How Colombo, Kandy and Anuradhapura got their names

Colombo

Now that Colombo is being developed with new landmarks, you might wonder how these place names came into being. The commercial capital which is Colombo is derived from the word Kolamba which is an indigenous word used by the Veddahs for harbour or fort. It is a Sinhala word, not a Dutch or Portuguese word. However, the Portuguese were probably struck by its similarity to the name of Colombus, and renamed the city 'Colombo'.

Kandy

The central hill country of 'Kandy ' with its cool climes is an abbreviation of Kanda Udarata, or 'hill country' which was the seat of the later Sinhala kings.

Anuradhapura

Prince Vijaya arrived in Sri Lanka, having been banished from his homeland in India. He eventually brought the island under his control and established himself as king. After this, his retinue set up villages and colonies throughout the country. One of these was established by Anuradha, a minister of King Vijaya, on the banks of a stream called Kolon and was named Anuradhagama.

In 377 BC, King Pandukabhaya made it his capital and developed it into a prosperous city. Anurapura was named after the minister who first established the village. Later a grandfather of Pandukabhaya lived there. The name was also derived from the city's establishment on the auspicious time and called Anura.

Anuradhapura was the capital of all the monarchs who ruled the country during the Anuradhapura period, with the exception of Kashyapa who chose Sigiriya to be his capital. King Pandukabhaya, the founder and first ruler of the Anuradhapura Kingdom, fixed village boundaries in the country and established an administration system by appointing village headmen. He constructed hermitages, houses for the poor, cemeteries, and irrigation tanks. He brought a large portion of the country under the control of the Anuradhapura Kingdom. However, it was not until the reign of Dutugemunu that the whole country was unified under the Anuradhapura Kingdom.He defeated 32 rulers in different parts of the country before he got rid of Elara the South Indian invader who was occupying Anuradhapura. The Mahavamsa describes his reign with much praise.

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