The flag of Sri Lanka (Sinhala: ශ්රී ලංකාවේ ජාතික කොඩිය, romanized: Sri Lankave jathika kodiya; Tamil: இலங்கையின் தேசியக்கொடி, romanized: Ilankaiyin teciyakkoṭi), also called the Sinha Flag or Lion Flag, consists of a golden lion holding a kastane sword in its right fore-paw in a maroon background with four gold bo leaves, one in each corner. This is bordered by gold, and to its left are two vertical stripes of equal size in teal and orange, with the orange stripe closest to the lion. The lion and the maroon background represent the Sinhalese, while the saffron border and four bo leaves represent concepts of meththa, karuṇā, muditā and upecka respectively. The stripes represent the country's two largest minorities, with the orange representing the Tamils living in Sri Lanka – both the Sri Lankan Tamils and the Indian Tamils of Sri Lanka – and the green stripe representing the Sri Lankan Moors (Muslims of Sri Lanka). The golden yellow border represents the other minority communities of the country.
A golden field with two panels: the smaller hoist-side panel has only two vertical bands of teal and orange and the larger fly-side panel is the maroon field depicting the golden lion holding the kastane sword in its right fore paw in the center and four bo tree (bodhi tree) leaves on each corner and the golden field appears as a border around the entire flag and extends in between the two panels, all bordering together.
As depicted on a mural in Cave no. 2 at Dambulla Viharaya, King Dutugemunu on his campaign against Ellalan- an invading South Indian ruler- in 162 BC is depicted with a banner containing a lion figure carrying a sword in its right forepaw, a symbol of the Sun and one of the Moon.[1] This flag was known as the only ancient representation of the lion flag of the Sinhalese but in 1957, the lion figure on it was defaced by a vandal.[2]
This basic design continued to be in use until 1815, when the Kandyan Convention ended the reign of the country's last native monarch, Sri Vikrama Rajasinha, replacing his royal standard (used as the Flag of the Kingdom of Kandy) with the Union Flag as the nation's accepted flag.[3] The government of British Ceylon later established its own flag, while Sri Vikrama Rajasinha's standard was taken to England and kept at the Royal Hospital Chelsea.[3]
As the independence movement in Sri Lanka gained strength in the early 20th century, E. W. Perera and D. R. Wijewardena discovered the original Lioness Flag in Chelsea.[3] A photo of it was published in Dinamina, in a special edition marking a century since the loss of self-rule and Sri Lankan independence.[3] The flag provoked much interest from the public who, for the first time since the fall of the Kandyan Kingdom, had seen its actual design.[3]
Member of Parliament for Batticaloa, Mudaliyar A. Sinnalebbe, suggested in Parliament on January 16, 1948, that the Lion Flag should be accepted as the national flag.[4] In 1948, the flag was adopted as the national flag of the Dominion of Ceylon, undergoing two changes: one in 1953 and a redesign in 1972.[3] A notable feature of 1972's adaptation of the Kandyan standard was the replacement of the four spearheads at the flag's corners by four bo leaves, a design choice made under the direction of Nissanka Wijeyeratne, Permanent Secretary to the Ministry of Cultural Affairs and Chairman of the National Emblem and Flag Design Committee.[3][5]
Flag of the Dominion of Ceylon (similar to current), 1951–1972
SymbolismEdit
The national flag of Sri Lanka represents the country and its heritage as a rallying device. Most symbols in the flag have been given distinctive meanings.[6][7]
Symbol
Represents
The Lion
The Sinhala ethnicity and the strength of the nation
The bo leaves
The four Buddhist virtues of loving-kindness, compassion, sympathetic joy and equanimity
The colors of the national flag are specified in the document "SLS 1: 2020: Specification for the National Flag of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka".[8]
^Seneviratna, Anuradha (1983). Golden Rock Temple of Dambulla: Caves of infinite Buddhas. Central Cultural Fund. p. 9.
^Godakumbura, C.E. (1969). History of archaeology in Ceylon. Journal of the Ceylon Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society, New Series (Vol XIII). p. 36. We all agree with Deraniyagala when he considers that the defacing of the lion depicted upon Dutugemunu's flag in the famous Dambulla frescoes as a national loss. This, so far as we know, is the only ancient representation of the lion-flag of the Sinhalese.
^ abcdefg"The Sri Lankan National Flag". sundaytimes.lk. The Sunday Times. 4 February 2018. Retrieved 27 April 2018.
^"The proposer of the lion flag: Mudlr. Sinnalebbe". Daily News. 4 February 2004. Retrieved 12 January 2018.
^Volker Preuß. "Sri Lanka (Ceylon)" (in German). Retrieved 7 September 2003.
