1. Ellalan, referred to as Elara the Pious, and by the honorific epithet Manu Needhi Cholan, was a member of the Tamil Chola dynasty in Southern India, who upon capturing the throne became king of the Anuradhapura Kingdom, in present-day Sri Lanka, from 205 BCE to 161 BCE.
Ellalan is traditionally presented as being a just king even by the Sinhalese.
Ellalan is a peculiar figure in the history of Sri Lanka and one with particular resonance given the past ethnic strife in the country.
Around 205 BCE, Ellalan mounted an invasion of the Rajarata based in Anuradhapura in northern Sri Lanka and defeated the forces of king Asela of Anuradhapura, establishing himself as sole ruler of Rajarata.
Ellalan's territory is said to have been to the north of the Mahaweli River.
Ellalan has been mentioned in the Silappatikaram and Periya Puranam.
Ellalan's name has since then been used as a metaphor for fairness and justice in Tamil literature.
Confrontation between the two monarchs was inevitable and the last years of Ellalan's reign were consumed by the war between the two.
Ellalan was near seventy years when the battle with the young Dutugamunu took place.
The Dakkhina Stupa was until the 19th century believed to have been the tomb of Ellalan and was called Elara Sohona, but was renamed later on by the Sri Lankan Department of Archaeology.
Ellalan received the title "Manu Needhi Cholan" because he executed his own son to provide justice to a cow.
Ellalan has been mentioned in the Silappatikaram and Periya Puranam.
Ellalan's name has since then been used as a metaphor for fairness and justice in Tamil literature.