;I

LIBRARY
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA.

Class

MRS. .JOHN V. L. PRUYN

 Opinions of the Press on the First Edition
of this work.

" A most fascinating and beautiful book. Superlative praise is

the only thing it merits." Antiquary.

"In this splendid volume we have an account, by a cultured

Englishman, of what are not only the most important of the many ruins to
be found there, but also include in their number the oldest extant monu-
ments of India for Ceylon, ethnographically and historically, is part of
;

India." Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society.

" Written in a
very pleasant and scholarly style." Spectator.

"Any province of the Empire is fortunate to have its grand and

picturesque characteristics recorded by such a sympathetic and clever
master of his craft as Mr. H. W. Cave." Overland Mail.

"The finest products of the Camera we have ever seen within

boards. To the Artist and the Archaeologist alike the work must have
supreme attraction." Black and White.

" The illustrations are the notable much

feature, but their value is

enhanced by the letterpress." Athenaum.

" One of the most beautiful books I ever

opened is Mr. H. W.
Cave's " Ruined Cities of Ceylon." The pictures represent the high-water
mark of reproduction from photographs taken alike with admirable judg-
ment in the choice of subject and with the most delicate and artistic touch.
The letterpress is exceedingly interesting". DOUGLAS SLADEN, in "The
Queen.'"
" Mr. Cave's lucid
descriptions, together with the excellent illus-
trations reproduced from his own photographs, give a vivid idea of the
architectural wonders lying hid among the northern jungles, and will, we
doubt not, arouse a wish in many of his readers to make a personal
inspection of these interesting relics of the past." The Geographical Joutnal.

" The warmest thanks of

every student of Oriental monuments are
due to Mr. Henry W. Cave." Daily Chronicle.

" Such work demands an

expenditure of money which few private
scholars can afford, and for which the generous designer and author
sometimes receives inadequate recognition. If it is to reach the public it
must be accompanied by popular explanations and expositions of which
the expert is apt to be impatient. Mr. Cave has accomplished this sub-
sidiary part of the work with tact
and skill. The volume will form a
cherished acquisition to many libraries." The Times.

"All the leading London papers andprovincial papers have dealt

more or length with the book, and there has been only one concur-
less at
rent tone of approval from the London Times to the Manchester Guardian
and from the critical Athenceum to the appreciative Scottish Weekly."
Ceylon Observer.
 Of THE
UNIVERSITY
Of
ASP
THE RUINED CITIES
OF CEYLON
BY

HENRY W. CAVE, M.A., F.R.G.S.

Member of the Royal Asiatic Society

AUTHOR OF "PICTURESQUE CEYLON," "GOLDEN TIPS," ETC.

Illustrated with Photographs taken by the Author in

the year 1896

THIRD EDITION

LONDON
HUTCHINSON & CO
PATERNOSTER ROW

1904

[All Rights reserved]

 \

r- * a.

FIRST EDITION PUBLISHED IN 1897

DEMY QUARTO, ^"i i8s. net

A NEW EDITION igoo

THIRD EDITION 1904

 PREFACE TO NEW EDITION.

Thepublic has called for a cheap edition of my

" This is, of course,
Ruined Cities of Ceylon."
gratifying to me ;
but it is with some regret that
I myself compelled to adopt a different process
find
of illustration in order to cheapen the work. I trust,
however, that the collotypes here used will be found
adequate for the purpose of giving a realistic idea
of the present state of the ruins.
I have introduced three additional illustrations of
work which has been completed since my first edition
was published. For one of these, the Buddhist railing
at Anuradhapura, I am indebted to Mr. Arthur E.
Scovell; and for the others to Mr. W. L. H. Skeen.
With these exceptions the illustrations are from my
own photographs taken in the year 1896.
It gives me great pleasure to acknowledge my
indebtedness to a large number of reviewers who
have shown no less enthusiasm than my own in their
endeavours to arouse general interest in the subject
of this work. To me the service done is one of
great encouragement; for I have only praise to

acknowledge.
HENRY W. CAVE.
NUWARA EUYA,
MARCH, 1900.

/
 MAP OF
CEYLON.
 CONTENTS.

PAGE
CHAPTER I.

THE GOLDEN AGE OF LANKA - 112

CHAPTER II.

THE JOURNEY TO ANURADHAPURA -

13 31

CHAPTER III.

MIHINTALE: THE CRADLE OF BUDDHISM IN CEYLON -

32 48

CHAPTER IV.

THE CITY OF ANURADHAPURA 49118

CHAPTER V.

THE ROCK FORTRESS OF SIGIRI - -

119130

CHAPTER VI.

THE LAKE OF MINNERIA -

131 140

CHAPTER VII.

THE CITY OF POLONNARUWA -

141 159

CHAPTER VIII.

THE ROCK TEMPLES OF DAMBULLA AND ALUWIHARI -

160165
 FULL PAGE PLATES.

THE RUINED CITIES OF CEYLON.

I. EOCK TEMPLE AT DAMBULLA . .
Frontispiece

III. ALUWIHARI .....

II. THE KANDYAN DISTRICT

IV. BEST- HOUSE AT NALANDA

Facing page 14
18

V. KEKIRAWA
VI. MIHINTALE
.....
.....
20
26
32
VII. FLIGHT OF STAIRS AT MIHINTALE . 34
VIII. MAHA SEYA DAGABA 36
IX. REMAINS OF

X.
MIHINTALE .....
ROCK DWELLINGS AT

THE MAHAMEGHA GARDEN IN 1896

46
48
XI. THUPARAMA DAGABA 52
XII. MONOLITHIC CISTERN
XIII. PANDU ORUA ..... 54
56

XV. ISURUMUNIYA TEMPLE

.....
XIV. ENTRANCE TO THE BO-TREE
ENCLOSURE 58
62
XVI. SCULPTURED TABLET AT ISURUMUNIYA 64
XVII. REMAINS OF THE BRAZEN PALACE . 66
XVIII. RUANWELI DAGABA 68
XIX. RUANWELI DAGABA SHOWING THE
ELEPHANT WALL 70
 FULL PAGE PLATES.
XX. MINIATURE DAGABA ON THE RUAN-
WELI PLATFORM . .
Facing page
. 72
XXI. STATUES OF KING DUTTHAGAMINI
AND THREE BlTDDHAS .
,, 74
XXII. INSCRIPTION OF NESSANKA MALLA 76

XXIV. POKUNA
....
XXIII. REMAINS NEAR THE RUANWELI
DAGABA 86
88
XXV. KUTTAM-POKUNA ... 90
XXVI. ABHAYAGIRIYA DAGABA
XXVII. EAST END OF SOUTHERN ALTAR
OF ABHAYAGIRIYA DAGABA
92
XXVIII. WEST END OF SOUTHERN ALTAR
OF ABHAYAGIRIYA DAGABA .

DAGABA ....
XXIX. CARVED STELJE AT ABHAYAGIRIYA

YXT. REMAINS OF THE PEACOCK PALACE 94

XXXI. JETAWANARAMA DAGABA AT ANURADHA-
PURA 96
XXXII. MOONSTONE AND STEPS
XXXIII. TERMINATION OF COPING AT j
,,
98
MAHA SEN'S PALACE . .
)

XXXTV. REMAINS OF PAVILION (Third Century) 100

XXXV. MOONSTONE, GUARDSTONE AND STEPS 102
XXXVI. ...
RELIC RECEPTACLE
.... \

XXXVII. STONE CANOPY

XXXVIII. REMAINS IN PROCESS OF EXCAVATION 106
XXXIX. BUDDHIST RAILING RESTORED . 108
XL. MONOLITHIC STATUE OF BUDDHA 110
XLI. GALGE, OR ROCK CHAMBER . 112
XLII. RUINS OF THE DALADA MALIGAWA 114
XLIII. REMAINS OF AN ANCIENT STREET 116
XLIV. MODERN NATIVE DWELLINGS 118
...
.

XLV. SIGIRI 120

XLVI. REMAINS OF THE GALLERIES OF SIGIRI
|

XLVII. IN THE GALLERY OF SIGIRI

XLVIII. COPYING THE FRESCOES OF SIGIRI 126
 FULL PAGE PLATES.
Facing page
XLIX. EXCAVATIONS ON THE SUMMIT OF SIGIRI 128
L. MlNNERIA 132

LII.
EVENTIDE ....
LI. RETURNING FROM POLONNARUWA AT

EN ROUTE FOR POLONNARUWA . .

,, 134
136
LIII. ELEPHANT HUNTERS AT POLONNARUWA 138
LIV. JETAWANARAMA AT POLONNARUWA .
,, 140
LV. JETAWANARAMA FROM THE NORTH .
'

" 142
LVI. JETAWANARAMA FROM THE SOUTH-WEST i

LVII. THUPARAMA AT POLONNARUWA . 144

LVIIL ENTRANCE TO THE THUPARAMA AT
POLONNARUWA . . . 146
LIX. CURIOUS COLUMN AND RUINS
LX. KOTUWA .... . . 148
150
LXI. SAT-MAHAL-PRASADA .
,,152
LXIL DALADA MALIGAWA AT POLONNARUWA 154
LXIII. ROCK TEMPLE AT POLONNARUWA . 156
LXIV. STATUE OF KING PARAKRAMA . . 158
LXV. FRESCOES AT THE ALUWIHARI ROCK
TEMPLE 164
 Of THE
UNIVERSITY
OF

THE
RUINED CITIES OF CEYLON.

CHAPTER I.

THE GOLDEN AGE OF LANKA.

|O few EuropeansCeylon is the sub-
in

ject of the present volume more than

an empty name, and to the most well
informed at home the ruined cities of
Anuradhapura and Polonnaruwa have never enter-
ed into the region of the actual. If these pages
are fortunate enough to arouse some interest in
wonders with which only the remains of the ancient
civilization of the Valley of the Nile can in any
way be compared, the present volume will have
received its only justification.
It is somewhat difficult at this day to realise
the conditions of existence of the Singhalese more
than two thousand years ago, but the attempt
must be made, however imperfectly, if we are to
understand the remains that we are about to
explore. In our task we shall receive guidance
and corroboration and the not unneedful correction
2 THE GOLDEN AGE OF LANKA.
from the stones themselves that bear their history
writ in imperishable symbols confirming the almost

contemporary literary sources of our information.

To this end let us take an imaginary glimpse
of the island as was about two centuries after
it

the introduction of Buddhism, and at the condition

of those provinces where dense forest now enfolds
the remains of mighty cities.

Ceylon was the chief emporium of the eastern

world. The merchant fleets of India, China, Persia,
and Arabia entered its ports with silks, carpets,
cloth of gold, sandalwood, horses, chariots, and
slaves. There they met not only to "barter with
one another, but to traffic with the Singhalese,
whose gems were coveted by the nobles and princes
of every country. There was no king in India
whose wealth could compare with that of the ruler
of Ceylon, and the precious products of his domi-
nions readily commanded ample supplies of the
luxuries of other nations.
The Singhalese had no need themselves to

convey their parcels of pearls, sapphires, and rubies

to distant countries. Such wealth brought their
wants to their very doors. Wherefore no vessel
of their own is visible amongst the motley throng
that ride at anchor within the harbours so bounti-

fullyprovided by nature A few small dhoneys

constructed of planks sewn together by threads
of coir serve all local requirements, and as yet

they have no fleet.

 THE GOLDEN AGE OP LANKA. 3

The whole circuit of the coast-line is

fringed
with stately palms as at the present day, but
within this waving belt there is an entire absence
of the impenetrable jungles that now cover the
land. From north to south the prospect is one
of fertility and resource. The forest-capped moun-
whose green crops
tains rise from cultivated valleys
are watered by artificial lakes that set at nought
the periodical droughts to which the Northern

provinces are subject. River courses have been

deflected to every depression that might serve
as a natural receptacle, and the escape of the
waters controlled by huge dams and sluices.

