Object type: Stone slab

The inscription is situated in the ruins of an ancient site, close by the Ratmale wewa, south-west from Anurādhapura, not far from the Kurunegala Road. Four lines are engraved on a large slab rock. The inscription mentions three names of kings: Devānapiya Tisa-maharaja, Devānapiya Puṭikaṇa Gamiṇi Abhaya-maharaja, Devānapiya Naka-maharaja. These have been identified by Goldschmidt and Müller as the kings Vaṅkanāsika Tissa, Gaja-bāhu and Mahallaka Nāga of the Mahāvaṁsa. The inscription records the donation from the king Mahallaka Nāga (circa A.D. 135-141) of gruel, boiled rice, undergarments and silk outer garments for the Vassa ceremony to 20 monks at Vihirabijaka and at Muṭigulika and Parivataka monasteries.

Abhayagiri vihara, Anuradhapura

INIG1349 [Provenance not recorded, possibly from Morena district]. On a stone slab. 17 lines, nāgarī, corrupt Sanskrit. Mentions the construction of a tank by mahatā Jaitasiṁha of Lodhā family when Cāhamāna Hamīradeva was ruling Śakambara. Now in the collection of the Archaeological Museum, Gwalior.

INIG1348c āṣāḍha badi 11, Kolāras (Shivpuri). On a satī stone. 3 lines, nāgarī, Sanskrit. Mentions a satī, apparently of the queen of Govindarāja.

INIG134[?] caitra śudi 8 guruvāra Barokhar (Morena). On a memorial stone. 17 lines, nāgarī, Sanskrit. Mentions śrīmad Gopāla. Not completely legible.

INIG1345b vaiśākha badi 2 śanivāra Pachrāi (Shivpuri). On a slab in the quadrangle of a temple complex. 18 lines, nāgarī, corrupt Sanskrit. Refers to the administration of mahāpradhāna rā˚ Haṁsarāja in the time of Gopāladeva of Narwar. Records the death of Vālha, the son of Kaccharāṇeju and probably the performance of satī by Sulathā the daughter of paḍihāra Salabhaṇe and [Hā]ju the daughter of rā˚ Anaisiha. Engraved by sūtradhāra Mitanka.

Vessagiri, or more commonly in Sinhalese Vessagiriya, is the traditional name of a forest-bound cluster of rocks in Anurādhapura. The site features three hummock-boulders of gneiss rock in a line from north to south (Rock A, Rock B and Rock C). The hummocks are surrounded by the ruins of a monastery, which had its cells in the caves of Rocks B and C (twenty-three caves in total). Some of the caves are inscribed with dedications to the Buddhist priesthood, plus there are a number of other rock inscriptions at the site. In addition, two inscribed slabs associated with Vessagiri are preserved in the museum at Anurādhapura. One of the slab inscriptions (IN03023) is of the king Dappula V (A.D. 940-952) and records a royal offering to the Virāṅkurā monastery. The second slab is inscribed on its front and back with inscriptions of the king Mahinda IV (975-991) detailing benefactions made to the clergy of the monastery Bo-Upulvan-Kusub-giri Vehera. The inscription on the back of this slab is dealt with here (see IN03024 for the inscription on the front).

Vessagiri, or more commonly in Sinhalese Vessagiriya, is the traditional name of a forest-bound cluster of rocks in Anurādhapura. The site features three hummock-boulders of gneiss rock in a line from north to south (Rock A, Rock B and Rock C). The hummocks are surrounded by the ruins of a monastery, which had its cells in the caves of Rocks B and C (twenty-three caves in total). Some of the caves are inscribed with dedications to the Buddhist priesthood, plus there are a number of other rock inscriptions at the site. In addition, two inscribed slabs associated with Vessagiri are preserved in the museum at Anurādhapura. One of the slab inscriptions (IN03023) is of the king Dappula V (A.D. 940-952) and records a royal offering to the Virāṅkurā monastery. The second slab is inscribed on its front and back with inscriptions of the king Mahinda IV (975-991) detailing benefactions made to the clergy of the monastery Bo-Upulvan-Kusub-giri Vehera. The inscription on the front of this slab is dealt with here (see IN03025 for the inscription on the back).