Kingdom of Polonnaruwa
The Kingdom of Polonnaruwa (also known as Pulastipura ) (Sinhala: පොළොන්නරුව රාජධානිය/ යුගය; Tamil: பொலன்னறுவை இராச்சியம்) was the second kingdom of Sri Lanka that flourished on the island from the 11th to the end of the first quarter of the 13th century (from 1017 A.D. to 1236 A.D.). History Early period
Human settlements in Polonnaruwa can be dated back to the 2nd century B.C. (Jayasuriya, 2016). Gopalapabbata , a cave site located within the present Polonnaruwa ancient city furnishes evidence of the early inhabitants of the area. During the period of the Anuradhapura Kingdom (377 B.C.-1017 A.D.), Polonnaruwa was known as Kandavuru-Nuwara (the camp city) as it was situated at a strategic position between the Northern capital Anuradhapura and the Southern sub-capital Mahagama (Jayasuriya, 2016; Prematilaka & Hewage, 2018). According to the details given in Culavamsa, King Aggabodhi III (626-641 A.D.) built a Buddhist monastery named Mahapanadipa Viharaya in Polonnaruwa in the 7th cent…
