Image title: Mirror Wall

English text:

This is known as the 'Mirror Wall' because its surface has been highly polished like a mirror. This wall is of architectural and also of literary importance because of its graffiti. Visitors to Sigiriya from the 7th to the 19th centuries A.D. have left their comments here. The body of literature known as the 'graffiti' belongs to the 7-13 centuries A.D. The graffiti which express feelings of enchantment with the wall paintings and the surrounding environment are not only of literary and philological importance but they also provide contemporary social information. Most of the scribble after the 13th century is mere reportage lacking poetic intensity and feeling. Prof. Senerat Paranavitana has deciphered 685 of the graffiti and has published them in a two volume publication titled 'Sigiri Graffiti'. And subsequently several other scholars have also deciphered and published other graffiti available on the mirror wall.

Sinhala text (not proofread):

කැඩපත් පවුර—කැටපතක පරිද්දෙන් ඔප දැමූ මතුපිටකින් යුක්ත වූ බැවින් මෙය කැටපත් පවුර නමින් හැදින්වේ. වාස්තු විද්‍යාත්මක වශයෙන් මෙන්ම මෙහි ඇති කුරුටු ගී නිසා සාහිත්‍යයමය වශයෙන්ද මේ පවුර වැදගත් වේ. ක්‍රි.ව. 7 වන සියවසෙහි සිට 19 වන සියවස දක්වාම සීගිරිය නැරඹීමට පැමිණියවුන් විසින් මෙහි විවිධ සටහන් තබා ඇත. කුරුටු ගී’ ‌ලෙසින් ප්‍රසිද්ධියට පත්ව ඇති මෙම සාහිත්‍යාංගය අයත් වනුයේ ක්‍රි.ව. 7 - 13 සියවස් වලටය. සීගිරි බිතූසිතූවම් හා හාත්පස පරිසරය පිළිබඳව සෞන්දර්යාත්මක හැගීම් මනාව කාව්‍යයට නගා ඇති එම කුරුටු ගී. සාහිත්‍යමය වශයෙන් හා භාෂාමය වශයෙන් වැදගත් වන්නා සේ ම සමකාලීන සමාජය පිළිබඳ තොරතුරු ලබාදීම කෙරෙහි ද දායක වෙයි. 13 වන සියවසෙන් පසු කාලයට අයත් ලේඛනවලින් බොහෝමයක් ම කාව්‍යමය සිතුවිලිවලින් තොර හුදෙක් වාර්තාකරණය ස්වරූපයේ සටහන්ය. සෙනරත් පරණවිතාන සූරීන් විසින් මෙහි කුරුටු ගී 685 ක් කියවා 'සීගිරි කුරුටු ගී’ නම් ග්‍රන්ථයක් ප්‍රකාශයට පත් කර ඇති අතර ඉන් පසුව ද විද්වතුන් කිහිප දෙනෙකු විසින් මෙහි ඇති තවත් කුරුටු ගී හා සටහන් ගණනාවක් ම කියවා ප්‍රකාශයට පත් කර තිබේ.

Transliteration:

kæḍapat pavura—kæṭapataka paridden opa dæmū matupiṭakin yukta vū bævin meya kæṭapat pavura namin hædinvē. vāstu vidyātmaka vaśayen menma mehi æti kuruṭu gī nisā sāhityayamaya vaśayenda mē pavura vædagat vē. kri.va. 7 vana siyavasehi siṭa 19 vana siyavasa dakvāma sīgiriya næraḅīmaṭa pæmiṇiyavun visin mehi vividha saṭahan tabā æta. kuruṭu gī’ ‌lesin prasiddhiyaṭa patva æti mema sāhityāṅgaya ayat vanuyē kri.va. 7 - 13 siyavas valaṭaya. sīgiri bitūsitūvam hā hātpasa parisaraya piḷibandava saundaryātmaka hægīm manāva kāvyayaṭa nagā æti ema kuruṭu gī. sāhityamaya vaśayen hā bhāṣāmaya vaśayen vædagat vannā sē ma samakālīna samājaya piḷibanda toraturu labādīma kerehi da dāyaka veyi. 13 vana siyavasen pasu kālayaṭa ayat lēkhanavalin bohōmayak ma kāvyamaya situvilivalin tora hudek vārtākaraṇaya svarūpayē saṭahanya. senarat paraṇavitāna sūrīn visin mehi kuruṭu gī 685 k kiyavā 'sīgiri kuruṭu gī’ nam granthayak prakāśayaṭa pat kara æti atara in pasuva da vidvatun kihipa deneku visin mehi æti tavat kuruṭu gī hā saṭahan gaṇanāvak ma kiyavā prakāśayaṭa pat kara tibē.

