Book review:

Rock inscriptions outsmart written record

Title: Wansakathawala Nokiyawena Shilalipiwalin Heliwana Lanka Ithihasaya
Author: A M Karunarathne
Publisher: Dayawansa Jayakody and Company
Pages 360

We read history of our country or history of any country for that matter thanks to historians who peruse the work of the archeologists and researchers to produce what contains in ola leaves, (papyrus) on slates and put them in an orderly fashion.

It is undoubtedly a gigantic task to produce historical data in sequence.

What we read in history books are information gathered through the chronicles and sketches unearthed by archeologists. Reading what was inscribed on rock stones, inscribed by craftsmen, helps one dive deep historical events. Mahawansa is one, among many, source of our history, our past buried under the sand of times. But we also know that those chronicles are not written immediately after an event of historical value had taken place. They come in book form, a few centuries after the event had taken place. This means with the passage of time those original events would have got distorted, mixed, coloured or several of the sort with either additions or omissions, losing purity of their original thought form in the process of coming down via the word of mouth generation after generation.

But the belief is that what is written or inscribed on rock stones or plates and in caves preserve their originality and do not get coloured with the passing of ages and face no change. They remain in their original form despite having to face threats of nature, the sun, the rain, earthquakes, storms and strong winds for centuries. Hence what contains in them is much more reliable than the words written after a generation.

The rock stone writing also helps to a greater extent in proving or disproving what is found in chronicles and helps the future historians to rectify whatever needed to rectify. Facts found in manuscripts could be verified and rock stones writings do a service by throwing light in this regard. They come in the form of written words on ola leaves or as manuscripts. They remain useful to decide on a particular issue at hand provided some reference could be made to the rock-stone writings.

The book ‘Wansakathawala Nokiyawena Shilalipiwalin Heliwana Lanka Ithihasaya’ by A M Karunarathne is an invaluable book as it highlights and emphasizes the importance of inscriptions found in rock stone or plates. They help the keen and studious student of history, or the serious researcher doing his task of gathering truth behind our historical past.

In his forward, Karunarathne says that “a country which cannot claim to have maintained respectable documents which could throw light in speaking volumes of its historical past, has to borrow and depends heavily on various sources to write her history. It is of paramount importance for such countries to go to various sources to collect facts. India, our very close neighbour, historians claim, did not have such a respectable document to relate her history.

Those burdened with the task of writing her history had to go in search and peruse sources that suit the purpose. Historians wrote about India and of her history with the help of those sources they had tapped. That was the way followed by many countries in writing down their respectful history.

Sri Lanka is different. Various chronicles found here speak volumes about her historical past. It does not need to go in search of other sources to write down her history. Her history was credible and veritable. It was claimed by various historians perusing the pages of our history, that our historians were not compelled to seek other sources to write our history, for her ancestors had done the needful for the benefit of her sons and daughters.”

The author is very conscious that although we have historical sketches to prevent us going to other sources to build our history and the fact that we have Mahawansa and other books to speak about our past buried under the sand of time, to make facts of history perfect, there are other helpful sources like rock stones, cave writings, we need to pay attention. What contains in them helps us to have a complete history written by those competent to undertake such a task of reading and understand what contains in the writings found on rock stones and slates.

It must be borne in mind all that found in rock stones, cave writings or slates may at times directly make no reference to what had taken place at a certain time of period. But they help verify what is found in other sources.

Inscriptions of rock stones and plates contribute immensely in this regard. They either verify or nullify the books on history. Hence the author invites the keen reader, the serious researcher, to take note of the writings found in them.

The author take pains to explain already known historical facts in the light of the readings made to the rock stones inscriptions as they are more reliable than what was written centuries later coloured and mixed or distorted at times as a result of they come down for centuries passing from ladder of generations. The author also says chronicles contain facts distorted at times mixing with myths, storytelling form and the historians have to clean up those to allow the historical facts come in its true form. He also says the author had a different purpose in writing down the history and he preferred to include things that suits and satisfy what he intended in writing down.

The author of Mahawansa and several other chronicle writers were keen to show the country’s relationship to Buddhism. Hence there could be omissions or additions as his/their aim was different. What contain in the chronicles thus may not give the right picture in making reference to economic state and various conflicts the country had in the past. As those chronicle writers were inclined to present their writing as work of literary, they could not be taken in all seriousness as history. The inscription found in rock stones, caves, plates and ithumba (poles) and the like help verify and also has its importance in presenting historical facts to a certain degree. For they make reference to events the chronicles failed to present.

Thereby they contribute in writing a complete and comprehensive history of a nation to considerable extent. Inscriptions found in variety of form also through light into areas such as the origin of language and in the context of Sri Lanka the origin and gradual development of Sinhala alphabet.

The book is readable and thought provoking. It is good source book where the future historian, archeologist and student of history begins his or her journey into the past keeping in mind, a beacon to follow in search of facts in their original form. A M Karunarathne, the author of this book, has obtained a special degree on history from Kelaniya University in 1967 and had joined the Sri Lanka Administrative Service in 1970.

He had served in several parts of the country and gathered experience and enhanced hisknowledge in the fields he showed keen and particular interest and continued his studies in the chosen field of history both here and several overseas universities.

Reading what is found in the rock stones and slates was his ardent love. He has written several books using information he had gathered and his work need the appreciation and serious attention of those in hierarchy to take steps to rectify the historical record where necessary.

- Wiruma