Community: Sri Lanka epigraphy

The Hatadage, Polonnaruwa. The vestibule wall inscription can be seen on the right in this photograph.

Detail of the vestibule wall-inscription at the Hatadage, Polonnaruwa.

The inscription is engraved on the front wall of the vestibule or pro-naos of the so-called Häṭa-dā-gē, ‘the Shrine of Sixty Relics’, at Poḷonnaruva. It was discovered by S. M. Burrows in 1885, along with another inscription inside the shrine (IN03080) and one in the adjoining portico (IN03078). The inscription dates from the reign of Kīrti-Niśśaṅka-Malla (1187-1196 A.D.), whom it refers to as Siṁhapureśvara Laṁk󠅛eśvara Kāliṅga-Cakravartī. The text consists of 17 lines engraved within a double border featuring a band of haṁsas (swans) and another of foliate ornament. It describes some of Niśśaṅka-Malla’s administrative and charitable acts.

Entrance to the Hatadage, Polonnaruwa. The slab inscription can be seen on the right in this photograph.

The inscription is engraved on the portico of the so-called Häṭa-dā-gē, ‘the Shrine of Sixty Relics’, at Poḷonnaruva. It was discovered by S. M. Burrows in 1885; Burrows also discovered two further inscription in the shrine itself (IN03079 and IN03080). The inscription dates from the reign of Kīrti-Niśśaṅka-Malla (1187-1196 A.D.) and consists of 23 lines, starting with a Sanskrit stanza in triṣṭup śālinī metre and ending in a Sinhalese quatrain. Both of these stanzas contain Niśśaṅka-Malla’s appeal to future kings to protect and preserve the Dharma. The rest of the inscription describes some of Niśśaṅka-Malla’s administrative and charitable acts, including the building in stone of the Vaṭa-geya (‘Rotunda’), the (Niśśaṅka-latā-maṇḍapaya ‘Niśśaṅka flower-trail hall’), and the Niśśaṅka-daḷadā-geya (‘Niśśaṅka tooth-relic house’) at Poḷonnaruva.

Ruwanweli Dagoba, Anuradhapura

The inscription is engraved on the side of a fixed slab, which stands erect in a bed of brickwork, flanked by two monolithic pillars, within a few yards of the statues near the eastern altar of the Ruvanväli-dāgaba in Anurādhapura. It was discovered in 1874 by Nāranviṭa Thēra. The inscription consists of 35 lines in the Sinhalese alphabet of the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. It dates from the reign of Kīrti-Niśśaṅka-Malla (1187-1196 A.D.) and gives a general account of his various philanthropic and religious acts, mostly in Poḷonnaruva, his state visit to Anurāpura in his fourth regnal year, the lavish manner in which he worshipped the Ruvanväli-dāgaba there, and the steps he took to restore the Mīrisaviṭiya and other vihāras.

The inscription consists of 39 lines engraved on the ruled surface of a stone slab. It was discovered in 1892 by the Archaeological Commissioner (Mr. H.C.P. Bell) a hundred years south of the ‘Cooly Shelter’ at Ram̆bǟva (Rambewa) and subsequently moved to Anurādhapura. Wickremasinghe describes Ram̆bǟva as a well-known village in Kǟn̆dǟ-kōrale at the junction of the two main roads from Anurādhapura and from Mihintale, about nine miles north-east of the former town. The inscription is dated to the first year of the reign of king Siri Saňg-bo Abhā, identified by Wickremasinghe with Mahinda IV. It records a grant of lands and immunities to one Kiliňgu-ra Pirivat Hämbuvan, to be held by him and his descendants for the purpose of supplying oil to illuminate the stone image of the Buddha at the Sacred Bōdhi-tree.

The inscription is engraved on three sides of a quadrangular pillar. It was discovered sometime in or before 1876 by J. H. Dawson, an Irrigation Officer, at Mayilagastoṭa, a village about 8 miles from Tissamahārāma in the Hambantoṭa district. The pillar was afterwards brought afterwards to the Colombo Museum. The first and second sides of the pillar each feature 35 lines written in the Sinhalese alphabet of the tenth or early eleventh century A.D. Further lines are inscribed on the third side of the pillar but they are now illegible. The inscription records the dedication of certain lands and a grant of immunities to Uḍa-Tisa-pirivena, situated near Mahagama on the left bank of Kirind-ho. No date is given in the inscription but it is described as having been issued by the ǟpā Mihindu, who subsequently became king Mahinda IV. The use of the title ǟpā indicates that the grant was made in the early part of this king’s career, when he was a mere governor. This record has been useful for identifying Mahinda IV of the Mahāvaṁsa with Siri Saňg-boy Abahay of the Mihintale tablets (IN03030).