The flag of

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...

(; ), also called the ''Sinha'' Flag or Lion Flag, consists of a golden

lion The lion (''Panthera leo'') is a large Felidae, cat of the genus ''Panthera'', native to Sub-Saharan Africa and India. It has a muscular, broad-chested body (biology), body; a short, rounded head; round ears; and a dark, hairy tuft at the ...

holding a ''kastane'' sword in its right fore-paw in a

maroon Maroon ( , ) is a brownish crimson color that takes its name from the French word , meaning chestnut. ''Marron'' is also one of the French translations for "brown". Terms describing interchangeable shades, with overlapping RGB ranges, inc ...

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 alt=American teal duck (male), Green-winged teal (male) Teal is a greenish-blue color. Its name comes from that of a bird—the Eurasian teal (''Anas crecca'')—which presents a similarly colored stripe on its head. The word is often used ...

and

orange Orange most often refers to: *Orange (fruit), the fruit of the tree species '' Citrus'' × ''sinensis'' ** Orange blossom, its fragrant flower ** Orange juice *Orange (colour), the color of an orange fruit, occurs between red and yellow in the vi ...

, with the orange stripe closest to the lion. The lion and the maroon background represent the Sinhalese race, while the saffron border and four bo leaves represent the concepts of '' meththa'', ''

karuṇā () is generally translated as compassion or mercy and sometimes as self-compassion or spiritual longing. It is a significant spiritual concept in the Indic religions of Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism, and Jainism. Hinduism In Hinduism, is o ...

'', ''

muditā ''Muditā'' (Pāli and Sanskrit: मुदिता) is a dharmic concept of joy, particularly an especially sympathetic or vicarious joy—the pleasure that comes from delighting in other people's well-being. The traditional paradigmatic exam ...

'' and '' upecka'' respectively. The stripes represent the country's two largest minority ethnicities, with the orange stripe representing the Tamils inhabitants—namely the

Sri Lankan Tamils Sri Lankan Tamils ( or ), also known as Ceylon Tamils or Eelam Tamils, are Tamils native to the South Asian island state of Sri Lanka. Today, they constitute a majority in the Northern Province, Sri Lanka, Northern Province, form the pluralit ...

and the

Indian Tamils of Sri Lanka Indian Tamils of Sri Lanka are Tamils, Tamil people of Indian origin in Sri Lanka. They are also known as Malayaga Tamilar, Hill Country Tamils, Up-Country Tamils or simply Indian Tamils. They predominantly descend from workers sent during the Br ...

—and the teal stripe representing the

Sri Lankan Moors Sri Lankan Moors (; Arwi: ; ; formerly Ceylon Moors; colloquially referred to as Sri Lankan Muslims) are an ethnic minority group in Sri Lanka, comprising 9.3% of the country's total population. Most of them are native speakers of the Tamil langua ...

( Muslims of Sri Lanka). The golden yellow border is a catch-all representing the various minority communities of the country.

History

Monarchical Sri Lanka

As depicted on a mural in Cave no. 2 at Dambulla Viharaya, King

Dutugemunu Dutugamunu (, ), also known as Duṭṭhagāmaṇī Abhaya, was a king of the Anuradhapura Kingdom who reigned from 161 BC to 137 BC. He is renowned for first uniting the whole island of Sri Lanka by defeating and overthrowing Elara, a Tamil kin ...

on his campaign against Elara (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. 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. Image:Flag of Dutthagamani.png, Flag of

Dutugamunu Dutugamunu (, ), also known as Duṭṭhagāmaṇī Abhaya, was a king of the Anuradhapura Kingdom who reigned from 161 BC to 137 BC. He is renowned for first uniting the whole island of Sri Lanka by defeating and overthrowing Elara, a Tamil kin ...

Anuradhapura period The Anuradhapura period was a period in the history of Sri Lanka of the Anuradhapura Kingdom from 377 BCE to 1017 CE. The period begins when Pandukabhaya, King of Upatissa Nuwara moved the administration to Anuradhapura, becoming the kingdom' ...

Image:Flag of the Kingdom of Raigama.svg, Flag of

Kingdom of Gampola Gampola (Ganga Sri Pura / Gangasiripura) is a town and once an ancient polity located near Kandy in the Central Province of Sri Lanka. It was made the capital city of the island by King Buwanekabahu IV, who ruled for four years in the mid-fou ...

's flag, –1408 Image:Flag of Kotte.svg, Flag of the

Kingdom of Kotte The Kingdom of Kotte (, ), named after its capital, Kotte, was a Sinhalese kingdom that flourished in Sri Lanka during the 15th century. Founded by Parakramabahu VI with the help of the Ming, the Kingdom managed to conquer the Jaffna ki ...

's flag, –1597 Image:Flag of Sitawaka Kingdom (1521 - 1594).png, Flag of

Kingdom of Sitawaka The kingdom of Sitawaka (, ) was a kingdom located in south-central Sri Lanka. It emerged from the division of the kingdom of Kotte following the Wijayaba Kollaya, Spoiling of Vijayabahu in 1521. Over the course of the next seventy years it cam ...

's flag, -1594 Image:King of Kandy.svg, Standard of Sri Vikrama Rajasinha of Kandy, used as the

Kingdom of Kandy The Kingdom of Kandy was a monarchy on the Sri Lanka, island of Sri Lanka, located in the central and eastern portion of the island. It was founded in the late 15th century and endured until the early 19th century. Initially a client kingdom ...

