Upulvan deviyo is a guardian deity of Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...

. The name Upulvan means "blue water lily coloured". A major temple dedicated to him is situated at Devinuwara

Dondra Head

Dondra Head is a cape on the extreme southern tip of Sri Lanka, in the Indian Ocean, near the small town of Dondra near Galle, Southern Province, Sri Lanka...

 in Matara District

Matara District

Matara is a district in Southern Province, Sri Lanka. Its area is 1,246 km². It is represented in the Sri Lankan Parliament following the Sri Lankan parliamentary election, 2010 by former Sri Lankan national Cricketer Sanath Jayasuriya who stood for the United People's Freedom Alliance....

 of Sri Lanka. He came to be worshiped as a protector of Sri Lanka in the medieval period. God Upulvan is also regarded as a protector of Buddhism

Buddhism

Buddhism is a religion and philosophy encompassing a variety of traditions, beliefs and practices, largely based on teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as the Buddha . The Buddha lived and taught in the northeastern Indian subcontinent some time between the 6th and 4th...

 and he is identified with Lord Vishnu

Vishnu

Vishnu is the Supreme god in the Vaishnavite tradition of Hinduism. Smarta followers of Adi Shankara, among others, venerate Vishnu as one of the five primary forms of God....

 in the Hindu

Hindu

Hindu refers to an identity associated with the philosophical, religious and cultural systems that are indigenous to the Indian subcontinent. As used in the Constitution of India, the word "Hindu" is also attributed to all persons professing any Indian religion...

tradition.