Lanka

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Lanka (; Sanskrit: [ˈlɐŋkaː], Laṅkā) is the name given in Hindu epics to the island fortress capital of the legendary Rakshasa king Ravana in the epics of the Ramayana and the Mahabharata. The fortress was situated on a plateau between three mountain peaks known as the Trikuta Mountains. The ancient city of Lankapura is said to have been burnt down by Hanuman. After its king, Ravana was killed by Rama with the help of Ravana's brother Vibhishana, the latter was crowned king of Lankapura. His descendants were said to still rule the kingdom during the period of the Pandavas. According to the Mahabharata, the Pandava Sahadeva visited this kingdom during his southern military campaign for the rajasuya of Yudhishthira. The palaces of Ravana were said to be guarded by four-tusked elephants. The island now known as Sri Lanka was long identified with the Lanka of the ancient Indian epic. The Pali chronicles, the Dipavamsa (compiled in the 3rd or 4th century AD) and the Mahavamsa (compiled in the 5th century AD), which recount the history of Sri Lanka from 543 BC onward, refer to it simply as Lanka. During British rule, the island was known as Ceylon, but in 1972 it officially adopted the name Sri Lanka, adding the Sanskrit honorific Sri, meaning "resplendent," "holy," or "wealthy," to the ancient name Lanka.