The inscription is engraved on a stone slab, which was discovered in October 1926 when the foundation of the western side of the enclosing wall of the Thūpārāma in Anuradhapura was cleared. The slab was set up vertically on the inner face of the foundation such that only about one foot (30.48 cm) of the slab would have been visible above the original ground level. The inscription is a grant issued by king Gajabāhu I (r. c. 113 – c.135 A.D.), who is referred to here by the name of Gamiṇi Abaya, as in many of his other inscriptions. The text tells us that the king granted certain incomes derived from the Goṇagiri-utaviya (a tank or a tract of paddy fields) to the monks of the Raṭaṇa Araba monastery. The royal grant ends after the fourteenth letter of the sixth line where traces of two short vertical strokes used as punctuation marks are seen. The rest of the record is in the nature of a postscript added later – but not far removed in time from the original grant, as there is no appreciable difference in the script – to the effect that the city accountant, whose name is not preserved, gave in exchange the water-revenue of the Nakaravavi tank (Nuwara Wewa).
Hail! The great king Gamiṇi Abaya, son of the great king Tisa and grandson of the great king Vahaba, having poured water from the golden vase into the hand [of the donee], gave, to the community of monks at the Rataṇa–araba monastery, the water rates (dakapati) and the royal dues (bojaka–pati) of the Goṇagiri–utavi, [situated] within the city, that they might enjoy the four requisites. Na . . . . the accountant of the city gave in exchange the water rates of the Nakaravavi [tank].