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Prof. Anuradha Seneviratna (July 13, 1938 - July 9, 2009) was a renowned Sri Lankan scholar. He wrote many scholarary works and he was a Senior Professor in the Department of Sinhala, University of Peradeniya. He has also worked in University of Colombo and was the Director of the Institute of Aesthetic Studies. He was educated at Dharmaraja College, Kandy.
He was born in Eriyagama, Kandy, on July 13, 1938, and died on July 9, 2009.
Seneviratna has written nearly 70 books in English and Sinhala, the most famous being;
The history of Sri Lanka is unique because its relevance and richness extend beyond the areas of South Asia, Southeast Asia and the Indian Ocean. The early human remains which were found on the island of Sri Lanka date back to about 38,000 years ago.
The Sinhalese people, also known as the Sinhalese or Sinhala people are an Indo-Aryan ethno-linguistic group native to the island of Sri Lanka. They are the largest ethnic group in Sri Lanka, constituting about 75% of the Sri Lankan population and number more than 15.2 million.
Kandy is a major city in Sri Lanka located in the Central Province. It was the last capital of the ancient kings' era of Sri Lanka. The city is situated in the midst of hills in the Kandy plateau, which crosses an area of tropical plantations, mainly tea. Kandy is both an administrative and religious city and the capital of the Central Province. Kandy is the home of the Temple of the Tooth Relic, one of the most sacred places of worship in the Buddhist world. It was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1988. Historically the local Buddhist rulers resisted Portuguese, Dutch, and British colonial expansion and occupation.
The flag of Sri Lanka, also called the Sinha Flag or Lion Flag, consists of a golden lion holding a kastane sword in its right fore-paw in a maroon background with four gold bo leaves, one in each corner. This is bordered by gold, and to its left are two vertical stripes of equal size in teal and orange, with the orange stripe closest to the lion. The lion and the maroon background represent the Sinhalese, while the saffron border and four bo leaves represent the concepts of meththa, karuṇā, muditā and upecka respectively. The stripes represent the country's two largest minorities, with the orange representing the Tamils living in Sri Lanka – both the Sri Lankan Tamils and the Indian Tamils of Sri Lanka – and the green stripe representing the Sri Lankan Moors. The golden yellow border represents the other minority communities of the country.
The Sinhala Kingdom or Sinhalese Kingdom refers to the successive Sinhalese kingdoms that existed in what is today Sri Lanka. The Sinhalese kingdoms are kingdoms known by the city at which its administrative centre was located. These are in chronological order: the kingdoms of Tambapanni, Upatissa Nuwara, Anuradhapura, Polonnaruwa, Dambadeniya, Gampola, Kotte, Sitawaka and Kandy.
The University of Peradeniya is a public university in Sri Lanka, funded by the University Grants Commission. It is the largest university in Sri Lanka, which was originally established as the University of Ceylon in 1942. The university was officially opened on 20 April 1954, in the presence of Queen Elizabeth II, by Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh.
Upali Thera was a Thai Theravada monk and founder of the Siam Nikaya order of Buddhism in Sri Lanka. He visited Kandy in 1753 and there performed upasampada for a group of Sinhala monks. The upasampada was not observed in Sri Lanka for centuries until this time. Upali Thera believed the Buddhist Sangha in Kandy was suffering from a state of corruption, and his efforts were aimed at "purifying" the practices - which included astrology - of the monastic order there. To this end he founded the new monastic order.
In the Kingdom of Kandy in Sri Lanka, the Kings maintained a harem that consisted of a chief queen and one or two secondary queens. In addition to the queens, the harem also included concubines, who were divided into three categories based on their rank. The highest-ranking category was Randoli, which consisted of consorts of royal blood who held the position of chief queen. The second category, Rididoli, consisted of consorts from either noble families of royal lineage or sisters of Randoli. The lowest ranking category was Yakadadoli, who were from the Radala (Elite) castes.
