Mediaeval Sinhalese Art c9.14

c9.14

“His Majesty the supreme ruler of Śrī Laṅkā, . . . passed a royal edict that a certain portion of the Saddharmaya, doctrines inculcated by our King Buddha, the teacher of the three worlds, be transcribed on leaves of beaten gold; and on the occasion when Nilavala Ratnavalli Navaratna Ābharaṇaya, to whom gold and gems had been supplied for this purpose, completed and presented the work, His Majesty, out of his bountiful liberality, commanded that the following allotment of lands . . . in all three amuṇu in extent, together with the houses, gardens, plantations, and high and muddy lands appertaining thereto (be granted to him), to be undisturbedly possessed by him and his generations so long as they shall exist, . . . in the year of Śaka 1677” (1755 A.D.) (Lawrie’s Gazetteer, p. 643). Representatives of the family still hold lands at Eḷeṇiya and Maṅgalagama, and possess heirlooms of great historical interest (Lawrie’s Gazetteer, p. 214).