IN03079

The Hatadage, Polonnaruwa. The vestibule wall inscription can be seen on the right in this photograph.

Detail of the vestibule wall-inscription at the Hatadage, Polonnaruwa.

The inscription is engraved on the front wall of the vestibule or pro-naos of the so-called Häṭa-dā-gē, ‘the Shrine of Sixty Relics’, at Poḷonnaruva. It was discovered by S. M. Burrows in 1885, along with another inscription inside the shrine (IN03080) and one in the adjoining portico (IN03078). The inscription dates from the reign of Kīrti-Niśśaṅka-Malla (1187-1196 A.D.), whom it refers to as Siṁhapureśvara Laṁk󠅛eśvara Kāliṅga-Cakravartī. The text consists of 17 lines engraved within a double border featuring a band of haṁsas (swans) and another of foliate ornament. It describes some of Niśśaṅka-Malla’s administrative and charitable acts.