Portal:Sri Lanka

ආයුබෝවන් - Welcome to the Sri Lanka Portal - வணக்கம்

WP:PSRLWP:PSRL

Flag of Sri Lanka	Emblem of Sri Lanka.svg

Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, formerly known as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It is located in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, and is separated from India by the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait. Sri Lanka shares a maritime border with the Maldives to the southwest and India to the northwest, and lies across the Bay of Bengal from Bangladesh and Myanmar to the northeast and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands of India to the east. Its capital is Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte, while Colombo is its largest city and the political, financial and cultural centre. Sri Lanka's population is 22 million. About 74% of the population are Sinhalese, who speak the Sinhala language, and about 15% are Tamils who speak the Tamil language. Other long-established ethnic groups include the Moors, Indian Tamils, Burghers, Malays, Chinese, and Vedda.

The island has a documented history of over 3,000 years, with evidence of prehistoric human settlement dating back 125,000 years. Sri Lanka has been given various names throughout its long history, with Ceylon most notably being used prior to its independence in 1948. The earliest known Buddhist writings in the island, known collectively as the Pali Canon, date back to 29 BCE. Sri Lanka, owing to its strategic geographical location, played a role as a major trading hub, and was well known to explorers across the world as early as the Anuradhapura period. The Portuguese Empire established a colony in the sixteenth century, during a period of political upheaval in the Kingdom of Kotte where it also faced attacks from neighbouring kingdoms of Kandy and Sitawaka. Following the Sinhalese–Portuguese War, the Dutch colonial empire controlled the coastal areas. By the early 19th century, the British Empire established a colony on the island, which lasted until 1948. The early 20th century saw the rise of nationalist movements and increasing calls for independence. In 1948, Sri Lanka gained independence as the Dominion of Ceylon, eventually becoming a republic in 1972. Sri Lanka's recent history has been marred by a prolonged civil war between the Tamil separatist militant organisation of Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam and the Sri Lankan Armed Forces, which lasted from 1983 to 2009, and ended with the defeat of the separatists.

In the 21st century, Sri Lanka has emerged as a developing country, with a strategically important geographical location in the Indian Ocean, with its deep harbours giving it significant geopolitical leverage as a major trading post from the ancient Maritime Silk Road. It has the highest level of human development in South Asia and the second-highest GDP per capita in the region. Sri Lanka has a long history of international engagement and cooperation, and is a member of several international organisations—including SAARC, the G77, the Non-Aligned Movement and the Commonwealth of Nations. (Full article...)

Outline
History
Culture

Refresh with new selections below (purge)

Selected article - show another

Dutthagamani and his troops entering the city of Vijithapura

The Battle of Vijithapura was a decisive battle fought in the campaign carried out by Sri Lankan king Dutthagamani against the invading South Indian king Elara. The battle is documented in detail in the ancient chronicles of the country. However, they only provide the viewpoint of Dutthagamani and his army, and details are scarce on Elara's side.

After launching a campaign to regain the country from Elara, Dutthagamani captured a number of his strongholds before coming to the fortified city of Vijithapura. A four-month siege ensued, followed by a large assault where Dutthagamani's champions and royal elephant played a major part. The chronicles focus a lot on these ten champions, and vividly describe some unusual "tests" that Dutthagamani carried out to find out their skills. (Full article...)

List of selected articles

General images

The following are images from various Sri Lanka-related articles on Wikipedia.

