Polonnaruwa Slab Inscription at the North Entrance to the Citadel

Polonnaruwa Slab Inscription at the North Entrance
This slab inscription by King Nissankamalla was discovered completely buried at the North gate of the Citadel of the Ancient City of Polonnaruwa, Sri Lanka (Wickremasinghe, 1928).

The inscription has been engraved on both sides of a quadrangle slab of 6 ft tall and 2 ft 8 inches wide (Wickremasinghe, 1928). The first side contains 37 lines of writing and on the second side 36 lines are found (Wickremasinghe, 1928). A similar slab with a copy of this inscription has been discovered at the East-gate of the citadel (Wickremasinghe, 1928).

Reign : Nissankamalla (1187-1196 A.D.)
Period: 12th century A.D.
Script : Medieval Sinhala
Language : Sanskrit & Medieval Sinhala
Transcript: Laksmim varddhayitum vyathas samayitun tratum svavamsa-sthitim......>>
Content    : This inscription includes descriptions of the Nissankamalla's virtuous qualities and his charitable acts. It further records that the members of Kalinga royal dynasty who protected its subjects with good governance were the most suitable to be kings and persons from Govi caste and non-Buddhist princes from Cola or from Kerala are not suitable for the throne of Sri Lanka. Persons from the Kaling royalty should be the kings of the country and the people who show allegiance to those who have no right to royalty will be treated as traitors and be extirpated together with their families and their worldly possessions. 

References
1) Wickremasinghe, D. M. D. Z., 1928. Epigraphia Zeylanica: Being lithic and other inscriptions of Ceylon (Vol, II). Published for the government of Ceylon by Humphrey Milford. pp.157-.164.

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This page was last updated on 3 October 2020
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