Thambiluvil Inscription is a

Tamil Tamil may refer to: * Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia ** Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils **Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia * Tamil language, nati ...

inscription dated to 16th Century CE initially found at

Thambiluvil Thambiluvil ( ta, தம்பிலுவில்) is a coastal village situated in the Eastern Province of Sri Lanka. It is south of Batticaloa, on the east coast of the island. Thambiluvil is known for its preservation of the Tamil culture, ...

village in

Ampara District Ampara District ( ta, அம்பாறை மாவட்டம், translit=Ampāṟai Māvaṭṭam; si, අම්පාර දිස්ත්‍රික්කය, translit=Ampāra Distrikkaya) is one of the 25 districts of Sri Lanka, the sec ...

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

. This inscription was donated by

Vijayabahu VII of Kotte Vijayabahu VI was the son of Vira Parakrama Bahu VIII, who was an adopted child of Parakrama Bahu VI who founded the Kingdom of Kotte. He was born in c. 1445 and grew up with his brothers Sri Rajasinghe, Dharma Parakramabahu IX, and Raigam Banda ...

mentioning about his donation of "Vōvil" or "Wowil" to a temple.

Hugh Nevill

This inscription was observed by

Hugh Nevill Hugh L. Nevill (1847 – 1897) was a British civil servant, best known for his scholarship and studies of the culture of Sri Lanka. Biography Hugh Nevill was born on 19 June 1847, and came to Ceylon, as it was then called, at the age of seventeen ...

, a British Ceylon civil servant at

Thambiluvil Sri Kannaki amman temple Thambiluvil Kannaki Amman Kovil ( ta, தம்பிலுவில் கண்ணகி அம்மன் ஆலயம்) is one of the most significant Hindu temples in the Ampara District of Eastern Province, Sri Lanka. It is situated a ...

in the 1800s. The mount of lord

Murugan Kartikeya ( sa, कार्त्तिकेय, Kārttikeya), also known as Skanda, Subrahmanya, Shanmukha (), and Murugan ( ta, முருகன்), is the Hindu god of war. He is the son of Parvati and Shiva, the brother of Gan ...

- "

peacock Peafowl is a common name for three bird species in the genera ''Pavo (genus), Pavo'' and ''Afropavo'' within the tribe Pavonini of the family Phasianidae, the pheasants and their allies. Male peafowl are referred to as peacocks, and female pea ...

" engraved in that inscription let him to assume that it was belong to the nearest Thirukkovil Murugan Temple and he brought it there. Thambiluvil Inscription still can be seen in the small "Museum" in that temple.

Epigraphy

The cuboid shaped inscription which is nearly 1.5 m in height, is engraved with a peacock and a pair of

Trident A trident is a three- pronged spear. It is used for spear fishing and historically as a polearm. The trident is the weapon of Poseidon, or Neptune, the God of the Sea in classical mythology. The trident may occasionally be held by other marine ...

and

Spear A spear is a pole weapon consisting of a shaft, usually of wood, with a pointed head. The head may be simply the sharpened end of the shaft itself, as is the case with fire hardened spears, or it may be made of a more durable material fasten ...

, the holy weapons of Hindu gods,

Shiva Shiva (; sa, शिव, lit=The Auspicious One, Śiva ), also known as Mahadeva (; ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐ, or Hara, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions within Hin ...

and

in its two sides. Its other two sides contain the old Tamil scripts which state the purpose of the inscription.

"ஸ்ரீ சங்கபோதி பருமரான திறிபுவனச் சக்கரவர்த்திகள் ஸ்ரீ விசயபாகு தேவற்கு ஆண்டு பத்தாவதில் தை மாதம் 20 தியதி,சிவஞான சங்கரர் கோவிலுக்குக் கொடுத்த வோவில். இந்த தன்மத்துக்கு அகித்தம் செய்தானாகில் கெங்கைக் கரையில் காராம்பசுவைக் கொன்ற பாவத்தை அடையக் கடவராகவும்"

"Srī caṅkapōti parumarāṉa tiṟipuvaṉac cakkaravarttikaḷ srī vicayapāku tēvaṟku āṇṭu pattāvatil tai mātam 20 tiyati,civañāṉa caṅkarar kōvilukkuk koṭutta vōvil. Inta taṉmattukku akittam ceytāṉākil keṅkaik karaiyil kārāmpacuvaik koṉṟa pāvattai aṭaiyak kaṭavarākavum"

;Meaning: Protector of Sri Sangabodhi, The Lord of three worlds, His holiness "Sri Vijayabahu Devar" gave vōvil to "Sivanjana Sangarar Temple" on 20th of " Thai month" of 10th year of his reign. If anyone violate this

Dharma Dharma (; sa, धर्म, dharma, ; pi, dhamma, italic=yes) is a key concept with multiple meanings in Indian religions, such as Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism and others. Although there is no direct single-word translation for ...

, they will suffer with the sin of killing a cow in the bank of river

Ganges The Ganges ( ) (in India: Ganga ( ); in Bangladesh: Padma ( )). "The Ganges Basin, known in India as the Ganga and in Bangladesh as the Padma, is an international river to which India, Bangladesh, Nepal and China are the riparian states." is ...

Donor

Most of researchers conclude that the king mentioned in this inscription is

who ruled the country from 1509 to 1521 CE. However, it is not confirmed yet whether there was a

Siva Siva may refer to: Film and television * Siva (director), Indian cinematographer and director * ''Siva'' (1989 Tamil film), a film starring Rajinikanth as the title character * ''Siva'' (1989 Telugu film), an action film Music and dance * "Siv ...

temple named "Siva njana Sangarar" was situated in the present Kannaki Amman Temple premises whereas the inscription was initially found. Dutch maps of Ceylon indicate that there was a vast water resource named "Wowil" or "Bouwille" in Tamblowielle region of Batecalo. Mattakkalappu Purva Carithram, an ancient chronicle of Eastern Sri Lanka, also mention about a lagoon near Sankamankandy made by a Feudatory king named "Manuneya Gajabahu". A large brackish lake known as "Thandiyadi Lake" nowadays south to

is identified as this "Wowil". It is still unclear that why did the king donated this lake to a temple again. Someone in this area may forcibly caught the paddy fields and the lake of "Vovil" from public usage which may be recaptured by the king and donated to temple.

References

{{Reflist Tamil inscriptions in Sri Lanka 16th-century inscriptions History of Ampara District Sri Lankan Tamil history Sri Lanka inscriptions Thambiluvil

Hugh Nevill

Epigraphy

Donor

See also

References