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Hualin International Journal of Buddhist Studies 8.2 (2025): 76–97; https://dx.doi.org/10.15239/hijbs.08.02.05
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Buddhist Epigraphy and Women’s History)
Donative Inscriptions of Three Lankan Noblewomen
Bruno M. SHIRLEY
Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg
bruno.shirley@hcts.uni-heidelberg.de
Abstract: This article offers new translations, with contextual introductions, of inscriptions by three Sri Lankan noblewomen from the early second millennium: the Lady Vidurā, the Great Lady Sundarā, and the Dowager Queen Candavatī. Only Sundarā is so much as mentioned in the literary sources on which we usually rely for the history of Buddhism in medieval Lanka. However, their inscriptions together suggest a greater significance in the development of Theravāda Buddhism.
Keywords: epigraphy, Sri Lanka, Pali, Mahāvihāra
About the Author: Bruno M. Shirley is a historian of medieval Sri Lanka, interested in the intersection of religion, gender, and politics. He is currently adjunct lecturer at the Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg, Germany.
This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