Elephants tamed to complete obedience are en-

gaged in the construction of the massive stone
conduits and channels which convey the streams
to the gardens and fields at the will of the husband-

man, making the periods of cultivation entirely

subservient to his will. We
see nothing about
these artificial lakes to suggest the prosaic " tanks "

by which they are now familiarly known. Such

skilful advantage is taken of natural undulations
that the beauty of the landscape is enhanced
rather than impaired by these works of utility.
Each lake is a broad expanse of rippling waters
dotted with wooded islands, the haunt of the

pelican and flamingo. To its edge sweep down

verdant pastures, broken only by groups of limes,
jak, breadfruit, and other trees, in whose grateful
shade browse herds of spotted deer.
4 THE GOLDEN AGE OF LANKA.
Over a space of ten thousand square miles
cultivation asserts uninterrupted sway. Large tracts
of rice and garden are seen reaching far away
to the horizon, each cluster having its own lakelet
fed from the parent tank and thus ensured of
a never-failing harvest.
This ideal condition of culture is due to the
ingenuity of a people who have risen to the call
of necessity and made their land the adequate

support of millions whereas an indolent

; race,

though few in number, must inevitably have

starved, as in fact it did when many centuries
later the work of irrigation was neglected.
The culture of flowerssuch an important
is

industry in every district that it is at once evident

there must be an extensive demand for fragrant
blossoms. And this is no matter for surprise, as

we Buddhist country at a time when the

are in a
whole nation is assiduous in its observance of a
ceremonial in which offerings of flowers play an
important part.
We notice also the same care expended on
the cultivation of roots, vegetables, and fruits,
traceable to the Buddhist injunction against taking
animal life. The existence of such a precept is
not the least among the marvels of this wonderful
land ;
for the hills which rise from the cultivated
plains to the south are peopled with animals of
the most dangerous and destructive kind. Herds
of elephants trespass upon the surrounding crops ;
 THE GOLDEN AGE OF LANKA. 5

the wild pig takes his tithes also the deer in- ;

habiting the groves strays down to the green sward

that encircles the lakes, only to become the prey
of the leopard that infests every portion of the
denser thickets. Even the deadly cobra, guilty
of thousands of human
lives, an object of is

veneration rather than abhorrence, for did he not

*
spread his hood to shield the lord Buddha ?
The order and contentment prevailing amongst
the rural population surprise us no less than the

perfection of method in the operations of agri-

culture. These people work to feed not only
themselves but also the millions inhabiting the
vast cities and occupied, as we shall see, in

pursuits that create no wealth, but rather have

for their object its dissipation in gorgeous ritual.
It is true that these habits of industry are

acquired under a system of forced labour. A life

of idleness would not be possible even were it
desired. The common folk required by a
are

despotic monarch to cultivate the land but the;

system of raja-kariya, or labour at the king's

command, brought into force
is only for the
construction of their largest works of irrigation.
This coercion is, however, the secret of their
wealth and happiness, for the habits thus imposed
upon them from without render their country
healthy and fertile while their simple home life,
;

*The legend is that the king of the cobras spread his great hood
over Buddha to shade him from the sun while he sat absorbed in profound
meditation.
6 THE GOLDEN AGE OF LANKA.
undisturbed by care or ambition, favours the
increase of population. Throughout the country
great blocks of solid gneiss, sometimes found
in the natural formation of a hill-side, sometimes
detached by the hand of man, are engraved with
injunctions for the maintenance of the system of
cultivation and of unity and concord among the
people.
In the very centre of this stretch of cultivation
lies the mighty city of Anuradhapura. The lofty
palaces and monuments of its sacred enclosure
tower above the rest of the buildings which cover
the land for the space of two hundred and fifty

square miles. At all

approaches ornamental
causeways with massive granite paving converge
upon the gates and hint by the rich carvings
of their marble curbs at the cunning of the artificer
within. The colossal bastions on the walls serve
the citizens for the defence of their sacred treasures.
Thousands of people are passing to and fro under
the avenues of noble tamarinds that shade the
broad streets. Crowds of elephants, some with
gilded howdahs, with their burden of nobles in
silk apparel pass near us. On entering the gates,
instead of crowded buildings as in a modern city,
we see monastery and temple, palace and shrine,
spaced with fine lawns and extensive beds of sweet-
smelling flowers, diversified by groups of palms
and spice trees.
As we walk along the level highway to the sacred
 THE GOLDEN AGE OF LANKA. 7

bo-tree the perfume of jessamine and champac

is wafted in the breeze. There is a quiet^ and
reverential bearingamongst the people, and the
whole place wears a sacred air. Silent crowds are
walking towards the large square enclosure in the
middle of the Mahamegha garden, where the
leaves of the sacred peepul may be seen quivering
above the ornamental stone terraces that surround
it. The
sanctity with which the tree is regarded
can be gathered from the splendour of the struc-
ture that invests it, and the care with which it is

guarded. An extensive wall of granite, with

cornices and
coping chunam
enamelled with
resembling ivory, forms the boundary of a marble-
paved court, to which there are four entrances of
great architectural merit. Each of these is canopi-
ed with a roof of brass supported by twenty
pillars,each hewn out of a single stone, set in
a raised stylobate of immense granite slabs with
bold curbings.*
This is reached by a flight of sculptured steps,
the first of which is an exquisitely carved semi-
circular slab with a guardian on either side in
bas relief. Within the court are lavishly embel-
lished halls containing images of Buddha, some
carved in stone and others worked in precious
metals. An inner enclosure is formed by tiers of

stone terraces raised around the sacred tree, the

central object of unceasing veneration as an
* The appearance at the present day may. be seen by reference to Plate xiv.
8 THE GOLDEN AGE OF LANKA.
offshoot from the very tree under which Gotama
sat until he attained perfection. It is therefore

naturally held to be endowed with miraculous

power for promoting the spiritual welfare of
believers. They crowd the court by day and
night. No sooner has the sun gone down than
a myriad lamps light up the scene, which is all
the more impressive in its contrast with the dark
shadows of night beyond.
From the garden, broad streets,
Mahamegha
spanned by arches hung with gay creepers with
their sprays of scarlet, lead to palaces whose

golden pinnacles glitter in the sky and to stately

shrines on whose white domes the sunbeams
glisten with radiant glory. Slender columns of
granite with exquisitely carved capitals and
festooned with garlands border all the ways.
Between the columns stand vessels with blos-
soms that fill the air with perfume, and statues
holding lamps. Thousands of yellow-robed monks
pass in stately procession, headed by princes
and nobles upon gaily caparisoned elephants ;

for the national within the sacred precincts

life

is a perennial drama of ceremonial observances.

The chief events of Buddha's life are represented

in miracle-plays, and performed in spacious
theatres with realistic scenery. Dancing halls
are amongst the most popular institutions, and the
music of shells and drums resounds in every street.
From the courtyard of the Brazen Palace the
 THE GOLDEN AGE OF LANKA. 9

thunder of sixty-four kinds of drums announces

that the king, surrounded by a thousand priests,
has taken his seat on the ivory throne in the
great hall. This hall is the central apartment
of the building, around and above which are a
thousand rooms disposed in nine stores. The
massive structure is built upon eighteen hundred
monoliths* covered with chased copper and set
with precious stones. Even the lines of the roof
are picked out with sparkling gems, and the

gorgeous richness of the whole edifice within and

without almost passes comprehension. This palace
has been bestowed by the king upon the priest-
hood. represents the supreme efforts of archi-
It

tect, artist, and builder, and stands without a

peer among the many mansions of the holy city.

But even this is dwarfed by the massive shrines
that rear their heads in all directions. The new
religion has filled its votaries with almost super-
human energy, and only the very hills themselves
can compare with the buildings which are the
outward expression of their devotion. Founda-
tions, laid to the depth of one hundred feet, are
composed of alternate strata of stone and iron
cemented one on the other. Upon these pedestals
of massive granite are placed and surrounded by
sculptured elephants, which appear as bearers of
the superstructure, which rises to a height of

These monoliths stripped of their copper facing may be seen on reference

to Plate xvii., facing page 66.
io THE GOLDEN AGE OF LANKA.
four hundred feet and contains millions of tons
of solid masonry. At the four points there are
shrines approached by handsome flights of steps ;

and to these come thousands of worshippers,

all of whom
grace the altars with gifts of flowers.
Not only are the steps and shrines strewn with
blossoms, but on days of festival the entire dome
is festooned from base to summit with choicest
flowers till it resembles a huge bridal bouquet,
and over it sprays of water continually play.
There is ample evidence on every hand that
religion is not cultivated to the exclusion or even
at the expense of cleanliness. The pokuna or
bath is as ubiquitous as the shrine and
quite
monastery, and is constructed on a commensurate

scale. There are many measuring about one

hundred and fifty by sixty feet, and twenty-five
feet paved with marble, with tiers of
in depth,

granite rising from the floor to the surface. The

upper part is adorned with beautiful mouldings,
and at either end are flights of marble steps with
handsome balustrades.
Here and there are temples hewn out of the
solid rock, with chapels for the reception of images
of Buddha. All around within and without the
solid mass of gneiss is carved with scenes of his
life or engraved with precepts of his faith.
Even more worthy of note are the extensive
monasteries attached to every temple and shrine,
many of them as large as an English country
 THE GOLDEN AGE OF LANKA. n
town. Especially beautiful are the designs of the
steps leading to the entrance halls. They are
supported on either side by gracefully sculptured
guardians. The rich scrolls of the balustrading
and the intricate carving of the moon-stones to
represent a sacred lotus blossom surrounded by
semi-circular fillets of horses, bullocks, elephants,
and geese in rows, claim a large share of attention.
For a space of twenty square miles extends the
inner city, entirely devoted to religious edifices
and the palaces of the king and nobles but beyond;

this for two hundred and fifty square miles stretch

the hives of industry that support it. There are
streets without number, each assigned to a parti-
cular class of artizans the potters, blacksmiths,
;

sandal makers, carpenters, stone workers, gold-

smiths, tanners, ivory carvers, gilders, and others,
are all separately located. The completeness of
organization is thorough, and even if the aim
is a misdirected one, the results are
astounding,
and only possible under a unanimous belief in
the one religion, to which all industry is subser-
vient. From the rude manufacture of sun-dried
bricks to the fashioning of miniature trees with
roots of coral, stems of silver, leaves of gold, and
flowers of gems, every effort is directed to the
service of religion.
A careful investigation of authentic history con-
vinces us that these ancient cities, with their
marvellous buildings and splendid resources, were
12 THE GOLDEN AGE OF LANKA.
the outcome of the religious enthusiasm which
followed the universal reception of Buddhism by
the Singhalese nation.
 CHAPTER II.

THE JOURNEY TO ANURADHAPURA.

|E have had a glimpse of the golden

age of Lanka, and it is now time to

on our journey and to fill in
set out
the sketch that has been drawn by
an examination of the ruins themselves, with the
help afforded by ancient Singhalese literature.

Only a portion of the journey presents any

considerable difficulties to the traveller, but pre-
liminary arrangements of an extensive character
are necessary, and a committee of ways and means
is indispensable.
The time needed is at least a month from the
date of leaving Colombo, which is the starting
point for most travellers. From Colombo we
journey by rail to Matale, about one hundred
miles, reaching the middle of the island and the
northernmost limit of European cultivation. The
ruined cities of Anuradhapura and Polonnaruwa
are situated, the former seventy miles direct north
of Matale, and the latter fifty miles to the north-
east. In view of the fact that Matale is the
i
4 THE JOURNEY TO ANURADHAPURA.
most northerly point of the railway, we must there
collect our forces and material for the rest of
the journey, which will be made over roads, good,
bad, and indifferent, and through rugged jungle
paths interspersed with swamps, of which nothing
can be predicated save their malarial qualities.
We advisable to requisition a pair
shall find it

of horses and a spring waggon, two bullock-carts

to carry provisions, beds, and camp furniture ;

three pairs of bullocks, one as a reserve in case

of lameness or accident to the others ;
two horse-
keepers ;
three bullock drivers ;
a cook and cook's
mate ;
and about fifteen coolies. This somewhat
formidable array is necessary because many of
the places that we intend to visit lie far from the
roads that have recently been made through the
province, and are only to be reached by jungle
tracks of the roughest description.

