Kurunegala

Kurunegala has been named after the Elephant rock (ඇතුගල). "Kurune" means tusker or an elephant with protruding teeth and gala in Sinhala means rock. Kurunai means tusker or an Elephant and gal in Tamil means rock or hill. Kurunegala's old name was Hasthishaila-pura, which can be translated as 'The City of the Elephant Rock' in Sanskrit. In some ancient literature, the word Athugal-pura (ඇතුගල්පුර) is employed to describe the city of Kurunegala.

Nearby are three archeological cities — Parakramapura (Panduvasnuwara, පඬුවස්නුවර) (northwest) with remains of a moated palace and monasteries from the 12th century, Dambadeniya (දඹ‍‍‍‍දෙනිය) (southwest, mid-13th century) and Yapahuwa (north).

Kurunegala enjoys a pleasant location with huge rocky outcrops some of which have been given names of the animals they resemble: elephant rock, tortoise rock etc. According to folklore legend, a long time back the city had a severe drought. To exacerbate matters for humans, animals had threatened the city's storage capabilities by consuming huge amounts of water. A witch volunteered to alleviate the problem, transforming some of the animals magically into stone figures.

A statue of the Buddha on Athugala (Elephant Rock), measuring 88 feet (27 m)

Clock Tower, Kurunegala

Kurunegala had a citadel in the 13th century. Its ascendancy as an ancient capital of Sri Lanka began with a series of events that took place during the late 12th century at Yapahuwa. The sacred tooth relic which was in the Yapahuwa Kingdom was taken by an Aryacakravarti from the Jaffna Kingdom to the Pandyan country during the rule of Buwaneka Bahu I from 1272 to 1284.[1] The relic was brought back by King Parakrama Bahu III who ruled from Kurunegala between 1287 and 1293.[2] Over the next half a century Kurunegala was the capital and the governing centre for three other kings of Sri Lanka.

After the death of King Parakrama Bahu III, kings Buvanekabahu II (1293–1302) who was followed by Parakramabahu IV (1302–1326) ruled from Kurunegala. The ruler in Kurunegala from 1326 to 1335 was Buwaneka Bahu III alias Wanni Buwaneka Bahu. He was the son of Pandith Parakrama Bahu II and is believed to be the last king to rule the country from Kurunegala.

After the reign of Buwaneka Bahu III, the newly throned king Vijayabahu V ruled from Dambadeniya and Yapahuwa from 1335 to 1341 before once again the kingdom of Sri Lanka shifted to Gampola.

Few remains of the Palace of the Tooth relic that housed the tooth of the Buddha have avoided natural destruction, including few stone steps and a part of a doorway.

Royal complex

Ancient Magul Maduwa building of Kurunegala era

Archaeological remains of this site are few but give a glimpse of its past glory and comprise the handsome stone entrance, steps, rock pillars and ruined walls of the royal palace and the palace of the tooth relic.

Kurunegala is a Sinhalese majority city; there are sizable communities belonging to other ethnic groups, such as Moors, Tamils, Burghers and Malays. Residents from ethnic minorities live in all parts of the city, however, sizeable communities of Moors and Tamils live in the areas of Teliyagonna and Wilgoda.

Religion

Athkanda Royal temple Kurunegala.

Buddhism is the main and the most widely practiced religion in Kurunegala. The town is also home to a wide range of other religious faiths and sects including Hinduism, Christianity and Islam.

Prominent Buddhist temples in Kurunegala include Athkanda Raja Maha Viharaya. It is said that the fabled Jathaka stories were composed at this historic temple. The temple is located on the left hand side of the Kandy-Kurunegala main road in the vicinity of the Kurunegala town,[5] Ibbagala Raja Maha Viharaya, Angangala cave temple, Wilbawa Purana Viharaya and Bauddhaloka Viharaya. An ancient replica of Buddha's footprint that is found on the summit of Sri Pada (Adam's Peak), a little dagoba and some paintings depicting the Buddha and his disciples can be seen at the Ibbagala Raja Maha Viharaya.

There are also numbers of churches, including the cathedral of the Diocese of Kurunegala, mosques and Hindu temples in the city. The Anglican Bishop of Kurunegala cares for the North-Central Province and Kurunegala, Kandy, Matale, Kegalle and Anuradapura districts.

The Town Hall building.

The Kurunegala Municipality Council is responsible for the overall administration, sanitary, welfare, and other general activities of the city. The Municipality Council headed by a mayor with 21 other elected members. The 21 elected members represent the following wards:

Kurunegala is a central city in Sri Lanka. It is directly connected to a large number of major cities and towns of the island.

Kurunegala can be reached by the railway on the Northern railway line.[6]

By road, it is connected to Colombo, Kandy, Matale, Puttalam, Trincomalee, Negombo, Anuradhapura and Kegalle. Due to its status as a crossroads city,[7] the city is a good base for exploring important ancient landmarks a short distance away.

The Kurunegala central bus stand, opened in 2005, is one of Sri Lanka's most efficient and modern bus stands, with a parking capacity of about 200 buses.

Central Expressway Construction

Central Expressway Construction 2019 December

Under the directives of MoHEH, RDA has initiated a study to find out a suitable road corridor to construct the expressway from Kadawatha to Dambulla via Kurunegala under Central Expressway Project. The second stage of the construction of the Central Expressway Project (CEP Project-2) from Meerigama to Kurunegala was launched on 2017 February 1.[8] Subsequently, the expressway will cross Gampaha, Meerigama, Kurunegala while ending at Dambulla. The project has been implemented in four stages; from Kadawatha to Mirigama (37 km), Mirigama to Kurunegala (39.28 km), Pothuhera to Galagedara (32.5 km) and Kurunegala to Dambulla (60.3 km).[9] Expressway to Kurunegala was opened on 15 January 2022. Interchanges from Mirigama are Nakalagamuwa, Dambokka, Kurunegala and Yaggapitiya. Public transport was launched on 20 January 2022 through expressway.

Many major corporations have large branch offices in Kurunegala and many industries including textiles, Sri Lankan gemstones, furniture, information technology, and jewellery are found there.

The Teaching Hospital Kurunegala is the only one of that kind in NWP, is situated on the Colombo Kurunegala road about 0.75 k.m. away from the city towards Colombo. Teaching Hospital Kurunegala is one of the largest hospitals in Sri Lanka. The bed count is over 1700 and the staff is over 3500. The hospital spreads over 35 acres land and serves people through more than 100 units. The teaching hospital Kurunegala caters more than 1.2 million patients annually. This number includes the patients from the other districts also, namely Anuradhapura, Polonnaruwa, Trincomalee, and Mathale.

Kurunegala is home to some of the island's oldest and leading schools.

Welagedara stadium.

Major sporting venues in and around Kurunegala include:

• Welagedara Stadium is the top sporting venue in Kurunegala. It regularly hosts First Class Cricket matches that are international and local types.
• Maliga Pitiya Stadium
• St. Anne's College Sport Complex
• Maliyadeva Ground

Kurunegala is one of the outstation cities that is popular for cricket and produced a number of cricketers that represented the nation. One of the best known spin bowlers of all time in Sri Lanka, Rangana Herath is an iconic cricketer from Kurunegala.

• List of cities in Sri Lanka
• Kurunegala Municipal Council
• Kurunegala train crash
• List of tallest statues
• Wayamba Cricket Team

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Kurunegala.

• History and Heritage of Kurunegala