JoURNAL, rr.A.s.

56

(cEyLoN). [\.or,. XXYIII.

No.r'Es aND euERrES.

57

THE THUPARAMA TEMPLE AT ANURADIIAPURA

By A. M. Ilocenr, ARcrrzoor.ocrcAl CoMMrssroNER

SRIPURA

Bv H. W. ConnrNoror,r,

C.C.S.

In Mr. Wickromasinghe's edition of the Priti-d6,naka

Ma4dapa rock inscription of Nissahka l\{alla (lp. Zeyl,. II ,
No. 29, linos 34 ff.) the following occurs :-Anur6dhapurayaye Sripurayaye $rivr6(sa) purayave Nissankapurayaye (Kri,)linga-Vijaya(pu) rayaye

n{a}raputupaye $onayaye (KdL,li)ngayaye Rd,mosvaraJraye yanr4,di no-ok svadesa paradesayehi d6,na-

The capitals of the so_called Driladd,

Mriligriw-a that
stands near the Thuprirrima puzzle everyone
by their
peculiar shape. Common repoit,
endorsed b), Mr. Bur_
.ows,* says they rcpresent the relic,
but at the
no one traces in them a.ny rese,mblan.ce tosame time
a tooth.
Mr. Bell in his report for 1g9b (p.B) thinks
they may be
conventionalizecl lot,us_buds.
. f here give a photograph of one of tlie capitals

by the

karavr4,.

He brrilf, almshousos in AnurS,dhapura, Sripura,

SrivS,sapura, Nissa4kapura, 1(6,linga-Vijayepura,.
Mahaputupa, Sonaya, K5,linga, Rd,mosvara, and in

rnany other plzr,ces both

73.-19201
tt

satla

No.

in this country and

in

an,tl,

of Mr. K. N. Dikshit of the fndian

Archreological survey, am abre to prace
beside it a very
pleasing print of Rodhisattva
Simhaoudu_Aoutokitesvara t
The reader will compare the capital with
the Bod_
hisattva's
kindn,ess

trident and draw his orrn conclusions.f

othor lands.
The city $ripura also is mentionod in the story of Sudarsan6, daughter of king Candragr-rpta and his quoon Candralokh6 in Mr. D. R. Bhandarkar's papor " Jaina lconography,'
publishod in tho Annual Roport (Archreological Survoy of

India) for 1905/6:-

;i

" Hore in Jarnbudvipa in the Island of Ceylon

in tho country of RatnS,saya in tho town of Sripura
thero flourished a king (named) Cnndraguptn. His
wife w&s Candralokh6,. After (giving birth to)
seven sons she had, by propitiating the goddoss
Naradattri; e daughter namod Sudarsarr6,."
Tho names are given by tho translator irr thoir Sanskrit
form. The original Prakrit text has:Japbuddiv o Sinhala-dive Rayan6,saya-dese Siripuranayare Ca!dragupto r6yri.
The remaindor of tho story deals with India and has no
local intorost. Can any reader supply a cluo to tho identity
of Sripura ?

* Ruried
Cities, 1g9J, p. BZ.
t K. N. Dikshit: Six -sculplure-s from }fahoba.
*'"
Memoirs of
the Arclrrcological Surrey
i;i;;;
"i oubN".'8:
i l'lrrs q'as alrea,dv pointed
by Mr. E. R,, Ayrton in this
Journal, ]914, No. 18.

pRrN0E rANryAyaLLl n.duu

(o

ro

Ei

^dt
d

1
4'

zF(

a
F
|(
Fl
I

;i

<,

oF rriolorp,

THE rnupiniru^r TEMprrE

lr

.rnun.durApuRA

CAPITAL FR,OM TIIE TOOTH-R,ELIC TEMPLE,

ANUR,ADIIAPUR,A.

2.

CAPITAL FR,O]\,I THE TOOTII-IT,ELIC 'J]EMPLE

AT

(Reproduced

ANUR,ADHAIJUR,A

from Smither's Architectural

Remains, Anuradhapura)

BOI{ISATTVA SINIHANANDA

AVALOKITES\VARA.