Transliteration:

kadapat pavura—katapataka paridden opa damu matupitakin yukta vu bavin meya katapat pavura namin hadinve. vastu vidyatmaka vashayen menma mehi ati kurutu gi nisa sahityayamaya vashayenda me pavura vadagat ve. kri.va. 7 vana siyavasehi sita 19 vana siyavasa dakvama sigiriya naraḅimata paminiyavun visin mehi vividha satahan taba ata. kurutu gi’ ‌lesin prasiddhiyata patva ati mema sahityangaya ayat vanuye kri.va. 7 - 13 siyavas valataya. sigiri bitusituvam ha hatpasa parisaraya pilibandava saundaryatmaka hagim manava kavyayata naga ati ema kurutu gi. sahityamaya vashayen ha bhashamaya vashayen vadagat vanna se ma samakalina samajaya pilibanda toraturu labadima kerehi da dayaka veyi. 13 vana siyavasen pasu kalayata ayat lekhanavalin bohomayak ma kavyamaya situvilivalin tora hudek vartakaranaya svarupaye satahanya. senarat paranavitana surin visin mehi kurutu gi 685 k kiyava 'sigiri kurutu gi’ nam granthayak prakashayata pat kara ati atara in pasuva da vidvatun kihipa deneku visin mehi ati tavat kurutu gi ha satahan gananavak ma kiyava prakashayata pat kara tibe.

Automated translation:

Mirror wall—This is called mirror wall because it has a polished surface like a mirror. This wall is important from an architectural point of view as well as from a literary point of view due to the inscriptions here. AD Visitors to Sigiriya from the 7th century to the 19th century have left various notes here. This literary genre, known as 'Kurutu Gee', belongs to AD. 7th - 13th centuries. Those krutu songs that have beautifully written poetry about Sigiri murals and Hatpasa environment. As well as being literary and linguistically important, it also contributes to providing information about contemporary society. Most of the writings of the period after the 13th century are mere reportage notes without poetic thought. Senarath Paranavithana Surin read 685 kurutu gees here and published a book called 'Sigiri kurutu gee' and after that several scholars have read and published many more kurutu gees and notes.

Tamil text (not proofread):

தெற்கு மாளிகைத் தொகுதி—பளிங்கைப் போன்று பளபளப்பாக்கப்பட்ட மேற்பரப்பைக் கொண்டதாக உள்ள படியால் இது பளிங்குச் சுவர் என்ற பெயரில் அழைக்கப்படுகின்றது.கட்டிடக் கலைத்துறை போன்றே இங்கு கீறப்பட்ட பாடல்களினால் இலக்கிய அடிப்படையிலும் இச்சுவர் முக்கியத்துவம் பெறுகிறது. கி.பி. 7 ஆம் நூற்றாண்டு தொடக்கம் 19 ஆம் நூற்றாண்டு வரை சிகிரியாவைப் பார்வையிடுவதற்காக வந்தவர்களினால் இங்கு பல்வகைகள் எழுதப்பட்டுள்ளன. 'கீறற் பாடல்கள்' என்று பிரசித்தி பெற்ற இலக்கியப் பிரிவு உரித்தாவது கி.பி. 7 - 13 நூற்றாண்டுகளுக்காகும். சிகிரியா சுவர்ச் சித்திரங்கள் பற்றியும் சுற்றாடல் பற்றியும் பூரணமாகவே அழகியற் கலைக் கருத்துக்களைக் கொண்டதாகச் சிறந்த முறையில் தாவியங்களாக வரையப்பட்டுள்ள அக் கீறற் பாடல்கள் இலக்கியத்துறையிலும் மொழித்துறையிலும் மிக முக்கியத்துவம் பெறுவதைப் போன்றே சமகால சமூகங்களைப் பற்றியும் தகவல்களை வழங்குவதற்குப் பங்களிப்புச் செய்கின்றன. 13ஆம் நூற்றாண்டிற்குப் பின்னர் உள்ள குகைகளில் பெரும்பாலானவை காவியக் கருத்துக்களற்ற செய்திகளைக் கொண்டதாக உள்ளன.செனரத் பரணவிதான சூரரினால் இவற்றில் 685 கீறற் பாடல்களை வாசித்து Sigiri Graffiti என்ற பெயரில் இரண்டு பாகங்களைக் கொண்ட நூலொன்று வெளியிடப்பட்டுள்ளதோடு அதன் பின்பும் பல அறிஞர்களால் இங்குள்ள மற்றும் ஏனைய கீறற் பாடல்களையும் பெருந்தொகையான குறிப்புக்களையும் வாசித்து அவைகள் வெளியிடப்பட்டுள்ளன.

