Wickrama, A. S. M.2025-09-082024Wickrama, A. S. M. (2024). ජනශ‍්‍රැතියේ නිරූපිත සාලිය-අශෝකමාලා ප්‍රේම වෘත්තාන්තය තුළ සැඟව ඇති සන්නිවේදනාර්ථ. Master of Philosophy in Mass Communication Thesis, Faculty of Graduate Studies, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka.http://repository.kln.ac.lk/handle/123456789/29852As lovers Saliya and Ashokamala are a unique pair of characters rooted in folklore, literature and history. Further, Saliya-Mala is the Sri Lankan symbol of immortal lovers of world literature like Rama-Sita, Radha-Krishna, Romeo-Juliet and Shah Jahan-Mumtaz, who are revered in world history. This becomes the most interesting royal story because Saliya is the son of King Dutugemunu, the hero of this country's history, and his lover Mala (Ashoka Mala) belongs to the lowest caste called Rodi (Sadol/Chandala). These two are also prominent figures in local art. In addition, this story has a significant place in the folklore of this country in terms of religion, social background, ancient irrigation system, agriculture, beliefs, ancient social system, medical system, governance and monarchy. According to the introductory story of the Mahavamsa, the most significant historical source in the country, Saliya and Mala were rejected by the royal family. Therefore, Mala is rooted in the society as a low caste woman. There are many legends about them, outside the Anuradhapura city. According to these stories, and other historical sources, there was another reason why Prince Saliya did not receive the kingship. It is a struggle regarding the acquisition of state power. On the other hand, Prince Saliya is not greedy for state power because he is a Bodhisathva figure. According to some factors, Mala is not a low-caste woman, but the standard story says that Prince Saliya lost his kingship because of fascinating Ashokamala. The aim of this research is to examine how the reality of this love story can be revealed through the meanings of communication revealed through the stories depicted in folklore. Data collection was done through 10 interviews of Purposive Sampling under the qualitative research method and data were analyzed using inter-analysis methods. Accordingly, it seems that this love story has other reasons beyond caste, including the power struggle of the royal family. A lot of information that has not been revealed so far was also collected from these stories.HelloligramaKingshipBeautyLoversAshoka gardenThesis