This inscription is engraved on all four sides of a quadrangular stone pillar, which was discovered at the eastern porch of the Quadrangle at Poḷonnaruva and afterwards moved to the Archaeological Museum at Anurādhapura. The pillar’s base and capital are both missing and it seems to have been utilised as a lintel, for on one side are two square mortice holds, which were obviously intended for fitting it to the two door-jambs. H. C. P. Bell included the pillar in the list of inscriptions copied between 1901 and 1905 in the Annual Report of the Archaeological Survey of Ceylon for 1905 (p. 40, no. 42). The inscription can be assigned to around the tenth century A.D. on palaeographic grounds. It is dated in the second year of a king styled Sirisaṅgbo, whom Bell identified with Mahinda IV (r. 975–991 A.D.). However, this identification is untenable, since the mother and father of the king in question are named in the inscription as Saṅgā-räjna and Mihind-maha[rad] respectively. In the tenth century, only two kings were sons of a monarch called Mihind (Mahinda). These were Sena V (r. 991–1001) and Mahinda V (r. 1001–1037), the two sons of Mahinda IV. The former used the viruda title Salamevan and cannot therefore be identified with the Sirisaṅgbo referred to here. Instead, the monarch of the present inscription must be Mahinda V, who was entitled to the name of Sirisaṅgbo from his place in the order of succession. The inscription records a grant of immunities to land in the village of Muhund-naru, in the Eastern Quarter, belonging to a pirivena, of which the name is obliterated, in the monastery called Mahamevnā Tisaram.
| Metadata | |
|---|---|
| Inscription ID | IN03161 |
| Title | Poḷonnaruva Pillar Inscription of Mahinda V |
| Alternative titles | |
| Parent Object | OB03133 |
| Related Inscriptions | |
| Responsibility | |
| Author | Senarath Paranavitana |
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| Digitally edited by | |
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| Language | සිංහල |
| Reigning monarch | Sirisaṅgbo (Mahinda V?) |
| Commissioner | |
| Topic | records a grant of immunities to land in the village of Muhund-naru, in the Eastern Quarter, belonging to a pirivena, of which the name is obliterated, in the monastery called Mahamevnā Tisaram |
| Date: | |
| Min | 1002 |
| Max | 1003 |
| Comment | The inscription can be assigned to around the tenth century A.D. on palaeographic grounds. It is dated in the second year of a king styled Sirisaṅgbo, whom Bell identified with Mahinda IV (r. 975–991 A.D.). However, this identification is untenable, since the mother and father of the king in question are named in the inscription as Saṅgā-räjna and Mihind-maha[rad] respectively. In the tenth century, only two kings were sons of a monarch called Mihind (Mahinda). These were Sena V (r. 991–1001) and Mahinda V (r. 1001–1037), the two sons of Mahinda IV. The former used the viruda title Salamevan and cannot therefore be identified with the Sirisaṅgbo referred to here. Instead, the monarch of the present inscription must be Mahinda V, who was entitled to the name of Sirisaṅgbo from his place in the order of succession. |
| Hand | |
| Letter size | 2.54 cm |
| Description | The letters are, on average, 1 inch (2.54 cm) in height. Sinhalese script of the tenth century. |
| Layout | |
| Campus: | |
| Width | 20.32 |
| Height | 152.4 |
| Description | The inscription is shallowly engraved on all four faces of a quadrangular stone pillar. There are 32 lines on each of the first and second faces. As a result of major damage to the stonework, the number of lines on the third face cannot be definitely ascertained, although it can be conjectured that it was originally 32 lines, like on the first two sides. The fourth side has nine lines. The letters on all four faces are engraved between parallel lines, each 1⅞ inches (4.76 cm) apart. Excepting some letters in lines 16–19, the writing on the first side of the pillar is well preserved. However, on the second face, lines 2 and 6 are partly illegible and lines 18–20 wholly so. Two mortice holes have been cut into the third face, causing extensive damage and obliterating lines 7–28 of the text on this face. The fourth side is also considerably worn, although the writing can still be made out. |
| Decoration | The figures of the sun, the moon, a monk’s fan, a scythe, a cross and a dog are engraved on the fourth side of the pillar. |
| Bibliography | |
| References | Included by H. C. P. Bell in the list of inscriptions copied between 1901 and 1905 in the Annual Report of the Archaeological Survey of Ceylon for 1905 (p. 40, no. 42). Edited and translated by Senarath Paranavitana in Epigraphia Zeylanica 4 (1934–41): 59–67, no. 8. |
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| Misc notes | |