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Kaudulla Wewa |
Kaudulla Wewa or Kaudulla Tank (Sinhala: කවුඩුල්ල වැව/කවුඩුල්ල ජලාශය) is a reservoir situated on the fringe of the Kaudulla National Park in Polonnaruwa District, Sri Lanka. Presently, the bed area of the reservoir is attractive among visitors where hundreds of elephants can be seen gathered in the dry season (Rathnayake,& Gunawardena, 2014).
History
Identified as the ancient Tissavaddhamanaha-vapi (Ratissa, Ranniya or Rantisawewa), the Kaudulla tank is one of the 16 celebrated reservoirs constructed by King Mahasena [(276-303 A.D.) Arumugam, 1969; Nicholas, 1963; Ray, 1959; Wikramagamage, 2004]. Historical sources reveal that King Vijayabahu I (1055-1110 A.D.) and King Parakramabahu I (1153-1186 A.D.) repaired and restored the work (Arumugam, 1969; Nicholas, 1963). It was declared a sanctuary for animals by King Nissankamalla [(1187-1196 A.D.) Nicholas, 1963].
The present reservoir was renovated in 1960 (Wikramagamage, 2004).
The Reservoir
The reservoir is fed by drainage from its own catchment and the flood flow from the Gal Oya and Alut Oya streams and from the flood flow from the Minneriya Reservoir through the Aggala Wan Oya (Arumugam, 1969). The reservoir has 1 sluice and 1 spill (Arumugam, 1969; Wikramagamage, 2004).
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References
Books, Journal Articles
1) Arumugam, S., 1969. Water resources of Ceylon: its utilisation and development. Water Resources Board. p.245.
2) Nicholas, C. W., 1963. Historical topography of ancient and medieval Ceylon. Journal of the Ceylon Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society, New Series (Vol VI). Special Number: Colombo. Royal Asiatic Society (Ceylon Branch). p.182.
3) Rathnayake, R.M.W. and Gunawardena, U.A.D.P., 2014. Enjoying elephant watching: a study on social carrying capacity of Kawdulla National Park in Sri Lanka. Sabaragamuwa University Journal, 12(1). pp.23-39.
4) Ray, H.C. (Editor in chief), 1959. History of Ceylon: Vol. I: Part I. Ceylon University Press. Colombo. pp.222-223.
5) Wikramagamage, C., 2004. Heritage of Rajarata: Major natural, cultural, and historic sites. Colombo. Central Bank of Sri Lanka. p.269.
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Attribution
To Whom
1) Kaudulla National Park by aakaashá is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0
2) LankaPradeepa.com also extends its gratitude to Mrs Badra Kamaladasa (Former Director General of Irrigation) for providing the necessary photographs required for this article. All the photos are published here with the permission of the author.