Poḷonnaruwa, (Sinhala: පොළොන්නරුව, romanized: Poḷonnaruva; Tamil: பொலன்னறுவை, romanized: Polaṉṉaṟuvai) also referred as Pulathisipura and Vijayarajapura in ancient times, is the main town of Polonnaruwa District in North Central Province, Sri Lanka. The modern town of Polonnaruwa is also known as New Town, and the other part of Polonnaruwa remains as the royal ancient city of the Kingdom of Polonnaruwa.
The second oldest of all Sri Lanka's kingdoms, Polonnaruwa was first established as a military post by the Sinhalese kingdom.[1] It was renamed Jananathamangalam by the Chola dynasty after their successful invasion of the country's then capital, Anuradhapura, in the 10th century. The Ancient City of Polonnaruwa has been declared a World Heritage Site.[2]
Modern Polonnaruwa is undergoing a major development project known as the "Awakening of Polonnaruwa," championed by former President Maithripala Sirisena. It envisions the development of all sectors in Polonnaruwa including roads, electricity, agriculture, education, health and environment.[3]
The name Polonnaruwa is of unknown origin and was adopted by the traveller James Emerson Tennent.[4] Its Tamil form, Pulainari, is mentioned in Tamil inscriptions found at Polonnaruwa of the Chola period.[5] The name was perhaps a contraction of its ancient name Pulastya nagara or Pulatti nakaram meaning city of the Hindu sage Pulastya.[6][7]
It was renamed under Chola rule as Jananathapuram or Jananathamangalam.[8][9] The place was later known as Vijayarajapuram as mentioned in the records of Jayabahu I, which probably was derived from the name of Vijayabahu I.[10]
Polonnaruwa was first established as a military post by the Sinhalese kingdom.[1] And, it was renamed Jananathamangalam by the Chola dynasty after their successful invasion of the country in the 10th century.[11] Under this period systematic destruction of the Buddhist civilisation took place in the northern plains of Sri Lanka. Raja Raja Chola I built Vanavan Mahadevisvaram, a Shiva temple at Polonnaruwa named after his queen, which presently is known as Siva Devale.[12] The temple among other contained Ganesha and Parvati statues of bronze.[7] north and central parts of Sri Lanka was under this period ruled under Rajendra Chola I directly as a Chola province. However, following the year 1070 AD ended the Chola rule in the island, and Polonnaruwa was captured by Vijayabahu I of Polonnaruwa also known as Vijayabahu the great.[13]
Starting from Mahanagakula on the south of the Walawe river, Vijayabahu dispatched three armies to attack Polonnaruwa from three fronts. One army was sent along the western shore of the country to the port of Mahathittha to deal with any reinforcements arriving from South India. Afterwards, part of this army moved towards Polonnaruwa and attacked from the northwest. A second army was sent from the east across Magama to attack Polonnaruwa from the east. The third and main force advanced across the country, led by the king. Surrounded by these three armies, Polonnaruwa was besieged for seven months before king Vijayabahu’s forces entered the city. In 1070, Vijayabahu became the ruler of Polonnaruwa.[14][15] At that time Sri Lanka was known as Thambapanni.
Trade and agriculture flourished under the patronage of the famous grandson of King Vijayabahu I of Polonnaruwa, king Prakramabahu the Great, who was so adamant that no drop of water falling from the heavens was to be wasted and each was to be used toward the development of the land.[citation needed] Hence, irrigation systems that are far superior to those of the Anuradhapura Age were constructed during Parakramabahu's reign – systems which to this day supply the water necessary for paddy cultivation during the scorching dry season in the east of the country. The greatest of these systems is the Parakrama Samudra or the Sea of Parakrama which was also used as a large sea-going ship anchorage via the Mahaweli River.[13] The Kingdom of Polonnaruwa was completely self-sufficient during King Parakramabahu's reign.
With the exception of his immediate successor, Nissankamalla I, the other monarchs of Polonnaruwa were not as strong-willed and were prone to picking fights within their own court.[citation needed] They also went on to form more matrimonial alliances with stronger South Indian kingdoms until these matrimonial links superseded the local royal lineage. This prompted an invasion by the Aryacakravarti dynasty warlord Kalinga Magha in 1214, which saw the complete destruction of the metropolises of Anuradhapura and Polonnaruwa by burning.
Today the ancient city of Polonnaruwa remains one of the best-planned archaeological relic cities in the country, standing testimony to the discipline and greatness of the Kingdom's first rulers. Its beauty was also used as a backdrop to film scenes for the Duran Duran music video Save a Prayer in 1982. The ancient city of Polonnaruwa has been declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.
