Dimbulagala Viharaya, an ancient monastery from the 3rd century BC, has caves with Brahmi script and Sri Lanka’s largest Early Brahmi inscription.
Dimbulagala Viharaya D imbulagala Viharaya , ancient Dhumarakkhapabbata , Udumbarapabbata or Udumbarasala-pabbata (Sinhala: දිඹුලාගල රජ මහා විහාරය; Tamil: திம்புலாகலை ரஜ மகா விகாரை), is a Buddhist monastery situated in Dimbulagala mountain site (or Gunner's Quoin hill) in Polonnaruwa District, Sri Lanka. The largest inscription recorded in the country was discovered in July 2023 in the forest of this monastery. It is an Early Brahmi Rock Inscription (45 feet long and 18 feet high) belonging to the beginning of the 2nd century B.C. or earlier. History Early Period As mentioned in chronicles such as Mahavamsa, Pandukabhaya, the first traditional monarch in Sri Lanka is said to have lived at this place for 4 years in the 5th century B.C. and there was a pond named Tumbariyangana at the foot of the mountain (Adithiya, 1986; Nicholas, 1963). It is also said that Jutindhara, a leader of the Yaksa tribe who lived in Dimbulagala cave during the reign of Pandukabhaya was reborn as a deity in the same cave (Wikramaga…
