Nadungamuwa Raja

Nadungamuwa Raja (Sinhala:නැදුන්ගමුව රාජා) is an Indian tusker born c. 1953 in Mysore and he is the current main casket bearer of the procession of Esala held in Kandy Sri Lanka.Raja is one of the two elephant calves gifted by a Mysore Maharaja to the veteran native physician monk resided in Nilammahara Temple Piliyandala in appreciation of curing his relative's long lasted illness,other elephant being late Nawam Raja of Gangaramaya.In 1978 he was acquired from his second owner (a man from Horana) by Dharmavijaya Veda Ralahamy of Nadungamuwa area,an eminent Ayurvedic physician of that time (father of the present owner Mr Harsha Dharmavijaya) since then he is named after his residing village Nadungamuwa.