The Devinuwara Pillar Inscription of King Parakramabahu VI is presently on display at the Inscription Gallery of Colombo National Museum, Sri Lanka.
The slab
The pillar is 2 ft. 4 inches tall and 1 ft. 2.5 inches wide (Paranavitana, 1953; Ranawella, 2005). The thickness of the stone is 8 inches (Ranawella, 2005). It was discovered somewhere in Devinuwara and later brought to the present location for conservation (Paranavitana, 1953).
The inscription has been engraved on the obverse face as well as on two sides of the pillar. The first side contains 14 lines of writing and the second side has 13 lines (Ranawella, 2005). The third face has 9 lines of writing (Ranawella, 2005).
Content
The script and the language of the inscription are Sinhala of the 15th century A.D. and they show about the same stage of development as that of the Madavala Rock Inscription of Parakramabahu VI (Paranavitana, 1953; Ranawella, 2005). It is dated in the 14th regnal year of a king styled Sri Parakramabahu who, according to scholars, is King Parakramabahu VI [(1412-1467 A.D.) Paranavitana, 1953; Ranawella, 2005; Rohanadeera, 2007]. The purport of the record was to register the grant of a coconut estate by a person named Arutantri for the benefit of a temple called Nenabhumi Mahavihara and also of the King of Gods [(Upulvan) Paranavitana, 1953; Ranawella, 2005].
References
1) Paranavitana, S., 1953. The Shrine of Upulvan at Devindara. Memoirs of the Archaeological Survey of Ceylon. Volume VI. Archaeological Department. pp.78-80.
2) Ranawella, S. (Ed.), 2005. Sinhala inscriptions in the Colombo National Museum: Spolia Zeylanica. Vol 42. (2005). Department of National Museums, Sri Lanka. pp.102-103.
3) Rohanadeera, M., 2007. Archaeological Survey of Ceylon: Inscriptions of Ceylon: Vol. VIII. Department of Archaeology. ISBN: 978-955-91-59-64-3. pp.22-23.
Location Map
This page was last updated on 12 May 2023