No. 55.— 1904.] PALEOGRAPHY OF CEYLON. 
163 
^^orth- Central Province, Ceylon.-'- Unfortunately all three specimens 
are just now mislaid, and though this Paper has been delayed in the 
hope that one would be found, we are at last compelled to go to press 
without being able to include a figure of this coin in the plate. The 
coin is of copper, and exactly like fig. 14, except as regards the legend 
on the reverse. This legend Mr. Dickson, in a Paper read before the 
Numismatic Society on the 19th May, 1876, conjectures may possibly 
be read Sri Kaligala Kija, but he is unable to determine to what reign 
the coin may belong, and does not consider the above reading at all 
certain. Not having the coin before me, I speak with great difl&dence; 
but it seemed to me, when I once had the opportunity of inspecting it, 
to bear the legend Sri Kdlinga Lankeswara, That the anusvdra was not 
visible above the ga need not surprise us, as it was seldom visible on 
the Lankeswara coins ; and on those coins we usually find simply 
Lahavara for Lankeswara^ the dot for the anusvdra^ the small stroke 
for the e, and the tiny s added above the v being rarely legible. 
Lastly, throughout the series, when there are six letters below the Sri^ 
the last of the six is almost always cut in half or quite missing, which 
would explain the absence of the m. If the reading I suggest should 
eventually prove to be correct, there can be very little doubt that the 
coin belongs to Nissanka Malla. It is true that in the list of kings at 
section 45 it will be seen that there are five sovereigns, or six if 
Dharmasoka be included, who might have called themselves Kalingan 
Lords of Ceylon ; but if the coins were struck by any successor of 
Nissanka Malla, he would probably have used some title which would 
distinguish him from that prince, the first of those to whom the legend 
would be applicable. Of all the later Kalingan princes we have coins, 
except of Magha, who hated everything Sinhalese, and of Wickrama 
Bahu, who only reigned for three months. Kdlinga Lanhesvara is one 
of the titles used by Nissanka Malla in his inscriptions, and it is highly 
probable that he would imitate Parakrama the Great in his issue of 
coins, as he did in his inscriptions and his buildings.f 
A figure of this coin is now presented for the first time. 
It will be noticed that the last letter ra is omitted for 
want of space, as stated by Rhys Davids, but the small stroke 
for the e making ka into ke is distinctly visible. 
* The Colombo Museum has one specimen. 
t Rhys Davids. Nnmismata Orientalia Part VI. section 66. 
