IN03157 Kandy Nātha Dēvālē Stone Inscription 2

This inscription is engraved on four stones built into the western wall of the Nātha Dēvālē in Kandy. The wall includes eight inscribed stones in all, referred to here as A, B, C, D, E, F, G and H. Stones A–E are arranged in one row, while stones F–H form part of the row below. One inscription reads straight across stones A and B, is continued on stone C and concludes on stone D. A separate, fragmentary record begins on stone E and continues on stones F–H. The second of these two inscriptions is dealt with here (see IN03156 for the other). At least one inscribed stone has been lost from this inscription, since the text on stone F does not follow on directly from stone E. Due to the damaged nature of the inscription, its purpose is unclear. It deals, among other things, with the nila pan̆ḍuru or money presents on appointment to officer and with the maḷāraya or heriot. The king here is named as Jayavīra Āsthāna, presumably meaning the same king who is named in the other inscription on the stone wall as Śrī Jayavīra Mahā Väḍa-vun-täna. This king can probably be identified with Jayavīra Baṇḍāra, who is thought to have succeeded to the throne of Kandy in 1511 and reigned until 1552. The title Āsthāna or Mahā Āsthāna was in common use in the sixteenth century; in later Kandyan times it seems to have been restricted to the king’s brother.