Gal Potha stone inscriptions

Gal Pota (Stone Book) is one of the famous works of King Nissanka Malla (1187-1196) which lies on the side of the Dalada Maligawa (Temple of Tooth) of King Nissanka Malla inside the Dalada Maluwa in the ancient Polonnaruwa Kingdom.

This massive inscription describes himself, his rule and his eligibility for being a king of Sri Lanka. This massive slab which is 26'10" feet (8.2 meters) long and 4'7" feet (1.4 meters) in breadth has been brought from the Mahiyangana area by the worriers of King Nissanka Malla (1187-1196) as per the inscription. The text is written in 3 columns and contains over 4300 characters in 72 lines. This inscription is considered the largest inscription ever discovered in Sri Lanka.

There are signs that liquidized metal has been poured onto the carved characters to bring out the letters much clearer.

Beautiful carvings of two rows of geese (Hamsa) form the border of the side of the rock. Between this design at the centre is a carved seated figure of Goddess Lakshmi holding two flowers and two elephants poring water on her from a container.