Kuveni Palace (Wilpattu National Park)

Kuveni Palace is a ruin site in Wilpattu popularly linked to Kuveni and Vijaya, but archaeological remains suggest it was likely a Buddhist monastery.
Kuveni Palace ruins
Ruins popularly known as the Palace of Kuveni (2013)

Kuveni Palace or Kuveni Maligawa (Sinhala: විල්පත්තු කුවේණි මාලිගය නටඹුන්) is a site with ancient ruins located within the woods of Wilpattu National Park near Kalavilluwa (or Kali vila) in Puttalam District, Sri Lanka. Although locals popularly identify this place as the palace of Kuveni, the queen of Vijaya (6th century B,C,), the remaining ruins indicate that it is a site of a monastery (IUCN, 2006; Thanh & Asanka, 2025; Wimalaratana, 2023).

Legends

According to historical texts such as Mahavamsa, Vijaya was an exiled prince from Sinhapura in Lata (probably present-day Gujarat, India). It is mentioned that Vijaya landed on Tambapanni (believed to be present-day Kudiramale, located about 10 km northwest of Kuveni Palace) in Sri Lanka with his seven hundred followers and became the ruler of the country with the help of a princess of the local Yakkha tribe named Kuvanna (Sinhala: Kuveni) whom Vijaya made his consort (Jayasuriya, 2016; Wimalaratana, 2023). The legends suggest that Princess Kuveni lived in a palace and ruled Kali Villu, which is in the present Wilpattu National Park area (Wimalaratana, 2023). Although Kuveni bore him two children, a son and a daughter, Vijaya eventually rejected her and married a princess from South India (Wimalaratana, 2023). Kuveni finally went to her relatives seeking refuge, but they also rejected her and killed her.

The Site

The seventeen stone pillars standing in three rows are the main prominent archaeological feature of the site (Goonatilake, 2006; IUCN, 2006). The ruins of a Stupa Mound and bricks are found a few meters north of this structure (IUCN, 2006).

Kuveni Palace (Wilpattu)

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References

Books, Journal Articles

1) Goonatilake, W.L.D.P.T.S. de A., 2006. Archaeologically important sites in Vilpattu National Park: present status and new findings. National Archaeological Symposium 2006: Papers submitted to the National Archaeological symposium. 1. pp.59,64.
2) IUCN, 2006. Resource Inventory of Wilpattu National Park : Final Report. Colombo: The World Conservation Union (IUCN) Sri Lanka. pp.2,36.
3) Jayasuriya, E., 2016. A guide to the Cultural Triangle of Sri Lanka. Central Cultural Fund. ISBN: 978-955-613-312-7. p.1.
4) Thanh, D.T. and Asanka, H.G.L., 2025. Deforestation an ditsimpacton tourism in WillPattu National Park. Holist. Appr. Ment. Health Wellness, 1, pp.1-28.
5) Wimalaratana, W., 2023. Cultural Tourism Potential in the Northwestern Province of Sri Lanka. Colombo Economic Journal (CEJ) Volume 1 Issue 1

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Attribution

To Whom

LankaPradeepa.com extends its gratitude to Mr Kithsiri Gunawardena for providing the necessary photographs (published in www.wilpattu.com) required for this article. All the photos are published here with the permission of the author.

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