Puliyanthivu ( ta, புளியந்தீவு) is an island 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 ...

and part of

Batticaloa Batticaloa ( ta, மட்டக்களப்பு, ''Maṭṭakkaḷappu''; si, මඩකලපුව, ''Maḍakalapuwa'') is a major city in the Eastern Province, Sri Lanka, and its former capital. It is the administrative capital of the ...

town. It has important infrastructures such as government buildings (District Secretariat. Municipal council, Post office, Public library, Teaching hospital, Bus stand, etc.), banks, schools, religious worship places and historical importance places, notably

Batticaloa Fort The Batticaloa Fort ( ta, மட்டக்களப்புக் கோட்டை, translit=Maṭṭakkaḷappuk Kōṭṭai; si, මඩකලපුව බලකොටුව, translit=Madakalapuwa Balakotuwa) was built by the Portuguese in ...

Etymology

Batticaloa historical book ''Mattakalapputh Thamilakam'' quotes from

Swami Vipulananda Swami Vipulananda ( ta, சுவாமி விபுலாநந்தர்) (27 March 1892 – 20 July 1947), also known as Vipulananda Adigal, was a Sri Lankan Tamil Hindu social reformer, literary critic, author, poet, teacher and asceti ...

that Vedda’s chieftain ''Puliyan'' ruled the area and his name later adapted to the island. Puliyanthivu literally means "island of Puliyan" (''thivu'' means island). Also, the book quotes from Mahavamsa that there was a caste called ''Pulinthar'', which could be the reason for the name of island. As per the common naming of villages in Batticaloa, which called by name of tree and pond, the island could have been used the name of tree

tamarind Tamarind (''Tamarindus indica'') is a leguminous tree bearing edible fruit that is probably indigenous to tropical Africa. The genus ''Tamarindus'' is monotypic, meaning that it contains only this species. It belongs to the family Fabaceae. ...

, since there was a lot of tamarind trees in the area. Tamarind is called ''Puli'' in Tamil. Literally, it means "island of tamarind".

History

In the 11th century, one the minister among seven ministers of king Kathirsuthan of

Chola dynasty The Chola dynasty was a Tamil thalassocratic empire of southern India and one of the longest-ruling dynasties in the history of the world. The earliest datable references to the Chola are from inscriptions dated to the 3rd century BC ...

was ruled the area, and the minister name was Pulimaran.

References

{{Reflist Batticaloa Islands of Sri Lanka Landforms of Eastern Province, Sri Lanka