Today it is commonly accepted both Upulvan and Vishnu as identical deities in Sri Lanka. But there exists different views about this identification and according to some historians and sources, the two deities are not identical. There are also sources that equate god Upulvan to the Vedic god Varuna, the protector and the lord of oceans, and in that capacity he is assumed as a protector of the island of Sri Lanka as well as Avalokiteśvara and Tara.