The Nayaks of Kandy were the rulers of the Kingdom of Kandy between 1739 and 1815, and the last dynasty to rule on the island. The term Nayak is derived from the Sanskrit word Nāyaka. Their rise to power came about as a result of the death of Vira Narendrasinha, who left no legitimate heir- the throne passed to his brother-in-law, who was crowned as Sri Vijaya Rajasinha in 1739. They were of Telugu Balija origin, spoke Telugu and Tamil, and used Sinhala and Tamil as their court languages. They are also credited for building various Vishnu temples in Sri Lanka dedicated to their clan deity Vishnu, known as Upulvan in Sinhala. A prominent one of them was the Kandy Vishnu Temple established at their capital Kandy. A cadet branch of the Madurai Nayak dynasty, the Kandyan Nayaks were related to the Thanjavur Nayaks as well. Both Madurai and Thanjavur nayaks belonged to Balija caste.
Sri Rajadhi Rajasinha was a member of the Madurai royal family and succeeded his brother, Kirti Sri Rajasinha as King of Kandy in 1782. He was known as a poet-king, with at least one poem written from his hand still known.
Sarath Leelananda Bandara Amunugama, MP, SLAS is a Sri Lankan politician and civil servant. He was the Cabinet Minister of Public Administration and Home Affairs and Deputy Minister of Finance and Planning until April 2010. He is a Member of Parliament from the Kandy District for the United People's Freedom Alliance in the Parliament of Sri Lanka.
Sri Dalada Maligawa, commonly known in English as the Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic, is a Buddhist temple in Kandy, Sri Lanka. It is located in the Royal Palace Complex of the former Kingdom of Kandy, which houses the relic of the tooth of the Buddha. Since ancient times, the relic has played an important role in local politics because it is believed that whoever holds the relic holds the governance of the country. The relic was historically held by Sinhalese kings. The temple of the tooth is a World Heritage Site mainly due to the temple and the relic.
The National Museum of Kandy in Kandy, Sri Lanka is located next to the Temple of the Tooth in part of the former Royal Palace of Kandy. The primary exhibits are housed in the Palle Vahala building, which was the former home of the King's harem. A secondary exhibition is located in the main palace building. The museum is maintained by the Department of National Museums.
Sinhala numerals, are the units of the numeral system, originating from the Indian subcontinent, used in Sinhala language in modern-day Sri Lanka.
Kaduwela is a town in the Colombo District, Western Province, Sri Lanka. It is located about 16 km (9.9 mi) from Colombo city centre on the Colombo - Avissawella Old Road and about 18 km (11 mi) from Kollupitiya on the New Kandy Road from Ethulkotte to Kandy.
Rajamanthri Walauwa or manor house of Rajamanthri is situated in Karandagolla, Hanguranketha, Sri Lanka. Rajamanthri Walauwa is an eight-room, 200-year-old mansion built by the last Chief Minister of the Kingdom of Kandy in 1804. It was fully restored in 1944. During the early 1970s, Prince Gamini Rajamanthri and Prince Samantha Rajamanthri became the new inhabitants of the Rajamanthri Walauwa. To this day, the manor house is managed by Prince Julius' sons.
Ehelapola Wijesundara Wickramasinghe Chandrasekara Seneviratna Jayatillake Ekanayaka Amarakone Wahala Panditha Mudiyanse, commonly known as Ehelapola Nilame, was a courtier of the Kingdom of Kandy. He was the Pallegampahe Adigar, and held the honorary title of Maha Nilame from 1811 to 1814 under the reign of Sri Vikrama Rajasinha of Kandy. Ehelapola joined a revolt against King Rajasinha in Sabaragamuva province after he was sent to conquer it, and his entire family was executed. He helped the British launch an invasion against the Kandy Kingdom, overthrow Rajasinha, and subjugate Kandy to the British monarchy under the Kandyan Convention. Various records of Sri Lankan history suggest that he aided the British with the plan to later overthrow them. He was later convicted of treason by the British following the Great Rebellion of 1817–18, and was exiled to Mauritius.
Gadaladenyia Vihara is an ancient Buddhist temple situated in Pilimathalawa, Kandy, Sri Lanka. It is located on Gadaladenyia Road (B116), just up from the Gadaladeniya junction of the Colombo - Kandy Road (A1), approximately 12.5 km (7.8 mi) to the west of Kandy and 3 km (1.9 mi) from the ancient buddhist temple, Lankatilaka Vihara. It is considered one of the largest rock temples in Sri Lanka.
Ukku Banda Unamboowe was a Ceylonese politician.
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