Sri Lankan literature refers to the written or literary work associated with Sri Lanka, a tropical island nation in the Indian Ocean off of the southern area of the famous Indian subcontinent. By far the largest part of Sri Lankan literature is written in the Sinhala language, but there are bodies of written work in other languages such as English, Pāli, and Tamil.
Sinhala, which is also referred to as Sinhalese (older spelling: Singhala and Singhalese) or Helabasa, is the first language of the biggest ethnic group in Sri Lanka; the Sinhalese. Although some has claimed that Sinhala was born as a mixture of Pāli and Sanskrit, some of the leading Sri Lankan scholars such as Kalasuri Arisen Ahubudu have denied that hypothesis, claiming that it is one of the oldest languages on earth.
The Sinhala Alphabet
One can follow the history of Sri Lankan literature back to at least two millenniums. It is considered as a successor to the ancient Aryan literary traditions. The Tripitaka (Pāli Canon), the standard compilation of Theravada Buddhist scriptures that was preserved orally in Pāli language for centuries, was first written down during the Fourth Buddhist council that took place in Sri Lanka in 29 BC. There are also many ancient chronicles like Mahāvansa and Choolawansa that were written in the 6th century. The oldest Sri Lankan prose work in existence, the Dhampiya-Atuva-Geatapaday, has been written back in the 9th century. In addition, the folklores have also played an important part in ancient Sri Lankan Literature.
The middle ages are considered as the golden age of Sri Lankan literature. Many poetic messages or poetic letters, which were named as Sandesha Kāvya, were written during this time period. Some of the most famous Sandesha Kāvya, are Hansa Sandeshaya (The message of the Swan), Salalihini Sandeshaya (The message of the Myna), and Girā Sandeshaya (The message of the Parrot). The Kavsilumina and Kavya-Sekharaya are some of the poetry written in the medieval Sri Lanka. The famous prose like Amāvatura, Pujāvaliya and Saddharma-Ratnāvaliya were also written during this period.
The very first modern-day Sri Lankan novel was written by Simon de Silva in 1905, and was named Meena. In the present, short stories are also considered as a very important branch of Sri Lankan literature.
Sri Lankan Pali Writers
- Mahanama Thero
- Vedeha Thero
Sri Lankan Sinhalese Writers
- A. V. Suraweera
- Abimurja sankapala
- Ajith Thilakasena
- Aluthgamage Simon De Silva
- Anula Wijeratne Menike
- Arauwala Nandimitra
- Asoka Colombage
- Benthota Albert Silva
- Bhadraji Mahinda Jayatilake
- Chandraratna Bandara
- Cyril C. Perera
- D.F. Kariyakarawana
- D.G. Sasanka Chalana
- Daya Dissanayake
- Dharma Sri Kuruppu
- Ediriweera Sarachchandra
- Eric Illayapparachchi
- G. B. Senanayake
- G. S. B. Senanayake
- Gunadasa Amarasekara
- Gunadasa Liyanage
- Gunasena Vithana
- H. A. Seneviratne
- Hemapala Munidasa
- Indu Perera
- Janaki Sooriyarachchi
- Jayasena Jayakody
- Jayatilleke Kammallaweera
- K. Jayatillake
- Kamal Perera
- Kapila Kumara Kalinga
- Karunasena Jayalath
- Kumara Karunaratne
- Kumaratunga Munidasa
- Liyanage Amarakerthi
- Madawala S. Ratnayake
- Mahagama Sekara
- Martin Wickramasinghe
- Maya Ranjan
- Miniwan P. Tillakaratne
- N.H Yadun Gunaratne
- Nandasena Ratnapala
- P. M. Jayatillake
- P.B. Jayasekara
- Piyadasa Sirisena
- Piyasena Kahandagamage
- Ranjith Dharmakeerthi
- Rupa Sriyani Ekanayake
- Sarath Wijesooriya
- Sena Thoradeniya
- Shri Charles De Silva
- Simon Navagattegama
- Siri Gunasinghe
- Sirilal Kodikara
- Soma Jayakody
- Somaratne Balasooriya
- Sugathapala de Silva
- Sumithra Rahubadda
- Sunanda Mahendra
- Sunethra Rajakarunanayake
- Sybil Wettasinghe
- T.B. Ilangaratne
- Tennyson Perera
- Upulshantha Sannasgala
- W. A. Silva
Sri Lankan Sinhalese Play Writers & Radio Play Writers
- Ananda Amarasiri
- Ananda Sirisena
- Aravvala Nandimithra
- Dayananda Gunawardena
- Dhamma Jagoda
- Dhanajaya Karunarthne
- Dharma Sri Munasinghe
- Dharmasena Pathiraja
- Ediriweera Sarachchandra
- Gunasena Galappatthi
- Henry Jayasena
- J.H. Jayawardene
- Jayalal Rohana
- Jayalath Manorathne
- John de Silva
- K.A.W Perera
- K.B. Herath
- Kapila Kumara Kalinga
- Karuna Perera
- Karunartha Amarasinghe
- Kathaline Jayawardene
- Malaka Dewapriya
- Megala Mudiyanse
- Mervine Senarathne
- Mudalinayaka Somarathne
- P. Velikala
- Piyal Kriyawasam
- R.R. Samarakoon
- Rajitha Disanayake
- Ranjith Dharmakeerthi
- Rohana Kasturi
- Simon Navagattegama
- Sirilal Kodikara
- Sugathapala de Silva
- Sumithra Rahubadde
- Sunanda Mahendra
- Taranga Galappatthi
- Thilak Jayarathne
- Thilini Meegahapala
- Udaya R. Tennakoon
- Victor Migel
Sri Lankan English Writers
- Anura Saparamadu
- Carl Muller
- Chandani Lokuge
- David Blacker
- David Blacker
- Daya Dissanayake
- Delon Weerasinghe
- Dineli Jayasekara
- Elmo Jayawardene
- Gertrude De Livera
- Isankya Kodithuwakku
- Janaki Sooriyarachchi
- Jayadeva Uyangoda
- Jayashantha Jayawardene
- Lal Medawattegedara
- Madhubashini Ratnayake
- Manuka Wijesinghe
- Michael Ondaatje
- Nihal De Silva
- Nira Wickramasinghe
- Rajiva Wijesinha
- Romesh Gunesekera
- Ru Freeman
- Ruwanthie de Chickera
- Samantha Sirimanne Hyde
- Sena Thoradeniya
- Shyam Selvadurai
- Tharindu Weerasinghe
- Tissa Abeysekara
- V.V. Ganeshananthan
- Vivimarie Vanderpoorten
Sri Lankan Tamil Writers
- A. J. Chattanathan
- A. Kandasamy
- Dominic Jeeva
- Eelattu Poothanthevanar
- M.A.Nuhman
- Murugesu Ponnambalam
- Nanthini Xevair Ranjakumar
- Pa.Ahilan
- Pottuvil Asmin
- S.F. Reena Naushad
- S. Rameswaran
Sri Lankan Poets