's flag, –1815

British colonial period

This basic design continued to be in use until 1815, when the

Kandyan Convention In the history of Sri Lanka, the Kandyan Convention () was a treaty signed on 2 March 1815 between the British governor of Ceylon, Sir Robert Brownrigg, and the chiefs of the Kandyan Kingdom, British Ceylon, whereas, according to the Sinhala ...

ended the reign of the country's last native monarch,

Sri Vikrama Rajasinha Sri Vikrama Rajasinha (Sinhala language, Sinhala:ශ්‍රී වික්‍රම රාජසිංහ, Tamil language, Tamil:ஸ்ரீ விக்கிரம ராஜசிங்கன் Telugu language, Telugu:శ్రీ వి� ...

, replacing his royal standard (used as the Flag of the

) with the

Union Flag The Union Jack or Union Flag is the ''de facto'' national flag of the United Kingdom. The Union Jack was also used as the official flag of several British colonies and dominions before they adopted their own national flags. It is sometimes a ...

as the nation's accepted flag. The colonial government of

British Ceylon British Ceylon (; ), officially British Settlements and Territories in the Island of Ceylon with its Dependencies from 1802 to 1833, then the Island of Ceylon and its Territories and Dependencies from 1833 to 1931 and finally the Island of Cey ...

later established its own flag, while Sri Vikrama Rajasinha's standard was taken to

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

and kept at the

Royal Hospital Chelsea The Royal Hospital Chelsea is an Old soldiers' home, Old Soldiers' retirement home and nursing home for some 300 veterans of the British Army. Founded as an almshouse — the ancient sense of the word "hospital" — by King Charles II of Eng ...

. Image:Flag of the United Kingdom.svg, Colonial flag of

, 1815–1875 Image:Flag of Ceylon (1875–1948).svg, Colonial flag of British Ceylon, 1875–1948

Sri Lanka (since 1948)

As the independence movement in Sri Lanka gained strength in the early 20th century, E. W. Perera and

D. R. Wijewardena Don Richard Wijewardena (Sinhala language, Sinhala:දොන් රිච්ඩ් විජෙවර්ධන) (23 February 1886 – 13 June 1950) was a Sri Lankan media proprietor who was involved in the Sri Lankan independence movement. A s ...

discovered the original Lioness Flag in Chelsea. 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. 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. Member of Parliament for

Batticaloa Batticaloa (, ''Maṭṭakkaḷappu'', ; , ''Maḍakalapuwa'', ) is a major city in the Eastern Province, Sri Lanka, and its former capital. It is the administrative capital of the Batticaloa District. The city is the seat of the Eastern Univers ...

, Mudaliyar A. Sinnalebbe, suggested in Parliament on January 16, 1948, that the Lion Flag should be accepted as the national flag. 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. A notable feature of the 1972 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 Deshamanya Nissanka Parakrama Wijeyeratne () (14 June 1924 – 7 January 2007), known as ''Nissanka Wijeyeratne'', was a Sri Lankan politician, civil service, civil servant, diplomat and English language poet. He was also the 17th Diyawadana ...

, Permanent Secretary to the Ministry of Cultural Affairs and Chairman of the National Emblem and Flag Design Committee. Image:King of Kandy.svg, Flag of the

Dominion of Ceylon Ceylons:Sri Lanka Independence Act 1947, The Sri Lanka Independence Act 1947 uses the name "Ceylon" for the new dominion; nowhere does that Act use the term "Dominion of Ceylon", which although sometimes used was not the official name. was an ...

, 1948–1951 Image:Flag of Ceylon 1951-1972.svg, Flag of the Dominion of Ceylon (similar to current), 1951–1972

Symbolism

According to the Buddhist Mahavamsa chronicle, the Sinhala Buddhists are descended from Prince Vijaya, whose father Sinhabahu was the son of a lion and a human princess. This myth is reflected in the national flag, with its lion symbolizing the Sinhala race. 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.

Colours

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".

Gallery

Ambasada SRI LANKI 03.jpg, Flown at the Embassy in

Warsaw Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...

Flag of Sri Lanka on the North East Stand, Headingley Stadium, Leeds during the second day of the England- Sri Lanka test (21st April 2014) 001.JPG, Displayed outside a stadium, in

Leeds Leeds is a city in West Yorkshire, England. It is the largest settlement in Yorkshire and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds Metropolitan Borough, which is the second most populous district in the United Kingdom. It is built aro ...

, UK Jayanthi Kuru Utumpala waving the Sri Lankan flag on the summit of Mount Everest on 21st May 2016 (cropped).jpg, Mountaineer Jayanthi Kuru-Utumpala with Sri Lankan flag atop

Mount Everest Mount Everest (), known locally as Sagarmatha in Nepal and Qomolangma in Tibet, is Earth's highest mountain above sea level. It lies in the Mahalangur Himal sub-range of the Himalayas and marks part of the China–Nepal border at it ...

Vertical Sri Lankan flag near Muzium Negara.jpg, Hung vertically, along a street in

Malaysia Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...

King Street Flags - geograph.org.uk - 3082585.jpg, Displayed along other flags during the

2012 Summer Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012, were an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

Flag of Sri Lanka.jpg, Used at a sports event

References

Citations

Sources

Lanka LibrarySri Lanka Government Web Portal

External links

A few examples of European Heraldic Lions and the Sri Lankan national flag
*

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sri Lanka, Flag of National symbols of Sri Lanka Flags displaying animals Flags introduced in 1948 Flags introduced in 1972