Anuradhapura, the oldest and by far the most

interesting of the ancient cities, is now reached
by a pleasant drive direct to the north from
Matale, but Sigiri and Polonnaruwa lie far to
the east of the main road, and for them about

midway between Matale and Anuradhapura we

shall branch mere jungle tracks. It is
off into

convenient therefore to drive on to Anuradhapura

and Mihintale, while the jungle party proceeds
thirty miles to Dambulla, the starting point for

the more troublesome part of the journey.

The carts are laden with tinned and bottled
 THE JOURNEY TO ANURADHAPURA. 15

provisions for about twenty days, including about

fifty dozen of soda water, for we trust the fluid
of the jungle nowhere, even for boiling rice or

making tea, and in some places we shall even

prefer a few bottles for the purpose of personal
ablution. Of all these things the cook is placed
in charge, with instructions to await us at
Dambulla.
So we have passed through
far the unrivalled

scenery of the Kandyan district, of which, as

ithas been described in another volume,* only
a glimpse is here given (Plate ii. facing page 14).
In this picture will be noticed a curious crag called
Ootooankanda, which was in the early sixties
the stronghold of a famous Singhalese bandit, who
for years terrorised the district, and whose exploits
in robbery and murder have already reached the
legendary stage.
Although the chief end of our journey is the
exploration of the ruined cities, we shall find
some incidental enjoyment on the way in observing
the quaint manners and methods of the natives,
which are so foreign to those of our western civili-
zation. The
exciting causes of pleasure and pain,
joy or sorrow, flowing from conditions and events
so simple and even trivial, constitute a never-

failing source of interest, and we cannot but feel

some satisfaction in contrasting their condition

* The Author's " Picturesque Ceylon," Vol ii.

1 6 THE JOURNEY TO ANURADHAPURA.
of only a few years ago, as gleaned from their
own lips, with that of to-day.
Not the least deserving of mention for his share
in this great amelioration is the late Sir William
Gregory, who, with true insight, sought in the
golden age of Ceylon the most effectual means
of restoring health and plenty to a people decimat-
ed by disease and hunger owing to the destruction
of the great works of irrigation devised by their
wise ancestors.
Twenty-five years ago the people had reached a
stage of extreme destitution. By a frightful dis-
ease called "parangi," begotten of indifferent food,
whole villages were becoming depopulated, and
but for the action then taken by the Government
they must have soon reached extinction. There
were no roads for communication with the more
flourishingparts of the country their ancient
;

tanks which had for centuries been in disrepair

were becoming absolutely useless as a safeguard
against drought, and the whole population seemed
resigned to the inevitable. They even seem to
have been unable to protect themselves against
the beasts that disputed with them the right to
their country, and faces torn and mangled in

desperate encounters with bears were so common

as to call for no expression of surprise.
The first step towards improving their con-
dition was the construction of the road by which
we are about to proceed to Anuradhapura. Then
 THE JOURNEY TO ANURADHAPURA. 17

came the question of combating the disease that

was everywhere rife among them. For this,
Dr. Kynsey, Government medical adviser,
the

prescribed the simple and effective remedy of

pure air and water, to be obtained by making
clearings in the forests and jungles and by restoring
the ancient tanks. The Government thereupon
issued an ordinance providing for the cost of the

masonry of the sluices on condition that the

inhabitants themselves repaired the earth-works.
The villagers, encouraged by the interest dis-
played on their behalf, applied themselves
bravely to the task, with the. further result that
the work of improvement has not stood still, and
now> the number of tanks working order may
in

be reckoned by the hundred. Round many of

the villages, too, the forest has been cleared ;

and impenetrable jungle stand beauti-

in place of
ful parks which provide a fit setting for the stately

ruins that repose in their midst. In every locality

thus treated the health of the inhabitants has

greatly improved, and in place of the fever-stricken

district of a quarter of a century ago, there is a

large tract which, for beauty and antiquarian

interest, is, I do not hesitate to write, without

a rival, and which,not yet perfectly salubrious,
if

is already safe for the ordinary traveller through-

out its most interesting parts.

Before we leave Matale it will repay us to
walk leisurely through the town, which contains
1 8 THE JOURNEY TO ANURADHAPURA.
one of the largest purely native bazaars in Ceylon
extending for almost a mile in one long street
shaded by a fine avenue of rain trees, so called
from the circumstance that at night the leaves
fold into a kind of sack in which the moisture

condenses, and at sunrise when the leaves open

is discharged in quite a shower. Here are to
be seen the necessaries and luxuries for the supply
of the native community throughout the large
and important planting district of which Matale
is the centre. All the shops are after the fashion
of open stalls, and the traders, their goods and

transactions, from one end of the street to the

other, are open the gaze of the passers by.

to
The barber, the tinker, the merchant of gay
coloured cloths, and the curry-stuff vendor, are
all doing a roaring trade. The mellifluous tones
of Ramasamy's voice are unceasing, and the
stranger will not fail to be struck with surprise
at the inordinate amount of talking required by

every trifling bargain.

But Matale is not without antiquarian in-
its

terest also. Before we have proceeded a mile on

our journey, a path on the left of the road,
which might easily escape notice, leads to a
famous cave of both archaeological and literary
interest the Cave-Temple of Aluwihari (Plate iii).

At present we pass on, reserving our return, it for

when we shall be in possession of information
that will add to our interest and heighten our
 THE JOURNEY TO ANURADHAPURA. 19

appreciation. And for the same reason we shall

resist every temptation to turn aside till we
reach Mihintale, the cradle of Buddhism in

Ceylon. The country which we pass through

for the first
stage is grandly undulated, and for
the most part under cultivation of rice, cocoa,
and tea. The roadside scenes have the charac-
teristics of the Kandyan district, and are especially
beautiful in their wealth and variety of tropical
foliage. We halt here and there to examine
some method of native agriculture, or to inspect
some indigenous manufacture.
Our attention is arrested by a clay-bedaubed
wheel lying near the threshold of a palm-thatched
hut. The native potter perceiving our interest
sets going, while a bright-eyed urchin, clothed
it

only in the dark brown tints of his shiny skin,

hastens forward with a handful of clay, which
in the twinkling of an eye the potter converts
into an earthenware chattie or water-urn. Again
he casts a lump upon the spinning wheel and
with surprising dexterity a shapely bowl is
fashioned. We
question him on his output, his
earnings, the daily round of his life, his ambi-
tionswhich we find have no existence and
then proceed to discover whether he enjoys real
contentment. Finding that he is possessed of
this priceless blessing, we decide
that this way-
side potter with his earnings of fivepence a day
has the advantage of his fellow-craftsman of
20 THE JOURNEY TO ANURADHAPURA.
Sevres or Worcester with his higher wages and
greater needs.
The next diversion is caused by a gang of some
fifty or sixty coolies men, women, and children
approaching from the north, each with a little
bundle containing the household gods and entire
possessions of its bearer; and as they
halt with

curious eyes directed towards us, we stop to

enquire whence they come and whither they go.

We find they are on the march from Southern
India, attractedby the fourpence a day obtainable
in the planting districts of Ceylon, as compared
with the penny that represented their full earning
capacity in their own country.
At the fourteenth mile we reach the small
but picturesque village of Nalande. make forWe
the rest-house, near the entrance of which there
is a good specimen of the sacred bo-tree with

monkeys gambolling in its branches. This is our

first introduction to one of the principal objects of

veneration of all Buddhists. The rest-house which

we have chosen to illustrateas a specimen of
the picturesque and comfortable little hostelries
erected by the Government at easy stages on this
road for the use of travellers is, as may be seen by
reference to our illustration, built in park-like
grounds and embowered in remarkably fine
tamarind trees. It is neatly furnished and al-

together so comfortable that we begin to feel

astonished at the comparative luxury and ease of
)
 THE JOURNEY TO ANURADHAPURA. 21

travelling on this part of our journey. We bait our

horses and remain here to lunch, after which we
stroll out to make the acquaintance of the villagers.
There are only a few native huts scattered
here and there the jungle, but already we
in
notice indications of the poverty and sickness
which still to some extent characterise the province.
Children are lying on the mud floors of the little
thatched sheds instead of merrily skipping about
the roads as in the villages that we have passed

through, and anxious mothers are nursing listless

and fretful infants, sure signs of the presence
of malaria. We
are travelling in January, when
the rainy season has scarcely ended, and swamps
of saturated and decaying vegetation abound in
alluncleared and uncultivated regions. Still the
country is far more picturesque than later in the
year, when the raging torrents of the rivers are
reduced to feeble rills, and the beds of dilapidated

tanks are dry ;

for this reason we choose January,
although extra precautions are necessary in the
shape of frequent doses of quinine and the avoid-
ance of night exposure.
We have now left behind the cultivated lands
of the Kandyan province and proceed through
dense forest for the rest of the journey. Habita-
tions become during the next stage
less frequent
of twenty miles which brings us to Dambulla.
Here we find another excellent rest-house and take
up our quarters for the night. It is the half-way
22 THE JOURNEY TO ANURADHAPURA.

halting place between Matale and Anuradhapura,

and, being much used, is placed in charge of an
experienced attendant who
keeps it well provi-
sioned. He is one of the smartest of his class,
and surprises us no less by his facility and in-

telligence in the dual capacity of cook and valet

than by his ingenuity in other matters. Being
aware that in these rest-houses the most palatable
dish that can be procured is curry and rice, we
inform him that we want plenty of this and nothing
else for our dinner. But such a request is incom-
prehensible to him. He has never heard of an
Englishman a single course, and
dining from
judging by his experience he considers variety to
be quite as essential as plenty. But though his
larder is not remarkable for the diversity of its

contents, he sets to work with the following menu

as the surprising result Chicken soup a la
:

mulligatawny chicken cutlets roast fowl grilled

chicken chicken curry
anchovy eggs. Six courses
of chicken, disguised and otherwise! Well, we
shall go further and fare worse before we reach
Colombo.
After dinner we find amusement in the visitors*
book. This not a mere autograph album, but
is

a book in which visitors record their impressions

of the general merits of the house from the travel-
ler's point of view. It is inspected periodically

by the road committee under whose control these

caravanserais are. For the most part it is filled
 THE JOURNEY TO ANURADHAPURA. 23

with testimony to the deserts of the custodian,

often framed in amusing phraseology but intended
to expresscomplete satisfaction. However, at
length a visitor arrives in a hypercritical mood and
destroys the unison with the following remarks :

" Rest-house and colour washing,

requires white
also painting. Back verandah and pillars filthy
from dirty hands and chunam marks. Rest-house
keeper never thinks of cleaning brass door handles
or doors. Two dead frogs have been stuck on
dining-room door since Friday, and he never saw
it until he was shown. The rest-house keeper has
a godown and room of his own, and should not
be allowed to dine with his son-in-law in the back
verandah ;
the smell of their food is far from
pleasant to those who occupy the rest-house.
Lazy coolies, squalling baby and podians,* also
women, are very much in evidence
* '

baby es- ;

pecially so at night. Rubbish, such as cocoanut

leaves, stable straw sweepings, tins, paper, &c.,
should be burnt, and not left in a heap in the
"
compound close to rest-house.
The
ingenuity displayed in the following note
appended by the rest-house keeper is delicious :

" I
beg respectfully to explain first that the
doors are always cleaned in the morning when
there are no gentlemen at the rest-house. The
gentleman arrived here on Friday, and as he was
rising late, I did not clean the doors as usual,
* Native Children.
24 2 HE JOURNEY TO ANURADHAPURA.
fearing that the banging of the doors will annoy
him. Scores of frogs (gasgembas) are weekly
destroyed, and it is not strange that one may
get crushed between the door post, especially as a
fear to disturb gentlemen of a nervous tempera-

ment, who are late risers, makes me do the cleaning

as noiselessly as possible.
" When come to the rest-house
gentlemen
with their servants they often order me to feed
them, which I do in the back verandah when
visitors are in the rest-house ;
not knowing when
we be wanted, I
will and servants take our hurried
meal in the back verandah, but if there is wrong
I will discontinue the practice.
" The and podians, also women,' com-
(
coolies

plained of by the gentleman, are old friends and

relations of the few coolies who were laying gravel
on the approaches.
"
Every morning just at daylight the compounds
are swept of all the straw, pieces of paper, &c.

