Place: Anuradhapura

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.).

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.

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.

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 (the present record and IN03114) 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.

The inscription is engraved on a quadrangular stone pillar, which was at the Archaeological Museum at Anurādhapura in around 1930, as recorded by S. Paranavitana in Epigraphia Zeylanica (vol. 3, p. 126). Paranavitana also reported that the pillar was said to have been discovered in the jungle to the west of the Jaffna road, not far from the town of Anurādhapura. The pillar is inscribed on all four sides but only one side remains legible, the writing on the other three having been almost completely obliterated. The legible portion of the inscription consists of thirty-eight lines and represents the introductory part of the text. It includes a date in the second year of king Dāpuḷu Abahay, whom H. C. P. Bell identified as Dappula V (r. 940–952 A.D.). As the bulk of the inscription is no longer legible, the purpose of the text is not entirely clear. However, the damaged text on the third side of the pillar appears to mention the boundaries of a certain land, suggesting that – like the majority of pillar inscription of the period – the inscription was probably concerned with a grant of immunities.

Ruwanwelisaya, Anuradhapura

Ruanweli Dagoba, c. 1891. Image from: Ricalton, James, (1891). ‘The City of the Sacred Bo-Tree (Anuradhapura),’ Scribner’s Magazine 10, pp. 319–336, image opposite p. 328.

The inscription is engraved on two fragments of a broken pillar, which were found lying amidst a heap of debris on the pavement about midway between the western and southern altars of the Ruvanväli-sǟya in Anuradhapura, a few yards from the stone votive dāgäba. In all probability, the pillar belonged to one of the many small shrines which once stood on the spacious platform where the fragments were found. The inscription records the gift of the pillar by an individual (or individuals) from the town of Mahila. It is dated in the reign of king Buddhadāsa (341–370 A.D.).