National Anthem of Sri Lanka

The national anthem of Sri Lanka is “Sri Lanka Matha,” meaning “Mother Sri Lanka.” Initially, the anthem was called “Namo Namo Matha,” which translates to “Salute! Salute! Motherland.” It is locally known as “ශ්‍රී ලංකා මාතා” in Sinhala and “சிறீ லங்கா தாயே” in Tamil.

The anthem was first performed at an official ceremony on 4 February 1949 at the Independence Memorial Hall during Sri Lanka’s national day celebrations. On 22 November 1951, it was officially adopted as the national anthem of Sri Lanka. The anthem was later given constitutional recognition in the 1978 Constitution, which stated that the National Anthem of the Republic of Sri Lanka shall be ‘Sri Lanka Matha‘.

Origins and Theories

There are different beliefs regarding the creation of Sri Lanka’s national anthem. Here are the three main theories:

1. Rabindranath Tagore Theory: Some believe the anthem was written by famous Indian poet Rabindranath Tagore.
2. Tagore and Samarakoon Collaboration: Another theory suggests that Rabindranath Tagore composed the music, while Ananda Samarakoon wrote the lyrics.
3. Ananda Samarakoon’s Creation: The most widely accepted theory is that Ananda Samarakoon independently wrote both the lyrics and the music for the anthem in 1940, years before Sri Lanka gained independence.

Samarakoon was deeply influenced by his time at Visva-Bharati University in West Bengal, where he studied under Tagore. This connection has led to varying opinions about the exact role Tagore played in the anthem’s creation.

Sinhala version

ශ්‍රී ලංකා මාතා අප ශ්‍රී ලංකා
නමෝ නමෝ නමෝ නමෝ මාතා
සුන්දර සිරිබරිනී
සුරැඳි අති ශෝභමාන ලංකා
ධාන්‍ය ධනය නෙක
මල් පලතුරු පිරි ජය භුමිය රම්‍යා
අප හට සැප සිරි සෙත සදනා
ජීවනයේ මාතා
පිළිගනු මැන අප භක්තී පූජා
නමෝ නමෝ මාතා අප ශ්‍රී ලංකා
නමෝ නමෝ නමෝ නමෝ මාතා

ඔබ වේ අප විද්‍යා
ඔබ මය අප සත්‍යා
ඔබ වේ අප ශක්ති
අප හද තුළ භක්තී
ඔබ අප ආලෝකේ
අපගේ අනුප්‍රාණේ
ඔබ අප ජීවන වේ
අප මුක්තිය ඔබ වේ

නව ජීවන දෙමිනේ
නිතින අප පුබුදු කරන් මාතා
ඥාන වීර්ය වඩවමින රැගෙන
යනු මැන ජය භූමී කරා
එක මවකගෙ දරු කැල බැවිනා
යමු යමු වී නොපමා
ප්‍රේම වඩා සැම භේද දුරැර දා
නමෝ නමෝ මාතා අප ශ්‍රී ලංකා
නමෝ නමෝ නමෝ නමෝ මාතා

Tamil version

சிறீ லங்கா தாயே – நம் சிறீ லங்கா
நமோ நமோ நமோ நமோ தாயே
நல்லெழில் பொலி சீரணி
நலங்கள் யாவும் நிறை வான்மணி லங்கா
ஞாலம் புகழ் வள வயல் நதி மலை மலர்
நறுஞ்சோலை கொள் லங்கா
நமதுறு புகலிடம் என ஒளிர்வாய்
நமதுதி ஏல் தாயே
நம தலை நினதடி மேல் வைத்தோமே
நமதுயிரே தாயே – நம் சிறீ லங்கா
நமோ நமோ நமோ நமோ தாயே

நமதாரருள் ஆனாய்
நவை தவிர் உணர்வானாய்
நமதேர் வலியானாய்
நவில் சுதந்திரம் ஆனாய்
நமதிளமையை நாட்டே
நகு மடி தனையோட்டே
அமைவுறும் அறிவுடனே
அடல் செறி துணிவருளே

நமதார் ஒளி வளமே
நறிய மலர் என நிலவும் தாயே
யாமெலாம் ஒரு கருணை அனைபயந்த
எழில்கொள் சேய்கள் எனவே
இயலுறு பிளவுகள் தமை அறவே
இழிவென நீக்கிடுவோம்
ஈழ சிரோமணி வாழ்வுறு பூமணி
நமோ நமோ தாயே – நம் சிறீ லங்கா
நமோ நமோ நமோ நமோ தாயே

English translation

Thou Mother Lanka,
Oh Mother Lanka we salute, salute, salute, salute Thee!
Plenteous in prosperity, Thou,
Beauteous in grace and love,
Laden with grain and luscious fruit,
And fragrant flowers of radiant hue,
Giver of life and all good things,
Our land of joy and victory,
Receive our grateful praise sublime, we worship, worship Thee.
Oh Mother Lanka! We salute, salute, salute, salute Thee!