(mostly thrown by the servants of gentlemen

visitors), but the heavy blowing always sends
rubbish of this sort to the compound, and as
sweeping once in every hour is not practicable,
they often lie about.
" The rest-house, though it has a clean com-
pound all round, is yet surrounded by dwelling-
houses, and I cannot prevent babies of these
very prolific parents from crying in the night.
It is true I am adopting a baby, but being well
 THE JOURNEY TO ANURADHAPURA. 25

cared for he is noiseless, especially at night.

" I much
have to state that during
to
regret very
all the time every visitor, including H. E. the

Governor, has pleased at the manner this esta-

blishment is kept up the only dissentient is this
;

gentleman.
"
JOHANNIS PERERA, Rest-house Keeper."
We enquire of the resourceful and ingenious
Johannis who gave him that name, and we find
that his ancestors were converted to Catholicism

by the Portuguese four centuries ago, and that his

family has remained steadfast in the faith ever
since. When asked whether he ever feels any
inclination towards Buddhism, he replies, suiting
his action to his words by drawing his hand
across his throat: "If killing me, I not give up

my religion." We find that religion with him

is more than a pious opinion ;
the noisy baby
complained of is a poor little foundling that he
discovered deserted in the jungle. He tends it

with the greatest care, sitting up through the

night endeavouring to soothe its quivering limbs,
and yet carries on his duties during the day
with marvellous energy and we have nothing
;

but praise for him, both as rest-house keeper and

as man.
The village consists of a double row of mud
huts which do duty as caddies or native shops,
and extends for about two hundred yards at the
foot of a solitary mass of rock rising from the
26 THE JOURNEY TO ANURADHAPURA.

plain to a height of about five hundred feet and

about a mile in circumference. It is smooth,
rounded, and ugly, but about half way to the
summit there are some cave-temples of consider-
able interest which we shall visit on our return.
The remaining forty- two miles to Anuradhapura
is a somewhat monotonous drive through forest,
unrelieved by anything save the myriads of gor-

geous birds and the creatures that here and there

dart to and fro across the road. By walking on
ahead we are enabled to make many an addition
to our collection, and we not infrequently bring
down a good specimen with a shot from the
carriage. The thickets are almost impenetrable,
and although we hear noises and movements
innumerable the strident call of the peacock, the
hoarse rattle of deer, and the chattering of mon-
keys network of creepers, with which the
the
trees are bound together in a tangled mass, forbids
pursuit save where elephants have cleared the way.
The villages of Kekirawa and Tirappanne, at
the fourteenth and twenty-eighth miles respectively
from Dambulla, form easy stages for rest and
refreshment. Both have good rest-houses similar
to that at Nalanda. Kekirawa is a very fair
specimen of the village that has been improved by
clearing away the jungle (see Plate v). Though
it is picturesque in itself, it will be noticed that
the huts are squalid and lack the surroundings
of palms, plantains, and creepers that we should
 z r
-
'-

':,
 THE JOURNEY TO ANURADHAPURA. 27

see in any other province of Ceylon. Indeed

there nothing but the scantily-clad people and
is

the heat to remind us that we are in the Tropics.

Wemeet a shooting party here with whom
we share the rest-house, which soon becomes a

temple of mirth. The attendant here is another

entertaining character, not only for his skill in
the culinary art, but also for his acquaintance
with interesting events of the past and his facility
in recounting his own experiences. Noticing his
African cast of features, we open conversation
with him on the question of his nationality.
"
You are not a Singhalese man, rest-house
"
?
keeper
11
No, Sar. Kaffir, Sar, I
belonged to Ceylon
Rifle Regiment."
" Then perhaps you can tell us something about
Sardiel, the Singhalese highwayman, who, I believe,
was captured by your regiment.' 7

"
Yes, Sar. My company was sent to take him
in his stronghold. That place, I think calling
Ootooankanda. Sergeant Momatam wounded him
in the knee. then shooting Sergeant
Sardiel
Momatam in forehead and killed him. Sardiel's
master forsaking him, then shots hitting. Sardiel
not doing anything without magic."
"Tell me all you know about him, and what
you saw."
"
Sar, there are many stories. went with
I

my company. We fired on Sardiel's hut in the

28 THE JOURNEY TO ANURADHAPURA.
mountain, and he fired on us. We could not kill

him because of his master. Honourable Saunders

was there. He not wanting any nonsense, and
made rush into SardiePs house and seized him.
We bound him back of carriage and marched
to
to Kandy with him. He was tried and hung.
Then English peoples very afraid his master bring-
ing him to life again, and they got twelve European
doctors* to see that he was dead. Then putting
him into iron box and locking and making iron
chains round and putting deep in the ground and
covering over with cement."
" But do
you believe what you are saying?
7 '

"
Sar, (with great indignation) it is quite true.
Sardiel never doing anything without his master."
" Then "
why did they not capture his master ?
"
Sar, he was magician."
" If believe this how do account for
you you
Mr. Saunders taking him ? "
" Your time is come.
Sar, his master saying
*
:

You have stolen many guns and money, and

murdered many peoples, now I give you up, and 1

then Sardiel was powerless."

Noticing that one of our party is amused above
the rest by the Kaffir's remarks, we find, by a
curious coincidence, that he can supply the au-
thentic details of the story, since he himself was
one of the jury that tried the bandit and saw him
hanged. Our Plate facing page 14 gives a view of
*The "twelve European doctors" were no doubt the twelve jurymen.
 THE JOURNEY TO ANURADHAPURA. 29

the rugged crag called Ootooankanda, and the

beautiful country which was the scene of the

exploits of Sardiel,whose authentic history is some-

thing like the following: He was a little insigni-
ficant Singhalese, " with nothing in him but the
devil," and from his stature one would expect an

ordinary boy of fourteen to have proved more than

his match. Originally a barrack boy in Colombo,
detected in theft, he fled and adopted robbery as
a profession. He appears to have gathered around
him some kindred spirits, and to have fixed on
Ootooankanda, in the district of Keigalle as his
home. He was dreaded by Europeans and natives
alike, showing marvellous resource in stealing
arms and ammunition and using them with deadly
effect in his nefarious enterprises. After he had
so terrorised the district that no contractor would
undertake the transit of goods from Colombo to
Kandy without an escort, a reward of ^100 was
offered for his apprehension. The police were
powerless against him. He shot six of them on
a single occasion, and a pathetic story is told
of one of these ill-fated constables. He had pre-
viously been censured by his superiors for his
failure to capture Sardiel, and when on this oc-
casion he was determined on retrieving his charac-
ter, his father who accompanied, seeing him shot
ran forward " You have
down, exclaiming:
killed my son, kill me was instantly shot
also/'
down, and died within a few hours. Other
30 THE JOURNEY TO ANURADHAPURA.

attempts were made by the police to capture him,

but without result. At length he was taken by
Mr. F.R. (now Sir Frederick) Saunders, then district

judge of Keigalle, with a company of the Ceylon

Rifles, as our Kaffir friend describes, and with
him the only survivor of his band to whom the
Kaffir had in true Oriental fashion attributed
miraculous powers. There was immense excite-
ment over the trial and execution of the two
miscreants, but the Kaffir's story of the precautions
after the scoundrels were hanged, needless to say,
can only be attributed to the effect of such ex-
citement on popular imagination.
All this serves to while away the time necessary
to bait our horses and ourselves ;
but it
may
here be mentioned that Kekirawa is a convenient
place as head-quarters for a visit to the great
tank of Kalawewa, five miles distant by jungle
path or seven miles by road. This gigantic
reservoir of about six thousand acres is a good
locality for sport, and as it abounds in archae-

ological interest, and is in addition

very pic-
turesque, it repay a second visit.
will well
We now push on to the wonderful city. As
we approach, greater variety of colour is notice-
able in the foliage open park-like scenery takes
;

the place of dense forest, and we are particularly

attracted by the beauty of the trees, especially
the ebony, the satinwood, the halmilla, with its

large cabbage-like leaves, pretty cassias, the great

 THE JOURNEY TO ANURADHAPURA. 31

kumbuk, which banks of the river with

lines the
its buttress-like stems, the wood apple, which
favours the swampy ground, and the fig in all
its varieties. The climbing plants are no less
striking, and their fantastic forms are wonderful
and bewildering. The golden crowns of climbing
lilies,the brilliant convolvuli, the mosses and
lichens and the multitude of ferns, with thousands
of beautiful plants whose identity is only known
to the accomplished botanist, adorn the walks
and drives that have been formed amidst the
mouldering fragments of the ancient city. We
are made aware of our arrival at the sacred

precinctsby the immense number of stone pillars

which stand in groups on every cleared space,
and here we rest for the night.
 CHAPTER III.

MIHINTALE.
)HE history of the ruined cities of Ceylon
is intimately connected with the reli-
gion of Buddha, and the building of
the monuments which we are about
to survey was directly due to the adoption of
that cult by the Singhalese nation in the third

century before Christ. With the prior condition

of the country we shall concern ourselves only
so far as to enquire who or of what race were
the Singhalese, and what were the circumstances
that led to their unanimous reception of a new
creed with such fervour as is evidenced by the
remains of their sacred buildings and literature.
Before the dawn of civilization in India, when
as yet the Sanskrit speaking Aryans of the north
had not emerged from obscurity, the whole country
was peopled by half-savage races in various stages
of barbarism. Some of these aborigines settled
in Ceylon, where a few scattered types even still
remain. Shunning every opportunity of contact
with other races, they still dwell in the forest,
where they live on the products of the chase,
 MIHINTALE. 33

display the most elementary notions of religion

in the form of snake and demon worship, and
exercise powers of reason very little superior to
those of the lower animals with whom they share
the rocks and caves of districts otherwise forsaken.
They are referred to in the ancient literature of
the country with much contempt as Yakkas, or
barbarians. Their conquerors seem to have forced
them to slave labour on the tanks constructed
in very early times, but there is no reference to
them after the third century A.D., and it may
be inferred from this and the exclusive and bar-
barous condition of the small remnants of the
tribe that they became entirely cut off from the
Singhalese after a short period of subjection.
A few categorical statements regarding the origin
of the Singhalese race will serve our purpose better
than the introduction of debateable matter and
the myths of the early chronicles. TheSinghalese
were Aryan settlers from North-Central India,
and their language was closely affiliated to Pali,
a dialect of the Sanskrit which was cultivated by
the Aryan invaders of Central India. They settled
in Ceylon some centuries before the Buddhist
conversion. We know of their history at
little

this early period for although the ancient chroni-

;

clers professed acquaintance with the minutest

details relating to their arrival and settlement
in the island, the accounts given are purely mythi-
cal. The Mahawansa, a native chronicle that
34 MIH1NTALE.

