The name of a river and of the district near its mouth in Ceylon. The Buddha visited the Kalyáni country in the eighth year after the Enlightenment, in company with five hundred monks, on the second day after the full-moon of Vesákha and, seated on the spot where the Kalyáni-Cetiya was later built, he preached to the Nágas and their king Maniakkhika, at whose invitation he had come (Sp.i.89; Mhv.i.63, 75ff; Dpv.ii.42, 53; J.ii.128).
Once a king reigned in Kalyání named Kalyani-Tissa, who had a daughter Viháramahádeví. According to the legends connected with her, Kalyání was at one time much further from the sea than it is now. The sea swallowed up several leagues of land (Mhv.xxii.12ff). King Yatthála-Tissa built a five-storied pásáda in the town, which was later restored by Parakkamabáhu II (Cv.lxxxv.64).
The Kalyáni district formed the fighting base of several campaigns. E.g., Cv.lxi.35, 39; lxxii.151.