The inscription is engraved on a fragment of a stone slab found in the Tōpaväva village. The fragment originally formed part of a flagstone in the rectangular bath on the promontory at Tōpaväva. Numerous baths were discovered on the promontory in 1901. The other fragments of the flagstone are missing but Wickremasinghe was able to reconstruct the slab’s inscription after recognising that it was the same as the Rankot-dāgaba pillar inscription (IN03087), except for the concluding sentence which states the purpose for which the cistern was used by king Niśśaṅka-Malla. This king reigned from 1187 to 1196 A.D. No specific date is given in the inscription but, as Wickremasinghe notes, the text must have been composed after the fourth year of Niśśaṅka-Malla’s reign because it refers to the king’s visit to Anurādhapura, which took place in his fourth regnal year, and to his later tours of inspection.
| Metadata | |
|---|---|
| Inscription ID | IN03088 |
| Title | Poḷonnaruva Stone Bath Slab Inscription |
| Alternative titles | |
| Parent Object | OB03068 |
| Related Inscriptions | |
| Responsibility | |
| Author | Don Martino de Zilva Wickremasinghe |
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| Digitally edited by | |
| Edition improved by | |
| Authority for | |
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| Language | සිංහල |
| Reigning monarch | Niśśaṅka-Malla |
| Commissioner | |
| Topic | gives an account of some of Niśśaṅka-Malla’s acts, before stating the purpose for which the cistern was used by the king |
| Date: | |
| Min | 1191 |
| Max | 1196 |
| Comment | Basis for dating: reign of Niśśaṅka Malla (1187-1196 A.D.). No specific date is given in the inscription but, as Wickremasinghe notes, the text must date from after the fourth year of Niśśaṅka-Malla’s reign because it refers to the king’s visit to Anurādhapura, which took place in his fourth regnal year, and to his later tours of inspection. |
| Hand | |
| Letter size | 6.35 |
| Description | Letter size varies from 1¼ to 2½ inches (3.175 to 6.35 cm). Sinhalese alphabet of the 12th century. |
| Layout | |
| Campus: | |
| Width | |
| Height | |
| Description | Campus dimensions not reported. 14 lines engraved between ruled lines 2½ inches (6.35 cm) apart. |
| Decoration | |
| Bibliography | |
| References | Edited by Wickremasinghe in Epigraphia Zeylanica 2 (1912-27) 143-145, no. 24. |
| Add to bibliography | |
| Misc notes | The inscription survives in a fragmentary and incomplete state but Wickremasinghe was able to reconstruct the text after recognising that it was the same as the Rankot-dāgaba pillar inscription (IN03087), except for the concluding sentence which states the purpose for which the cistern was used by king Niśśaṅka-Malla. |