Dimbulagala Inscription Hiking -largest and oldest Brahmi rock cut inscription!!

· Dimbulagala Inscription HikingDiscovery of Brahmi rock cut inscription in Sri Lanka

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Six month ago world largest and oldest Brahmi rock cut inscription was discovered in Sri lanka.

This inscription having nearly 2000 text .

Till the time, government officials were unable to read, due to lack of knowledge.

Video link will be given in first comment .

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V1JGbDTBSFQ

Dimbulagala hike leads to an ancient forest monastery with 2,000-year-old rock-cut Brahmi inscriptions and cave shelters located 16 kilometers southeast of Polonnaruwa, Sri Lanka. [1, 2]

Trail Overview & Location

Location: Near Polonnaruwa, North Central Province, Sri Lanka (starting near Dimbulagala Raja Maha Vihara).
Difficulty: Easy to moderate, involving stone steps, forest paths, and boulder climbing.
Key Features: Ancient drip-ledge caves, the high-elevation chambered cave known as Vee Atuwa, ancient frescoes, and historic rock inscriptions. [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]

What to Expect on the Hike

The Path: The trek typically begins around the temple and Namal Pokuna monastery complex, moving through shaded forest trails and stone stairways. [1, 2]
Inscriptions & Ruins: As you climb higher into the ridge and rock shelters (such as Maravidiya and the Vee Atuwa area), you will encounter ancient Brahmi inscriptions carved into the rock face above cave drip ledges. [1, 2, 3]

Largest inscription from Dimbulagala belongs to beginning of 2nd century BC or earlier

8 February 2024https://www.dailymirror.lk/breaking-news/Largest-inscription-from-Dimbulagala-belongs-to-beginning-of-2nd-century-BC-or-earlier/108-276621  HATURANGA PRADEEP SAMARAWICKRAMA   Colombo, Feb 8 (Daily Mirror) - The largest inscription ever in Sri Lanka, found from the Dimbulagala Monastery grounds, belongs to the beginning of the second centrury BC or earlier than that, Sri Jayawardenapura University History and Archaeology professor Karunasena Hettiarachchi said.

Addressing the media, he said 60 percent of this inscription was unreadable and 40 percent was readable.

"This inscription was written in Brahmi characters. We found that 24 Brahmi characters were used on the inscription. At least 1,000 characters were used. Moreover, there are several rare symbols, which have never been seen by officials through their previous inscriptions," he said.

According to the signs, characters, and unique symbols, the committee had decided to announce that the inscription belonged to the beginning of the second centrum BC or earlier than that.

The Polonnaruwa Archeology Office found the largest inscription ever found in the country on July 10, 2023, at the Dimbulagala Monastery grounds.

Buddhasasana, Religious and Cultural Affairs Ministry Secretary Somaratne Vidanapathirana, said that eleven expert committee members, comprising Vice President of the Royal Asiatic Society of Sri Lanka Archaeologists, specialized in epigraphy, Ms. Malini Dias and Prof. Karunasena Hettiarachchi, were appointed on January 17, 2024, to issue a report after exploring a 45-feet-long and 18-feet-high inscription.

The inscription was recovered by the villagers of Dimbulagala. Accordingly, initial steps in exploring the inscription were completed on November 18, 2023, Vidanapathirana said.

Meanwhile, Buddhasasana, Religious and Cultural Affairs Minister Vidura Wickramanayaka, told the media that the printed copies of the inscription should be available to the public and that they must conduct more studies to reveal the history.