The inscription is engraved at the bottom of the rock-cut steps on the south-western side of Devanagala, a rock situated about three miles to the south-east of Māvanälla in the Galboḍa Kōraḷē of the Kǟgalla District. These steps lead to the summit of the rock, upon which are the ruins of a massive stone building called Paraṇa Vihāra, an old dāgäba, and an image house of Kandyan style. The inscription was first noticed by Edward Müller in his Ancient Inscriptions in Ceylon (1883: 60, 87, 120, no. 135), although he did not recognise the text’s historical significance, which was subsequently highlighted by H. C. P. Bell in his Report on the Kegalla District of the Province of Sabaragamuwa (1904: 73–76).
The inscription is dated to the twelfth year of Parākramabāhu I. This king ascended to the throne in 1153 A.D., hence the inscription must have been engraved in 1164–1165 A.D. It registers a grant of certain lands by the king to the general Kit Nuvaragal (Kitti Nagaragiri) in recognition of the latter’s services in an expedition against the Rāmañña country in the Pagan kingdom (modern-day Burma/Myanmar). The inscription provides valuable information about this expedition. It indicates that the campaign took place in or shortly before the twelfth year of Parākramabāhu’s reign and enables us to identify the Pagan monarch at the time of the conflict Alaungsithu (r. 1112–1167 A.D.). These details are not mentioned in the account of the expedition in the Mahāvaṁsa. Alaungsithu is referred to in the inscription as ‘Bhuvanāditta’, a title which, although applied to several Pagan kings, was particularly associated with him.
| Metadata | |
|---|---|
| Inscription ID | IN03148 |
| Title | Devanagala Rock Inscription of Parākramabāhu I |
| Alternative titles | |
| Parent Object | OB03123 |
| Related Inscriptions | |
| Responsibility | |
| Author | Senarath Paranavitana |
| Print edition recorded by | |
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| Digitally edited by | |
| Edition improved by | |
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| Language | සිංහල |
| Reigning monarch | Parākramabāhu I |
| Commissioner | |
| Topic | registers a grant of certain lands by the king to the general Kit Nuvaragal (Kitti Nagaragiri) in recognition of the latter’s services in an expedition against the Rāmañña Country |
| Date: | |
| Min | 1164 |
| Max | 1165 |
| Comment | The inscription is dated to the twelfth year of Parākramabāhu I. This king ascended to the throne in 1153 A.D., hence the inscription must have been engraved in 1164–1165 A.D. |
| Hand | |
| Letter size | 7.62 cm |
| Description | The letters are about three inches (7.62 cm) on average in height, growing smaller towards the end of the inscription. Sinhalese script of the twelfth century A.D. |
| Layout | |
| Campus: | |
| Width | 281.94 |
| Height | 274.32 |
| Description | 22 lines engraved on the rock at the bottom of the rock-cut steps on the south-western side of Devanagala. The inscription covers an area measuring 9 feet 3 inches (281.94 cm) by 9 feet (274.32 cm), not taking into account a projection measuring 1 foot 7 inches (48.26 cm) by 1 foot 1 inch (33.02 cm) at the bottom left-hand corner, which makes the last three lines longer than the rest. The rock surface was not smoothed before the writing was executed and the letters are sometimes engraved across natural fissures and areas where the rock has flaked. Some space has been left between lines 15 and 16 and between the last two lines due to the uneven surface. The inscription is badly weathered, particularly the last nine lines. Most of the inscription is shallowly incised, except for the first six lines and parts of lines 7 and 8, which are engraved to a greater depth, having perhaps been re-chiselled in a later period. |
| Decoration | |
| Bibliography | |
| References | Partially edited and translated in Müller 1883: 60, 87, 120, no. 135, though Müller failed to realise the historical importance of the inscription. H. C. P. Bell edited and translated the inscription in full with extensive notes and a discussion of the historical event mentioned in the text in his Report on the Kegalla District of the Province of Sabaragamuwa (1904: 73–76). Senarath Paranavitana produced a revised and corrected edition and translation for Epigraphia Zeylanica 3 (1928–33): 312–325, no. 34. |
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| Misc notes | |