IN03186 Anurādharpura Stone Canoe Inscription

This inscription is engraved on the smaller of the two stone canoes found in the vicinity of the ‘Stone Canopy’ (Burrows’ Pavilion) in the area of the Abhayagiri Vihāra at Anurādharpura. It consists of three lines and can be dated on the basis of the palaeography to the latter half of the eighth century or the beginning of the ninth century. The purpose of the inscription is to state that the stone canoe was the gift of a novice (sāmaṇera) named Gonnā.