An Investigative Study of the Social Caste System as Revealed by Inscriptions in Polonnaruwa Era (Based on Selected Inscriptions)

Abstract

Analysing the facts about the social caste system of the Polonnaruwa period reveals many differences compared to the Anuradhapura period. The primary objective of this research was to investigate the social caste system of the Polonnaruwa period. The research problem is to investigate to what extent the influence of the South Indian social institutions due to the South Indian invasions and migrations that affected this country in the eleventh and nineteenth centuries, influenced the caste system of the local society, and thus how the social caste system was built in the Polonnaru period. The concepts of Kshatriya, Brahmin, Vaishya, Kshudra, Uttama, Adhama, and Mahā Kula, Hīna Kula have also been used at this time. In addition to the Lambakarna and Mōriya tribes that existed in the Anuradhapura era, the tribes of Kiligu, Baligojaka, Monaseeha, etc., lineages of Kālinga, Chandra, Giri, Pāndya, etc. and four main castes such as King, Bamunu, Traders and Farmers seem to have been created since the Polonnaru era. As stated in an inscription established by King Nisshankamalla at the Polonnaruwa Northern Gate, the farming caste was strong enough to hold the state power during the Polonnaru period. The vast majority of the society belonged to the farming caste, but the king emphasised that the descendants of the farming caste should not inherit the statehood. It was accepted at this time that the dynasties were descended from the Sun or the Moon. There were also many castes based on professions such as Kapu, Behera, Kumbal, Valan, Lōkuru, etc. In the Ambagamuwa inscription of King Vijayabāhu, the members of the lower castes were called as degraded people. This reveals that there were two main layers in society, high and low. Accordingly, it can be revealed that the influence of the South Indian social institutions affected in creation of the social caste system in contemporary society and how the society was divided into castes, tribes, and lineages. Under the qualitative research method, primary data were gathered by studying the respective inscriptions, and secondary data were gathered using Mahāvaṃsa, and Epigrapia Zeylanica Vol II. Accordingly, it can be concluded that the social caste system was divided into castes, tribes, and lineages during the Polonnaruwa period based on the influence of South India.