^"National symbols of Sri Lanka". gov.lk. Government of Sri Lanka. Retrieved 27 April 2018.
^Karunarathne, Waruni (27 April 2015). . thesundayleader.lk. Sunday Leader. Archived from the original on 26 March 2016. Retrieved 27 April 2018.
^"SLS 1:2020" (PDF). Sri Lanka Standards Institute. Retrieved 7 April 2022.
SourcesEdit
Lanka Library
The Sri Lankan Lion Flag -how it came to be
External linksEdit
Wikimedia Commons has media related to National flag of Sri Lanka.
flag, lanka, also, list, lankan, flags, flag, lanka, sinhala, romanized, lankave, jathika, kodiya, tamil, இலங, யக, romanized, ilankaiyin, teciyakkoṭi, also, called, sinha, flag, lion, flag, consists, golden, lion, holding, kastane, sword, right, fore, maroon, . See also List of Sri Lankan flags The flag of Sri Lanka Sinhala ශ ර ල ක ව ජ ත ක ක ඩ ය romanized Sri Lankave jathika kodiya Tamil இலங க ய ன த ச யக க ட romanized Ilankaiyin teciyakkoṭi also called the Sinha Flag or Lion Flag consists of a golden lion holding a kastane sword in its right fore paw in a maroon background with four gold bo leaves one in each corner This is bordered by gold and to its left are two vertical stripes of equal size in teal and orange with the orange stripe closest to the lion The lion and the maroon background represent the Sinhalese while the saffron border and four bo leaves represent concepts of meththa karuṇa mudita and upecka respectively The stripes represent the country s two largest minorities with the orange representing the Tamils living in Sri Lanka both the Sri Lankan Tamils and the Indian Tamils of Sri Lanka and the green stripe representing the Sri Lankan Moors Muslims of Sri Lanka The golden yellow border represents the other minority communities of the country Sri LankaSinha FlagLion FlagUseCivil and state flag civil ensignProportion1 2Adopted22 May 1972DesignA golden field with two panels the smaller hoist side panel has only two vertical bands of teal and orange and the larger fly side panel is the maroon field depicting the golden lion holding the kastane sword in its right fore paw in the center and four bo tree bodhi tree leaves on each corner and the golden field appears as a border around the entire flag and extends in between the two panels all bordering together UseAuxiliary ensign used by merchant ship commanded by reserve naval officerProportion1 2Adopted1972DesignA blue field with the flag of Sri Lanka in the canton UsePresident s ColourProportion1 2Adopted1972DesignA defaced flag of Sri Lanka with Coat of arms of Sri LankaUseNaval ensignProportion1 2Adopted1972DesignA white field with the flag of Sri Lanka in the canton UseCivil ensignProportion1 2Adopted1972DesignA red field with the flag of Sri Lanka in the canton Contents 1 History 2 Symbolism 3 Colours 4 Gallery 5 See also 6 References 6 1 Citations 6 2 Sources 7 External linksHistory EditAs depicted on a mural in Cave no 2 at Dambulla Viharaya King Dutugemunu on his campaign against Ellalan an invading South Indian ruler in 162 BC is depicted with a banner containing a lion figure carrying a sword in its right forepaw a symbol of the Sun and one of the Moon 1 This flag was known as the only ancient representation of the lion flag of the Sinhalese but in 1957 the lion figure on it was defaced by a vandal 2 This basic design continued to be in use until 1815 when the Kandyan Convention ended the reign of the country s last native monarch Sri Vikrama Rajasinha replacing his royal standard used as the Flag of the Kingdom of Kandy with the Union Flag as the nation s accepted flag 3 The government of British Ceylon later established its own flag while Sri Vikrama Rajasinha s standard was taken to England and kept at the Royal Hospital Chelsea 3 As the independence movement in Sri Lanka gained strength in the early 20th century E W Perera and D R Wijewardena discovered the original Lioness Flag in Chelsea 3 A photo of it was published in Dinamina in a special edition marking a century since the loss of self rule and Sri Lankan independence 3 The flag provoked much interest from the public who for the first time since the fall of the Kandyan Kingdom had seen its actual design 3 Member of Parliament for Batticaloa Mudaliyar A Sinnalebbe suggested in Parliament on January 16 1948 that the Lion Flag should be accepted as the national flag 4 In 1948 the flag was adopted as the national flag of the Dominion of Ceylon undergoing two changes one in 1953 and a redesign in 1972 3 A notable feature of 1972 s adaptation of the Kandyan standard was the replacement of the four spearheads