gives many valuable and interesting accounts of

later times, indulges in the most extravagant
fairy
tales in dealing with the national history anterior
to the third century B.C. It begins with the story

of the arrival of Wijayo, a Singhalese prince, who

with his followers is made the hero of adventures
so similar to those of Ulysses and Circe in the

Odyssey that the chronicler has by some been

supposed to have been acquainted with the Homeric
poems.
Fortunately, however, we arrive on firmer ground
early enough for our purpose of tracing the history
of the ancient cities, and all that we need to notice
of times prior to their foundation is the simple
fact that the Singhalese were in possession of the

country, much of which they had brought under

cultivation, aided by works of irrigation, an art
which they appear to have acquired in prehistoric
times. It is safe, moreover, to assume that for

some centuries before the arrival of Mahinda,

who brought them tidings of the new religion
about the year B.C. 307, they had developed re-
sources which were soon to be employed in the
building of those great cities, the remains of which
we have discovered two thousand years later, and
which will take their place among the greatest
wonders of the world.
Lastly, it may be safely asserted that the
national religion previous to the introduction of
Buddhism was Brahman.
H21ZXSIVJUUI.
 MIHINTALE. 35

It however, a great thing that the period

is,

of the erection of the buildings whose remains now

stand before us falls within the domain of authen-
tic history. Not a single building or sculptured
stone has been found that does not come within
this period, and it is remarkable that in India
no relic of ancient architecture has been discovered
of a date anterior to that of the ruined cities
of Ceylon, while the history of the latter is in-

finitely clearer and more reliable than that of

the adjoining continent, a circumstance due to the
careful preservation by the Singhalese of the olas
on which the events of very early times were
inscribed.
Mihintale first claims our attention because
here began the Buddhist influence, the efficient
cause of all the constructive energy which the
Singhalese displayed in the erection of their vast
cities and monuments. Eight miles to the east
of the sacred part of the city of Anuradhapura
the rocky mountain, now called Mihintale, rises
abruptly from the plain to the height of a thousand
feet. Its slopes are now covered with dense forest

from the base almost to the summit, with the

exception of the space occupied by a grand stair-
way of granite slabs which lead from the level
plain to the highest peak. These steps, one
thousand eight hundred and forty in number,
render easy an ascent which must have been

originally very toilsome. They are laid on the

36 MIHINTALE.

eastern side which is the least steep, the southern

face being almost precipitous. Our illustrations

(Plates vi andfacing pages 32 and 34) depict

vii

one of the lower and the topmost flights. The last

hundred and fifty steps, as seen in Plate vi, are
hewn in the solid rock, and at the top is visible
the north-east side of the ruined Etwehera dagaba.
At first sight this picture conveys only the im-
pression of a natural with precipitous sides
hill

covered with vegetation, and were not curiosity

aroused by the flight of steps and the robed monk
descending, the dagaba might easily escape notice.
A closer examination, however, reveals the fact
that it is not a natural hill, but a gigantic ruined
edifice, in the erection of which many millions
of bricks were brought to the top of the mountain
and carefully laid. Near it there are other
dagabas of great size One, called the Maha Seya
(see Plate facing page 36) is placed in a position
whence grand views of the surrounding country are
obtained. The summit of this can be reached by
the adventurous climber, and the exertion, if not the

danger, is well repaid by the striking spectacle

of the ruined shrines of Anuradhapura rising above
a sea of foliage, and the glistening waters of the
ancient artificial lakes relieving the immense
stretches of forest. For twenty centuries this
mass of brickwork defied the destructive tooth
of time, and the disintegrating forces of vegetable

growth but a few years ago it showed signs of

;
 MIHINTALB. 37

collapse on the west face, and underwent some

repairs by the Ceylon Government. Our illustra-
tion presents a near view from the south, showing
the portion cleared of vegetation and repaired.
Some idea of the proportion of this dagaba may be
gathered by noticing that what appears to be
grass upon the upper portion of the structure
is a mass of forest trees that have grown
in reality

up from seeds dropped by birds.

There are many other interesting remains on
this mountain sacred to the memory of Mahinda,
the royal apostle of Buddha
Ceylon, but before
in

we proceed to them some account of Mahinda and

his mission, as recorded in the ancient writings,

may be of interest. This account is, of course,

to a great extent coloured by imagination, and the
facts embellished in true Oriental fashion, but
the story may be accepted in its main features.
It may not be assumed with safety that every one

who takes up this volume is acquainted with the

early history of Buddhism, and consequently the
story of Mahinda must be prefaced by a brief
account of the origin of the cult which he intro-
duced, and of the circumstances which led to its
adoption in Ceylon.
In the sixth century, B.C., the Aryans already
inhabited the valley of the Ganges, and were
divided into various tribes, one of the least of
which was that of the Sakyans, who dwelt some
hundred miles north-east of Benares. Of this
38 MIHINTALE.

race was Gotama, the founder of Buddhism, his

father being chief of the clan, which possessed
an influence out of all proportion to its number.
Gotama very early chose the life of a mendicant,
left his home, and went on foot to Benares, to
teach the principles of his philosophy. His method
appealed to the Indian mind, and he soon obtained
numerous His doctrines were accepted
followers.
with enthusiasm, probably because they were
found to be better suited to the needs of the
people of the time than those hitherto prevailing.
About two hundred miles east of Benares were
the states of Magadha. Thither the fame of
Gotama's teaching soon spread, and the king,
Bimbisara, repairing to the presence of Gotama,
became a convert. This royal patronage soon
led to the wide popularity of the religion of the

Sakyan philosopher, and multitudes including the

most revered ascetics of the kingdom, adopted
its tenets.
We have not much reason to discuss here the
principles of Buddhism
as introduced by Gotama,

except for the purpose of arriving at the origin

of the influence which led to the building of the
sacred cities. It will, however, be useful to note
briefly the main features of the system, which
presupposes the doctrine of transmigration.
A buddha is a being who has passed through
countless lives and has in each successive re-birth
added something to his merits, by which he ulti-
 MIHINTALE. 39

mately becomes endowed with supernatural powers.

Upon attaining buddhahood, which is the supreme
phase of existence, the buddha is enabled to direct
all beings to the path that leads to final extinc-
tion. At his death he ceases to exist but his ;

precepts are regarded as laws of religion. Bud-

dhas appear only at intervals of time incon-
ceivably vast. The broad outline of the Buddha's
teaching is contained in the four dogmas -
(1) Existence is sorrow ;

(2) Desire for existence is the cause of

sorrow ;

(3) The cessation of sorrow is effected by

the eradication of desire ;

(4) The way of living which leads to the

extinction of sorrow is the practice
of right faith, right resolve, right

speech, right action, right living, right

effort, right recollectedness, and right
meditation, according to the example
of the Buddha.
The effect of entirely eliminating desire is final
extinction. Unless existence is dissolved by the
total destruction of desire re-birth takes place,
thus perpetuating sorrow and, in proportion as
;

Buddhist precepts have been observed or dis-

regarded, so is the re-birth favourable or otherwise.
The wicked suffer retribution by unfavourable
transmigration, and all beings good or bad pass
through an endless succession of lives unless freed
4o MIHINTALE.

from existence by the attainment of a clear insight

into the causes of sorrow and the practice of
the life that sets them free.

These were the doctrines introduced by the

Buddha in the sixth century B.C. However they
may be regarded to-day, they were undoubtedly
superior to those of Brahmanism, and their ready
adoption by millions of people shows how suited
they were to the Indian mind.
At the time of Gotama's death, about B.C. 477,
the Magadhan state was one of small prestige,
but during the two centuries that followed it
became a powerful empire, with the march of
which the Sakyan's teaching kept time. The
brotherhoods formed by his followers during his
lifetime practised the course of life that he taught,
and thus by example and tradition the system
spread and descended from one generation to
another.
The great teacher left no writings to guide
his adherents, but soon after his death his teach-
ings were collected under the authority of Councils
of the Community, and to these were added the
records of all his words and deeds that could
be garnered for the instruction and example of
posterity.
In the early of
the third century B.C.
part
the Greeks invaded India, an event of no small
importance to the future of Buddhism. The
Magadhan state received the support of the
 MIHINTALE. 41

invaders, with the result that it soon became a

mighty empire embracing nearly the whole of
India; and the ruler of this vast domain, Asoka,
was an earnest patron of Buddhism. He was
originally a Brahman, but upon his conversion
he became a very zealot for the new faith, sending
missionaries to many and amongst
countries,
them his son, Prince Mahinda, who was sent to
Ceylon, the field of labour to which his training
was especially directed.
The Singhalese, as we have already said, were
of the same race as the Magadhans, and it is
reasonable to suppose that they spoke the same
language. Moreover, the monarchs of the two
countries were on terms of friendship. Tissa,
the Singhalese king, who had upon coming to
the throne succeeded to very great wealth, des-
patched ambassadors to his friend Asoka with
costly presents. That monarch, in acknowledg-
ing the treasures, sent many valuable gifts to
Tissa in accompanied by the following
return,
exhortation: "I have taken refuge in Buddha,
his religion, and his priesthood I have avowed
;

myself a devotee in the religion of the descen-

dant of Sakya. Ruler of men, imbuing thy
mind with the conviction of the truth of these
supreme blessings, with unfeigned faith do thou
also take refuge in this salvation."

Upon this Mahinda proceeded to Ceylon to

follow the above message with personal appeals
42 MIHINTALE.

His meeting with the king at Mihintale is des-

cribed in theMahawansa with a wealth of pic-
turesque incident in which a sprinkling of signs
and wonders authenticates the importance of his
mission. The portion which bears the test of
reason, and which from contemporary evidence
may in substance be accepted, tells of Mahinda's
arrival upon the mountain of Mihintale, accom-

panied by a few monks. Here they met the

king out hunting with a large retinue, and Ma-
hinda thus addressed his majesty: "We are
the ministers and disciples of the Lord of the
true faith in compassion for thee,
:
Maharajah,
we have repaired hither." The king, recollect-

ing the message of his friend Asoka, was con-

vinced that they were ministers of the faith.
Laying aside his bow and arrow he conversed
graciously with them. Seeing the other mem-
bers of the mission, he enquired "Whence come
these ?" "With me," replied Mahinda. Then
the king asked if there were any other priests
like unto them, to which Mahinda replied :

"Jambudipa itself glitters with yellow robes;

there are disciples of Buddha, who have fully

acquired the three sanctifications, who are per-

fect masters of the knowledge which procures

bliss, the saints who have the gift of prophecy

and divination, are numerous." For the pur-
pose of ascertaining the capacity of the king,
Mahinda interrogated him ;
and as he propounded
 MIHINTALE. 43

question after question the monarch solved them

" What is this tree called?" asked
satisfactorily.
Mahinda. "A the " Be-
mango," replied king.
sides this there any other mango trees?"
are
" Besides this
"There are many." mango and
those other mangoes, are there any other trees
in the world?" "Yes, there are many others,
but they are not mangoes." " Besides the other
mango trees and the trees that are not mangoes,
" " Ruler
is there any other ?" Yes, this mango. \
of men," cried Mahinda, " thou art wise." The
king having thus been proved capable of under-
standing, a discourse on Buddhist doctrine was
delivered, and he and his train were then and
there converted.

