While it is rather featureless at present, albeit with a lake in tow, the little area of Dunuvila is important since it is believed that the final battle between Lord Rama and the Rakshasa king of the amazingly advanced Lankapura Kingdom, King Ravana took place here. It is where, according to the Ramayana, the invading Rama fired the deadly Brahmastra, the primary weapon of the god Brahma at Ravana. It was shot off a bow in the manner of an arrow, from what was once the lakeshore. Hence the name is a combination of “Dunu”, meaning bow, and “Vila” meaning the word lake.

As in almost all the sites supposed to have been encountered by the characters of this epic, there is hardly a thing remaining of the battle between the Rama’s army-comprised of his Vanara allies and that of the defending king of Lanka.

Written by Vasika Udurawane for Travel Lanka Compass