Courtesy Adaderana April 22, 2024   09:42 pm A historic milestone in the Indo-Sri Lankan cultural and religious bond was marked yesterday (21) with the official launch of the ‘Sri Ramayan Trails’ project at Taj Samudra in Colombo, the President’s Media Division (PMD) reported.  This initiative aims to bolster the country’s tourism industry by leveraging cutting-edge […]

Palitha Mapatuna It is noted that a person, who describes himself as Kleppe Ariyamagga, has taken upon himself the task of ‘rectifying’ some alleged errors which, according to him (and some others like him) are found in the long accepted history of Sri Lanka, especially in its Buddhist history. Now, the fundamental question is whether […]

By P.K.Balachandran/Sunday Observer. Frederick North, the first British Governor of Ceylon Colombo, March 31: The British conquest of Ceylon from the Dutch in 1796 did not result in the wholesale dismissal of Dutchmen from the various institutions of the government. And the British too found it convenient to employ them. The reasons for employing the […]

BY ADELINE LEONG courtesy The Rakyatpost   Researchers found a 1,200-year-old Buddhist stupa including two Buddha stucco statues in good condition in Malaysia’s Bujang Valley. Subscribe to our FREE Newsletter, or Telegram and WhatsApp channels for the latest stories and updates. If you thought everything in Bujang Valley was destroyed, you were right until now. In August 2023, a team of 11 […]

Courtesy The Daily Mirror The finds included the archaeological remains of ponds and several buildings which were indicative of a sophisticated society in Polonnaruwa area Archaeologists carrying out excavations in the historic Polonnaruwa city have found evidence of a civilization that dates back to a period before the Polonnaruwa period recorded in history.Prof. Prishantha Gunawardene […]

Mahinda Pathirana

Palitha Mapatuna It is evident that a recent claim is being made by some that the Buddha was born, attained enlightenment, delivered his teaching and passed away in Sri Lanka. However, evidence seems to strongly indicate that the Buddha was born outside Sri Lanka (most probably in Lumbini in the country known today as Nepal) and that […]

Ama H. Vanniarachchy Courtesy Ceylon Today By Ama H. Vanniarachchy The recently-discovered Dimbulagala Rock Inscription became immensely popular in the country due to many reasons. It was instantly labelled by media as the, ‘largest inscription found in Sri Lanka’, and, ‘difficult to read and interpret’.  Accepting many of these ‘lucrative’ claims at face value social […]

Courtesy Hiru News The National Physical Planning Department has designated 11 temples of significant archaeological, historical, and sacred importance as Sacred Sites in the Government Gazette. These areas, now recognized as sacred sites, had their respective documents submitted to the Presidential Secretariat yesterday (15), presided over by Mr. Saman Ekanayake, the Secretary to the President. […]

MythVision Podcast In the annals of history, few figures command as much reverence and mystique as Moses, the prophet who, according to tradition, liberated the Israelites from Egyptian bondage and received the Ten Commandments atop Mount Sinai. But what if the tales surrounding this monumental figure were not entirely rooted in reality? Dive deep with […]

Courtesy Arkeonews Archaeologists discovered the largest inscription ever found in Sri Lanka. The largest inscription ever discovered in Sri Lanka was found at the ruins of the Dimbulagala monastery, dating back to the early second century BC. This discovery was made by officers attached to the Inscriptions Section of the Archeology Department Head Office and the Polonnaruwa […]

Courtesy The Daily Mirror Colombo, Feb 8 (Daily Mirror) – The largest inscription ever in Sri Lanka, found from the Dimbulagala Monastery grounds, belongs to the beginning of the second centrury BC or earlier than that, Sri Jayawardenapura University History and Archaeology professor Karunasena Hettiarachchi said. Addressing the media, he said 60 percent of this […]

By P.K.Balachandran/Daily Mirror King Kirti Sri Rajasimha appoints Velivita Saranankara as the Sangharaja of Sri Lanka Colombo, January 30: It is well known that monks from Siam and Burma (as Thailand and Myanmar were called earlier) helped stem a decline in the practice of Buddhism and contributed to its democratization in Sri Lanka during certain […]

Department Of Immigration And Multicultural Affairs, Earlson Forbes, Sri Lanka And Australia Ceylonese/Sri Lankans have entered Australia for a variety of reasons during the past one and a half centuries.  The far greater number of these arrivals occurred in the second half of the twentieth century and first two decades of the 21st century.  Early arrivals go as […]

New Books Resisting The Rule Of Law In Nineteenth-century Ceylon: Colonialism And The Negotiation Of Bureaucratic Boundaries James S. Duncan Jul 06, 2020 $251.95 Hardcover$251.95 Overview This book offers in-depth insights into the struggles implementing the rule of law in nineteenth-century Ceylon, introduced into the colonies by the British as their “greatest gift.” The book […]

By P.K.Balachandran/Sunday Observer     Colombo, December 17: Earlier this week, the Sri Lankan cabinet decided to investigate the execution of a young Ceylonese entrepreneur Duenuge Edward Henry Pedris 108 years ago by the British for a crime he did not commit. Pedris was sent to death by a firing squad for attempted murder.” The shots […]