Near the ancient city, there is a small town with several hotels and some glossy shops, and places to fulfil day-to-day needs. There are government institutions in a newly built area called “New Town,” about 6 km away from the town and the main road. The largest school in the district, Polonnaruwa Royal Central College is situated in the new town.
Polonnaruwa is the second largest city in North Central Province, but it is known as one of the cleanest and more beautiful cities in the country. The green environment, amazing ancient constructions, Parakrama Samudra (a huge lake built in 1200), and attractive tourist hotels and hospitable people, make it a tourism hotspot.
Another draw for tourists is the city's population of toque macaques. The monkeys have been living in the ruins since the human occupation and continued to thrive there long after the humans left.
^ abSastri, K. A (2000). The CōĻas. University of Madras. pp. 172–173.
^"Ancient City of Polonnaruwa". World Heritage Convention, UNESCO. Retrieved 21 May 2015.
^"President commences "Pibidemu Polonnaruwa" – The official website of the President of Sri Lanka". www.president.gov.lk. Retrieved 2015-11-16.
^Ceylon Journal of Science: Zoology & geology. Section B. University of Ceylon at the Government Press. 1904. p. 257.
^Anders Hultgård, Irāmaccantiran̲ Nākacāmi, Peter Schalk (2002). Buddhism Among Tamils in Pre-colonial Tamilakam and Ilam Part 2. Department of History and Religion, University of Uppsala: Almqvist & Wiksell International. p. 709. ISBN9789155453589.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
^Journal of the Ceylon Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society. Ceylon Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society: Colombo Apothecaries Company. 1920. p. 192.
^ abDehejia, Vidya (1990-10-18). Art of the Imperial Cholas. Columbia University Press. pp. 51, 77, 86–88. ISBN9780231515245.
^Annual Report on South-Indian Epigraphy. Government of India Central Publication Branch. 1986. p. 69.
^University of Ceylon Review. Vol. 22–23. University of Ceylon. 1964. p. 69.
^Archeological survey of Ceylon: Annual Report. Department of Archeology. 1909. p. 27.
^Ragupathy, Ponnampalam (1987). Early Settlements in Jaffna: An Archaeological Survey. University of Jaffna: Thillimalar Ragupathy. p. 185.
^Man, John (1999). Atlas of the Year 1000. Harvard University Press. pp. 136. ISBN9780674541870.
Balasooriya, Jayasinghe (2004). The Glory of Ancient Polonnaruva. Polonnaruva: Sooriya Printers. ISBN955-8158-01-1 (Archeological ruins)
'The Satmahal Prasada: A Historic link between Lan Na and Sri Lanka', in: Forbes, Andrew, and Henley, David, Ancient Chiang Mai Volume 1. Chiang Mai: Cognoscenti Books, 2012.
Ulrich von Schroeder, Buddhist Sculptures of Sri Lanka, XII. Monuments of Polonnaruva: 632–677. (Hong Kong: Visual Dharma Publications, Ltd., 1990). ISBN 962-7049-05-0 / ISBN 978-962-7049-05-0
Ulrich von Schroeder, The Golden Age of Sculpture in Sri Lanka – Masterpieces of Buddhist and Hindu Bronzes from Museums in Sri Lanka, [catalogue of the exhibition held at the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, Washington, D. C., 1st November 1992 – 26th September 1993]. (Hong Kong: Visual Dharma Publications, Ltd., 1992). ISBN 962-7049-06-9 / ISBN 978-962-7049-06-7
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Polonnaruwa.
