According to folk tales, Dhadu Monara ("Wooden Peacock") was the legendary pre-historic aircraft used by King
Ravana
Ravana (; , , ) is a rakshasa king of the island of Lanka, and the chief antagonist of the Hindu epic ''Ramayana'' and its adaptations.
In the ''Ramayana'', Ravana is described to be the eldest son of sage Vishrava and rakshasi Kaikesi. He a ...
of
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...
,
to travel among countries under his command. But no archaeological evidence has been found anywhere in Sri Lanka to prove the existence of such an aircraft. The
Department of Archaeology of Sri Lanka has rejected this story as a mere fiction since there is no archaeological evidence or credible historical records to prove its existence.
According to the
Sinhalese
Sinhala may refer to:
* Something of or related to the Sinhalese people of Sri Lanka
* Sinhalese people
* Sinhala language, one of the three official languages used in Sri Lanka
* Sinhala script, a writing system for the Sinhala language
** Sinha ...
legend the
Lakegala Rock is thought to mark the location of the
Lankapura Kingdom and King Ravana’s capital.
It is also said that Ravana met
Princess Sita, the queen of Rama, beside this rock. Most
Meemure villagers believe that Lakegala is the place where King Ravana flew his
aeroplane
An airplane or aeroplane (informally plane) is a fixed-wing aircraft that is propelled forward by thrust from a jet engine, propeller, or rocket engine. Airplanes come in a variety of sizes, shapes, and wing configurations. The broad spectr ...
''Dhadu Monara'', which he used to capture Sita from
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
.
Further it is believed that there are two cities in Sri Lanka called ''Wariyapola'', which are believed to be the Airports that used for "Dandu monara" landing and take off. In
Sinhala "wa" means"air "and "riya"means "craft " and "pola" means "place". Therefore, "wa+riya+pola" =Wariyapola. The place used for the craft which flies by means of air.
References
Sri Lankan mythology
{{SriLanka-stub