King Tissa rejoices exceedingly to find that

Mahinda is the son of his friend the emperor,
and invites him to the capital. Then follows
the conversion of the queen and her attendants and
the reception of Buddhism by the whole nation.
The Buddha is have visited Ceylon
said to
on several occasions, but we have no very con-
vincing evidence of this. The accounts given
in the ancient chronicles were written too long
after his death, and have too much of a mira-
culous element to be regarded as of any historical
value, but as they are accepted by the Bud-
dhists as part of their religious belief some refer-

ence to them may be expected. The Buddha

first prepares the way for Mahinda by clearing
44 MIHINTALE.

the island of the local demons or yakkas. The

Mahawansa says that it was known by the
Buddha that Lanka (Ceylon) would be the place
where his religion would be most glorified, and
that it was needful that the yakkas by whom it

was inhabited should be removed. Knowing the

spot where he would find the yakkas assembled,
he proceeded thither by an aerial route, and
hovering above them struck terror into their
host by storm, tempest, and darkness. The yak-
kas, overwhelmed with awe, supplicated to be
released from their terror. He " I will
replied
release you, but give unto me here by unani-
mous consent a place for me to alight on."
The yakkas replied that they would bestow on
him the whole country. He then descended,
and spreading his carpet upon the ground sat
down upon it, causing the fringe of the carpet
to blaze with flames of fire, which extended on
all sides until the terrified yakkas were driven
to the very shores of the island. As they stood
there he caused the delightful island of Giri to

approach the coast, when they gladly rushed

upon it to escape the conflagration. The island
with new inhabitants then drifted to its former
position. The demons having been thus satis-
factorily disposed of, Buddha folded up his car-
pet, and the Devas a higher order of supernatural
beings assembled. These he converted in large
numbers, and amongst them Sumana, the Deva
 MIHINTALE. 45

of the mountain now known as Adam's Peak.

To him he gave a handful of his hyacinthine
locks, which the Deva enshrined in a golden casket,
and covering this with an emerald dome, pre-
served it as an object of veneration for future ages.
The aborigines are
frequently referred to at
this period as Nagas, or snake-worshippers, and
it is recorded that Buddha on his second visit
converted the Naga king. A few years later he
revisited his royal convert, who entertained him
and his attendant disciples at Kelani, near
Colombo, providing them with a celestial ban-
quet. It was on this occasion that Buddha rose
aloft in the air and left the impression of his
foot upon the mountain of Sumana (Adam's

Peak.) If his object was to sanctify for ever

the Peak, he certainly succeeded, for now, in

this nineteenth century, two thousand five hundred

years after the event, the annual stream of pil-

grims who at the risk of their lives climb the
precipitous sides of the mountain to salute the
sacred footprint is ever on the increase.
On a higher plane of historical truth lies

Mahinda's visit to Mihintale, which is attested

by contemporary evidence.
Having now some knowledge of the causes
which led to the veneration of the sacred locali-
ties and the foundation of their buildings, we

must resume our inspection of the remains at

Mihintale. King Tissa's conversion was com-
 46 MIHINTALE.

memorated by a great vihara or monastery erec-

ted on the very spot, and by the construction
of a large number of monastic dwellings in the
rock, the remains of which
amongst the are
most interesting features of the mountain at this
day. After the completion and establishment of
the monastery, the building of the grand stairway
was begun, and continued for generations by
pious pilgrims. Meanwhile many a shrine was
added by successive monarchs to the memory
of the great Mahinda till the mountain was liter-

ally covered with sacred buildings. In the solid

granite of the steeper slopes were engraved the

instructions for the priests, dealing with every
detail of their life and every item of ceremonial
observance.
These inscriptions, which are still legible, tell
us that none who destroyed
any way were
life in

permitted to live near the mountain special ;

offices were allotted to various servants and

workmen accounts were to be strictly kept and

;

examined at an assembly of priests certain allow- ;

ances of money to every person engaged in the

temple service were made

the purchase of
for

flowers, so that none might appear without an

offering cells are assigned to the readers, ex-
;

pounders, and preachers hours of rising, of

;

meditation, and of ablution are prescribed careful ;

attention to food and diet for the sick is en-

joined ;
there are instructions to servants of every
UNIVERSITY
OF
 MIHINTALE. 47

kind, warders, receivers of revenue, clerks, watch-

men, physicians, surgeons, laundrymen, and others,
the minuteness of detail giving an excellent idea
of the completeness of arrangement for the orderly
and beautiful keeping of the venerated locality.
Amongst other interesting remains on the moun-
tain is the Naga Pokuna or snake bathing pool.
This is hewn out of the solid rock, and is one
hundred and thirty feet in length and of ex-
tremely picturesque appearance. On the rock
which overhangs one side of the pool is an im-
mense five-hooded cobra carved in high relief.
Having regard to the role of protector assigned
to the cobra in the ancient legend already re-
ferred j:o, this monster, with his hood spreading
fully six feet across, doubtless possessed pro-
phylactic virtues, which were assisted by the
ceremonial ablutions which this
for weird and
mysterious looking bath was constructed.
Amongst the best preserved relics is the Am-
bustele Dagaba which enshrines the ashes of
Mahinda, who ended his days on the spot where
his successful mission began. The shrine marks,
it is said, the very piece of ground where the
first meeting of the monarch Tissa and the royal
missionary took place. It is built of stone in-
stead of the usual brick, and is surrounded by
fifty slender octagonal pillars with sculptured
capitals.
Near the dagaba is a narrow ledge high up
48 MIHINTALE.

the side of a precipitous rock known as Mahinda's

bed. Though there is nothing at first sight to
suggest repose it
may well be credited that to
this lonely spot the apostle was wont to retreat
to renew in the contemplation of the vista spread
out beneath him that spiritual fire which may
have been burning low after a prolonged con-
tact with the world. Certainly the view is one
of majestic grandeur. For some hundreds of
feet ledge after ledge supportshuge fallen bould-
ers of granite, while the forest below extends to
the sea in an expanse unbroken save by a few

patches of rice which pleasantly relieve the mono-

tony and add colour to the landscape.
 THE
UNIVER8IT
.CALlfCfij
 CHAPTER IV.

ANURADHAPURA.
]PON our return to Anuradhapura we
naturally wish first to see the remains
of those buildings which were erected

by Tissa as a result of his conversion.

These we find in that part of the city which
was at the time of Mahinda's visit the Mahamegha,
or king's pleasure garden. The tradition is that
the report of Bimbisara, king of Magadha, having

presented his own pleasure garden to Buddha

and of being accepted by him for the use of
its

the priests had reached the ears of Tissa, and

in imitation of this pious example he dedicated
the Mahamegha to sacred purposes. This garden
of twenty square miles in extent was in the centre
of the royal city, eight miles to the west of
Mihintale. The gift was important, as signifying
the royal protection extended to the new religion,
and like all matters of special interest it received
much attention from the
ancient chronicler, as
may be seen by the following extract from the
Mahawansa :
5o ANURADHAPURA.
" In the
morning, notice having been previously
given by beat of drums, the celebrated capital,
the road to the thera's (chief priest's) residence,
and the residence itself on all sides, having been
decorated, the lord of chariots, decked in all the
insignia of royalty, seated in his chariot, attended
by his ministers and the women of the palace,
and escorted by the martial array of his realm,
repaired to the temple constructed by himself,
accompanied by this great procession.
"
There, having approached the theras worthy
of veneration and bowed down to them, proceeding

together with the theras to the upper ferry of the

river, he made his progress, ploughing the ground
with a golden plough to mark the limits for the
consecration. The superb state elephants, Maha-
paduma and Kunjara were harnessed to the golden
plough. Beginning at the first Kuntamalaka, this
monarch, sole ruler of the people, accompanied
by the theras, and attended by the four constituent
hosts of his military array, himself held the
haft of the plough.
"
Surrounded by exquisitely painted vases,
carried procession, and gorgeous flags trays
in ;

containing sandal dust mirrors with gold and

;

silver handles baskets borne down by the weight

;

of flowers ; triumphal arches made of plantain

trees, and females holding up umbrellas and other

decorations excited by the symphony of every
;

kind of music encompassed by the martial might

;
 ANURADHAPURA. 51

of his empire overwhelmed by the shouts of

;

gratitude and festivity which welcomed him from

the four quarters of the earth; this lord of the
land made his progress, ploughing and exhibiting
furrows, amidst enthusiastic acclamations, hundreds
of waving handkerchiefs, and the exultations pro-
duced by the presentation of superb offerings.
" The eminent
saint, the Mahathera, distinctly
fixed the points defining the boundary, as marked

by the furrows made by the king's plough. Having

fixed the position for the erection of thirty-two
sacred edifices, as well as the Thuparama
Dagaba, and having according to the forms already

observed, defined the inner boundaries thereof,

this sanctified person on that same day com-

pleted the definition of all the boundary lines.

At the completion of the junction of the sacred
boundary line the earth quaked."
Having thus dedicated the royal precincts of
the city to religious purposes, Tissa's next object
was to hallow them by the presence of a relic
of the Buddha himself.
Here again we plunge into myth of the highest
order to obtain a grain or two of actual fact.
We accept as authentic the statement that the
Thuparama was the the large shrines
first of
built upon this sacred ground, and that it was
erected by King Tissa. It is quite likely, too,

that he endeavoured to procure a true relic of

the Buddha, and that he sent to his friend the
52 ANURADHAPURA.

Emperor Asoka to obtain one ;

but a simple
recital of such a proceeding would be quite
unworthy of the oldest shrine in Ceylon ;
and so
Tissa is said to have had recourse to super-
natural means to obtain the needful relic, and
to have asked the gods themselves for the right
collar bone of the Buddha. nephew of A
Mahinda was chosen for the mission, and instructed
to address the Emperor Asoka as follows :

" now converted

Maharajah, thine ally Tissa, to
the faith of Buddha, anxious to build a dagaba.
is

Thou possessest many corporeal relics of the

Muni ;
bestow some of those relics, and the dish
used at his meals by the divine teacher." He
was next to proceed to Sakka, the chief of the
"
Devas, and thus addressing him King of Devas, :

thou possessest the right canine tooth relic, as

well as the right collar relic, of the deity bone
worthily worshipped by the three worlds con- :

tinue to worship that tooth relic, but bestow the

collar bone of the divine teacher. Lord of
Devas ! demur not in matters involving the
salvation of the land of Lanka." The relic was
surrendered by the gods and conveyed to Anu-
radhapura, where it performed many miracles
before it reached the receptacle in the Thupa-
rama. Its concluding feat was to rise from the
back of the elephant that conveyed it to the
shrine to the height of five hundred cubits, and
thence display itself to the astonished populace,
 OF THE
UNIVERSITY
Of
^K|&
 ANURADHAPURA. 53

whose hair stood on end at the sight of flames

of fire and streams of water issuing from it.
But it is not within our present purpose to
quote all the legends that embellish the history
contained in the ancient Singhalese writings, and
we must pass on to the shrine itself, built by
Tissa about the year B.C. 307.
This monument is in itself evidence of the
remarkable skill of architect, builder, and sculptor
in Ceylon at a period anterior to that of any

existing monument on the mainland. The upper

portion of the structure has been renovated by
the devotees of modern times, but the carvings
and other work of the lower portion remain
untouched. Agreat deal of excavation is, how-
ever, still necessary to expose the platform at
the base.* All the Ceylon dagabas are of this

bell shape, but their circumference varies from

a few feet to over eleven hundred, some of them
containing enough masonry to build a town for
twenty-five thousand inhabitants. The Thupa-
rama is small compared with many of them,
the diameter of the bell being about forty feet
and its height about sixty.
The portion of the basement immediately
beneath the bell is undoubtedly ancient. It

consists of two stages the lower, about three

;

and a half feet high, is faced with dressed stone

*This excavation was completed in 1896, shortly after the publication of

the first edition of this work.
54 ANURADHAPURA.
and belted with bold mouldings the upper retires
;

a couple of feet, and upon that is a terrace six

feetwide running right round the dagaba. The
whole of the interior is believed to be solid brick.
Below the basement of the bell all has more or
less been buried in earth and debris, the accu-
mulation of ages some excavation has, however,
;

disclosed a circular platform of about one hundred

and sixty feet in diameter, raised to about twelve
feet above the original level of the ground. The
base of this platform, which is reached by two
flights of stone steps, is also of brick and is
ornamented with bold mouldings to a height of
about five feet, and above this the wall is
surrounded with semi-octagonal pilasters.
The most attractive feature of the dagaba,
however, the arrangement of ornamental pillars
is

on the platform. A large number, as may be

seen by a glance at our illustration, facing page 52,
are still erect. They are all slender monoliths
of elegant proportions. The carvings of the
capitals are singularly beautiful they contain
;

folial ornaments as well as grotesque figure-sculp-

tures, and are fringed to a depth of more than

a foot with tassels depending from the mouths
of curious masks. These pillars are placed in
four concentric circles, and decrease in height
as the circles expand, the innermost being twenty-
three feet and those of the outside circle fourteen
feet high.
 ^TRAB^
OF THE
UNIVERSITY
OF
 ANURADHAPURA. 55

There has been a great deal of speculation as

to the possible structural use of these pillars.
Some have suggested that they supported a roof
which extended over the entire dagaba, others
that they were erected in order to carry pictures

representing scenes of Buddhist history, hung

from beams supported on their capitals. It is

very likely that they served some purpose besides

that of mere ornament, but what that was we are

hardly likely now to discover, as no allusion is

made to them in any of the ancient chronicles.

