The details relating to the early life of Parakramabahu VI, that are available locally, are not quite clear. There are a few descriptions in the Chinese sources too. All that relates to the fact that the Chinese emperor nominated him and he came to power, with the help of Cheng-ha. According to these sources, it goes like this – In the Chinese court, at the request of the Chinese emperor, the Sinhala people who were present there, selected 'Yeh-pa-ne-na.' This person was later named as 'Pu-la-co-ma-ba-se-la-va.' Some believe that this would have been no other name than Parakramabahu VI, in the Chinese language.

A historic agreement was signed on October 30, 1964 in New Delhi by the Prime Ministers of Sri Lanka and India – Sirimavo Bandaranaike and Lal Bahadur Shastri – to settle a problem which came down from colonial times. The problem related to the Indian labour population working on estates in Sri Lanka. It revolved round the issue of their citizenship. The pact came to be known as 'Sirima-Shastri pact.'