Nadungamuwa Raja (aka Nadungamuwa Vijaya Raja) was the main sacred casket carrier of the Kandy Esala Perahera procession for more than a decade. He was an Indian elephant (Elephas maximus indicus) subspecies and a tusker. Nadungamuwa Raja was the tallest tamed tusker in Asia during his lifetime, and it made him one of Asia's famous elephants.
He was born in the Indian state of Mysore circa 1953. Raja sent to a native medicine monk who lived at Piliyandala Nilammahara Temple. Jayachamarajendra Wadiyar, the Maharaja of Mysore, in gratitude for curing his relative’s long illness, gifted Raja. Then, Raja brought by Dharmavijaya Veda Ralahamy for Rs. 75,000 in 1978 when he was 25 years old from Herbert Wickramasinghe, a former politician from Bandaragama Electoral District (Kalutara area). Dharmavijaya Veda Ralahamy was a famous Ayurvedic physician at the time. Harsha Dharmavijay, Ralahamy's son and an Ayurvedic doctor, looked after Raja after his father died. Since then, the elephant's name has been changed to Nadungamuwa, the name of his residing village. Seaman, Soma, Simon, and Wilson Kodithuwakku aka Kalu Mama were the four mahouts of Raja.
Raja had already participated in various perahera festivities in Gampaha, Colombo, and other regions prior to the Kandy Esala Perahera. On the request of Pradeep Nilanga Dela, the Diyawadana Nilame of Sri Dalada Maligawa, Raja joined the Kandy Esala Perahera in 2005. When he first arrived for the Kandy Perahera, he was 52 years old. Raja was participating in the Kandy Esala Perahera for more than a decade. He was carried the relics casket 13 times during the Dalada Perahera and the last time he was carried the casket in 2021.
All times the elephant walked from Gampaha to Kandy, covering a distance of about 90 kilometers, and it did not like vechile transport. In September 2015, a motorcyclist very nearly crashed into the elephant, and the government gave military security when it traveled.
Rs. 15 worth of postage stamp and first day cover were issued in 2019 for appreciation of the Raja's contribution of religion and culture. Issuing postage stamp and first day cover were the second occasion for the appreciation of an elephant.
Nadungamuwa Raja died on 7 March 2022 at the age of 69. The tusker elephant was honored as a national treasure by the Sri Lankan government. The President instructed to preserve the body as a stuffed body.