A 2nd century gold plate carrying a
Prakrit inscription was found under the foundation of the Vishnu Hindu temple at Vallipuram. It mentions about the establishment of a
Vihara in
Nakadiva by the minister named
Isigiraya under the ruler King
Vaha who is identified as
King Vasabha (67-111 C.E.). The inscription is important as it confirms that King Vasabha was ruling the whole country including Nakadiva (According to Malini Dias, Nakadiva in Old Sinhala is the equivalent of
Pali Nagadipa, whilst the use of the phoneme 'k' to represent 'g' reveals Dravidian influence). The language and interpretation of the inscription is disputed. According to
Senarath Paranavithana, this is an inscription written in Old
Sinhalese. Vallipuram was an ancient capital of the Northern Kingdoms of Sri Lanka. Point Pedro is the nearest town. Vallipuram is a part of Thunnalai which is a village in eastern vadamarachi. There are two places in India with similar names. One is near Namakkal and the other one is near Kanchi. As such the people in Jaffna and in India have a long term connection. This place is settled by migrants from a town called Vallipuram near Namakkal which is near Coimbatore.Professor Peter Schalk (University of Uppsala), writes "Vallipuram has very rich archaeological remains that point at an early settlement. It was probably an emporium in the first centuries AD. [...]. The Buddha statue found here was given to
King of Thailand by the then British Governor Henry Blake in 1906. ==Gallery==