Rāssahela

Mihindu (Mahinda in Pali) Seya at Rajagala

This inscription is engraved on a rock, which stands among the remains of an extensive ancient monastery on the rocky hill called Rājagala or Rāssahela in the Vävugam Patty of the Batticaloa District. It was discovered in 1935 by W. E. Fernando, the Draughtsman of the Archaeological Department, who had been sent by Senarath Paranavitana to explore the site (see Archaeological Survey of Ceylon Annual Report for 1935, p. 9). Fernando prepared an estampage of the inscription but it did not give a clear reading of the latter part of the inscription, which was faint and covered with moss. A clearer estampage was created sometime later, after the site had been opened up for cultivation and cleared of jungle. The inscription is written in early Brāhmī characters and refers to the two theras called Iḍika (P. Iṭṭhiya) and Mahida (P. Mahinda) in connection with a nearby stupa. Since these two theras are described as having come to the island of Sri Lanka from overseas, the Mahida in question can be identified as Saint Mahinda, who travelled from India to preach Buddhism in Sri Lanka in the third century B.C. It is stated in the chronicle that, after Mahinda’s cremation, half of his bodily relics were distributed across the island, to be enshrined in stupas specially built for the purpose. It would seem that one such stupa was erected at Rājagala and the present inscription was engraved to commemorate this fact. In terms of dating, it is not impossible that the stupa was built shortly after Mahinda’s death, which occurred about 200 B.C., with the inscription being incised around the same time. The palaeography contains nothing that militates against this view.

This inscription is engraved on the side of a boulder among the remains of an extensive ancient monastery on the rocky hill called Rājagala or Rāssahela in the Vävugam Patty of the Batticaloa District. A cave is formed underneath the boulder and there are a total of four inscriptions on the side of the rock. Of these inscriptions, only the present record can be definitely dated. It records a grant of lands to a monastery called Arittāra-vehera, which was undoubtedly the ancient name of the monastery at Rāssahela. The donor is named as Äpāy Daḷsiva, who can be identified with Ādipāda Dāṭhāsiva, a Rohaṇa prince mentioned in the Mahāvaṁsa as having been driven away from his principality in the reign of Udaya I. As this king’s reign lasted only five years from about 787 A.D., it is possible that the present inscription dates from the reign of Udaya I’s predecessor, Mahinda II, who reigned circa 767–787. At any rate, it is certain that the inscription belongs to the second half of the eighth century. On palaeographic grounds, two of the other inscriptions on the boulder (IN03190 and IN03191) can be attributed to the same period. They are also concerned with grants of lands by local rulers to the monastery. Only traces survive of the fourth inscription on the boulder, which seems to have a slightly later date.

This inscription is engraved on the side of a boulder among the remains of an extensive ancient monastery on the rocky hill called Rājagala or Rāssahela in the Vävugam Patty of the Batticaloa District. A cave is formed underneath the boulder and there are a total of four inscriptions on the side of the rock. The present inscription records a grant of lands by an individual called Vīrāṁkurā – possibly a local ruler of Rohaṇa – to a monastery called Arittāra-vehera, which was undoubtedly the ancient name of the monastery at Rāssahela. It is not possible to connect the donor named in the present inscription with any known historical personages but the inscription can be dated on palaeographic grounds to around the second half of the eighth century A.D. Two of the other inscriptions on the boulder (IN03190 and IN03192) are also concerned with land-grants to the monastery and, from their palaeography, they appear to date from the same period as the present inscription. Furthermore, the donor named in one of these inscriptions (IN03192) can be identified with a prince mentioned in the Mahāvaṁsa as having been alive in the reign of Udaya I, who ruled for five years from around 787. This historical evidence helps to confirm the dating of these three inscriptions to the eighth century. Only traces survive of the fourth inscription on the boulder, which seems to have a slightly later date.

Buddhist ruins at Rajagala, Ampara District, Eastern Province

This inscription is engraved on the side of a boulder among the remains of an extensive ancient monastery on the rocky hill called Rājagala or Rāssahela in the Vävugam Patty of the Batticaloa District. A cave is formed underneath the boulder and there are a total of four inscriptions on the side of the rock. The present inscription records a grant of lands by an individual called Sen – probably a local ruler of Rohaṇa – to a monastery called Arittāra-vehera, which was undoubtedly the ancient name of the monastery at Rāssahela. It is not possible to connect the donor named in the present inscription with any known historical personages but the inscription can be dated on palaeographic grounds to around the second half of the eighth century A.D. Two of the other inscriptions on the boulder (IN03191 and IN03192) are also concerned with land-grants to the monastery and, from their palaeography, they appear to date from the same period as the present inscription. Furthermore, the donor named in one of these inscriptions (IN03192) can be identified with a prince mentioned in the Mahāvaṁsa as having been alive in the reign of Udaya I, who ruled for five years from around 787. This historical evidence helps to confirm the dating of these three inscriptions to the eighth century. Only traces survive of the fourth inscription on the boulder, which seems to have a slightly later date.