The national flag of Sri Lanka , also called the Singha Flag or Lion Flag ( Sinhala : සිංහ කොඩිය , romanised: singha kodiya , Tamil : சிங்கக் கொடி , romanised: ciṅkak koṭi ), consists of a golden lion holding a kastane sword in its right fore-paw in a maroon background with four gold bo leaves, one in each corner. This is bordered by gold, and to its left are two vertical stripes of equal size in teal and orange , with the orange stripe closest to the lion. The lion and the maroon background represent the Sinhalese race , while the saffron border and four bo leaves represent the concepts of meththa , karuṇā , muditā and upecka respectively. The stripes represent the country's two largest minority ethnicities, with the orange stripe representing the Tamils inhabitants—namely the Sri Lankan Tamils and the Indian Tamils of Sri Lanka —and the green stripe representing the Sri Lankan Moors ( Muslims of Sri Lanka ). The golden yellow border is a catch-all representing the various minority communities of the country. Monarchical Sri Lanka As depicted on a mural in Cave no. 2 at Dambulla Viharaya , King Dutugemunu on his campaign against Elara (an invading South Indian ruler in 162 BC) is depicted with a banner containing a lion figure carrying a sword in its right forepaw, a symbol of the Sun and one of the Moon. [ 1 ] This flag was known as the only ancient representation of the lion flag of the Sinhalese but in 1957, the lion figure on it was defaced by a vandal. [ 2 ] Flags of Sri Lanka (Until 1815) Flag of Dutugamunu , Anuradhapura period Flag of Kingdom of Gampola 's flag, c. 1341 –1408 Flag of the Kingdom of Kotte 's flag, c. 1412 –1597 Flag of Kingdom of Sitawaka 's flag, c. 1521 -1594 Standard of Sri Vikrama Rajasinha of Kandy , used as the Kingdom of Kandy 's flag, c. 1798 –1815 British colonial period This basic design continued to be in use until 1815, when the Kandyan Convention ended the reign of the country's last native monarch, Sri Vikrama Rajasinha , replacing his royal standard (used as the Flag of the Kingdom of Kandy ) with the Union Flag as the nation's accepted flag. [ 3 ] The colonial government of British Ceylon later established its own flag, while Sri Vikrama Rajasinha's standard was taken to England and kept at the Royal Hospital Chelsea . [ 3 ] Flags of Sri Lanka (1815-1948) Colonial flag of British Ceylon , 1815–1875 Colonial flag of British Ceylon, 1875–1948 Sri Lanka (since 1948) As the independence movement in Sri Lanka gained strength in the early 20th century, E. W. Perera and D. R. Wijewardena discovered the original Lioness Flag in Chelsea. [ 3 ] A photo of it was published in Dinamina , in a special edition marking a century since the loss of self-rule and Sri Lankan independence. [ 3 ] The flag provoked much interest from the public who, for the first time since the fall of the Kandyan Kingdom, had seen its actual design. [ 3 ] Member of Parliament for Batticaloa , Mudaliyar A. Sinnalebbe , suggested in Parliament on January 16, 1948, that the Lion Flag should be accepted as the national flag. [ 4 ] In 1948, the flag was adopted as the national flag of the Dominion of Ceylon, undergoing two changes: one in 1953 and a redesign in 1972. [ 3 ] A notable feature of the 1972 adaptation of the Kandyan standard was the replacement of the four spearheads at the flag's corners by four bo leaves , a design choice made under the direction of Nissanka Wijeyeratne , Permanent Secretary to the Ministry of Cultural Affairs and Chairman of the National Emblem and Flag Design Committee. [ 3 ] [ 5 ] Flags of Sri Lanka (since 1948) Flag of the Dominion of Ceylon , 1948–1951 Flag of the Dominion of Ceylon (similar to current), 1951–1972 According to the Mahavamsa , the historical chronicle of Sri Lanka, the origin of the Sinhalese people ;the island’s majority ethnic group is traced to Prince Vijaya . The chronicle records that his father, King Sinhabahu was the son of a powerful man named Sinha (often interpreted as a lion) and