polonnaruwa, historic, empire, kingdom, poḷonnaruwa, sinhala, නර, romanized, poḷonnaruva, tamil, லன, னற, romanized, polaṉṉaṟuvai, also, referred, pulathisipura, vijayarajapura, ancient, times, main, town, district, north, central, province, lanka, modern, town. For the historic empire see Kingdom of Polonnaruwa Poḷonnaruwa Sinhala ප ළ න නර ව romanized Poḷonnaruva Tamil ப லன னற வ romanized Polaṉṉaṟuvai also referred as Pulathisipura and Vijayarajapura in ancient times is the main town of Polonnaruwa District in North Central Province Sri Lanka The modern town of Polonnaruwa is also known as New Town and the other part of Polonnaruwa remains as the royal ancient city of the Kingdom of Polonnaruwa Polonnaruwa ප ළ න නර ව ப லன னற வ TownPolonnaruwaLocation in Sri LankaCoordinates 7 56 N 81 0 E 7 933 N 81 000 E 7 933 81 000 Coordinates 7 56 N 81 0 E 7 933 N 81 000 E 7 933 81 000CountrySri LankaProvinceNorth Central ProvincePolonnaruwaBefore 1070 ADTime zoneUTC 5 30 Sri Lanka Standard Time Zone Websitehttps www polonnaruwa dist gov lkUNESCO World Heritage SiteOfficial nameAncient City of PolonnaruwaCriteriaCultural i iii viReference201Inscription1982 6th Session The second oldest of all Sri Lanka s kingdoms Polonnaruwa was first established as a military post by the Sinhalese kingdom 1 It was renamed Jananathamangalam by the Chola dynasty after their successful invasion of the country s then capital Anuradhapura in the 10th century The Ancient City of Polonnaruwa has been declared a World Heritage Site 2 Modern Polonnaruwa is undergoing a major development project known as the Awakening of Polonnaruwa championed by former President Maithripala Sirisena It envisions the development of all sectors in Polonnaruwa including roads electricity agriculture education health and environment 3 Contents 1 Etymology 2 Demographic 2 1 Ethnicity according to Polonnaruwa Town 2012 3 History 4 Present day 5 See also 6 References 7 External linksEtymology EditThe name Polonnaruwa is of unknown origin and was adopted by the traveller James Emerson Tennent 4 Its Tamil form Pulainari is mentioned in Tamil inscriptions found at Polonnaruwa of the Chola period 5 The name was perhaps a contraction of its ancient name Pulastya nagara or Pulatti nakaram meaning city of the Hindu sage Pulastya 6 7 It was renamed under Chola rule as Jananathapuram or Jananathamangalam 8 9 The place was later known as Vijayarajapuram as mentioned in the records of Jayabahu I which probably was derived from the name of Vijayabahu I 10 Demographic EditPolonnaruwa has a Sinhalese majority Muslims form the second largest group There are also small numbers of Sri Lankan Tamils and Indian Tamils Others include Burgher and Malay Ethnicity according to Polonnaruwa Town 2012 Edit Ethnicity in Polonnaruwa TownPopulation PercentSinhalese 70 31 Muslims 30 10 Sri Lankan Tamils 0 85 Indian Tamils 0 10 Others 0 05 Source statistics gov lkHistory EditPolonnaruwa was first established as a military post by the Sinhalese kingdom 1 And it was renamed Jananathamangalam by the Chola dynasty after their successful invasion of the country in the 10th century 11 Under this period systematic destruction of the Buddhist civilisation took place in the northern plains of Sri Lanka Raja Raja Chola I built Vanavan Mahadevisvaram a Shiva temple at Polonnaruwa named after his queen which presently is known as Siva Devale 12 The temple among other contained Ganesha and Parvati statues of bronze 7 north and central parts of Sri Lanka was under this period ruled under Rajendra Chola I directly as a Chola province However following the year 1070 AD ended the Chola rule in the island and Polonnaruwa was captured by Vijayabahu I of Polonnaruwa also known as Vijayabahu the great 13 Starting from Mahanagakula on the south of the Walawe river Vijayabahu dispatched three armies to attack Polonnaruwa from three fronts One army was sent along the western shore of the country to the port of Mahathittha to deal with any reinforcements arriving from South India Afterwards part of this army moved towards Polonnaruwa and attacked from the northwest A second army was sent from the east across Magama to attack Polonnaruwa from the east The third and main force advanced across the country led by the king Surrounded by these three armies Polonnaruwa was besieged for seven months before king Vijayabahu s forces entered the city In 1070 Vijayabahu became the ruler of Polonnaruwa 14 15 At that time Sri Lanka was known as Thambapanni Trade and agriculture flourished under the patronage of the famous grandson of King Vijayabahu I of Polonnaruwa king Prakramabahu the Great who was so adamant that no drop of water falling from the heavens was to be wasted and each was to be used toward the development of the land citation needed Hence irrigation systems that are far superior to those of the Anuradhapura Age were constructed during Parakramabahu s reign systems which to this day supply the water necessary for paddy cultivation during the scorching dry season in the east of the country The greatest of these systems is the Parakrama Samudra or the Sea of Parakrama which was also used as a large sea going ship anchorage via the Mahaweli