The Etakada Tamil Pillar Inscription is one of the Tamil Inscriptions in Sri Lanka.
Discovery
The pillar containing the inscription was discovered at the entrance to the modern Buddhist Viharaya at Etakada in the Kadawath Korale in Anuradhapura District (Veluppillai, 1971). However, as per the content of the inscription, the pillar must have been originally sited on the premises of a Siva temple (Veluppillai, 1971).
Content
The text of the inscription was published in the fourth volume of the South Indian Inscriptions under the number and name; 1411: Pillar slab at Etakada in Kalpe Korale (Sastri, 1923).
The inscription begins by mentioning the 28th prosperous year but does not contain the name of any ruler in the preserved portion of the pillar (Veluppillai, 1971). Uttama Cola Isvaram, the name of the Hindu temple that is mentioned in the record suggests that it was a Siva temple related to the South Indian Chola ruler Uttama (971-985 A.D.) who preceded King Rajaraja the Great [(985-1014 A.D.) on the Chola throne (Veluppillai, 1971). It is supposed that this temple have been named after King Uttama during the reign of Rajaraja the Great (Veluppillai, 1971). Scholars have dated this inscription to the 11th or 12th century A.D. (Veluppillai, 1971).
The script of the record is Tamil while a few Grantha script is also used (Veluppillai, 1971). The object of the inscription is to record the endowment (three Velis of land, twenty cows for a perpetual lamp and fifty coconut trees and for five canti vilakku) made to the Siva temple by a person named Arankan Ramesan (Veluppillai, 1971).
References
1) Sastri, R.B.H.K., 1923. South Indian Inscriptions (Texts). Vol.4. Central Archaeological Library, New Delhi. p.495.
2) Veluppillai, A., 1971. Ceylon Tamil Inscriptions: Part 1. Published by the author. pp.20-23.
Location Map (approximate)
This page was last updated on 15 October 2022
