Although there are at least two solar eclipses each year, somewhere on earth, they are however rare in any particular location, since the path of shadow is narrow. Over the 600 year period from 1500 to 2100 AD, it has been computed that 3 Total Solar Eclipses and 11 Annular Solar Eclipse paths cross Lanka. However from any one location in Lanka, only 1 Total and 4 or 5 Annular Eclipses.
| Year Month | Date Time | Type__%cover | Duration mm:ss | Seen From |
| 1502 October | 01 15:08 | Annular 85.6 | 3:15 | Galle |
| 1507 January | 13 13:37 | Annular 90.5 | 4:59 | Kandy,Colombo,Galle |
| 1604 April | 29 12:58 | Annular 90.8 | 5:57 | Anuradhapura |
| 1658 June | 01 06:47 | Annular 88.7 | 3:33 | Kandy,Colombo,Galle |
| 1731 July | 04 10:34 | Annular 92.1 | 4:23 | Galle |
| 1817 May | 18 12:36 | Annular 90.0 | 4:35 | Jaffna,Anuradhapura |
| 1871 December | 12 08:00 | Total | 2:19 | Jaffna |
| 1901 November | 11 13:41 | Annular 84.8 | 6:35 | Jaffna,Anuradhapura,Kandy |
| 1955 June | 20 08:14 | Total | 3:32 | Anuradhapura,Kandy,Colombo |
| 2010 January | 15 13:25 | Annular 84.3 | 10:05 | Jaffna,Anuradhapura |
| 2019 December | 26 09:35 | Annular 93.5 | 3:09 | Jaffna |
| 2031 May | 21 13:27 | Annular 91.9 | 5:09 | Jaffna |
| 2070 April | 11 06:28 | Total | 1:43 | Galle |
| 2074 January | 27 12:20 | Annular 96.1 | 1:54 | Kandy,Colombo |
In the 21st century the next two Solar Eclipses to cross Lanka on 2019 December 26th and 2031 May 21st are also annular visible only in northern Lanka. After that there is a Total on 2070 April 11 and an Annular on 2074 January 27th and visible from southern Lanka.
Eclipses have fascinated and frightened humans through recorded history. Oldest Solar Eclipse observation is a Chinese record dated 709 BC. Eclipses can now be predicted with good accuracy for many millenniums in the past and the future using details of the orbits of the Earth around the Sun and the Moon around the Earth.
The largest uncertainty in eclipse predictions is caused by fluctuations in Earth's rotation due primarily to tidal friction of the Moon. The resultant drift in apparent clock time is expressed as ΔT seconds. Past values of ΔT need to be deduced from the historical records of observed Eclipses, in spite of their relatively low precision. These data represent the only evidence for the value of ΔT prior to 1600 AD. Few centuries beyond the period with observations the rms error in ΔT grows to above 600 seconds. Outside period 1000 BC to 2500 AD, it is not possible to predicted the eclipse will cross Lanka or miss it. 600 seconds translates to 2.5 degree in longitudes and Lanka has a width of only 2 degrees.
Valmiki in the Ramayana describes a solar eclipse, 13th year of Rama's exile, during a war with Khar and Dushan. Some scholars totally ignorant of expected errors on ΔT, associate it with the Solar eclipse on 7th October 5077 BC saying it was visible in Panchavati, India. This is Total BS since the rms error of ΔT is over 90 degrees of longitude by 5000 BC :-). They then use this extrapolation to try prove that Rama was born in 5114 BC.