IN03098 Am̆bagamuva Rock Inscription of Vijaya-Bāhu I

The inscription is engraved on two boulders on the summit of a hill in Am̆bagamuva, a small village near Nāwalapiṭiya. The text outlines king Vijaya-Bāhu I’s parentage, his qualities as both a war lord and a benevolent ruler, and his victory over the Tamil forces. The inscription then records the king’s offerings to the Buddha’s footprint on Adam’s Peak, his improvements to the footprint’s shrine, and his charitable grants to pilgrims visiting the area. These grants are followed by the usual statement of ‘sanctions’ in respect of the villages dedicated to the shrine.

 

The date of Vijaya-Bāhu’s benefaction to the pilgrims of Adam’s Peak is given in the inscription as the seventh day of the waxing moon in the month of Män̆dindina (February–March) in the thirty-eighth year of his reign. This king’s Polonnaruwa rule began in 1070 A.D. and his coronation took place about two years later, thus placing the date of the benefaction around 1107. Since Vijaya-Bāhu I died in 1110, this must have been one of his last charitable acts. The specific date of the incision of the inscription is not given. However, as the text is situated in one of the villages affected by the benefaction, it may be presumed that it was incised not long after the grant was made.