Place: Anuradhapura Museum

The inscription is engraved on two sides of a stone pillar, which was found, sometime between 1906 and 1912, in a chena near the Malvatu Oya, to the east of the fifth milestone on the Outer Circular Road in Anurādhapura. It was recorded as No. 2 in the list of inscriptions forming Appendix F of the Annual Report of the Archaeological Survey of Ceylon for 1911–12 and subsequently moved to the Anurādhapura Museum. The pillar was evidently taken from the ruins of an earlier building. The lower portion of the pillar has been broken off and, at its top, there is a mortise hole to which a wooden capital was probably fitted. The inscription records the grant of a land named Kavuḍāvatta to a pirivena constructed by the heir-apparent (Māpā) Bhuvanaikabāhu, son of Vijayabāhu. The only Bhuvanaikabāhu mentioned in the chronicles as a son of Vijayabāhu is the prince of that name who was the second son of Vijayabāhu III. This prince held the office of yuvarāja, which is very often synonymous with māpā, in the reign of his elder brother, Parākramabāhu II. Hence this record may be attributed to the latter’s reign, which lasted from 1234 until 1269 A.D.

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).

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 (OB03019 and OB03020). The present inscription is engraved on one of the slabs. It dates from the reign of king Dappula V (A.D. 940-952) and records a royal offering to the Virāṅkurā monastery.