Basavakkulama Pillar Inscription is a 9th-century Sinhala record from Anuradhapura, noting King Sena II’s decree banning illegal fishing.
Basavakkulama Pillar Inscription of Sena II B asavakkulama 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 . 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 is 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 a…
