Gorakana Kande Vihara Slab Inscription

The Gorakana Kande Vihara Slab Inscription (Sinhala: ගොරකාන කන්දෙ විහාර පුවරු ලිපිය) has been erected on the premises of the village community hall near the Purana Kande Viharaya temple premises in Gorakana village in Kalutara District, Sri Lanka.

The inscription has been engraved on one side of a stone slab and the upper margin of the stone is round in shape. The inscription consists of thirty-four lines and it begins with sketches of the sun and moon. The Department of Archaeology has copied and documented the inscription under register no. 3682 (Kodithuwakku, 2022). According to the view of some, this is probably the most modern inscription so far discovered in the country.

Period: 19th century A.D. Script: Modern Sinhala Language: Modern Sinhala

Content: This land has been purchased from Lindamulage Salaman Allis Atbandane Kankanama by Mahamarakkalage Apolonia Prera (Punchi Hamine) of Moratuwa. Its boundaries are Kahatagahawatta to the east; the Gamsabha (village council) Totupola (ford) to the north; Gamsabhawatta to the west; and Meegahawatta to the south. It is mentioned that the land has been donated to the benefit of all for as long as the sun and moon exist.

Reference: The information board at the site by the Department of Archaeology and the Ministry of Education.

Dated on 25 May 1848, the inscription reveals a merit-giving to a pious woman's donation of a plot of land to the cause of Buddhism (Ceylon Year Book, 1954). According to the record, the land which had been purchased by Mahamarakkalage Apalonia Prera (alias Punchi Hamine) on 3 January 1833 from Lindamulage Salaman Allis Atbandane Kankanama has been donated for the benefit of all beings to pray the Nirvana for Punchi Hamine who died on 2 November 1847 (Kodithuwakku, 2022). The inscription ends with the sketch of a Punkalasa (a filled pot).