The inscription was found on a pillar in the premises of the mosque in Nǟgama, a village in Nǟgampaha Kōrale, about twenty-five miles south of Aurādhapura. It was examined by the Archaeological Commissioner, H. C. P. Bell, in 1895. The inscription originally consisted of 84 lines, divided equally between the four sides of the pillar, but the top two lines on each side are now missing, the top of the pillar having broken off. The text is dated to the seventh year of the reign of the king Siri San̆g-bo and records a grant of immunities to Koḷayunugama, a village which had been given by Udā Mahāpā to one (Ki)tambavä Mahayā as pamaṇu or ‘descendible’ property. Wickremasinghe suggests that the biruda Siri San̆g-bo refers in this instance to Kassapa IV.
| Metadata | |
|---|---|
| Inscription ID | IN03068 |
| Title | Nǟgama Pillar Inscription |
| Alternative titles | |
| Parent Object | OB03048 |
| Related Inscriptions | |
| Responsibility | |
| Author | Don Martino de Zilva Wickremasinghe |
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| Digitally edited by | |
| Edition improved by | |
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| Metadata recorded by | |
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| Authoriy for improved | |
| Language | සිංහල |
| Reigning monarch | Siri San̆g-bo |
| Commissioner | |
| Topic | records a grant of immunities to Koḷayunugama, a village which had been given by Udā Mahāpā to one (Ki)tambavä Mahayā as pamaṇu or ‘descendible’ property |
| Date: | |
| Min | 900 |
| Max | 1000 |
| Comment | Basis for dating: palaeography. The inscription is dated to the seventh year of the reign of the king Siri San̆g-bo. Wickremasinghe suggests that the biruda Siri San̆g-bo refers in this instance to Kassapa IV, whose reign lasted from 912 to 929. |
| Hand | |
| Letter size | 5.08 |
| Description | Letter size varies from 1 to 2 inches (2.54 to 5.08 cm). Sinhalese alphabet of the 10th century A.D. |
| Layout | |
| Campus: | |
| Width | 21.59 |
| Height | 137.16 |
| Description | The inscription originally consisted of 84 lines, divided equally between the four sides of the pillar, but the top two lines on each side are now missing, the top of the pillar having been broken off. The lines are inscribed within horizontally ruled spaces. |
| Decoration | |
| Bibliography | |
| References | Edited by Wickremasinghe in Epigraphia Zeylanica 2 (1912-27) 14-19, no. 4. |
| Add to bibliography | |
| Misc notes | |