A land area of 220,000 square metres (54 acres) is owned by the school spreading over half of the Dharmaraja hill.

[17] Having read a printed version of the Panadura Vaadaya of 1873, a public debate between Buddhist and Christian representatives on the correctness of each belief, Col Olcott was impressed with the teachings in Theravada Buddhism, which were in line with his vision as a theosophist.

[18] It resulted in him arriving in Sri Lanka to study more on Buddhism, and starting a branch of the Theosophical Society, first in Colombo and then in Kandy and Galle.

Mudaliyar Agaris was a popular and respected man throughout Kandy Province and had been given the title in 1878 after his father, Don Alexander-James Divakara Mohottige had died.

[20] Several Kandyan nobles were supportive of the idea, and it was decided that the plot of land in front of the Old Palace, adjoining the Natha Devalaya was the best for building the school.

But there was an obstacle in that the plot was covered by a Bo tree, held sacred by the Buddhists, which had to be felled for putting up a school building.

It was under this pretext that on 30 June 1887, Dharmaraja College, under the name of Kandy Buddhist High School, was opened.

This occasion was graced by Sir Olcott, Mudaliyar Divakara Mohottige and several Kandyan nobles including Dullawe Adhikaram, Wadugodapitiya Punchirala Korale, T.B.

[22] The number of students reached the 50s and the staff increased to three under Andiris de Silva, who was an efficient leader and an accomplished teacher.

The foundations of transforming Dharmaraja from a mere educational establishment to one of the best schools in Sri Lanka were laid by Sir Jayathilake.

H. Banbury succeeded Sir Jayathilake as principal and he ran a campaign to raise funds for a permanent school building, travelling even in remote villages collecting donations.

Billimoria gave priority to shaping Dharmaraja into a strong institution which could ably compete with the other Missionary Schools at that time.

By 1922 Billimoria had raised funds to purchase the 'Lake View Estate', a 37-acre (150,000 m2) land overlooking the Kandy Lake, and built the A and B wings of the college hostel in 1923.

Among special events at the time a Nobel Laureate in Literature, the great Indian poet Rabindranath Tagore did a dance recital at the Principal's bungalow when he visited the school in the 1920s.

The College Scout Group began in 1914,[24] under the patronage of De Saram Brothers and many sports and other extra-curricular activities were encouraged.

[25] Several renowned figures visited Dharmaraja during his office, including Mahatma Gandhi, Lord Baden Powell and D. H. Lawrence.

However, Dharmaraja was facing a financial crisis when Kularatne assumed duties, and even the Lake View premise was under threat of being sold.

He restored the hostel and transformed the Principal's quarters at the city premises to classrooms and a laboratory complex, and Dharmaraja started teaching science subjects in 1933.

In 1935 Dharmaraja was visited by four distinguished visitors from India; Rabindranath Tagore, Nandalal Bose, Uday Shankar and Kalki Krishnamurthy.In 1936 Kularatne was re-appointed as the principal of Ananda, and L.H.

In 1946 he was appointed principal back at Ananda, but his service to Dharmaraja would be remembered for years to come, especially with the Mettananda building which now houses the College Offices and the Library.

S. A. Wijayathilake was appointed principal of Dharmaraja in November 1945, the same year that free education was established in Sri Lanka.

Wijayathilake, who was a scholar of Buddhist studies and Classical Languages, emphasised on developing the literary activities of the students.Wijayathilake retired in early 1955 and was replaced by Charles Godage, who was also a patron of Arts and a poet and writer.

Bandaranaike started off his victorious campaign for the Parliamentary election of 1956, by an alms giving held at the Dharmaraja Primary School hall, which was known as a "Jayabima".

Under Col. Perusinghe sports, Cadetting and Scouting activities prospered, with the students achieving National and International level victories.

By this time Dharmaraja showed the best academic results in the Central Province, with many students being qualified to University education.

Navindra Dayan later represented Sri Lanka at international level and won a silver medal at the 2006 South Asian Games.

[34] Boxing was restarted in Dharmaraja College and Rajan boxers won at national level and one such player who enjoyed success at school level, Gamini Kumara, later represented Sri Lanka at the South Asian Games in 1999 and won a silver medal.

The Dharmaraja–Kingswood Cricket Encounter, Battle of the Maroons, being the oldest of its sort in Kandy with a history dating back to 1893, and the annual cross-country marathon are regular college fixtures.

[citation needed] The school song of Dharmaraja college[45] was composed by P. B. Elangasinha Rate Mahathmaya.

[citation needed] The highest-ranking official amongst the Old Rajans is William Gopallawa (who subsequently attended St. Anthony's College, Kandy), and was the first President of Sri Lanka and the last Governor-General of Ceylon.