Gajabahu then appealed to Parākramabāhu for assistance, and Parākramabāhu ordered his troops to cut off grain supplies to Polonnaruwa and harass travelers on the roads between Ruhuna and Rajarata. As a result, all the people in the town with King Manabharana became "weakened birds in a cage". With the sporadic attacks from Dakkhinadesan forces slowly grinding down his power in the north, Manabharana left Polonnaruwa to attack a force commanded by Rakkha that had been wreaking havoc in western Rajarata. In his absence Parākramabāhu's forces seized Polonnaruwa, liberated Gajabahu II, and took into their possession the entirety of Manabharana's treasury. The disheartened king of Ruhuna returned to the south with his family and the sacred relics.