Flag of Sri Lanka

The symbol of a lion in Sri Lankan heraldry dates back to 486 BC, when Vijaya, the first King of Sri Lanka, arrived on the island from India and brought with him a standard depicting a lion.[1] The symbol appears to have influenced subsequent monarchs, being used extensively by them and becoming a symbol of freedom and hope: King Dutugemunu embarked on his campaign against Ellalan- an invading South Indian ruler- in 162 BC bearing a banner depicting a lion carrying a sword in its right forepaw, a symbol of the Sun and one of the Moon.[1]

This basic design continued to be in use until 1815, when the Kandyan Convention ended the reign of the country's last native monarch, Sri Vikrama Rajasinha, replacing his royal standard (used as the Flag of the Kingdom of Kandy) with the Union Flag as the nation's accepted flag.[1] The government of British Ceylon later established its own flag, while Sri Vikrama Rajasinha's standard was taken to England and kept at the Royal Hospital Chelsea.[1]

As the independence movement in Sri Lanka gained strength in the early 20th century, E. W. Perera and D. R. Wijewardena discovered the original Lioness Flag in Chelsea.[1] A photo of it was published in Dinamina, in a special edition marking a century since the loss of self-rule and Sri Lankan independence.[1] The flag provoked much interest from the public who, for the first time since the fall of the Kandyan Kingdom, had seen its actual design.[1]

Member of Parliament for Batticaloa, Mudaliyar A. Sinnalebbe, suggested in Parliament on January 16, 1948 that the Lion Flag should be accepted as the national flag.[2] In 1948, the flag was adopted as the national flag of the Dominion of Ceylon, undergoing two changes: one in 1953 and a redesign in 1972.[1] A notable feature of 1972's adaptation of the Kandyan standard was the replacement of the four spearheads at the flag's corners by four bo leaves, a design choice made under the direction of Nissanka Wijeyeratne, Permanent Secretary to the Ministry of Cultural Affairs and Chairman of the National Emblem and Flag Design Committee.[1][3]

• Historical flags of Sri Lanka
• 
  Standard of Sri Vikrama Rajasinha of Kandy, used as the Kingdom of Kandy's flag, c.1798–1815
• 
  Flag of British Ceylon, 1815–1948
• 
  Flag of the Dominion of Ceylon, 1948–1951
• 
  Flag of the Dominion of Ceylon (Republic), 1951-1972

The national flag of Sri Lanka represents the country and its heritage as a rallying device. Most symbols in the flag have been given distinctive meanings.[4][5]

• List of Sri Lankan flags
• Emblem of Sri Lanka
• Flag of Veneto

• Lanka Library
• The Proposer of the lion Flag, Mudaliyar Sinnalebbe
• Sri Lanka Government Web Portal
• The Sri Lankan Lion Flag -how it came to be

Wikimedia Commons has media related to National flag of Sri Lanka.

• A few examples of European Heraldic Lions and the Sri Lankan national flag
• Sri Lanka at Flags of the World
• Lion Flag as depicted in the Constitution of Sri Lanka