The Hingurakdamana Tamil Pillar Inscription is one of the Tamil Inscriptions in Sri Lanka. It was discovered in a paddy field situated in Hingurakdamana in Polonnaruwa District and first noticed in the Annual Reports of the Archaeological Department in 1891 (Indrapala, 1971; Veluppillai, 1971).
The Content
The inscription has been engraved on an area of 3' 5'' x 8'' on one side of the pillar and consists of twenty-two short lines (Indrapala, 1971; Veluppillai, 1971). The characters are mixed Tamil and Grantha of the 12th century A.D. (Indrapala, 1971).
The object of establishing the inscription is to register the grant of some money to a Buddhist institution (Buddhastana) at Padoni Macar (Veluppillai, 1971). The donor named Umpila Ayittan, a person of the Agampadi community in the service of Gajabahu Tevar obtained this money from the sale of a part of the Pilappettu of his Jivitha (land-holding for life in return for service) at Mananalay (Indrapala, 1971; Pathmanathan, 1976). The date of the record is given as the 40th year of a king whose name has been omitted (Indrapala, 1971; Pathmanathan, 1976).
Scholars have dated this inscription to the reign of King Gajabahu II [(1132-1153 A.D.) Indrapala, 1971; Pathmanathan, 1976; Veluppillai, 1971]. However, as found in several other inscriptions, the regnal year given in the record is not Gajabahu II but King Jayabahu I [(1110-1111 A.D.) Indrapala, 1971; Pathmanathan, 1976]. Therefore, this inscription is believed to have been engraved in the year of 1150 or 1151 A.D. (Indrapala, 1971).
References
1) Indrapala, K. (ed), 1971. Epigraphia Tamilica. Volume I, Part I. Jaffna Archaeological Society. pp.14-18.
2) Pathmanathan, S., 1976. The Tamil Inscription from Hingurakdamana. Vidyodaya J. Art.Sci. Litt., Vol 5 Nos.1 & 2. pp.56-61.
3) Veluppillai, A., 1971. Ceylon Tamil Inscriptions: Part 1. Published by the author. pp.32-34.
