Jayawardena was born on 17 March 1950 in the village Siyambalanduwa, Monaragala, Sri Lanka as the eldest of the family. His father H. M. Wijayasundara was a farmer and his mother D.M. Ranmenika was a housewife. He received his primary education at Siyambalanduwa School. After passing the grade 5 scholarship examination, he entered Passara Maha Vidyalaya for secondary education.
He was married to fellow musician and songstress Malani Bulathsinhala and the wedding was celebrated on 30 December 1978, and was the father of popular musician Kasun Kalhara. His only daughter, Nirmani Chaya died in 1991 at the age of three due to dengue fever. Malani was in the United States to perform a concert when she was found dead in the bathroom at the residence of the Sri Lanka consul Tissa Wijeratne on 29 March 2001 at the age of 51. It is believed that her death was caused by anaphylaxis brought on by an allergic reaction to hair dye.
Jayawardena died on 18 April 2019 at the age of 69, while receiving treatments for prolonged kidney failure at Colombo South Teaching Hospital, Kalubowila. His body was laid at the Jayaratna Respect Reneral Home in Borella and the last rites were performed at the Kanatte Cemetery on Wednesday at 3 pm.