This inscription is engraved on both sides of a large slab, which stands near the ancient irrigation canal at Poḷonnaruva. The inscription consists of 65 lines in total but the portion on the second side of the slab is now illegible. The text begins with the auspicious word svasti and a Sanskrit verse. It then states that Vijaya, the eldest son of Siṁha-Bāhu of the Kāliṅga-Cakravarti dynasty came over to Ceylon, defeated the Yakṣas, and became king; that a descendant of his was Parākrama-Bāhu, who brought the Island of Laṅkā under one canopy of dominion; and that this king, desiring the continuation of his dynasty, invited his sister’s son (bǟna) over from Siṁhapura, invested him with royal dignity, and in course of time died. The nephew was thereafter duly anointed king Vijaya-Bāhu, but the day after his accession to the throne some treacherous ministers rose against him. A chieftain named Vijayāyān-tän-nāvan, however, protected the king and, quelling the rebellion, restored peace to the country. In recognition of these distinguished services, king Vijaya-Bāhu granted him heritable lands with certain privileges, the details of which were originally recorded on the second side of the slab. The inscription thus corroborates and expands upon the account of Vijaya-Bāhu’s reign in the Mahāvaṁsa. Vijaya-Bāhu only reigned for a short time, ascending to the throne in 1186 and dying one year later at the hands of Mahinda and Dīpanī.
Metadata | |
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Inscription ID | IN03094 |
Title | Poḷonnaruva Slab Inscription of Vijaya-Bāhu II |
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Parent Object | OB03074 |
Related Inscriptions | |
Responsibility | |
Author | Don Martino de Zilva Wickremasinghe |
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Language | සිංහල , संस्कृतम् |
Reigning monarch | Vijaya-Bāhu II |
Commissioner | |
Topic | gives an account of the lineage and ascent to the throne of king Vijaya-Bāhu II, then records a grant of heritable lands to a chieftain named Vijayāyān-tän-nāvan after the latter quelled a rebellion against the king on the first day after his accession |
Date: | |
Min | 1186 |
Max | 1187 |
Comment | Basis for dating: reign of Vijaya-Bāhu II (1186-1187 A.D.). |
Hand | |
Letter size | 4.45 |
Description | Letter size varies from ¾ to 1¾ inches (1.91 to 4.45 cm). Sinhalese alphabet of the latter half of the 12th century A.D. |
Layout | |
Campus: | |
Width | 172.72 |
Height | 48.26 |
Description | 65 lines engraved on both sides of a stone slab (37 lines on the first side, 28 lines on the second). The surfaces of the slab have been smoothed to receive the inscription, which is written between ruled lines 2 inches (5.08 cm) apart. With the exception of a few words and letters, lines 3 to 7 on the first side and the whole of the second side are illegible. Campus dimensions are as follow: 172.72 cm by 48.26 cm on the first side; 134.62 cm by 48.26 cm on the second side. |
Decoration | |
Bibliography | |
References | Edited and translated by Wickremasinghe in Epigraphia Zeylanica 2 (1912-27) 179-184, no. 30. |
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Misc notes |