Polonnaruwa
Poḷonnaruwa, (පොළොන්නරුව; பொலன்னறுவை) also referred as Pulathisipura and Vijayarajapura in ancient times, is the main town of Polonnaruwa District in North Central Province, Sri Lanka. The modern town of Polonnaruwa is also known as New Town, and the other part of Polonnaruwa remains as the royal ancient city of the Kingdom of Polonnaruwa. The second oldest of all Sri Lanka's kingdoms, Polonnaruwa was first established as a military post by the Sinhalese kingdom. It was renamed Jananathamangalam by the Chola dynasty after their successful invasion of the country's then capital, Anuradhapura, in the 10th century. The Ancient City of Polonnaruwa has been declared a World Heritage Site. Modern Polonnaruwa is undergoing a major development project known as the "Awakening of Polonnaruwa," championed by former President Maithripala Sirisena. It envisions the development of all sectors in Polonnaruwa including roads, electricity, agriculture, education, health and environment. The name Polonnaruwa is of unknown origin and was adopted by the traveller James Emerson Tennent. Its Tamil form, Pulainari, is mentioned in Tamil inscriptions of the Chola dynasty found at Polonnaruwa. The name was perhaps a contraction of its ancient name Pulastya nagara or Pulatti nakaram meaning city of the Hindu sage Pulastya. It was renamed under Chola rule as Jananathapuram or Jananathamangalam. The place was later known as Vijayarajapuram as mentioned in the records of Jayabahu I, which probably was derived from the name of Vijayabahu I. Polonnaruwa has a Sinhalese majority. Muslims form the second largest group. There are also small numbers of Sri Lankan Tamils and Indian Tamils. Others include Burgher and Malay. Source:statistics.gov.lk Polonnaruwa was first established as a military post by the Sinhalese kingdom. And, it was renamed Jananathamangalam by the Chola dynasty after their successful invasion of the country in the 10th century. Raja Raja Chola I built Vanavan Mahadevisvaram, a Shiva temple at Polonnaruwa named after his queen, which presently is known as Siva Devale.