The inscription is engraved on an oblong slab, called gal-pota (‘stone-book’), which lies close to the eastern outer wall of the so-called Häṭa-dā-gē, ‘the Shrine of Sixty Relics’, at Poḷonnaruva. Consisting of seventy-two lines and more than 4,300 letters, the inscription is the longest known in Sri Lanka. It was created during the reign of Niśśanka Malla (1187-1196 A.D.) but no specific date is given in the text. The contents of the inscription record the great actions of Niśśanka Malla. Wickremasinghe interprets the text as part of an broader political strategy in which the king commissioned numerous inscriptions extolling his good deeds in a bid to present himself as a sovereign who held his authority entirely for the good of the community, thereby winning the confidence of his subjects and securing his claim to the throne. Niśśanka Malla appears to have been the first Sri Lankan monarch to employ such a strategy. The galpota inscription contains an important exposition of his political theory of kingship.
The galpota is aligned north-south and measures more than eight metres long. It was raised on a brick podium sheltered by a canopy supported on ten pillars. Both sides and ends of the slab are ornamented by double bands of haṁsas moving from left to right. At the middle of each end is a seated figure of Lakṣmī holding flowers, upon which a pair of elephants pour water from a chatty. The surface of the slab is divided into three partitions, each of which contains a portion of the inscription, starting from the first line at the top left-hand (south-west) corner of the stone slab. These partitions are designed to be read separately. The third partition is damaged, rendering some parts of the inscription illegible. A postscript on the vertical face of the southern end of the slab tells us that this stone was brought for the special purpose of engraving the present record from Sǟgiriya (Mihintale) by the mighty men of Niśśaṅka-Malla. This would imply that the slab was transported upwards of eighty miles. However, Wickremasinghe and others have suggested that the stone was in fact sourced from Sigiriya, only 15 miles distant, rather than Sǟgiriya.
A.
[Line 1.] Hail! This Dharma, which gives happiness and which alone deserves to be honoured by the whole world, should always be preserved. Vīra–Niśśaṅka–Malla makes this appeal over and over again to the rulers of the earth in the name of [their] good fame.
[Lines 2-7.] King Vijaya, descended from the family of Kāliṅga Cakra–vartin who had the power of travelling through the air, and who belonged to the royal line of the Okkāka dynasty, exalted by [the possession of] an assemblage of auspicious and infinitely sublime qualities:—When one thousand seven hundred years had elapsed since this king, protected by the gods in accordance with the behest of the Buddha, arrived in the Island of Laṅkā, and destroying the yakṣas made it an abode for mankind, there was born the great king Siri–San̆gabo Kāliṅga Parākrama–Bāhu Vīrarāja Niśśaṅka–Malla Aprati–Malla in Siṁhapura in the country of Kaliṅga in noble Dambadiva, the birth-place of Buddhas, Bodhisattas and Universal monarchs—[he was born] of the womb of the great queen Pārvatī unto king Śri–Jayagōpa who was like unto a tilaka ornament to this royal line [of the Okkāka dynasty]. He grew up in the midst of royal splendour, and being invited by the great king of the Island of Laṅkā, his senior kinsman, to rule over the Island of Laṅkā which is his by right of lineal succession of kings, he landed in Laṅkā in great state. Enjoying (thereafter) the regal dignities of governor and sub-king, and being proficient in the science of arms, in religion, and in all arts and sciences, he in due order of regal succession received the sacred unction and wearing the crown assumed supreme sovereignty.
[Lines 7-12.] His commanding personality is made dazzling to the eyes of the world through the fact that at his coronation festival he by a mere frown dispersed the clouds that gathered filling the vault of the firmament. His great majestic power is such that when hunting in the forest a fierce savage she-bear sprang before him with a sharp growl, he laid her and her whelps dead at his feet. He possesses the powers of a lion-king, which [can] extract water from any spot he likes, for [on one occasion] when [travelling] in a water-less desert, the moment he entertained the thought ‘it would be well if there were water’, [there fell a shower of rain] from an out-of-season cloud [and] produced an abundant stream. His power of command is such that it is not transgressible, for instance, when [once] on going to Bǟṇa to enjoy sea-sports, a huge polon̆gā appeared in front of him, he said to it ‘thy approach is unwelcome, be off and thyself prescribe what [punishment] is meet for thee’. The serpent then stung itself and sacrificed its life. He is endowed with a majestic personality, for the moment his state elephant saw him, the elephant was so delighted that he roared the shout of triumph and offered of his own accord his back [to ride on].