Courtesy Adaderana Following a milestone in international relations and provenance research, six priceless Kandyan artifacts seized during the Dutch colonial occupation of Sri Lanka have now been returned from the Netherlands. Accordingly, these Kandyan artifacts will be on public display at the Colombo National Museum from today (Dec.05) until further notice, the President’s Media Division […]

The History Hub Embark on a historical journey through the heart of the Jewish experience—from the ancient call to Abraham to the establishment of modern-day Israel. This deep dive explores pivotal moments that have shaped the nation’s destiny and the unyielding spirit of a people in pursuit of a place to call home. Witness the […]

By P.K.Balachandran/Sunday Observer A Portuguese envoy in the court of a Sri Lankan king Colombo, October 15: Speaking at the Sitawaka-Sisu Arunalu programme held at the Rajasingha Central College, Hanwella, on September 25, President Ranil Wickremesinghe called for a fresh analysis of the achievements of Rajasingha the First, a courageous and patriotic” King of Sitawaka, a 16th.century principality […]

By P.K.Balachandran/Daily Mirror Colombo, September 28: Events leading to the controversial takeover of the Kandyan kingdom by the British in 1815 and the aftermath have been written about both from the British and the Sri Lankan viewpoint. The British view is vividly presented in Ceylon Ancient and Modern published by Chapman and Hall of London in 1876. […]

Asutosh Mishra* Department of Anthropology, IGNOU University, Cuttack, India, Abstract The island country, Sri Lanka, famously known as the pearl of the Indian Ocean and the soul of India that is Odisha otherwise known as the temple city of India had a very ancient connection. History has been saying that the founder of the Sinhalese race […]

Courtesy Adaderana A Dutch cultural delegation is scheduled to visit Sri Lanka from August 27 – 31 to sign the legal document transferring the ownership of the cultural artifacts that will be returned to the island nation later this year. The delegation will be led by Gunay Uslu, the State Secretary for Cultural and Media […]

Courtesy The Daily Mirror Sri Lanka has made the biggest contribution to China in history by gifting Vinaya Pitaka to 400Ad Buddhist monk Faxian who travelled through the old Silk Route in search of Buddhist scripts, said a chief prelate announcing a series of Chinese funded welfare projects to mark the 10th anniversary of ‘One […]

By P.K.Balachandran/Ceylon Today Sir Robert Chalmers Colombo, August 14: Sir Robert Chalmers, an Oxonian and an eminent scholar of Buddhism and Pali, was excited when he was appointed Governor of Buddhist-majority Ceylon in 1913. The assignment was right up his street. While being an official in the British Treasury, Chalmers had pursued his interest in […]

By Prof.Kirthi Tennakone Courtesy The Island Pliny the Elder at work. (Boeheim Library Oxford) ktenna@yahoo.co.uk Civilisations evolve independently and through mutual interaction. Trade, invasions, emissaries and missionaries and the diffusion of ordinary folk across borders represent avenues of cultural interrelationship. The ideas and information aliens bring and their potentialities affirmatively further the advancement of a […]

Graham Shaw Courtesy blogs.lse.ac.uk This fascinating post by Graham Shaw draws attention to the little known role that Sri Lanka (then Ceylon) played in the Indian National Movement by becoming a critical entry-point for nationalists and revolutionary literatures that would otherwise have found it impossible to enter India. A perfectly timed post as both countries mark the 75th […]

Courtesy NewsIn.Asia Gandhara Art Islamabad, July 11: A three-day Gandhara Symposium 2023, titled Cultural Diplomacy: Reviving Gandhara Civilization and Buddhist Heritage in Pakistan”, is being held in Islamabad from July 11 to 13. The Symposium’s organizers include PM Task Force on Gandhara Tourism; the Institute of Strategic Studies Islamabad (ISSI); and the Directorate of Archaeology […]

By P.K.Balachandran/Sunday Observer Colombo, July 2: UNESCO has included the Sri Lankan historical account, the Mahawamsa”,  in its list of 64 new items of documentary heritage inscribed on the Memory of the World International Register. The Memory of the World (MoW) Register lists documentary heritage which has been recommended by the International Advisory Committee, and […]

Courtesy The Morning The Great Chronicle of Sri Lanka, the Mahavamsa”, has been listed among the 64 new items of documentary heritage inscribed on the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organisation’s (UNESCO) Memory of the World (MoW) International Register in 2023. It is one of the world’s longest unbroken historical accounts, and the first […]

By Dr Gamini Kariyawasam Courtesy elanka.com pothuvil muhudu vihaaraya king Kavanthissa ( පොතුවිල් හී ඉපැරණි මුහුදු මහා විහාරයේ ,කාවන්තිස්ස නිරිදුන්ගේ ප්‍රතිමාව. ) King Kavantissa and Viharamahadevi deserve the utmost respect of the nation, just like the Gemunu kings who played a crucial role in uniting Sri Lanka in 161 AD. It was once argued by […]