Simoundou and Related Names
Ptolemy also called the island Simoundou or Simundu (probably meant to read Silundu), also believed to derive ultimately from the Sanskrit sinhala. From Ptolemy we learn that, relative to Taprobanê, Simoundou was an ancient name for Sri Lanka (from Ptolemy's perspective, and thus even more so now).
He also called it Palai-Simundu, which is believed to either mean simply "Old Simundu", using the Greek word for "old", or alternatively to derive from the Sanskrit pali-simanta (meaning "head of the sacred law"), as Sri Lanka had by that time become an important center of Buddhism.
Read more about this topic: Names Of Sri Lanka
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