Image 1Topographic map of Sri Lanka (from Sri Lanka)
Image 2The formal ceremony marking the start of self-rule, with the opening of the first parliament at Independence Square (from Sri Lanka)
Image 3A 1595 map of Sri Lanka created by Dutch cartographer Petrus Plancius (from Sri Lanka)
Image 4Ritigala (from Culture of Sri Lanka)
Image 5The old Sri Lankan Parliament building, near the Galle Face Green in Colombo. It now serves as the Presidential Secretariat's headquarters. (from Sri Lanka)
Image 6The Sri Lanka Institute of Nanotechnology is a research institute specialising in the field of nanotechnology. (from Sri Lanka)
Image 7Sri Lankans protesting in front of the Presidential Secretariat in Colombo, 13 April 2022 (from Sri Lanka)
Image 8Traditional Sri Lankan harvesting dance (from Culture of Sri Lanka)
Image 9The Avukana Buddha statue, a 12-metre-tall (39 ft) standing Buddha statue from the reign of Dhatusena of Anuradhapura, 5th century (from Sri Lanka)
Image 10The World Trade Center in Colombo. Presidential Secretariat, Bank of Ceylon and Galadari Hotel are also visible in the image. (from Sri Lanka)
Image 11Sacred Tooth Temple in Kandy, Sri Lanka (from Culture of Sri Lanka)
Image 12Development of life expectancy (from Sri Lanka)
Image 13Sigiriya (Also called as Sinhagiriya) (from Culture of Sri Lanka)
Image 14Sri Vikrama Rajasinha of Kandy, the last ruling native Sri Lankan monarch (from Sri Lanka)
Image 15Sri Lankan rice and curry (from Sri Lanka)
Image 16Muttiah Muralitharan holds the record for the highest number of wickets in Test cricket.
Image 17A 17th-century engraving of Dutch explorer Joris van Spilbergen meeting with King Vimaladharmasuriya in 1602 (from Sri Lanka)
Image 18Sri Lanka was the nineteenth most water-stressed country in the world in 2022. (from Sri Lanka)
Image 19Female dancers in traditional Kandyan dress (from Sri Lanka)
Image 20President J. R. Jayewardene gifting Jayathu, a baby elephant to US President Ronald Reagan in 1984 (from Sri Lanka)
Image 21Tea plantation near Kandy (from Culture of Sri Lanka)
Image 22British appointed Kandyan chief headmen in 1905. (from Sri Lanka)
Image 23J. R. Jayewardene was the most influential political figure of Sri Lanka in the 1970s and 1980s. (from Sri Lanka)
Image 24Hindu devotees engaging in Kavadi at a temple in Vavuniya (from Sri Lanka)
Image 25The Sri Lankan leopard (Panthera pardus kotiya) is an endangered subspecies of leopard native to Sri Lanka. (from Sri Lanka)
Image 26The seated image of Gal Vihara in Polonnaruwa, 12th century, which depicts the dhyana mudra, shows signs of Mahayana influence. (from Sri Lanka)
Image 27Cricket in Sri Lanka (from Culture of Sri Lanka)
Image 28The Sri Lankan elephant is one of three recognised subspecies of the Asian elephant. The 2011 elephant census estimated a population of 5,879. (from Sri Lanka)
Image 29Nallur Kandaswamy Kovil in Jaffna (from Culture of Sri Lanka)
Image 30Ptolemy's world map of Ceylon, first century CE, in a 1535 publication (from Sri Lanka)
Image 31A view of Sripada from Maskeliya (from Sri Lanka)
Image 32A royal palace in Polonnaruwa (from Culture of Sri Lanka)
Image 33Sri Lanka map of Köppen climate classification (from Sri Lanka)
Image 34R. Premadasa Stadium in Colombo (from Sri Lanka)
Image 35Sri Lanka aboriginal Vedda at work (from Culture of Sri Lanka)
Image 36Maha rath mala (Rhododendron arboreum ssp. zeylanicum) is a rare sub-species of Rhododendron arboreum found in Central Highlands of Sri Lanka. (from Sri Lanka)
Image 37Sri Lanka's population, (1871–2001) (from Sri Lanka)
Image 38The Sigiriya ("Lion Rock"), a rock fortress and city, built by King Kashyapa (477–495 CE) as a new more defensible capital. It was also used as a Buddhist monastery after the capital was moved back to Anuradhapura. (from Sri Lanka)
Image 39Sri Lanka's most widely known export, Ceylon tea, which ISO considers the cleanest tea in the world in terms of pesticide residues. Sri Lanka is also the world's 3rd largest exporter of tea. (from Sri Lanka)
Image 40Gilded bronze statue of the Bodhisattva Tara, from the Anuradhapura period, 8th century (from Culture of Sri Lanka)
Image 41Esala Perehera festival, around 1885 (from Culture of Sri Lanka)
Image 42Sri Lankan Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2020 (from Sri Lanka)
Image 43Kandy women performing the Peacock Dance (from Culture of Sri Lanka)
Image 44Buddhist monks in Sri Lanka represent a significant community dedicated to the Theravada tradition (from Sri Lanka)
Image 45Development of real GDP per capita, 1820 to 2018 (from Sri Lanka)
Image 46Polonnaruwa Vatadage Sri Lanka (from Culture of Sri Lanka)
Image 47A Low Country drummer playing the traditional Yak Béra (from Sri Lanka)
Image 48The Supreme Court of Sri Lanka, Colombo (from Sri Lanka)
Image 49The Nelum Pokuna Mahinda Rajapaksa Theatre was constructed as a major venue for the performing arts. (from Sri Lanka)
Image 50Ancient Ceremonial Temple or Clan Flag from Sri Lanka. Courtesy of the Wovensouls Collection (from Culture of Sri Lanka)
Image 51Colombo Port is the largest and busiest port in Sri Lanka (from Sri Lanka)
Image 52Ceylon tea (from Culture of Sri Lanka)

edit

Related portals

Indian Subcontinent

Other countries

Selected biography - show another

Vithana Kuruppu Arachchilage Clarence Arthur Somasinghe Wijewardena JP (Sinhala: ක්ලැරන්ස් විජේවර්ධන, Tamil: கிளாரன்ஸ் விஜேவர்தன; 3 August 1943 – 13 December 1996), known professionally as Clarence Wijewardena, was a Sri Lankan singer, composer and musician. Considered one of the most respected musicians in Sri Lanka, Wijewardena revolutionized Sri Lankan Sinhala Pop Music with the use of the electric guitar in Sinhala music, in the 1960s. Due to his influence on Sinhala pop music, he is often named as the "father of Sri Lankan pop music". (Full article...)

List of selected biographies

Did you know (auto-generated)

... that during the colonial period, the Dutch East Indies was the third-largest exporter of tea after the British Raj and Ceylon?

edit

Selected picture

Photo credit:Yasith
Botanical Garden of Peradeniya is renowned for its collection the variety of orchids.

Archives • Read more...

More did you know - show different entries

... that Ediriweera Sarachchandra sat Ceylon Civil Service examination (because of his parents' insistence) and came first in the island?
... that Yes FM organized the live gigs of Inner Circle, Vengaboys, DJ BoBo, UB40 and Ali Campbell previously?
... that Deep Penetration Unit of SL Army is believed to be composed of personnel from the Commando and Special Forces regiments of the Sri Lanka Army, in addition to ex-LTTE cadres and members of anti-LTTE Tamil groups?
... that King Vijayabahu I successfully drove the Chola out of Sri Lanka in 1070, reuniting the country for the first time in over a century?

More interesting facts

edit

Topics

edit

Subcategories

Category puzzle

Select [►] to view subcategories

New articles

This list was generated from these rules. Questions and feedback are always welcome! The search is being run daily with the most recent ~14 days of results. Note: Some articles may not be relevant to this project.

Rules | Match log | Results page (for watching) | Deleted articles| Last updated: 2026-06-23 20:30 (UTC)

Note: The list display can now be customized by each user. See List display personalization for details.