This inscription is engraved on a stone slab, which was discovered in the village of Mānkanai in the Trincomalee town. The slab is now kept in the Archaeological Museum at Anuradhapura. The inscription is in two parts, each comprising of twenty-two lines of writing incised between parallel lines. The purpose of the record is to register the donation for life of certain paddy lanks to one Mintaṉ Koṟṟaṉ, the overseer of the palanquin bearers of the palace. The donation was made by king Gajabhāhu II (r. 1131–1153 A.D.) but it is dated in the forty-third regnal year of his predecessor Jayabhāhu I (r. 1108–1145/6 A.D.) and was inscribed on stone by a local ruler in the Southern Country called Māṉāparaṇa. The practice of dating an inscription from the coronation of a dead king is known from inscriptions. Since Jayabhāhu I took the throne in 1108, the present inscription may be dated to 1150–1151.
| Metadata | |
|---|---|
| Inscription ID | IN03228 |
| Title | Mankanai Inscription of Gajabhahu II |
| Alternative titles | |
| Parent Object | OB03181 |
| Related Inscriptions | |
| Responsibility | |
| Author | K. Kanapathi Pillai |
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| Digitally edited by | |
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| Language | தமிழ் |
| Reigning monarch | Gajabhāhu II |
| Commissioner | |
| Topic | registers the donation for life of certain paddy lanks to one Mintaṉ Koṟṟaṉ, the overseer of the palanquin bearers of the palace |
| Date: | |
| Min | 1150 |
| Max | 1151 |
| Comment | The inscription records a donation made by king Gajabhāhu II (r. 1131–1153 A.D.) but it is dated in the forty-third regnal year of his predecessor Jayabhāhu I (r. 1108–1145/6 A.D.). The practice of dating an inscription from the coronation of a dead king is known from inscriptions. Since Jayabhāhu I took the throne in 1108, the present inscription may be dated to 1150–1151. |
| Hand | |
| Letter size | |
| Description | Letter size not reported. Tamil script with a few Grantha letters. |
| Layout | |
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| Height | |
| Description | Campus dimensions not reported. 44 lines engraved on a stone slab. The inscription is in two parts, each comprising of twenty-two lines of writing incised between parallel lines. |
| Decoration | |
| Bibliography | |
| References | Edited and translated in Pillai (1960) 12–14. |
| Add to bibliography | |
| Misc notes | |