// Workers AI · dad joke modeWhat did Puliyanthivu island say? "I'm puling for you.

This article is about the island in Batticaloa District. For other uses, see Puliyantivu.

Puliyanthivu புளியந்தீவு පුළියංතීවු
Town
This area was colonial port
Interactive map of Puliyanthivu
Coordinates: 7°42′45.39″N 81°41′49.33″E
Country	Sri Lanka
Province	Eastern
District	Batticaloa
Divisional Secretariat	Manmunai North

Puliyanthivu

Native name: புளியந்தீவு පුළියංතීවු
Puliyanthivu in 3D map
Interactive map of Puliyanthivu
Geography
Location	Batticaloa Lagoon
Administration
Sri Lanka
District	Batticaloa District
City	Batticaloa
Demographics
Population	7,034

Puliyanthivu (Tamil: புளியந்தீவு) is an island of Sri Lanka and part of Batticaloa town. It has important infrastructures such as government buildings (District Secretariat. municipal council, post office, public library, teaching hospital, bus stand, etc.), banks, schools, worship places and places of historical importance, notably Batticaloa Fort.

Etymology

Batticaloa historical book Mattakalapputh Thamilakam quotes from Swami Vipulananda that Vedda’s chieftain Puliyan ruled the area and his name later adapted to the island. Puliyanthivu literally means "island of Puliyan" (thivu means island). Also, the book quotes from Mahavamsa that there was a caste called Pulinthar, which could be the reason for the name of the island. As per the common naming norms of villages in Batticaloa, which are called by the name of tree or a pond, the island could have been named after the tamarind tree, as there were a lot of tamarind trees in the area. Tamarind is called "puli" in Tamil. Literally, it means "island of tamarind".

History

In the 11th century, one the minister among seven ministers of king Kathirsuthan of Chola dynasty was ruled the area, and the minister name was Pulimaran.