An Investigative Study of the Role of Women in the Anuradhapura Period (Based on the Inscriptions of the Anuradhapura Period)

Abstract

When examining the history of Sri Lanka, a lot of social, political, economic, and cultural evidence of the Anuradhapura period can be provided from inscriptions. When examining the sources of historical information, although there is a considerable amount of information about elite women such as Kuveni, Therani Sanghamitta, Queen Anula, Princess Hemamala, etc., less information is mentioned about ordinary women. Accordingly, the objective of this research is to investigate the information about women in Sri Lanka from the 3rd century BC to the 10th century and to investigate what kind of lifestyle the women of the Anuradhapura era inherited in that society. Mainly based on the work Epigraphia Zeylanika and Inscriptions of Ceylon data were gathered and inscriptions that contain information about women were analysed under qualitative research method. According to the information mentioned in the inscriptions belonging to the Anuradhapura period, it is clear that women occupied an important position in society during the Anuradhapura period. Also, women played a prominent place among the people who took the initiative in offering caves for arahants, bhikkhus, and bhikkhunis. Although many of the inscriptions written by a king mentioned about mother of the king to refer to the king, it is revealed that when writing cave letters, the father or husband of each woman was mentioned to show the identity of the daughter and whose wife she is. Thus, it can be concluded that the women of the Anuradhapura period have actively contributed to social, political, economic, and religious affairs.