Basavakkulama Pillar Inscription of Sena II

Basavakkulama Pillar Inscription of King Sena II
Basavakkulama Pillar Inscription is a stone pillar inscription discovered from the bund of Basawakkulama tank (the ancient Abhaya Wewa) situated in Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka (Muller, 1984; Ranawella, 2005). Presently, it is on the display at the inscription gallery of Colombo National Museum.

Inscription
The quadrilateral pillar is 3.5 feet tall and only two sides of it are covered by the inscription (Ranawella, 2005). It had been broken into two pieces at the time of its arrival. However, the epigraph had been deciphered by Muller, before it was broken into two pieces (Muller, 1984; Ranawella, 2005).

The inscription has been written in the Sinhala language with scripts belonging to the latter half of the 9th century (Ranawella, 2005).

Content
This inscription mentions its inscribed date as the nineteenth regnal year of King Sirisangboyi Mapurmuka who has been identified as King Sena II [(853-887 A.D.) Ranawella, 2005]. It records a decree that prohibits illegal fishing in the Abhaya-wewa (presently known as Basawakkulama) and the mayor of the city (city of Anuradhapura) was held responsible for it. If he (the mayor) fails to arrest and punish those who engage in illegal fishing in that reservoir, the mayor was ordered to pay a fine of ten "hunas" of gold (Ranawella, 2005). Also, the caretaker of Maha Vihara Monastery at Anuradhapura had been ordered to send his monastic staff to confiscate the fishing nets of the culprits. In addition to that, the apprehended culprits had to submit themselves to do some manual work free at the reservoir (Ranawella, 2005).

References
1) Muller, E., 1984. Ancient Inscriptions in Ceylon. Asian Educational Services. New Delhi. pp.55,78.
2) Ranawella, S. (Ed.), 2005. Sinhala inscriptions in the Colombo National Museum: Spolia Zeylanica. Vol 42. (2005). Department of National Museums, Sri Lanka. pp.xi,10-14.

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This page was last updated on 14 January 2023
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