Princess Suppadevi of the Vanga kingdom in northern India.With the arrival of Prince Vijaya and subsequent migrations from northern India, these groups are believed to have intermixed with the Vadda people of the island, giving rise to the Sinhalese people . As the Mahavamsa symbolically associates Sinha with a lion representing strength, the lion came to embody the identity and valour of the Sinhalese people . [ 6 ] Historical accounts also suggest that Prince Vijaya is said to have raised a lion flag upon his landing at Tambapanni Ancient Port. Accordingly, the lion symbol has been used since ancient times, and today it remains a central feature of the national flag of Sri Lanka representing the Sinhalese nation.The national flag of Sri Lanka represents the country and its heritage as a rallying device. Most symbols in the flag have been given distinctive meanings. [ 7 ] [ 8 ] The colours of the national flag are specified in the document "SLS 1: 2020: Specification for the National Flag of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka". [ 9 ] Flown at the Embassy in Warsaw Displayed outside a stadium, in Leeds , UK Mountaineer Jayanthi Kuru-Utumpala with Sri Lankan flag atop Mount Everest Hung vertically, along a street in Malaysia Displayed along other flags during the 2012 Summer Olympics in London Used at a sports event Heraldry portal Sri Lanka portal List of Sri Lankan flags Flags of the Kingdom of Kandy Emblem of Sri Lanka ↑ Seneviratna, Anuradha (1983). Golden Rock Temple of Dambulla: Caves of infinite Buddhas . Central Cultural Fund. p. 9.

↑ Godakumbura, C.E. (1969). History of archaeology in Ceylon . Journal of the Ceylon Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society, New Series (Vol XIII). p. 36. We all agree with Deraniyagala when he considers that the defacing of the lion depicted upon Dutugemunu's flag in the famous Dambulla frescoes as a national loss. This, so far as we know, is the only ancient representation of the lion-flag of the Sinhalese. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "The Sri Lankan National Flag" . sundaytimes.lk. The Sunday Times. 4 February 2018 . Retrieved 27 April 2018 . ↑ "The proposer of the lion flag: Mudlr. Sinnalebbe" . Daily News . 4 February 2004 . Retrieved 12 January 2018 . ↑ Volker Preuß. "Sri Lanka (Ceylon)" (in German) . Retrieved 7 September 2003 . ↑ Sriskanda Rajah, A. R. (2023). Tamil nationalism in Sri Lanka: counter-history as war after the Tamil Tigers . Routledge contemporary South Asia series. London New York: Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group. pp. 53– 59. ISBN 978-1-003-30167-7 . ↑ "National symbols of Sri Lanka" . gov.lk . Government of Sri Lanka. Archived from the original on 28 April 2018 . Retrieved 27 April 2018 . ↑ Karunarathne, Waruni (27 April 2015). "Controversy Over Flag At Demo" . thesundayleader.lk. Sunday Leader. Archived from the original on 26 March 2016 . Retrieved 27 April 2018 . ↑ "SLS 1:2020" (PDF) . Sri Lanka Standards Institute. Archived from the original (PDF) on 18 October 2022 . Retrieved 7 April 2022 . The Proposer of the lion Flag, Mudaliyar Sinnalebbe Sri Lanka Government Web Portal The Sri Lankan Lion Flag -how it came to be A few examples of European Heraldic Lions and the Sri Lankan national flag Sri Lanka at Flags of the World Lion Flag as depicted in the Constitution of Sri Lanka Timor-Leste (East Timor) United Arab Emirates Northern Cyprus British Indian Ocean Territory Christmas Island Cocos (Keeling) Islands Flags of Sri Lanka National symbols of Sri Lanka Flags introduced in 1948 Flags introduced in 1972 Flags displaying animals Flags displaying weapons Articles with short description Short description is different from Wikidata Use British English from August 2023 All Wikipedia articles written in British English Use dmy dates from April 2018 Articles containing Sinhala-language text Articles containing Tamil-language text CS1 German-language sources (de) Commons category link is on Wikidata