara Vanniyan has defeated the Dutch several times by defeating the Lt. von Driberg several times.Pandara Vanniyan fought against the British Empire colonial powers. The Vanniars commenced to live a wild and marauding life and carried on a predatory warfare against the British Empire in Mannar and Trincomalee, and even penetrated to the Jaffna peninsula. The British Empire had to build forts along the river to keep them at bay. In alliance with the Kandy Kingdom, Pandara Vannian started a revolt to expel the British Empire from his district. On 25 August 1803, Pandara Vannian attacked the Government House in Mullaitivu and drove out the garrison from Mullaitivu, which was under the command of Captain Edward Mudge of the 19th Regiment, before finally seizing the fort.
Pandara Vannian captured the British Empire cannons and overran the whole of the northern districts (Vanni), highlighting his boldness and ability to penetrate as far as Elephant Pass and into the Jaffna Peninsula. From conventional warfare, Pandara Vannian resorted to guerrilla tactics, but was finally defeated by Lt. von Driberg when the (recently arrived) British Empire organized a three-pronged attack from Jaffna, Mannar and Trincomalee in 1803. In that battle, the British Empire also captured the cannon given to Pandara Vanniyan by Sri Wickrema Rajasinghe. The British presented the village of Pandara Kulam to Lt. von Driberg as a prize for defeating Pandara Vanniyan.
This was followed by the "burning of all his houses, whereby people ... dispersed into the jungle, and eventually out of the Vanni to the districts of Hanwella. The power of the Vanniar (Chieftains) was thus finally and effectually extinguished." Alternative histories have it that Lt. von Driberg of the Dutch Empire forces felt humiliated by Pandara Vannian for having been defeated by him several times, including in a personal combat situation; despite being permitted by senior officials to withdraw, he stayed on even after the British Empire ousted the Dutch Empire.
Present-day Tamil people and Sinhalese people of North Central and North Western provinces in Sri Lanka, which were once part of Vanni, revere Pandara Vanniyan highly. The Sinhalese people are known to summon the protection of Vanni Bandara Deio when they pass through jungles.
Tamil nationalists valourise Vanniyan as an epic hero, and his character has recently been appropriated and measured against Vellupillai Prabhakaran, the leader of the now dismantled LTTE. Karunanidhi, an Indian politician and writer, in his novel 'Payum Puli Pandara Vanniyan' ('The Leaping Tiger Pandara Vanniyan' in English), uses Vanniyan to typify Tamil people patriotism and transnationalism. According to Vijaya Ramaswamy in Historical Dictionary of the Tamils, "the course of the novel is ... connected to ... developments in Sri Lanka related to moves by the LTTE. The novel describes the mission of a friend of Veerapandiya Kattabomman (the last Poligar who resisted British rule in Tamil Nadu) to the Wanni jungles in Sri Lanka. His mission was to meet Pandara Vanniyan who was also resisting the British Empire. This part of the novel echoes the meeting of Vaiko (popularly known as Vaiko) and Vellupillai Prabhakaran (leader of the defunct LTTE) in the dense jungles of Wanni."
Pandara Vannian is also the subject of the eponymous play by Mullaimaṇi Ve Cuppiramaṇiyam, 'Pantara Vanniyan.' The play was awarded a prize by the Ceylon Art Council in 1964, and was published thereafter in 1970.
On 10 August 2014, three statues of former Tamil kings including Pandara Vanniyan, Ellalan, and Pararaja Sekaran were installed by Jaffna Clock Tower.
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