The inscription is written over four sides of a quadrangular pillar. The pillar was found by H. C. P. Bell in 1891 in the village of Ram̆bǟva on the right bank of the Yōda-äla canal, about 3 miles north-east of Īripinniyǟva. The inscription is written in the Sinhalese alphabet of the 10th century A.D. and deals with the granting of immunities in respect of certain lands dedicated to the Sen-Senevirad-pirivena. It is dated to the [lunar month] Hil (Oct.-Nov.) in the first year of the reign of Abhaya Salamevan. The text is almost identical to that of the Īripinniyǟva pillar inscription (IN03054), which was granted five weeks later by the same king. Only the names of the lands being dealt with and one or two clauses are different. Abhaya Salamevan is a name (biruda) used by several kings. In this inscription, it probably refers to one of the two kings who reigned between Sēna II and Kassapa V, namely Udaya I and Kassapa IV.
| Metadata | |
|---|---|
| Inscription ID | IN03055 |
| Title | Ram̆bǟva Pillar Inscription |
| Alternative titles | |
| Parent Object | OB03035 |
| Related Inscriptions | IN03054 |
| Responsibility | |
| Author | Don Martino de Zilva Wickremasinghe |
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| Digitally edited by | |
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| Language | සිංහල |
| Reigning monarch | Abhaya Salamevan |
| Commissioner | |
| Topic | grants immunities to a land dedicated to the Sen-Senevirad-parivena |
| Date: | |
| Min | 902 |
| Max | 913 |
| Comment | Basis for dating: intrinsic. The inscription records immunities granted in the [lunar month] Hil (Oct.-Nov.) in the first year of the reign of Abhaya Salamevan. The name (biruda) Abhaya Salamevan was used by several kings. In this inscription, it probably refers to one of the two kings who reigned between Sēna II and Kassapa V, namely Udaya I (901-912) and Kassapa IV (912-929). |
| Hand | |
| Letter size | 3.81 |
| Description | Sinhalese alphabet of the 10th century A.D. |
| Layout | |
| Campus: | |
| Width | 30.48 |
| Height | 177.8 |
| Description | Seventy-one lines in total, inscribed over four sides of a quadrangular pillar (17 lines on the first side, 19 lines on the second, 19 lines on the third, 16 lines on the fourth). |
| Decoration | |
| Bibliography | |
| References | Edited by Wickremasinghe in Epigraphia Zeylanica 1 (1904-12): 172-175, no. 13. |
| Add to bibliography | |
| Misc notes | |