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.
| Metadata | |
|---|---|
| Inscription ID | IN03077 |
| Title | Ruvanväli-Dāgaba Slab Inscription of Kīrti-Niśśaṅka-Malla |
| Alternative titles | |
| Parent Object | OB03057 |
| Related Inscriptions | |
| Responsibility | |
| Author | Don Martino de Zilva Wickremasinghe |
| Print edition recorded by | |
| Source encoded | |
| Digitally edited by | |
| Edition improved by | |
| Authority for | |
| Metadata recorded by | |
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| Metadata improved by | |
| Authoriy for improved | |
| Language | සිංහල , संस्कृतम् |
| Reigning monarch | Kīrti-Niśśaṅka-Malla |
| Commissioner | |
| Topic | gives a general account of Kīrti-Niśśaṅka-Malla’s 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. |
| Date: | |
| Min | 1191 |
| Max | 1196 |
| Comment | Basis for dating: reign of Kīrti-Niśśaṅka-Malla (1187-1196 A.D.). Since the inscription refers to his state visit to Anurāpura in his fourth regnal year (1191/2), it must postdate this particular episode. |
| Hand | |
| Letter size | 2.54 |
| Description | Letter size about 1 inch (2.54 cm) on average. Sinhalese alphabet of the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. |
| Layout | |
| Campus: | |
| Width | 111.76 |
| Height | 127 |
| Description | 35 lines engraved on the side of a stone slab. The surface of the slab has been smoothed and ruled for the purpose of inscription. |
| Decoration | |
| Bibliography | |
| References | Edited in Rhys Davids 1875 and again in Müller 1883: 65 and 92-93, no. 145. Re-edited by Wickremasinghe in Epigraphia Zeylanica 2 (1912-27) 70-83, no. 13. |
| Add to bibliography | |
| Misc notes | |