Siri Thilakasiri, a senior scholar of classical Sinhala literature who held the traditional title of Rajakeeya Pandita, has died.
He made a lasting contribution to classical Sinhala literature, to the study of sandesha poetry and to the field of pirivena education, Hiru News reported on Thursday night.
His work
Among the works he wrote and edited are:
- The Social Background of Sinhala Sandesha Poetry
- The Socio-Political Environment of Classical Sinhala Literature
- Guttila Kavya of Vettewe Thera
- Kavsilumina
- Parevi Sandeshaya
- Mayura Sandeshaya of Kaveeshwara
- Sinhala Viyarana Vidi (Sinhala grammatical forms)
- Sahitya Atuwawa
- Gurulugomi’s Amavatura, co-edited with Premadasa Manamperi
The sandesha, or messenger poem, is one of the central forms of classical Sinhala verse, in which a bird or other messenger is sent across the island carrying a petition — a convention that makes the poems unusually rich records of medieval geography, religion and court life. Much of Thilakasiri’s published work sits in that field, both as scholarship on the form’s social background and as edited texts of individual poems.
Funeral arrangements
Final respects may be paid at a private funeral parlour in Borella from 5.00 p.m. on Friday. The final rites are to be held on Saturday evening at the Borella cemetery.
A note on titles
Hiru’s English-language URL describes him as a “Royal Scholar Professor”. The Sinhala filing gives two distinct traditional honours — Rajakeeya Pandita, a scholarly title, and Shastrapathi, denoting a master’s degree — and does not describe him as a professor or name any university chair. This desk has used the titles as the Sinhala gives them.
What is not reported
The filing gives no age, no date or cause of death, no place of birth, no account of where he taught, and no list of any honours or awards beyond the two titles. It names no surviving family members.