Place · city

Polonnaruwa

Polonnaruwa is a city in the North Central Province of Sri Lanka that served as the island's capital from the 11th to the 13th century. The Cholas ruled from it after taking Anuradhapura, and Vijayabahu I and Parakramabahu I kept it as the Sinhalese capital, adorning it with palaces, irrigation tanks and the rock-cut Buddhas of the Gal Vihara. Its ruins are a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Polonnaruwa
Image: Bernard Gagnon · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Mentioned in 5 state histories

Anuradhapura KingdomPolonnaruwa KingdomJaffna KingdomKingdom of DambadeniyaVanni chieftaincies

See also

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

Last reviewed October 2026Random entry ↻