Taprobana

Taprobana was the historical name of an island in the Indian Ocean.

It may have been
*"Sri Lanka" as in Ptolemy's map and climes
*"Sumatra" as in the birthplace of Henry the Black
*a phantom island

It is mentioned in the first strophe of the Portuguese epic poem Os Lusíadas by Luís de Camões. [http://www.gutenberg.net/etext/3333]

Taporobana might also be a hidden reference to Tribhuvana, the great Hindu Triad. This could mean that Luís de Camões was saying that the Portuguese were going beyond the Earth, the Atmosphere and the Sky, in their epic quest, "Os Lusíadas", as noted by Dalila Pereira da Costa.Fact|date=April 2008