River 13 The Kingdom of Polonnaruwa was completely self sufficient during King Parakramabahu s reign With the exception of his immediate successor Nissankamalla I the other monarchs of Polonnaruwa were not as strong willed and were prone to picking fights within their own court citation needed They also went on to form more matrimonial alliances with stronger South Indian kingdoms until these matrimonial links superseded the local royal lineage This prompted an invasion by the Aryacakravarti dynasty warlord Kalinga Magha in 1214 which saw the complete destruction of the metropolises of Anuradhapura and Polonnaruwa by burning Present day EditThis section does not cite any sources Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed April 2019 Learn how and when to remove this template message Today the ancient city of Polonnaruwa remains one of the best planned archaeological relic cities in the country standing testimony to the discipline and greatness of the Kingdom s first rulers Its beauty was also used as a backdrop to film scenes for the Duran Duran music video Save a Prayer in 1982 The ancient city of Polonnaruwa has been declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO Near the ancient city there is a small town with several hotels and some glossy shops and places to fulfil day to day needs There are government institutions in a newly built area called New Town about 6 km away from the town and the main road The largest school in the district Polonnaruwa Royal Central College is situated in the new town Polonnaruwa is the second largest city in North Central Province but it is known as one of the cleanest and more beautiful cities in the country The green environment amazing ancient constructions Parakrama Samudra a huge lake built in 1200 and attractive tourist hotels and hospitable people make it a tourism hotspot Another draw for tourists is the city s population of toque macaques The monkeys have been living in the ruins since the human occupation and continued to thrive there long after the humans left See also EditPolonnaruwa Vatadage Hatadage Rankoth Vehera Nissanka Latha Mandapaya Gal Vihara World Heritage List Anuradhapura Sigiriya Mahawamsa Place names in Sri Lanka Statue of Parakramabahu I Polonnaruwa AgreementReferences Edit a b Sastri K A 2000 The CōLas University of Madras pp 172 173 Ancient City of Polonnaruwa World Heritage Convention UNESCO Retrieved 21 May 2015 President commences Pibidemu Polonnaruwa The official website of the President of Sri Lanka www president gov lk Retrieved 2015 11 16 Ceylon Journal of Science Zoology amp geology Section B University of Ceylon at the Government Press 1904 p 257 Anders Hultgard Iramaccantiran Nakacami Peter Schalk 2002 Buddhism Among Tamils in Pre colonial Tamilakam and Ilam Part 2 Department of History and Religion University of Uppsala Almqvist amp Wiksell International p 709 ISBN 9789155453589 a href Template Cite book html title Template Cite book cite book a CS1 maint multiple names authors list link Journal of the Ceylon Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society Ceylon Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society Colombo Apothecaries Company 1920 p 192 a b Dehejia Vidya 1990 10 18 Art of the Imperial Cholas Columbia University Press pp 51 77 86 88 ISBN 9780231515245 Annual Report on South Indian Epigraphy Government of India Central Publication Branch 1986 p 69 University of Ceylon Review Vol 22 23 University of Ceylon 1964 p 69 Archeological survey of Ceylon Annual Report Department of Archeology 1909 p 27 Ragupathy Ponnampalam 1987 Early Settlements in Jaffna An Archaeological Survey University of Jaffna Thillimalar Ragupathy p 185 Man John 1999 Atlas of the Year 1000 Harvard University Press pp 136 ISBN 9780674541870 a b Nubin Walter 2002 Sri Lanka Current Issues and Historical Background Nova Science Publishers pp 102 103 ISBN 9781590335734 THE POLONNARUWA KINGS Rhajiv Ratnatunga lakdiva org Retrieved 2008 09 12 Polonnaruwa Sri Lanka Balasooriya Jayasinghe 2004 The Glory of Ancient Polonnaruva Polonnaruva Sooriya Printers ISBN 955 8158 01 1 Archeological ruins The Satmahal Prasada A Historic link between Lan Na and Sri Lanka in Forbes Andrew and Henley David Ancient Chiang Mai Volume 1 Chiang Mai Cognoscenti Books 2012 Ulrich von Schroeder Buddhist Sculptures of Sri Lanka XII Monuments of Polonnaruva 632 677 Hong Kong Visual Dharma Publications Ltd 1990 ISBN 962 7049 05 0 ISBN 978 962 7049 05 0 Ulrich von Schroeder The Golden Age of Sculpture in Sri Lanka Masterpieces of Buddhist and Hindu Bronzes from Museums in Sri Lanka catalogue of the exhibition held at the Arthur M Sackler Gallery Washington D C 1st November 1992 26th September 1993 Hong Kong Visual Dharma Publications Ltd 1992 ISBN 962 7049 06 9 ISBN 978 962 7049 06 7External links Edit Wikimedia Commons has media related to Polonnaruwa Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Polonnaruwa Ancient City of Polonnaruwa Discovering Polonnaruwa an article in The Hindu Galvihara a unique display of rock art Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Polonnaruwa amp oldid 1130524950, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
