Sri Lankan Independence Day commemorates the political Independence of Sri Lanka from the British Rule and is observed every year on February 4th.
The Same Lanka
Sri Lanka is the same Lanka, the kingdom of Ravana mentioned in the epic Ramayana. 7100 years back, the world and Lanka had similarly got freedom from the tyranny of Ravana, the King of Lanka.
The events of Ramayana are as much an integral part of Sri Lanka as it is of India. On a closer look, we find that a good proportion of the events of Ramayana had taken place in the island of Lanka.
Vibhishana in Lankan Parliament
The Government of Sri Lanka has given the painting of Vibhishana, the younger brother of Ravana, a place of honour in the Sri Lankan Parliament.
Sri Lankan Parliament, Colombo
The paintings by the noted painter of Sri Lanka, Dr. Manjusri, flank the flight of steps in the parliament, as a flashback into the past. The paintings here depict the story of King Parakramabahu VI.
The painting depicts scenes from the 14th century Sinhala poem, “Selalihini – Sandeshaya” as a story, in a series of images.
Paintings at the Sri Lankan Parliament Building
In this story, one of the images is of Selalihiniya alighting to deliver Sandeshaya or message to King Vibhishana.
This goes to show that King Vibhishana has been consistently accepted as a historical King of Lanka, from the ancient days to the medieval period and to the modern days.
All these go to show that the people of Sri Lanka have always considered the present Sri Lanka to be the Lanka of the Ramayana legend and have acknowledged it and celebrated it through their lives.
Ramayana in Lanka
The events of Ramayana from the Lankan perspective is discussed in detail in our book ‘Ramayana in Lanka’.
This book brings to light the concrete corroborations and amazing convergence between local legends, customs, lineage and geography of the two incredible lands of India and Sri Lanka. This work facilitates better the understanding of the history of these two nations by their respective peoples. A better view and understanding of the common shared history and how civilizations change over time can also bring the peoples of these two neighbouring nations, even closer.