Person

Ellalan

r. c. 205–161 BCE · 2nd century BCE · Also known as Elara

Ellalan, called Elara in the Pali chronicles, was a Tamil prince from the Chola country who ruled Anuradhapura in Sri Lanka for about 44 years in the 2nd century BCE. The Mahavamsa remembers him as a just ruler, although he was not a Buddhist. He was defeated and killed by Dutugemunu of Ruhuna around 161 BCE.

Ellalan
Image: CC BY-SA 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Mentioned in 3 state histories

Anuradhapura KingdomEarly CholasKingdom of Ruhuna

See also

Cite this entry
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). Ellalan. In The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/ellalan
MLA
“Ellalan.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/ellalan. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “Ellalan.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/ellalan.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Ellalan’, The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/ellalan (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random entry ↻