This article is about the city in Sri Lanka. For the administrative district enclosing it, see Anuradhapura District. For the ancient kingdom it was capital of, see Anuradhapura Kingdom.
Anuradhapura (Sinhala: අනුරාධපුරය, romanized: Anurādhapuraya; Tamil: அனுராதபுரம், romanized: Aṉurātapuram) is a major city located in the north central plain of Sri Lanka. It is the capital city of North Central Province and the capital of Anuradhapura District. The city lies 205 kilometers (127 mi) north of the current capital of Colombo in the North Central Province, on the banks of the historic Malwathu Oya. The city is now a World Heritage Site famous for its well-preserved ruins of the ancient Sinhalese civilisation.
While Mahāvaṃsa places the founding of the city in 437 BCE, the site has been inhabited for much longer, making it a major human settlement on the island for almost three millennia and one of the oldest continuously occupied cities in Asia. It is the cradle of the Hydraulic Sinhalese civilisation, Theravada Buddhism, and the longest-serving ancient capital of Sri Lanka that has survived for 1500 years. Moreover, It was the first capital of the Sinhala Kingdom of Rajarata, following the kingdoms of Tambapanni and Upatissa Nuwara. Anuradhapura was also the centre of Theravada Buddhism for many centuries and has been a major Buddhist pilgrimage site with ruins of many ancient Buddhist temples, including the famous Anuradhapura Maha Viharaya and the Jaya Sri Maha Bodhi, the oldest still-living, documented, planted tree in the world[1] and that is believed to have originally been a branch of the sacred fig tree at Bodh Gaya (Bihar, India), under which the Buddha attained enlightenment. These vast networks of ancient temples and monasteries now cover over 100 square kilometers (40 sq mi) of area of the city today.
The city was mostly destroyed and largely deserted after 993 CE, with the Chola invasion from South India.[2] Although several attempts were made by later Sinhalese kings to return the capital to Anuradhapura, it was not reestablished as a major population centre of the island until the British colonial era in the 19th century CE. The revival of the current city began in earnest in the 1870s. The contemporary city, much of which was moved during the mid-20th century to preserve the site of the ancient capital, is a major road junction of northern Sri Lanka and lies along a railway line. The city is the headquarters of Sri Lanka's archeological survey, and tourism is a significant factor in its economy.
^"Herbarium | A Visit to Anuradhapura and Horton Plains, and a Fond Farewell to Sri Lanka". blogs.clemson.edu. Retrieved 10 September 2022.
^Centre, UNESCO World Heritage. "Sacred City of Anuradhapura". UNESCO World Heritage Centre. Retrieved 6 September 2022.
Anuradhapura (Sinhala: අනුරාධපුරය, romanized: Anurādhapuraya; Tamil: அனுராதபுரம், romanized: Aṉurātapuram) is a major city located in the north central...
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...
BC Vijithapura, 504–474 BC Upatissagāma, 474 BC–438 BC Anurādhapura, 438 BC–437 BC Anurādhapura, 437 BC–7th century AD, 7th century–667, 683–772, 777–797...
The Anuradhapura cross is a form of the Christian cross symbol. It is the most ancient symbol of Christianity in Sri Lanka. The cross was discovered in...
The Chola conquest of Anuradhapura was a military invasion of the Kingdom of Anuradhapura by the Chola Empire. It can be seen as an ensuing conflict between...
at Jetavana in Sravasti in North India and the Sri Maha Bodhi Tree in Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka. Both are also believed to have been propagated from the original...
Anuradhapura (Sinhala: අනුරාධපුර දිස්ත්රික්කය anūrādhapūra distrikkaya; Tamil: அனுராதபுரம் மாவட்டம் Aṉurātapuram māvaṭṭam) is a district in North Central...
Queen Anula of Anuradhapura (47 BC – 42 BC) was the first queen regnant in Sri Lankan history, as well as the first documented female head of state in...
the Anuradhapura Kingdom in the early historic period. The Anuradhapura period (377 BCE – 1017 CE) began with the establishment of the Anuradhapura Kingdom...
seated tiger with two fish. Country List Chola Empire Early Cholas Anuradhapura Kingdom Kakatiya dynasty Chodaganga Dynasty Kadaram Kingdom of Velanati...
known as "the Six Dravidians". They overthrew Mittasena and ruled the Anuradhapura Kingdom for twenty-six years, from 433 to 459. During this time, Sinhalese...
Anuradhapura Railway Station is a railway station in Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka. The station is served by Sri Lanka Railways, with Northern Line services...
tree (Ficus religiosa) in the Mahamewuna Garden in historical city of Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka. This is believed to be a tree grown from a cutting of the...
moved the capital and his residence from the traditional capital of Anuradhapura to the more secure Sigiriya. During King Kashyapa’s reign (477–495 CE)...
Great Black Lion, Wattagamani Abhaya and Valagambahu, was a king of the Anuradhapura Kingdom of Sri Lanka. Five months after becoming king, he was overthrown...
to the Mahavamsa, a Pali chronicle compiled by Buddhist monks of the Anuradhapura Maha Viharaya in Sri Lanka, the Sinhalese descend from settlers who immigrated...
in chronological order: the kingdoms of Tambapanni, Upatissa Nuwara, Anuradhapura, Polonnaruwa, Dambadeniya, Gampola, Kotte, Sitawaka and Kandy.[citation...
bottom of staircases and entrances. First seen in the latter stage of the Anuradhapura period, the sandakada pahana evolved through the Polonnaruwa, Gampola...
(Sinhala: දුටුගැමුනු), 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...
Queen of the King's Land) is a daytime passenger train that runs between Anuradhapura and Beliatta via Colombo Fort in Sri Lanka. The Rajarata Rejini is currently...
one of the earliest kings of Sri Lanka based at the ancient capital of Anuradhapura. According to the traditional chronology, he ruled from 307 BC to 267 BC...
was King of Anuradhapura in the 4th century. His reign lasted from 341 to 370. He succeeded his father Jettha Tissa II as King of Anuradhapura and was later...
earliest ancestors of the Sinhalese. The first Sri Lankan ruler of the Anuradhapura Kingdom, Pandukabhaya, is recorded for the 4th century BCE. Buddhism...
The Anuradhapura Maha Viharaya was an important mahavihara or large Buddhist monastery for Theravada Buddhism in Sri Lanka. King Devanampiya Tissa of Anuradhapura...
King Tissa to ordain queen Anulā and other women of Tissa's court at Anuradhapura who desired to be ordained as nuns after Mahindra converted them to Buddhism...
The Anuradhapura massacre occurred in Sri Lanka in 1985 and was carried out by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam. This was the largest massacre of Sinhalese...
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