Discovery
The inscription was discovered in 1934, in Bolana, a village situated near to Ambalantota in Hambantota District (Ranawella, 2005). It was damaged at the time of discovery and a small part with a few lines of writing at the bottom is missing today (Ranawella, 2005). The inscription is presently on the display at the stone gallery of the Colombo National Museum.
Inscription
The writing has been engraved on the two sides of a stone pillar slab which is 4 ft 8 in height (Ranawella, 2005). The obverse side of the slab contains 15 lines of writing and a carved figure of an auspicious jar. The reverse side contains 7 lines of writing and the figures of a monk's fan, a crow, and a dog.
Content
The inscription reveals its inscribe date as the seventh regnal year of a king styled Abha Salamevan. According to details given in the inscription, it has been set up by the son of King Abha Salamevan but his name is not found in the preserved portion. However, depending on the available historical and epigraphical evidence, the king mentioned in this inscription has been identified by the scholars as King Kassapa V [(914-923 A.D.) Ranawella, 2005].
Bolana Pillar Inscription of King Kassapa V
Period: 10th century A.D.
Script: Sinhala of the early 10th century
Language: Sinhala of the early 10th century
Transcript: (1) Navaparamuwa de- (2)senava Mahaga-...>>
Content: The inscription records about two chena lands at Navaparamuwa those gifted to the hospital at Mahagama on the orders of King Abha Salamevan. It also mentions that even the children and grandchildren of the king have been debarred from entering the gifted lands
Reference: Ranawella, 2005.
References
1) Ranawella, S. (Ed.), 2005. Sinhala inscriptions in the Colombo National Museum: Spolia Zeylanica. Vol 42. (2005). Department of National Museums, Sri Lanka. pp.59-63.
Location Map
This page was last updated on 12 February 2022
For a complete tourist map follow this link: Lankapradeepa Tourist Map
For a complete tourist map follow this link: Lankapradeepa Tourist Map
