The Pride Of Sri Lanka

On February 04,1948 the Sri Lanka celebrated its first independence day with people across the country hoisting the2000 years old. Lion flag ,considered to be one of the oldest national flags in the world. The flag is a symbol of unity, harmony and friendship among the different communities of Sri Lanka.

The thousands of people who thronged independent square, where the official calibrations were held witnessed the colorful ceremony of the lion flag as it went up ,filling the hearts of all Sri Lankans with pride , at the birth of a new and independent nation.

The lion holding a sword upright with its right paw stands for justice, righteousness, heroism, strength and discipline of the nations. The lion’s eye – watches the ruler’s statements should be honest and truthful, head and tail- equality between ruler and citizens, hair body- strength, sword – is an indication that the country should be ruled righteously, meting out justice to all.

The four bo leaves at the four corners of the rectangle bordering the lion symbolize Metta-compassion , Karuna – kindness , Mudita – joy in others prosperity , Upeksha – equanimity called the four Brahma Viyarana or the highest standards of harmonious living. The lion is yellow in colour, denoting righteousness and a peaceful way of life. The red in the background denotes immortality and the defeating of the evil forces of opperession.

It is said that the birth of the Sinhala race began with the planting of the lion flag for the first time on Lankan soil. Prince Vijaya, after landing in the island ,hoisted a flag that he had with him, a flag with a lion symbol. In later years it was used by King Dutugemanu, the lion flag of king Dutugemanu is illustrated in a cave of the Golden Rock Temple of Dambulla, the Rangiri Dambulla Viharaya. This is believed to be the oldest flag found in Sri Lanka.



It was adopted by the later day kings and queens and is thought to have been used as the national flag during the Kotte and Kandy ears. It was also used by Sri Lanka’s last king , Sri Wickrama Rajasighe as his royal standard. This is believed to have fallen into the hands of the British after a battle with the king. The king fled after being defeated ,dropping his royal standard on the way. After taking over Sri Lanka, the British took this royal standard to England and kept in London. E.W Perera , a member of the Legislative Council and later the State Council, was instrumental in bringing the flag back to the country.
With the dawn of independence , all communities accepted the lion flag and decided to retain it as the national flag of Sri Lanka, with the additional of two vertical stripes of saffron and green to represent the Tamil and Muslim communities. Thus the lion flag came to be accepted of Sri Lanka and has been hoisted by the people on all important occasions.