I am inclined to think that they were surmounted

by emblematic figures, and were intended pri-

marily as ornaments in themselves. They were
doubtless used on festal occasions to suspend
strings of lamps and garlands, always one of
the chief features of Buddhist ceremonial.
Of the original one hundred and seventy-six
pillars only thirty-one remain now standing entire
with their capitals. There was probably a walled
enclosure to the dagaba, and it has been sug-

gested that upon this wall a conical roof was

raised over the whole structure partially supported

by the pillars. I cannot, however, find any

reason to adopt this theory.
Near the Thuparama there is a remarkably
fine trough carved out of a single block of granite.
Its size may be estimated from the old Singha-

lese woman who stands near it. She volunteered

the statement that she was upwards of eighty
56 ANURADHAPURA.
years of age and that she was in charge of the
shrine. The trough is undoubtedly very ancient,
but its use is a matter of conjecture, some sug-

gesting that it was a receptacle for rice given

to the priests.
In the vicinity lies another curious vessel,
about seven feet long, also hewn out of a single
block. Its chief points are a circular basin and
a raised slab, and it is supposed to have been
used for dyeing the robes of the priests, being
known as a " pandu orua," or dyeing vat. The
robes were placed in the basin of yellow dye,
and were afterwards spread upon the slab and
wrung out with wooden rollers.
The interesting ruins of the Dalada Maligawa,
or Palace of the Tooth, are within the original
outer wall of the Thuparama enclosure. This
palace was built for the reception of Buddha's
tooth upon its arrival in Ceylon in A.D. 311,
but we will postpone our remarks upon this
until we have visited the ruins of a still older
date.
Wepass now to another relic which has perhaps
attracted more attention than any other the
sacred bo-tree. The royal convert, King Tissa,
having succeeded in obtaining a branch of the
fig-tree under which the Buddha had been wont
to sit in meditation, planted it at Anuradhapura
and it is now the venerable tree which we see
still
flourishing after more than twenty centuries.
 ANURADHAPURA. 57

Its have formed a grove which over-

offspring
shadows the ruins of the once beautiful court
and the tiers of sculptured terraces which were
built around it. All that is left of the magnificent
entrance to the enclosureseen in our picture
is

a few bare monoliths and the two janitors still

at their post.
The story of this tree is intimately connected
with that of Mahinda, and therefore goes back
to the foundation of Anuradhapura, have We
already noticed that the conversion of the people
followed immediately upon that of their king,
and in the desire to embrace the doctrines of
the great preacher the women were not behind,
and thousands of them wished to take vows and
enter upon a life of asceticism. But Mahinda
declared that although they might be converted
by his preaching they could take vows only at
the hands of a dignitary of their own sex. This
difficultywas overcome by sending for his sister
Sanghamitta, who had become the prioress of
a Buddhist nunnery at Pataliputra. Thither
King Tissa's minister, Arittha, was deputed to
proceed and invite her to Ceylon for the purpose
of initiating the women of the island and at ;

the same time he was directed to request the

Emperor Asoka to allow her to bring with her

a branch of the sacred bo-tree under which the
Buddha attained perfection. This plan was duly
carried into effect the princess came, and with
;
58 ANURADHAPURA.
her the branch from which grew the very tree
which still flourishes at Anuradhapura.
Glancing at the story of the Mahawansa, we
shall find no exception to the typical manner
in which the native historians embellished their

descriptions of important events, disguising every

fact with a mantle of extravagant romance.
When it was decided that a branch of the

original bo-tree should be sent, superhuman aid

was immediately forthcoming for the construction
of a golden vase for its transit. This vase was
moulded to a circumference of fourteen feet and
a thickness of eight inches. Then the monarch
causing that vase, resplendent like the meridian
sun, to be brought, attended by the four cons-
tituent hosts of his military array, and by the
great body of the priesthood, repaired to the

great bo-tree, which was decorated with every

variety of ornament, glittering with the variegated
splendour of gems, decked with rows of streaming
banners, and laden with offerings of flowers of
every hue. Having bowed down with up-
. .

lifted hands at eight places, and placed that

precious vase on a golden stool, studded with

various gems, of such a height that the branch
could easily be reached, he ascended it himself
for the purpose of obtaining the topmost branch.
Using vermilion in a golden and streaking
pencil,
the branch therewith, he made this solemn
" If this
declaration and invocation :
right top-
 OF THE
UNIVERSITY
OF
 ANURADHAPURA. 59

most branch from this bo-tree is destined to

depart hence to the land of Lanka, and if my

faith in the religion of Buddha be unshaken, let

it, self-severed,
instantly transplant itself into
this golden vase."
The bo-branch, severing itself at the place
where the streak was made, rested on the top
of the vase, which was filled with scented oil ...
The sovereign on witnessing this miracle, with
uplifted hands, while yet standing on the golden
stool, set up a shout, which was echoed by the
surrounding spectators. The
delighted priesthood
expressed their joy by shouts of " sahdu," and
the crowding multitude, waving thousands of
cloths over their heads, cheered . . . The instant
the great bo-branch was planted in the vase,
the earth quaked, and numerous miracles were
manifested. By the din of the separately heard
sound of various musical instruments by the
" sahdus "
shouted, as well by Devas and men
of the human world as by the host of Devas and
Brahmas of the heavens by the howling of the
elements, the roar of animals, the screeches of
birds, and the yells of the yakkas as well as
other fierce together with the crashing
spirits,
concussions of the earthquake, they constituted
one universal chaotic uproar.
The vase was then embarked on board a vessel
in charge of a large number of royal personages,
and accompanied by the monarch was taken
60 ANURADHAPURA.
down the Ganges to the sea, where the Maha-
" stood on the shore
rajah disembarked and
with uplifted hands and gazing on the departing
;

branch, shed tears in the bitterness of his grief.

In the agony of parting, the disconsolate Asoka,

weeping and lamenting in loud sobs, departed

for his own capital."
After a miraculous passage the vessel arrived
off the coast of Ceylon and was discerned by

the king, who was watchingfrom a magni-

for it

ficent hall which had been erected on the shore

for the purpose. Upon seeing its approach he
exclaimed :
" This is the branch from the bo-tree

at which Buddha attained Buddhahood," and

rushing into the waves up to his neck, he caused
the great branch to be lifted up collectively by
sixteen castes of persons, and deposited it in the

lordly hall on the beach.

It was then placed on a superb car and accom-
panied by the king was taken along a road sprin-
kled with white sand and decorated with banners
and garlands of flowers to the city of Anuradha-
pura, which was reached on the fourteenth day.
At the hour when shadows are most extended
the procession entered the Mahamegha garden,
and there the king himself assisted to deposit
the vase. In an instant the branch extricated
itself,and springing eighty cubits into the air,
self-poised and resplendent, it cast forth a halo
of rays of six colours. These enchanting rays
 ANURADHAPURA. 61

illuminating the land ascended to the Brahma

heavens and continued visible till the sun had
sunk into the sea.

Afterwards, the branch descending under the

"
constellation Rohini," re-entered the vase on
the ground, and the earth thereupon quaked. Its

up out of the mouth of the vase and

roots, rising

shooting downwards, descended, forcing it down

into the earth. The whole assembled populace
made flower and other offerings to the rooted
branch. A heavy deluge of rain fell around, and
dense cold clouds completely enveloped it in

their snowy shrouds. At the end of the seventh

day the clouds dispersed and displayed the bo-
tree with its halo. . .

This bo-tree, monarch of the forest, endowed

with many miraculous powers, has stood for ages
in the delightful Mahamegha garden in Lanka,
promoting the spiritual welfare of the inhabitants
and the propagation of the true religion.*
There is good reason to accept the main facts
of the above story, notwithstanding the fairy tale
into which they have been woven. The subse-
quent history of the venerable tree has been less

poetically chronicled, and

details with great exact-
ness the functions held in its honour, together
with reliable information on matters connected
with its careful preservation and the adoration
* This account is condensed from Mr. Tumour's translation of the early
part of the Mahawansa, written in the fifth century.
62 ANURADHAPURA.
bestowed upon it. That it escaped destruction
by the enemies of Buddhism throughout many
invasions is perhaps attributable to the fact that
the same species is held in veneration by the
Hindoos who, while destroying its surrounding
monuments, would have spared the tree itself.
Another very ancient and interesting foun-
dation attributed to King Tissa is the Isuru-

muniya Temple. This curious building, carved

out of the natural rock, occupies a romantic position.
Before and behind lie large lotus ponds on whose
banks huge crocodiles occasionally be seen.
may
We may easily photograph them from a distance
by means of a telescope lens, but they object to be
taken at any shorter range. We
may approach them
with a hand camera, but immediately it is pre-
sented to them they dart into the water at lightning
speed. These ponds are surrounded by woodland
scenery which presents many an artistic feature ;

but we must be content with a near view of the

temple itself. To
the right of the entrance will be
noticed a large pokuna or bath. This has been
restored and is quite fit for its original purpose of
ceremonial ablution, but the monks now resident
have placed it at the disposal of the crocodiles
whom they encourage by providing them with food.
The modern entrance to the shrine, with its
tiled roof, shocking contrast to the rock-
is in

building, and unfortunately this is the case with

all the ancient rock-temples of the island.
 OF THE
UNIVERSITY
 ANURADHAPURA. 63

The terraces which lead to the shrine are in-

teresting for their remarkable frescoes and sculp-

tures in has relief. There are more than twenty
of these in the walls, and all of them are ex-

ceedingly grotesque. Several are in the form of

tablets like the specimen here shown, facing

page 64.
In addition to the tablets, the natural rock
was frescoed in high relief, and although many
of the figures have become hardly discernible
owing to the action of theclimate during so
many centuries, others are still clearly defined
and may be seen in our illustration with the aid
of a convex lens. Above the corner of the bath
are the heads of four elephants, and above them
is a sitting figure holding a horse. Similarly
there are quaint carvings in many other parts.
The doorway is magnificent, and for beautiful

carving almost equals anything to be found in

Ceylon. There is nothing of special interest
about the shrine. It has a figure of Buddha
carved out of the solid rock, but the rest of it
has been decorated quite recently, and like the
entrance porch seems out of harmony with the
rest of the place.
The temple is unique in many respects and
worthy of a thorough exploration. It was dis-
covered about thirty years ago entirely hidden
by jungle, and, of course, in a worse state than
at present.
64 ANURADHAPURA.
There are doubtless many more remains of this
period lying buried in the jungles of Anuradha-
pura awaiting discovery, but the next we shall
tarry to investigate is the Brazen Palace, a
building of somewhat later date the end of the
second century B.C.