[Lines 12-18.] His Majesty drove away his enemies and gladdened the faces of the people just as the sun rising on the Orient Mount dispels darkness and expands the lotus blooms. Equalling Sakra, the Lord of the gods, in boundless regal splendour, the full moon in gentleness, Mount Meru in firmness, the ocean in depth [of character], and the solid earth in patience, and flourishing like a ‘wish-conferring’ tree that has sprung up as a result of the merits of the world, [he thus thought to himself]:—‘Many people in this Island of Laṅkā, which is the heritage of our dynasty, have through the unjust acts of some kings lost their family privileges and their wealth.’ Then, [filled] with great compassion, he restored to them their family privileges. He remitted taxes for five years, and enacted a law that in collecting revenue from lands and fields, the excessive taxes imposed by former kings should not be taken, that taxes should not exceed one amuṇa and three pǟla and six maṇ̆ḍaran for an amuṇa [sowing extent of land] of the uttē (upper) tract, one amuṇa and two pǟla and four maṇ̆ḍaran for an amuṇa of the mändē (middle) tract, and one amuṇa and one pǟla and three maṇ̆ḍaran for an amuṇa of the pässē (lower) tract, and that for all times no tax should be collected from chēna cultivation which is carried on with difficulty.
[Lines 18-24.] He quenched the fire of indigence with plenteous showers of wealth consisting of kahavaṇu coins, copper, bell-metal, gold, silver, pearls, precious stones, clothes, and jewellery. He appointed ministers and other (officials) and provided them with ‘livings’, serfs, cattle, permanent grants and inheritances, gold and silver vessels, domestic utensils, and other riches in abundance. He repaired the great tanks, (irrigation) canals, and embankments that had been long disused in the three kingdoms, and thus brought prosperity to every province, and security to the inhabitants thereof. He abolished the visamburu-vata. With the aid of administrators of justice he put an end to injustice in various provinces. And thinking that robbers commit robbery on account of their desire for wealth, he gave them whatever things they liked and in this way he removed the fear of thieves. Everywhere amongst the dwellers in forests and dwellers in huts he established order and cleansed [the country] of thorns [of disorder]. In accordance with the disciplinary rules he rid the Buddhist Church also of the thorns of irreligiousness, and thus rendered both the Church and the State free from evil. He provided the members of the Great Community who led pure lives with the four requisites, caused ordination ceremonies to be held every year, bestowed kaṭhina gifts, and re-established offerings to gods, daru-kusalān and man̆ga-kusalān as existed in the past. He rendered [in this way] great service to the cause of religion. He promoted [the interests of] religion and science by providing suitable means of subsistence for those versed in the Dharma and in the [various] branches of knowledge.
B.
Realizing that the long permanency of this kind of welfare of the world and of the religion [B, lines 1-5] depends on the royal dynasty, he sent [emissaries] to the country of Kaliṅga and caused many princesses of the Lunar and Solar dynasties to be brought over. And for his own son, the sub-king Vīra–Bāhu Mahapā, he secured royal maidens, and increased the royal family. Wearing the crown and other royal insignia, together with his chief queen Kāliṅga Subhadrā Mahādēvī and Kalyāṇa Mahādēvī of the Gaṅgavaṁśa, as well as his own son the sub-king and his daughter [the princess] Sarvāṅga Sundarī, His Majesty mounted the scale-pan and giving away every year wealth equal in weight to the five [royal personages], caused showers of navaratna to fall, and afforded relief to the helpless and the distressed—such as monks, brahmans, the blind, the crippled, dwarfs, and hunchbacks, who had come from various quarters.
