Tam: ஆனையிறவு āṉaiyiṟavu – Sin: අලිමංකඩ alimankada
Elephant Pass Causeway, NP Sri Lanka
Tam: Anaiyiravu; Sin: Alimankada
From Tam: (y)anai, ‘elephant’ [Sin: aliya, ‘elephant’]; and Tam: iravu, ‘passage, place of descent’ [Sin: man, ‘road, path’ and kada, ‘passage, way’].
Elephant Pass or Corridor is a long causeway connecting the Jaffna peninsula to the mainland.
The Chundikkulam Lagoon (SL) is sometimes called the Elephant Pass Lagoon.
It’s possible that elephants used to cross here in the days when it was simply a shallow pathway across the lagoon to eat the palmyra fruits which grew in abundance in Jaffna in July and August.
Another suggestion is that elephants were led up the lagoon in Portuguese and Dutch times for shipping to India.
Elephant Pass was the site of many battles during the Civil War.
For related place names see Sri Lanka Place names.
View up Elephant Pass Indi Samarajiva