OB03102 Eppāvaḷa Slab 2
IN03126 Eppāvaḷa Slab Inscription 2
The inscription is engraved on a stone slab. It starts on the front of the slab and continues onto the right side. The slab was found in Eppāvaḷa (Eppawala) in North-Central Province and subsequently transferred to the premises of the Archaeological Commissioner at Anuradhapura. The uninscribed portion of the slab contains a socket to fit into another stone, suggesting that, before it was utilised for the purpose of inscription, the slab served some architectural purpose. The first five lines of the inscription are badly preserved and a portion of the surface has been lost from the right side of the slab, obliterating about seven lines of writing. As the beginning of the inscription is not legible, it is not possible to make out the date but the text may be attributed on palaeographic grounds to the latter half of the tenth century A.D. It is concerned with the registration of an agreement entered into by the saṁgha of a certain monastery, stating that they would, at the end of the vassa season every year, supply gifts of rice, etc., to the brethren in return for some quantities of grains and other provisions placed at their disposal by one Mahin Agbohi.
OB03101 Eppāvaḷa Slab 1
IN03125 Eppāvaḷa Slab Inscription 1
The inscription is engraved on a broken guardstone found on the site of an ancient and overgrown vihara in Eppāvaḷa (Eppawala) in North-Central Province; the discovery was reported in the Archaeological Survey of Ceylon for the year 1890 and the guardstone was subsequently transferred to the premises of the Archaeological Commissioner at Anuradhapura. The lower part of the stone is missing but the inscription is complete except for the first two lines, which are too weathered to be read. Although the date of the inscription is no longer legible, the text may be attributed on palaeographic grounds to the latter half of the tenth century A.D. It is concerned with the registration of a gift to the image house and the Bō-tree at the Pamagalu Monastery by a person named Ukuṇuhusu Kottā. This was made by investing eight kaḷan̆das of gold in land and by depositing two kaḷan̆das so that the interest might be paid in paddy. Two more kaḷan̆das of gold were invested for the purpose of supplying curds and honey and for the maintenance of the canopy of the altar.
OB03095 Poḷonnaruva Vān-äḷa Fragmentary Pillar-Slab of Niśśaṁka Malla
IN03117 Poḷonnaruva Vān-äḷa Fragmentary Pillar-Slab Inscription of Niśśaṁka Malla
The inscription is engraved on a mutilated pillar-slab, which was discovered near the spill (vān–äla) of the Tōpāväva in Poḷonnaruva. The slab was subsequently moved to the Archaeological Office in Anuradhapura, where it was seen by Senarath Paranavitana sometime before 1933; Paranavitana then published an edition of the text in the third volume of Epigraphia Zeylanica. The upper part of the pillar-slab is missing and the surviving fragment is irregularly shaped. The inscription states that it was issued by ‘the Kālinga Monarch’ – a reference to king Niśśaṁka Malla, who reigned from 1187 to 1196 A.D. However, unlike other inscriptions of this king, it does not contain any mention of Niśśaṁka Malla’s alleged military achievements, nor does it boast of his greatness. Instead, it is addressed to the officials of the treasury. The opening portion of the inscription is missing but it appears that the text was prefaced with three quatrains containing maxims on political morals. The main part of the inscription records that the king had become suspicious about the integrity of the accountants of the treasury; he exhorts them to inform the authorities before taking anything from the treasury and threatens those who fail to do so with royal disfavour, hinting at dire consequences. It is a sign of the corruption plaguing the kingdom at this time that Niśśaṁka Malla found it necessary to issue an edict of this nature. Although he attempted to introduce salutary reforms, the country was plunged into a period of economic uncertainty and political anarchy after his death. Indeed, his own extravagant expenditure on building projects and displays of power may have contributed to weakening the exchequer.
OB03094 Giritaḷē Pillar
IN03116 Giritaḷē Pillar Inscription
The inscription is engraved on all four sides of a broken pillar discovered in Giritaḷē, a village seven miles to the north-west of Poḷonnaruva, where it was first recorded by H. C. P. Bell in the Archaeological Survey of Ceylon Annual Report for 1905 (p. 39, no. 8). The pillar was subsequently brought to the premises of the Archaeological Commissioner at Anurādhapura, where it was seen by Senarath Paranavitana sometime before 1933. The lower part of the pillar is missing and the portions of the inscription on the second and fourth sides of the pillar are no longer legible. It is, however, apparent from the surviving parts of the inscription that, like the majority of pillar inscriptions of the tenth century, it is concerned with a grant of immunities to a certain land. The inscription is dated in the first year of King Udā Sirisaṅgbō, who is described as the son of Mahinda, the sub-king (or heir apparent) and who can therefore be identified as Udaya II (r. 952–955 A.D.).
IN03115 Anurādharpura Stone Canoe Inscription 3
The inscription is engraved on the outer surface of the east side of a huge, rectangular stone trough or ‘canoe’ associated with the Mahapali alms hall in Anuradhapura. The trough is situated about 200 yards to the east of the ‘Green Path’, at a distance of nearly a mile from the Sacred Bō-Tree and some 300 yards to the south of the ruined brick structure named the Geḍigē. Such troughs are popularly known as kän̆da oru (gruel boats). Nearby are the tall monoliths of a ruined shrine, identified as the Temple of the Tooth, and a partly effaced slab-inscription of Mahinda IV (IN03031). The trough bears three inscriptions: two on the north end (IN03113 and IN03114) and one the east side (the present record). All three inscriptions belong paleographically to the last quarter of the tenth century A.D. but they do not contain any information that enable us to date them more precisely.
IN03114 Anurādharpura Stone Canoe Inscription 2
The inscription is engraved on the outer surface of the north end of a huge, rectangular stone trough or ‘canoe’ associated with the Mahapali alms hall in Anuradhapura. The trough is situated about 200 yards to the east of the ‘Green Path’, at a distance of nearly a mile from the Sacred Bō-Tree and some 300 yards to the south of the ruined brick structure named the Geḍigē. Such troughs are popularly known as kän̆da oru (gruel boats). Nearby are the tall monoliths of a ruined shrine, identified as the Temple of the Tooth, and a partly effaced slab-inscription of Mahinda IV (IN03031). The trough bears three inscriptions: two on the north end (IN03113 and the present record) and one the east side (IN03115). All three inscriptions belong paleographically to the last quarter of the tenth century A.D. but they do not contain any information that enable us to date them more precisely.