[Lines 5-10.] In this manner he conciliated the world and the church by the exercise of the ‘four cardinal virtues’ and reached the very summit of popularity, so much so that the people whose hearts he won protested their readiness to give their lives for him as a proof of the love and loyalty each entertained for him. Performing day after day the ten meritorious acts, he took his residence in the Kāliṅga city of Pulastipura. Though he constantly viewed with the eyes of spies his own kingdom and those of others as well, he thought that it would be well if he were to see with his own eyes how he had brought peace and order to the Island of Laṅkā (Ceylon). Accordingly escorted by his fourfold army, he went on a tour of inspection through the three kingdoms of Ceylon (Tri-Siṁhala), visiting the villages, towns, cities, and places difficult of access through water, hills, forests, and marshes, as if he were promenading in a house of amusements. He gladdened the dwellers in the border lands with great showers of gifts. In all the old vihāras in the three kingdoms which he visited—such as Miyaguṇu Maha–vehera, Mahagama, [Devunuvara?], and Käläṇi—he effected repairs.
[Lines 10-15.] He caused the reclining, sitting, and standing images in the cave of Dambulla to be gilt, and made great offerings to the value of a lac [of kārṣāpaṇa]. He spent thirty-six lacs on making an offering to the Ruvanmäli–maha–sǟ in Anurādhapura, and at the spot where the dēvas (gods) who were delighted with this offering uttered words of benediction, he caused a stone dāgaba to be raised. In all these places he had moral edicts inscribed on stone. Thinking it wicked that the Island of Laṅkā, the home of the excellent religion of the Buddha, should have been in times gone by . . . . . . . and burning [with indignation thereat] he made up his mind to conquer Dambadiva (India). So he set out in great royal state, surrounded by his fourfold army, and true to his title Niśśaṅka-Malla (dauntless warrior) he showed no hesitation anywhere, but crossed the great sea which was as calm as a blue sapphire eye [set on an image of the Buddha] and landed in Dambadiva. There he dispatched heralds and champions to demand single combats and army contests and prepared for war.
[Lines 15-20.] Then the General Lag–Vijayasin̆gu Senevi Tāvurunāvan, intimating that he himself is going to be [at the battlefield] so as to secure the conquest of Dambadiva, set out to wage war. Whereupon the Pāṇḍya king and his mother, being filled with fear, made entreaties, saying ‘be pleased to grant us lands enough for our maintenance and let Your Majesty take the kingdom’, and sent [Niśśaṅka-Malla] ‘golden fingers’, royal maidens, [elephants, horses], and various other gifts. By the copious streams of these and similar gifts from the country of the Cōḷas was quenched the flame of his indignation. He formed friendly alliances with such of the princes of Karnāṭa, Nellūru, Gauḍa, Kaliṅga, Tiliṅga, Gurjara, and diverse other countries as were desirous of his goodwill; but unto those who did not wish such friendship he struck terror by the very superiority of his own valour. He, moreover, exacted from such kingdoms princesses and tributes. Thereafter at Rāmeśvara he mounted the scale-pans and holding the tulābhāra ceremony bestowed boundless wealth on inhabitants of many a land. He also had pillars of victory set up there as lasting monuments, and a temple (dēvālaya) built bearing the name Niśśaṅkēśvara.
[Lines 20-24.] Since there were no adversaries, he listened to the entreaties of the kings of Dambadiva to relieve them from fear. So (taking captives) he returned to the Island of Laṅkā escorted by the same [fourfold] army. Then reflecting that, as he had no enemies in this world, he would conquer the enemies of the next world, he caused many alms-houses, including the Niśśaṅka–dāna–satra, to be erected at many places in his own country as well as in other lands. He furnished these [houses] as ‘wish-conferring trees’ with various objects for the enjoyment [of repasts, &c.], such as vessels of gold and silver and the like, and held distributions of alms in abundance. For the purpose of witnessing the great rejoicings of the beggars who had received alms, he erected the pavilion called Niśśaṅka–dāna–maṇḍapaya. To the Tooth and the Bowl relics he offered his son and daughter, and redeemed them by presenting in their stead [a model of] a dāgaba in solid gold together with other valuables.
C.
