The Kingdom of Kandy used a variety of flags at both national and provincial level. The kingdom succeeded from the Kotte Kingdom in around 1469, continued the use of the heraldic emblems of Kotte.
The royal family and their flags took pre-eminence over all.
The flag of Sri Vikrama Rajasinha (1798âÂÂ1815), the only flag of a Sri Lankan monarch so far known to be in existence. A fragment of a manuscript on flags in the library of the Malwathu Maha Viharaya records: "The Sinhalese royal standard: a banner bearing the device of a lion holding a sword in its right paw. This was the flag of Sri Vikrama Rajasinha, (1798-1815) who became the Sinhalese King." This flag was lost when it had been picked up from the battle ground at Hanwella Fort in 1803 by British Capt. William Pollock when Sri Vikrama Rajasinha and his forces had to retreat during the Battle of Hanwella of the First Kandyan War.
This flag was rediscovered in 1908 by E. W. Perera, along with two other Sinhalese flags, at the Royal Hospital Chelsea in London. At the time Perera found the flag, he had to repair it and prepare a sketch for publication as it was already in a very bad state of preservation and unsuitable for photography. In 1916 E. W. Perera reproduces a sketch of the flag, without colours, in plate No. 100 in his well-known monograph, Sinhalese Banners and Standards published in 1916.
This flag had been in possession of a doctor in Colombo until June 1990 with his sudden death his wife, a Swiss lady, left the island for permanent settlement in Switzerland taking the flag with her.
Senarath Panawatta, a former curator of the Kandy National Museum, later confirmed the authenticity of this flag as an original artifact. Panawatta identified it as the civil standard of the Kandyan kings, a flag that continued to be used during the reign of Sri Vikrama Rajasinha. He also clarified that this flag is distinct from the Sinhalese Royal Flag, which serves as the basis for the modern national flag of Sri Lanka, now modified with the addition of two stripes.
The Kandyan kingdom was divided into 21 provinces, 12 Disavanis and 9 Ratas. Ratas were smaller administrative divisions in close proximity to the central government and governed by a Rate Mahatmaya, while Disavanis were larger, further away and governed by a Dissava (governor), acting as a representative of the king. Each disavani and rata was divided into Korales and the Korales in turn were divided into Pattu (singular, pattuva). Each pattuva consisted of a large number of villages which varied in extant and composition.
Each Disavani was entitled to have a distinct flag and each Disava was preceded by his particular flag while he was travelling in his disavani symbolizing their power and authority. Rate Mahatmaya had vastly lessor power and authority including that of not having the right to a flag.
The Kandyan Government had their own flags to denote its official positions and departments.
We also know that hereditary clans and castes had flags, and that temples and monasteries displayed special banners of their own.