[4] With a permit issued by the British government, both the elephants were brought by train to the Kadugannawa railway station and then to the Giragama Walauwa on 11 December 1925.

Raja possessed the rare Maha Gaja Lakshana physical characteristics that put him in the aristocratic caste of Sri Lankan elephants, Chaddhantha.

[1] After observing the great physical characteristics of the elephant and his obedient behavior, Raja was given the responsibility of carrying the sacred casket at the Esala Perahehra in 1950.

After serving Buddhist processions for about 50 years, Raja died in July 1988 due to an illness and his death prompted the government to order a day of national mourning in Sri Lanka.

A postage stamp was issued in its memory on 12 December 1989, and also the 1,000 Rupee bill, with Raja and the Muslim trainer Umar Lebbe Panicker from Eravur in Batticola.