in mahakavya style and the Saddharma Ratnavaliya (which retells stories of the Dhammapada commentary). The influence of Mahāyāna Veneration of Avalokiteśvara (Lokeshwara Natha) has continued to the present day in Sri Lanka, where he is called Nātha. In more recent times, some western-educated Theravādins have attempted to identify Nātha with Maitreya. However, traditions and basic iconography, including an image of Amitābha on his crown, identify Nātha as Avalokiteśvara. Kings of Sri Lanka were often described as bodhisattvas, starting at least as early as Sirisanghabodhi (r. 247–249), who was styled a "mahāsatta" ("great being", Sanskrit mahāsattva), an epithet used almost exclusively in Mahayana. Many other Sri Lankan kings from the 3rd until the 15th century were also described as bodhisattvas and their royal duties were sometimes clearly associated with the practice of the ten pāramitās. In some cases, they explicitly claimed to have received predictions of Buddhahood in past lives. Modern era Early colonialism During the beginning of the 16th century, Sri Lanka was fragmented into several kingdoms. The Portuguese Empire exploited this and established Colombo as a way to control the cinnamon trade. The Portuguese became drawn into various wars with these kingdoms. Between 1597 and 1658, a substantial part of the island came under Portuguese rule, though their control was rather tenuous and prone to rebellion. Only the kingdom of Kandy retained its independence. The Portuguese sought to introduce Catholicism to the island, and in their wars, with the Sinhalese, they often destroyed Buddhist monasteries or handed them over to Catholic orders. From the 16th century onward, Christian missionaries attempted to convert the local population to Christianity. Non-Christian religions were suppressed and persecuted, while Christians were given preferential treatment. Over time, a Christian minority developed on the island. This war-torn period weakened the Buddhist Sangha so much, that in 1592, Vimaladharmasuriya I of Kandy sought aid from Burma to ordain Buddhist monks, as there was hardly a single properly ordained monk left. From 1612 to 1658, the Dutch and the Portuguese fought over the island, and Kandy sided with the Dutch. The Dutch won and occupied most of the coastal sections of the island (Dutch Ceylon, 1640–1796), while the kingdom of Kandy retained the interior. The Dutch were less zealous than the Portuguese in their religious proselytizing though they still discriminated against non-Christians (as well as Catholics). Non-Protestant worship was also not allowed in some towns, and Buddhist temple