[3][4] The death of Lilavati's husband, Parakramabahu I, and her subsequent reign are described in the Culavamsa and dated to around AD 1211, suggesting that the Dāṭhavaṃsa was composed in the early 13th century.
[4] The Dāṭhavaṃsa is praised by scholars for its literary merit- both the skill and rhythm with which its varying metres are employed, and the relative simplicity and elegance of its diction.
[3][4] According to its introduction, the Dāṭhavaṃsa is a translation of an earlier Sinhalese text that dates to when the relic first arrived in Sri Lank during the reign of Sirimeghavanna of Anuradhapura in the 3rd–4th century CE.
[1] The Dāṭhavaṃsa provides a great deal of detail regarding conflicts between Buddhists and Brahmins in the 3rd century which, if the putative origin of the Sinhala precursor are true, would have been derived from contemporary sources and witnesses.
[1] The first verse of the Dāṭhavaṃsa gives this original the title Dalada-vamsa, composed in Elu, and this may by synonymous with a work called the Datha-dhatu-vamsa in the Culavamsa that extended the story of the Tooth Relic into the 18th century.