[Lines 1-5.] He built of stone the Daḷadā–geya (Tooth-relic house), Vaṭa–geya (the Rotunda), and the Niśśaṅka–latā–maṇḍapaya (Niśśaṅka flower-trail hall], [all of them furnished] with gateways and walls so as to delight the hearts of beholders and be to them [as it were] heaven and nirvāṇa. He built also an upakāra-caitya (subsidiary dāgaba) adjoining the dāgaba at the Mahā–vihāra [in Poḷonnaruva], as well as the Ruvanmäli Dāgaba, eighty cubits [high?] on the north side of the royal residence, with gateways, walls, and monks’ residences surrounding it. [Thus] he ensured the long stability of the State and the religion. Moreover, considering that the Island of Laṅkā is a noble land because of the establishment of Buddhism there, that the living beings in it have lofty virtues, and that, therefore, they should receive advice and protection, he, out of compassion, proclaimed the [following] maxims of good counsel:
Though kings appear in human form, they are human divinities (nara-dēvatā) and must, therefore, be regarded as gods.
[Lines 5-10.] The appearance of an impartial king should be welcomed as the appearance of the Buddha. When kings inflict punishment commensurate with the offence [committed], they do so with good intentions, just as a physician applies a remedy for a bodily ailment. They restrain [their subjects] from evil and thus save them from falling into hell. They lead them to do good, thereby securing for them the [bliss of] heaven and release from re-births (mōkṣa). If the wishes of kings were not observed, the human world would be like hell; but if the wishes were respected, it would be like heaven. The trouble which one undergoes on behalf of kings is [like unto] the sowing of the seed of happiness. One must examine each . . . . . . . . . and keep oneself aloof from all [such] evil ways. He who takes care of the wealth he has acquired should observe the duties incumbent on his family. Like sugar-cane [crushed in the press] one should [though . . . . ] pour out sweetness of loyalty. Though one has fallen from office, one should be [loyal] to kings like a fruit fallen from the peduncle.
[Lines 11-18.] A subject should [so conduct] himself that when he is told that he has been summoned [to the presence of the king], he might go without fear, saying, ‘Seeing I have done no wrong, what does it matter to me?’ Talking about the secrets of kings is like invoking [the god of] Death by the repetition of charms. He who gives his life for the king will live long in the frame of glory. Real feeling is the feeling of gratefulness. The best occupation is the cultivation of land. The highest treasure is the Dharma. All these things . . . . . . , which should be cherished, exist through kings. Therefore one should not be remitting in the protection of the king. Kings do not like those who are puffed up with pride. So when one has received titles, offices, and wealth from them (i.e. kings), he should not become proud. If any one . . . . . belonging to the Govi caste, regardless of the titles and offices he has already received, were to think of . . . . . . . . the people should not associate themselves with him. Were he to entertain such an idea, he would be held by the public as an object of scorn—as crows, jackals, &c., that try to emulate the mien of swans, lions, and the like—and he himself would be wiped out with his worldly possessions. Therefore the people should unite and remove him . . . . . . .
[Lines 18-24.] In accordance with the maxim ‘. . . . . . . . . . . . . .’ they should elect for kingship the sons of . . . . . . . . kings, [namely, the princes holding the offices of] ǟpā mahapā, even though they be minors, for they are the lords of the world, and thus they should maintain family customs . . . . . . If there are no princes they should maintain [the kingdom] by submitting themselves to the sway of the queens. If there are no queens also, they should place in the position of king even a slipper worn on the feet of a great king and protect the kingdom. Just as pouring poison . . . . . . . . or planting poisonous trees where ‘wish-conferring trees’ stood, people should not establish in the Island of Laṅkā which belongs to the Kāliṅga dynasty, non-buddhistic kings of Cōḷa, Pāṇḍya [countries], &c., who are inimical to the religion of the Buddha. Since the time of prince Vijaya, it is to the princes of the Kāliṅga dynasty that the Island of Laṅkā has belonged. Therefore, if there are any of them to be found, then it is the duty [of the people] to place them in the position of supremacy, and thus to protect the State and the religion.
It is indeed the Dharma that protects this whole world. So reflecting, cherish love for the acquisition of happiness in both the worlds. Thus are future kings exhorted by king Kalin̆gu Lakin̆du Nisaka who loves virtue.
POSTSCRIPT.
This stone for the lithic record [given above] is the one which Adhikāra Toṭa–danavu Mand–nāvan caused to be brought from Sǟgiri by the Niśśaṅka, warriors maintained by His Majesty the illustrious Kāliṅga Cakravartin.