Wewalketiya Slab Inscription | AmazingLanka.com

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Wewalketiya Slab Inscription - වේවැල්කැටිය පුවරු ලිපිය

Step back into the 10th century, where a stone pillar in Wewalketiya reveals laws, punishments, and royal authority—an enduring voice of King Mahinda IV carved into history, echoing across Sri Lanka through multiple parallel inscriptions across the country.

The Wewalketiya Slab Inscription—also written as Vevalketiya—is regarded as one of the most significant epigraphical records of the Anuradhapura Era. Believed to have been erected during the reign of King Mahinda IV (956–972), this imposing stone pillar stands 6 feet tall and 1.5 feet wide, bearing 45 carved lines of text.

A Record of Justice in Ancient Sri Lanka

At its heart, the inscription addresses the administration of criminal justice within the dasa-gama of the Kibi-nilam district in Amgam-kaliya, located in the Northern Quarter of Rajarata. It is not merely a legal proclamation but a window into the judicial and administrative practices of 10th and 11th centuries A.D.

The text outlines laws and punishments, offering a rare glimpse into how justice was dispensed. Particularly striking is its reference to the treatment of animals: the death penalty was prescribed not only for murder and highway robbery but also for the killing of cattle and goats. The inscription further reveals that local rulers, appointed by the king, were entrusted with the authority to enforce these laws.

Discovery and Publication

The Wewalketiya Inscription came to light in 1875. It was later studied, read, and published by D. M. De Zilva Wickremasinghe in 1912, appearing in Epigraphia Zeylanica Volume 1. Wickremasinghe identified the King Siri Sangabo Abey mentioned in the text as none other than King Mahinda IV of the Anuradhapura Kingdom.

Parallel Inscriptions Across the Island

Following its discovery, several other inscriptions bearing the same decree were discovered across Sri Lanka. These include:

Kahatagasdigiliya (1896)
Dombavalgama (1898)
Anuradhapura – Vessagiriya and Maluweyaya (1912)
Hingurakgoda (1934)
Kottapitiya on the Naulla–Giritale Road (1949)
Nathanar Kovil near Trincomalee (1953)
Ilakkatu-Eba near Chilaw in ancient Maya-Rata (1969)
Vannadi-Palama near Allai (1974)
Karum-Puliyamkulam near Vavunikkulam in Vavuniya District (1975)
Seruvila Somapura near the Allai Reservoir (1977)
Mi-Hondavana on the Kekirawa–Hammillewa Road (1984)

Another example is preserved at the Colombo National Museum. While the texts are not identical, they are similar enough to be considered duplicates or copies of one another (Ranawella, 2004).

Visiting the Site

The original site of the Wewalketiya Inscription can be reached via the Medawachchiya–Horowpathana road, where this enduring monument continues to stand as a testament to the legal and administrative sophistication of ancient Sri Lanka.

Complete Translation of the Wewalketiya Slab Inscription

Prosperity! On the tenth day of the first half of the lunar month of Uduvap (November. December), in the second year after raising the canopy (of dominion) by the Great King Sirisahgbo Abhayi, the son of the Great King Sirisahgbo Abha, who is descended from the royal dynasty of Okkika, the pinnacle of the Ksatriya clan, and who inherited by right of descent the earth of the Island of Lanka, the young damsel, the Chief Queen of the Ksatriya nobles.

(1,) Raksa of Heluggama, (I,) Sena of Kada, (both) who are attached to the royal court of justice; (I,) Meykappar Lokehi of Kuburgama, (I,) Agbohi of Katira, and (I,) Kudasala Ravisen, we, the aforementioned Royal officials who came together in accordance with the order issued by the Supreme Council have instituted this decree to the effect that: should the tenants of the chieftains of each and every Dasagama of the Demel Veher Pamagiya in Kibindu-bima, Amgam-kuliya of the Northern Quarter (of Rajarata), and of the chieftains who have provided security to Kibi villages (therein), commit murder or highway robbery within the jurisdiction (of the Dasagama), after having arrested and detained the suspects in custody, the Elders of Dasagama shall sit in session and after deliberations have its proceedings recorded so that it could be produced later (if required), and punish the murderers with death and have the highway robbers hanged.

(As to the stolen) property recovered from (them), the items, the ownership of which had been established, should be restored to the respective owners.

If however, the Elders of Dasagama have (still) failed to arrest and detain (the accused persons), they shall apprehend (them) within forty-five days and have them punished [in the same way]. If they failed to find them within the (stipulated) period, one hundred and twenty-five kalandas of gold shall be paid to the royal family.

If the offense is grievous hurt (but not homicide), fifty kalandas of gold shall be levied (from the culprit) as wergild. Should this is not feasible (his) house shall be confiscated.

If the alleged offender is not (arrested) and detained, fifty kalandas of gold shall be paid by the Dasagama to the royal family. A fine of fifty kalandas of gold shall be levied from a person who is (found guilty) of aiding and abetting (a criminal); if he is unable to pay (it), (his) house shall be confiscated. If he has no house (of his own), he shall be punished by cutting off (his) hands.

Fines collected from the offenders who were found guilty of the offense of assault (sihin-dad) and petty fines (sihin-dad) shall be divided among themselves by the headmen of the villages and the recipients of the pamagu grants in accordance with the former custom.

The killers of buffaloes, oxen, and goats shall be punished with death. Should (they) be stolen but not killed, after ascertaining the exact position, each (of the culprits shall be branded with marks on their bodies with a kasiliya and then be released. If the exact nature of the offense cannot be determined, the case shall be disposed of by beating the alleged offenders. The buffaloes, oxen, and goats transported from outside for sale (here) shall be purchased only after being duly identified and on security being provided. Those who have violated (these) ordinances shall be made to stand on heated iron sandals.

The tenants of the Dasagama shall observe without transgression the privileges associated with the adornment of ornaments during festivities and funerals as accorded to their respective families. Should there be a tenant who comes here after the date of the enactment of this statute in this Dasagama, he shall be duly identified, and after having obtained surety on him, he may be allowed to stay on. If there be any person who has entered this (Dasagama) after having committed an improper act (in his former village), although the surety has been provided, he shall be sent back to the elders of his former village to be dealt with by them.

Should the Elders of the Dasagama transgress against the aforementioned matters (in the performance of their duties) they shall follow the directives given by the royal officers who come here annually for investigations.

(Ranawella, 2004)

References

Wickremasinghe, D.M. (1912) ‘VEVALKATIYA SLAB INSCRIPTION OF MAHINDA IV’ in Epigraphia Zeylanica : Being Lithic and Other Inscriptions of Ceylon – Volume I. London: The Government of Ceylon, pp.241–251.
Ranawella, S. (2004) Inscriptions of Ceylon Vol V (part II). Colombo: Department of Archaeology, Sri Lanka, pp 172-183.

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