The inscription is engraved on all four sides of the lower part of a pillar, which was unearthed in about 1931 in the paddy field at Mäda-Ulpota, an abandoned village in the Gan̆gala Uḍasiya Pattuva of the Mātaḷē District. The pillar fragment now stands in a chena adjoining the field. The inscription was first copied for scholarship by Senarath Paranavitana in July 1932. The name of the king in whose reign the document was dated has not been preserved. The inscription records the grant of immunities to a land which was situated in a village called Panāväli and which, apparently, was set apart for the benefit of the servitors at the Council Hall (attāṇi–hala). In style, the inscription resembles the Poḷonnaruva Council Chamber pillar inscription (IN03158) and enables us to settle one or two doubtful points in the reading of that record.
| Metadata | |
|---|---|
| Inscription ID | IN03160 |
| Title | Mäda-Ulpota Pillar Inscription |
| Alternative titles | |
| Parent Object | OB03132 |
| Related Inscriptions | |
| Responsibility | |
| Author | Senarath Paranavitana |
| Print edition recorded by | |
| Source encoded | |
| Digitally edited by | |
| Edition improved by | |
| Authority for | |
| Metadata recorded by | |
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| Authoriy for improved | |
| Language | සිංහල |
| Reigning monarch | |
| Commissioner | |
| Topic | records the grant of immunities to a land which was situated in a village called Panāväli and which, apparently, was set apart for the benefit of the servitors at the Council Hall (attāṇi-hala) |
| Date: | |
| Min | 875 |
| Max | 950 |
| Comment | Basis for dating: palaeography. The name of the king in whose reign the document was dated has not been preserved. |
| Hand | |
| Letter size | 3.81 cm |
| Description | The letters are, on average, 1½ inches (3.81 cm) in height. Sinhalese script of the late ninth century or the first half of the tenth century. |
| Layout | |
| Campus: | |
| Width | 21.59 |
| Height | 91.44 |
| Description | The inscription is engraved across all four sides of the lower part of a quadrangular stone pillar. The upper part of the pillar is missing, resulting in the loss of part of the inscription. There are 11 lines on the first and fourth sides, 15 lines on the second side and 13 lines on the third side. The first seven lines on the second side and the first two on the third side are wholly or partly illegible. The letters are engraved between parallel lines three inches (7.62 cm) apart from one another. |
| Decoration | |
| Bibliography | |
| References | Edited and translated by Senarath Paranavitana in Epigraphia Zeylanica 4 (1934–41): 54–58, no. 7. |
| Add to bibliography | |
| Misc notes | In style, the inscription resembles the Poḷonnaruva Council Chamber pillar inscription (IN03158) and enables us to settle one or two doubtful points in the reading of that record. |