Inscriptions of Ceylon – Volume I – Early Brahmi Inscriptions – Senarat Paranavitana

Description

Inscriptions of Ceylon – Volume I by Dr. Senarat Paranavitana is an important scholarly collection of the earliest known inscriptions of Sri Lanka, providing an invaluable record of the island’s ancient history, language, religion and society.

This first volume of the Corpus of the Inscriptions of Ceylon presents the texts and translations of 1,276 inscriptions, including inscriptions written in the early form of the Brāhmī script as well as examples of the later Brāhmī script. With only a small number of exceptions, the early inscriptions were discovered in caves throughout Sri Lanka, making them an essential source for understanding the beginnings of written historical evidence on the island.

The inscriptions preserve some of the oldest known forms of the Sinhalese language and contain references to important rulers and historical personalities, including King Uttiya, Duṭṭhagāmaṇi, Saddhātissa, Vaṭṭagāmaṇi Abhaya, Kuṭakaṇṇa Tissa, Mahācūli Mahātissa and Āmaṇḍagāmaṇi Abhaya. They provide valuable evidence concerning the political, social, economic and religious organisation of the early Sinhalese kingdom and the establishment and development of Buddhism in ancient Ceylon.

Of particular interest to students of Buddhism is an inscription referring to a stupa of Mahinda Thera, traditionally associated with the introduction of Buddhism to Sri Lanka.

In addition to the inscriptions and their translations, the volume includes a substantial scholarly introduction covering the sites of the inscriptions, palaeography, grammar and historical data. A comprehensive glossary explaining the words occurring in the inscriptions and a subject index further enhance its value as a reference work.

Edited by one of Sri Lanka’s foremost archaeologists and epigraphists, Inscriptions of Ceylon – Volume I is an essential reference for scholars, researchers, collectors and readers interested in Sri Lankan history, archaeology, epigraphy, Buddhism, Brāhmī inscriptions and the development of the Sinhala language.