On May 24, 2023, UNESCO officially inscribed the Mahavamsa (The Great Chronicle of Sri Lanka) onto the prestigious Memory of the World International Register during its 216th Executive Board session in Paris. The nominated documentary heritage is the rare 18th-century Pali palm-leaf manuscript (ola leaf) carefully preserved in the Special Collections of the Main Library at the University of Peradeniya. Originally composed in the 5th to 6th century CE by Venerable Mahanama Thera and extended by scholar-monks across successive eras, the chronicle documents an extraordinary, continuous chronological record of Sri Lanka spanning more than 2,300 years—from the 6th century BCE to 1815 CE.
This global recognition honors the Mahavamsa as one of the world’s longest unbroken historical chronicles and the foundational work of systematic historiography in South Asia. Beyond recording Sri Lanka’s monarchical, cultural, and spiritual heritage, the chronicle has served as an indispensable master key for Asian history—most famously providing the crucial synchronisms that enabled 19th-century scholars to identify Emperor Asoka the Great across Indian rock inscriptions. Inscribing this monumental work on the UNESCO Memory of the World register celebrates Sri Lanka’s profound literary heritage and safeguards its invaluable narrative for future generations worldwide.