at the flag s corners by four bo leaves a design choice made under the direction of Nissanka Wijeyeratne Permanent Secretary to the Ministry of Cultural Affairs and Chairman of the National Emblem and Flag Design Committee 3 5 Monarchical Sri LankaHistorical flags of Sri Lanka nbsp nbsp Flag of Dutugamunu Anuradhapura period nbsp nbsp Flag of Kingdom of Gampola s flag c 1341 1408 nbsp nbsp Flag of the Kingdom of Kotte s flag c 1412 1597 nbsp nbsp Flag of Kingdom of Sitawaka s flag c 1521 1594 nbsp nbsp Standard of Sri Vikrama Rajasinha of Kandy used as the Kingdom of Kandy s flag c 1798 1815British Ceylon periodHistorical flags of Sri Lanka nbsp nbsp Flag of British Ceylon 1815 1875 nbsp nbsp Flag of British Ceylon 1875 1948Sri Lanka since 1948 Historical flags of Sri Lanka nbsp nbsp Flag of the Dominion of Ceylon 1948 1951 nbsp nbsp Flag of the Dominion of Ceylon similar to current 1951 1972Symbolism EditThe national flag of Sri Lanka represents the country and its heritage as a rallying device Most symbols in the flag have been given distinctive meanings 6 7 Symbol RepresentsThe Lion The Sinhala ethnicity and the strength of the nationThe bo leaves The four Buddhist virtues of loving kindness compassion sympathetic joy and equanimityThe sword of the lion The sovereignty of the nationThe curly hair on the lion s head Religious observance wisdom and meditationThe eight hairs on lion s tail The Noble Eightfold PathThe beard of the lion Purity of wordsThe handle of the sword The elements of water fire air and earthThe nose of the lion IntelligenceThe two front paws of the lion Purity in handling wealthOrange stripe The Tamil ethnicity including the Hill Country Tamils of Indian ancestry Teal stripe The Moor ethnicitySaffron border Buddhism and unity among the peopleThe maroon background The Sinhala ethnicityThe golden yellow border Other minority communities of Sri Lanka such as the Malays the Burghers the Indigenous Veddas the Kaffirs and the Sri Lankan Chinese who migrated to Sri Lanka during the 17th 19th centuries Colours EditThe colors of the national flag are specified in the document SLS 1 2020 Specification for the National Flag of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka 8 nbsp Colours scheme Yellow Maroon Orange TealCMYK 0 26 90 3 0 80 66 42 0 48 100 13 100 0 9 63HEX F7B718 941E32 DF7500 005F56RGB 247 183 24 148 30 50 223 117 0 0 95 86Pantone 14 0957 TCX 19 1863 TCX 16 1164 TCX 18 5322 TCXGallery Edit nbsp Flown at the Embassy in Warsaw nbsp Displayed outside a stadium in Leeds UK nbsp Mountaineer Jayanthi Kuru Utumpala with Sri Lankan flag atop Mount Everest nbsp Hung vertically along a street in Malaysia nbsp Displayed along other flags in London nbsp Used at a sports eventSee also Edit nbsp Heraldry portal nbsp Sri Lanka portalList of Sri Lankan flags Emblem of Sri Lanka Flag of VenetoReferences EditCitations Edit Seneviratna Anuradha 1983 Golden Rock Temple of Dambulla Caves of infinite Buddhas Central Cultural Fund p 9 Godakumbura C E 1969 History of archaeology in Ceylon Journal of the Ceylon Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society New Series Vol XIII p 36 We all agree with Deraniyagala when he considers that the defacing of the lion depicted upon Dutugemunu s flag in the famous Dambulla frescoes as a national loss This so far as we know is the only ancient representation of the lion flag of the Sinhalese a b c d e f g The Sri Lankan National Flag sundaytimes lk The Sunday Times 4 February 2018 Retrieved 27 April 2018 The proposer of the lion flag Mudlr Sinnalebbe Daily News 4 February 2004 Retrieved 12 January 2018 Volker Preuss Sri Lanka Ceylon in German Retrieved 7 September 2003 National symbols of Sri Lanka gov lk Government of Sri Lanka Retrieved 27 April 2018 Karunarathne Waruni 27 April 2015 Controversy Over Flag At Demo thesundayleader lk Sunday Leader Archived from the original on 26 March 2016 Retrieved 27 April 2018 SLS 1 2020 PDF Sri Lanka Standards Institute Retrieved 7 April 2022 Sources Edit Lanka Library The Proposer of the lion Flag Mudaliyar Sinnalebbe Sri Lanka Government Web Portal The Sri Lankan Lion Flag how it came to beExternal links Edit nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to National flag of Sri Lanka A few examples of European Heraldic Lions and the Sri Lankan national flag Sri Lanka at Flags of the World Lion Flag as depicted in the Constitution of Sri Lanka Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Flag of Sri Lanka amp oldid 1176454920, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