Thou gavest us Knowledge and Truth,
Thou art our strength and inward faith,
Our light divine and sentient being,
Breath of life and liberation.
Grant us, bondage free, inspiration.
Inspire us forever.

In wisdom and strength renewed,
Ill-will, hatred, strife all ended,
In love enfolded, a mighty nation
Marching onward, all of us as Children of One Mother,
Lead us, Mother, to fullest freedom, we worship, worship Thee
Oh Mother Lanka! We salute, salute, salute, salute Thee!

The Anthem’s First Performance and Adoption

The original version of the anthem, “Namo Namo Matha,” was first sung by students at Mahinda College in Galle. Before Sri Lanka’s independence in 1948, the Lanka Gandharva Sabha organized a competition to find the national anthem. Among the entries were Samarakoon’s “Namo Namo Matha” and “Sri Lanka Matha Pala Yasa Mahima” by P. B. Illangasinghe and Lionel Edirisinghe.

Though “Sri Lanka Matha Pala Yasa Mahima” was broadcast on Radio Ceylon on 4 February 1948, it was not sung at the official independence day ceremony. Instead, Sri Lanka continued using the British national anthem, “God Save the King,” until 1951.

Adoption as National Anthem

In 1950, J.R. Jayewardene, the Minister of Finance, proposed that “Namo Namo Matha” be recognized as the official national anthem. A government committee, headed by Edwin Wijeyeratne, was formed to evaluate different songs. After deliberation, the committee chose Samarakoon’s song with minor changes to the original lyrics. The tenth line was altered from “Nawajeewana Damine Newatha Apa Awadi Karan Matha” to “Nawa Jeewana Demine Nithina Apa Pubudu Karan Matha”, with Samarakoon’s approval.

The anthem was officially adopted on 22 November 1951. It was later translated into Tamil by Muruggapillai Nallathambi, a Sri Lankan Tamil poet.

Controversy Over the Anthem

In the late 1950s, a controversy arose over the first line of the anthem, “Namo Namo Matha, Apa Sri Lanka”. It was believed to bring bad luck, especially following the deaths of two prime ministers. In 1961, the government decided to change the line to “Sri Lanka Matha, Apa Sri Lanka” despite strong opposition from Samarakoon.

The Tamil Version of the National Anthem

The Tamil version of Sri Lanka’s national anthem is called “Sri Lanka Thaaye.” It is a direct translation of the Sinhala version, “Sri Lanka Matha,” and uses the same music. While both versions share the same meaning and melody, their usage has differed in the country’s history.

Usage of the Tamil Version

For many years, the Sinhala version of the anthem was the only one sung at official government events, international sports, and other national ceremonies. The Tamil version, “Sri Lanka Thaaye,” was generally only sung in the northern and eastern regions of Sri Lanka, where the Tamil language predominates. This division led to the Tamil version being largely excluded from national events and celebrations.

In March 2015, newly elected President Maithripala Sirisena made a significant announcement. He declared that there was no official ban on singing the national anthem in Tamil. This decision, however, faced backlash from some Sinhalese Buddhist nationalists who opposed the idea of using the Tamil version at official events.

First Use of the Tamil Version in Official Events

On 4 February 2016, during Sri Lanka’s 68th Independence Day celebrations, the Tamil version of the national anthem was sung at an official government event for the first time since 1949. This marked a historic moment, as it was the first time in decades that the Tamil version was included in national ceremonies.

Despite the 2015 announcement, the Sri Lankan government decided to stop using the Tamil version of the anthem at the main Independence Day celebrations in 2020. The change was a setback for the use of the Tamil version in official state functions.

In 2024, after a brief hiatus, the Sri Lankan government once again included the Tamil version of the anthem during the 76th Independence Day celebrations. This reinstatement signified a return to a more inclusive approach to national symbols, reflecting Sri Lanka’s diverse population.