A pillar containing an inscription of Queen Lilavati of the Polonnaruwa Kingdom is presently on the display at the Stone Gallery of Colombo National Museum, Sri Lanka.
Discovery
The inscription was discovered lying on the bund of the Abhaya Wewa (or Basawakkulama tank) in Anuradhapura (Ranawella, 2005). It was later brought to the present location for conservation.
Content
The pillar is 4 feet tall and each is 10 inches wide (Ranawella, 2005). The inscription has been engraved on three sides of it. The first side contains 21 lines of writing while the second and third sides contain 21 and 15 lines respectively (Ranawella, 2005).
The script and the language of the inscription are Sinhala of the 12th century A.D. (Ranawella, 2005). It has been dated in the 3rd regnal year of Queen Lilavati (1197-1200, 1209-1210, 1211-1212 A.D.), the chief queen of King Parakramabahu I [(1153-1186 A.D.) Ranawella, 2005]. It records a land grant made by a gentleman named Lag Vijayasingu Kit, the Prime Minister of Queen Lilavati, to the monks who were living in the Ruvan-paya monastery in Anuradhapura (Ranawella, 2005).
The script and the language of the inscription are Sinhala of the 12th century A.D. (Ranawella, 2005). It has been dated in the 3rd regnal year of Queen Lilavati (1197-1200, 1209-1210, 1211-1212 A.D.), the chief queen of King Parakramabahu I [(1153-1186 A.D.) Ranawella, 2005]. It records a land grant made by a gentleman named Lag Vijayasingu Kit, the Prime Minister of Queen Lilavati, to the monks who were living in the Ruvan-paya monastery in Anuradhapura (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.XIV,97-99.
Location Map
This page was last updated on 14 January 2023