Transliteration:

teṟku māḷikait tokuti—paḷiṅkaip pōṉṟu paḷapaḷappākkappaṭṭa mēṟparappaik koṇṭatāka uḷḷa paṭiyāl itu paḷiṅkuc cuvar eṉṟa peyaril aḻaikkappaṭukiṉṟatu.kaṭṭiṭak kalaittuṟai pōṉṟē iṅku kīṟappaṭṭa pāṭalkaḷiṉāl ilakkiya aṭippaṭaiyilum iccuvar mukkiyattuvam peṟukiṟatu. ki.pi. 7 ām nūṟṟāṇṭu toṭakkam 19 ām nūṟṟāṇṭu varai cikiriyāvaip pārvaiyiṭuvataṟkāka vantavarkaḷiṉāl iṅku palvakaikaḷ eḻutappaṭṭuḷḷaṉa. 'kīṟaṟ pāṭalkaḷ' eṉṟu piracitti peṟṟa ilakkiyap pirivu urittāvatu ki.pi. 7 - 13 nūṟṟāṇṭukaḷukkākum. cikiriyā cuvarc cittiraṅkaḷ paṟṟiyum cuṟṟāṭal paṟṟiyum pūraṇamākavē aḻakiyaṟ kalaik karuttukkaḷaik koṇṭatākac ciṟanta muṟaiyil tāviyaṅkaḷāka varaiyappaṭṭuḷḷa ak kīṟaṟ pāṭalkaḷ ilakkiyattuṟaiyilum moḻittuṟaiyilum mika mukkiyattuvam peṟuvataip pōṉṟē camakāla camūkaṅkaḷaip paṟṟiyum takavalkaḷai vaḻaṅkuvataṟkup paṅkaḷippuc ceykiṉṟaṉa. 13ām nūṟṟāṇṭiṟkup piṉṉar uḷḷa kukaikaḷil perumpālāṉavai kāviyak karuttukkaḷaṟṟa ceytikaḷaik koṇṭatāka uḷḷaṉa.ceṉarat paraṇavitāṉa cūrariṉāl ivaṟṟil 685 kīṟaṟ pāṭalkaḷai vācittu Sigiri Graffiti eṉṟa peyaril iraṇṭu pākaṅkaḷaik koṇṭa nūloṉṟu veḷiyiṭappaṭṭuḷḷatōṭu ataṉ piṉpum pala aṟiñarkaḷāl iṅkuḷḷa maṟṟum ēṉaiya kīṟaṟ pāṭalkaḷaiyum peruntokaiyāṉa kuṟippukkaḷaiyum vācittu avaikaḷ veḷiyiṭappaṭṭuḷḷaṉa.

Transliteration:

therku maligaith thoguthi—palingaip ponru palapalappakkappatta merparappaig kondathaga ulla padiyal ithu palingus suvar enra peyaril azhaikkappaduginrathu.kattidag kalaithurai ponre ingu kirappatta padalkalinal ilakkiya adippadaiyilum ichuvar mukkiyathuvam perugirathu. ki.pi. 7 am nurrandu thodakkam 19 am nurrandu varai sigiriyavaip parvaiyiduvatharkaga vanthavarkalinal ingu palvagaigal ezhuthappattullana. 'kirar padalkal' enru pirasithi perra ilakkiyap pirivu urithavathu ki.pi. 7 - 13 nurrandugalukkagum. sigiriya suvars sithirangal parriyum surradal parriyum puranamagave azhagiyar kalaig karuthukkalaig kondathagas sirantha muraiyil thaviyangalaga varaiyappattulla ag kirar padalkal ilakkiyathuraiyilum mozhithuraiyilum miga mukkiyathuvam peruvathaip ponre samagala samugangalaip parriyum thagavalkalai vazhanguvatharkup pangalippus seykinrana. 13am nurrandirkup pinnar ulla kugaigalil perumbalanavai kaviyag karuthukkalarra seythigalaig kondathaga ullana.senarath paranavithana surarinal ivarril 685 kirar padalkalai vasithu sigiri graffithi enra peyaril irandu pagangalaig konda nulonru veliyidappattullathodu athan pinpum pala arignarkalal ingulla marrum enaiya kirar padalkalaiyum perunthogaiyana kurippukkalaiyum vasithu avaigal veliyidappattullana.

Automated translation:

South Palace block – It is called marble wall because of its marble-like polished surface.The wall is also important in terms of literature as well as the songs carved here. AD A variety of texts were written here by visitors to Sigiriya from the 7th century to the 19th century. The genre of literature known as 'Kirat Songs' dates back to AD. For the 7th - 13th centuries. The Sigiriya wall paintings and the environment, which are perfectly esthetically painted as well as sketches, contribute to providing information about contemporary societies as well as being of great importance in the field of literature and linguistics. Most of the caves after the 13th century contain messages without epic themes. A two-part book entitled Sigiri Graffiti has published 685 of these scribbles by Senarath Paranavidhana Surar, and many other scholars have since published readings of these and other scribbles and voluminous notes.

Gallery information:

These photos are taken at the Sigiriya rock in Sri Lanka. This archaeological important site dates to the 2nd century BC when it functioned as a monastery. In the fifth century, King Kassapa I transferred the administrative centre from Anuradhapura to Sigiriya in order to  rule from there. The on-site museum displays various artifacts and paintings found at the Sigiriya rock.