And in the words of Valentine Francois, the 18th century Dutch Historian, “the Karawas displayed a white flag with the device of a particular fish in the centre".
It has the head of a crocodile, horns of a goat, the body of an antelope and a snake, the tail of a fish and feet of a panther.
The Sri Lankan chronicle Rajavaliya states that the elephant flag was prominent in Mayadunne's son, prince Rajasinghe's battle at Mulleriyawa against the Portuguese.
The sak paliha was a white shield sometimes with the devise of a conch shell on it and is referred to frequently as a royal symbol in Sinhalese historical texts.
The emblems consist of 21 flags embroidered with representations of various objects, animate and inanimate, such as a Snake, a Peacock, a Palmyra, a Chank, the Sun and Moon an Elephant.
The bridegroom wears a costume called KAPA resembling the state robes of Jathi Thalavi More and white cloths are spread before hi in his path.
The Karava Sun and Moon Flag symbolizing the Solar and Lunar Dynasty origins of the community. This flag is also one of the main flags still used by the Karavas at their ceremonies and is another flag referred to in the
Mukkara Hatana
as granted to the Karavas by King Parakramabahu IV. However the
Mahabharata
states that the epic
Kauravas
from whom the Karavas claim descent used flags with the sun, moon and stars in the great Mahabharata war.
[
citation needed
]
A 19th century representation of the Karava Makara Flag. The image of the mythical creature Makara is extensively used in ancient Sri Lankan royal architecture. This flag is one of the main flags still used by the Karavas at their ceremonies. The
Mukkara Hatana
, an
ola leaf
manuscript now in the British Museum states that King Parakramabahu IV granted it to the Karavas
A Centuries old Makara flag of the
Karava
community
The Garuda flag of the
Karava
from Tamankaduwa. Verse 151 of the Thisara Sandesha from the
Kotte
period refers to the Garuda flag as a royal flag
A 17th century Catholic flag of the
Karavas
. For a clear copy of the flag see
[1]
The funeral procession on 23 August 1612 of prince Mahasthana, son of Maha
Patabendige
Dona Catherina, sole heiress of the kingdom of Sri Lanka. Note the use of flags and other insignia as done by the Karavas todate
The battle flag of Sri Lanka, captured by the British from
Sri Wikrama Rajasinghe
's army. It displays the kettle drum which was beaten before battles and five weapons (panchaudha). In the past, a medallion with panchaudha symbols used to be tied on Karava infants for protection. The practice still survives in rural Sri Lanka and has been now adopted by other communities as well.
A
Patangatim
's wife's tombstone from 1691. It bears the
Karava
insignia: Pearl umbrella, Palm tree, caparisoned Elephant and
Fish symbol
Click image to enlarge.
The flag of the
Karava
'Thakura Arta-deva Adithya' clan from 20th century impressions of Ceylon. The colors of the stripes are blue, gold, red, white and purple.
