Anuradhapura

The very first kingdom in Sri Lanka, Anuradhapura was made the country's capital by King Pandukabhaya (reigned c. 437 BCE - 367 BCE, although some sources also state 337 BCE-305 BCE).

The word "Anuradhapura" is derived from Anuradha, which is the name of one Pandukabhaya's chief ministers, whose special charge was this city, and "pura" which means city or town in Sinhalese.

The construction of Anuradhapura is described in the Mahavamsa:

"He laid out (...) four suburbs as well as the Abhaya-tank, the common cemetery, the place of execution, and the chapel of the Queens of the West, the banyan-tree of Vessavana and the Palmyra-palm of the Demon of Maladies, the ground set apart for the Yonas and the house of the Great Sacrifice; all these he laid out near the west gate." Mahavamsa X, trans. Wilhelm Geiger

"A hermitage was made for many ascetics; eastward of that same cemetery the ruler built a house for the nigantha Jotiya.(...) On the further side of Jotiya's house and on this side of the Gamani tank he likewise built a monastery for wandering meudicant monks, and a dwelling for the ajivakas and a residence for the brahmans, and in this place and that he built a lying-in shelter and a hall for those recovering from sickness." Mahavamsa X, trans. Wilhelm Geiger