In the interval between Tissa's death and the

building of the Brazen Palace by Dutthagamini,
a large number of monasteries were erected and
the community of monks greatly increased. But
even so early as this after the foundation of the
sacred city trouble came in the form of invasion
from Southern India. For some years the Tamils
held the upper hand, Elara, one of their princes,
usurped the Singhalese throne, and the Buddhist
cause was in danger of complete annihilation,
when the Singhalese king Dutthagamini, stirred

by religious enthusiasm, made a desperate stand

and recovered his throne. The story of the
final combat worthy of our notice as showing
is

the character of the man who erected the most

wonderful of the Anuradhapura monuments.
It was in B.C. 164 that Dutthagamini, having

grown weary of the protracted struggles of his

army which for some years he had led with
varying fortune against Elara, challenged that
prince to single combat. Having given orders
that no other person should assail Elara, he
mounted his favourite war elephant, Kandula,
and advanced to meet his adversary. Elara
 ANURADHAPURA. 65

hurled the first spear, which Dutthagamini suc-

cessfully evaded and at once made his own
elephant charge with his tusks the elephant of
his opponent. After a desperate struggle Elara
and his elephant fell
together.
Then followed an act of chivalry on the part
of Dutthagamini so remarkable that it has been

regarded with admiration for twenty centuries.

He caused Elara to be cremated on the spot
where he fell, and there built a tomb. He
further ordained that the tomb should receive
honours, and that no one should pass it without
some mark of reverence and even to this day
;

these injunctions are to some extent regarded,

and the tomb is still marked by a huge mound,
With the death of Elara the power of the
invaders was broken, and the heroic Duttha-
gamini by his patriotism and bravery restored
to the country those conditions of peace and

prosperity under which Tissa had been enabled

to inaugurate the foundations already
religious
referred to. To the further development of these
he now applied himself.
The community of monks had enormously
increased with the popularity of the new religion,
and Dutthagamini made their welfare his chiefest
care, erecting the Loha Pasada, known as the
Brazen Palace, for their accommodation. This
remarkable building rested on sixteen hundred
monolithic columns of granite, which are all
66 ANURADHAPURA.
that now remain ;
their original decoration has

disappeared, and we see only that part of them

which has defied both time and a whole series
of heretic invaders. The basement or setting of
this crowd of hoary relics is buried deep in earth
that has been for centuries accumulating over
the marble floors of the once resplendent halls,
and all that is left to us are these pillars partially
entombed, but standing about twelve feet
still

out of the ground (see Plate facing this page).

The history of this wonderful edifice is fully
dealt with in the native chronicles, whose accu-
racy as to the main features is attested in many
"
ways, and not least by the world of stone
columns" that remain.
The following description is taken from the
Mahawansa, and was probably written about the
fifthcentury A.D. from records preserved in the
monasteries :

"This palace was one hundred cubits square

and of the same height. In it there were nine
stories, and in each of them one hundred apart-
ments. All these apartments were highly finished
with silver
;
and the cornices thereof were
embellished with gems. The flower-ornaments
thereof were also set with gems, and the tinkling
festoons were of gold. In this palace there were
a thousand dormitories having windows with
ornaments which were bright as eyes.
"The monarch caused a gilt hall to be con-
J
 ANURADHAPURA. 67

strutted in the middle of the palace. This hall

was on golden pillars, representing
supported
lions and other animals as well as the devatas,
and was ornamented with festoons of pearls all
around. Exactly in the middle of this hall,
which was adorned with the seven treasures,
there was a beautiful and enchanting ivory throne.
On one side of this throne there was the emblem
of the sun in gold on another the moon in
;

silver ;
and on the third the stars in pearls.
From the golden corners in various places in
the hall, bunches of flowers made of various
gems were suspended ;
and between golden creep-
ers there were representations of the Jatakas.
On this most enchanting throne, covered with
a cloth of inestimable value, an ivory fan of

exquisite beauty was placed. On the footstool

of the throne a pair of slippers ornamented with

beads, and above the throne glittered the white

canopy of dominion mounted with a silver handle.
" The king caused the palace to be provided
suitably with couches and chairs of great value ;

and in like manner with carpets of woollen fabric ;

even the laver and its ladle for washing the

hands and of the priests kept at the door
feet
of the temple were made of gold. shall Who
describe the other articles used in that palace ?
The building was covered with brazen tiles ;

hence it
acquired the name of the *
Brazen
"
Palace.'
68 ANURADHAPURA .

The
palace did not long remain as originally
constructed by Dutthagamini. In the reign of
Sadhatissa, about B.C. 140, the number of stories
was reduced to seven and again, about two
;

centuries later, to five. Its history has been

marked by many vicissitudes, generally involving

the destruction of some of
upper stories. its

These attacks on the wonderful edifice were not

always due to the iconoclastic zeal of Brahman
invaders, but to a serious division in the ranks
of the Buddhists themselves. About the year
B.C. go a question arose as to the authority of
certain doctrines which one party wished to be
included in the canon. The proposal was regarded
as an innovation and
strenuously opposed by
the orthodox fraternity, with the result that those
who adhered to the innovation formed them-
selves into a rival body known as the Abhaya-
giriya. Hence
the great Brazen Palace, which
had originally been the residence of the highest
ascetics, was dependent for its preservation on
the varying fortunes of its orthodox inhabitants.
This division, which marred the unity of Bud-
dhism in Ceylon for fourteen centuries, was
perhaps at the height of its bitterness when
Maha Sen came to the throne at the beginning
of the third
century. He adopted the heresy
above referred to and pulled down the Brazen
Palace in order to enrich the rival monastery
with its treasures. This apostate king, however,
 ANURADHAPURA. 69

afterwards recanted, and in his penitence he

restored the palace once more to its ancient

splendour, and rebuilt all the other monasteries

that he had destroyed.
From the nature of its construction as well
as the intrinsic value of its decorative materials,
the Brazen Palace has always been more exposed
to spoliation than the shrines and other buildings
whose colossal proportions astonish us as we
wander through the sacred city.
A more enduring and not less remarkable piece
of work of Dutthagamini has come down to us.
The new religion had filled its votaries with
almost superhuman energy, and only the very
hills themselves could
compare with the buildings
which were the outward expression of their devo-
tion. Foundations were laid to the depth of
one hundred feet and composed of layers of
crystallised stone and plates of iron and copper
alternately placed and cemented and upon such
;

basements were piled millions of tons of masonry.

We see the remains of one of these stupen-
dous edifices in the Ruanweli or gold-dust dagaba.
Its present appearance from a distance, from
which our picture is taken, is that of a conical
shaped hill of nearly two hundred feet high,
covered with trees and surmounted by a tiny
spire. It is, however, a mass of solid brickwork

(see Plates facing pages 68 and 70).

Time and the frequent attacks of enemies have
70 ANURADHAPURA.
to a great extent obliterated the original design,
but there is sufficient of the structure still re-
maining to verify the accounts of the ancient
writers who have transmitted to us full details
of the building as it was erected in the second

century B.C. We
should not readily believe
these accounts without the evidence of the ruins.
It is as well, therefore, to see what remains
before we glance at the first written story of
the dagaba.
Theruins of the eastern portico in the fore-

ground of the picture at once suggest an entrance

of stately proportions. The pillars are arranged
in six parallel rows so that wooden beams might
be laid upon them longitudinally and transversely
for the support of the ornamental open roof
which was undoubtedly there. The
boldly sculp-
tured lions of the left front give a clue to the

style of ornament adopted.

Upon traversing the passage, which we notice
is sufficiently large to admit elephants, we arrive
at an extensive court or platform nearly one
hundred feet wide and extending round the
whole dagaba. This is the path used for pro-
cessions in which a large number of elephants

frequently took part. From this rises another

immense square platform measuring about five
hundred feet each way and made to appear as
if supported by about four hundred elephants.
These elephants form the retaining wall they ;
 Of THE
UNIVERSH
 ANURADHAPURA. 71

were modelled in brickwork and placed less

than two feet only their heads and fore

apart ;

legs appear; -their height is about nine feet.

Although all that have been excavated are in
a terribly dilapidated condition (see Plate facing
page 70), there are still evidences here and there
of the original treatment and finish. learn We
from the native records that they were all coated
with a hard and durable white enamel called
chunam, and that each had ivory tusks. In

protected places portions of the original surface

still remain, and the holes in the jaws where

the tusks were inserted are still visible.

There are also traces of ornamental trappings
which were executed in bold relief; they differ
considerably on each elephant, suggesting very
great ingenuity on the part of the modellers.
These two platforms form the foundation con-
structed to sustainthe ponderous mass of the
solid brick shrine which was built upon it to the

height of two hundred and seventy feet, with

an equal diameter at the base of the dome.
The upper platform from which the dagaba
rises covers an area of about five acres, and is

paved with stone slabs these share the general

;

ruin, due more to ruthless destruction than the

ravages of time. We notice that repairs have

been effected by fragments of stone taken from
other fine buildings ;
for there are doorsteps, altar

slabs, carved stones, of all shapes and sizes,

72 ANURADHAPURA.
some incised with very quaint devices of evident

antiquity, and even huge monoliths from the

thresholds of other buildings have been dragged
hither to supply the destroyed portions of the

original paving.
The
objects of interest surrounding the dagaba
are very numerous. There are four ornamental
altars, and various belonging to them
parts
scattered everywhere carved panels, pedestals,
:

scrolls, capitals, friezes, stone tables, elephants*

heads, great statues of Buddhas and kings all

these have been excavated within the last twenty-
five years.

Our illustration facing page 70 shows how

formidable is the business of excavation. The
platforms had been buried to the depth shown
by the heaps of earth that still surround them
and hide the greater portion of the elephant wall.
The same features are observable in the illus-
tration which faces this page. Here upon the
platform we notice in its original position a
miniature dagaba, of which there were probably
many placed around the great shrine as votive
offerings. This specimen with the platform below
it is composed of a
weighty monolith, and does
not appear to have been disturbed.
In a statue with a pillar
the far distance is

of stone at the back of it. This is said to be a

statue in dolomite of King Batiyatissa I., who
came to the throne B.C. 19. It is eight feet
 THE
UNIVERSITY
OF
 ANURADHAPURA. 73

high, much weather

worn, and full of fractures.
Near it are four other statues placed with their
backs to the dagaba (see Plate facing page 74),
three of them representing Buddhas, and the
fourth King Dutthagamini. They originally stood
in the recesses of a building on the platform,
and were dug out during the excavations. They
are sculptured in dolomite
all the folds of the ;

priestly robes with their sharp and shallow flut-

ings are very beautifully executed. They were
probably once embellished with jewels, the pupils
of the eyes consisting of precious stones, and
the whole figures being coloured in exact imitation
of life.

The figure on the extreme left is said to be

that of the king, who is wonderfully preserved
considering his great antiquity. The statue is
ten feet high, and must have looked very im-
posing in its original state, the jewelled collars

being gilt, and and gems coloured

their pearls
and polished ;
even now the features wear a
pleasant expression.
The hall where these figures were unearthed
was probably built specially for their reception.
It is close to their present position, and its
threshold is marked by a plain moonstone.

Within a few yards of the statues stands a

very fine slab engraved in old Singhalese charac-
ters (see Plate facing page 76). This seems
to have formed part of the wall at the side of
74 ANURADHAPURA.
the porch of the hall, and it is still erect between
two of the original pillars, being very firmly
fixed in a bed of brickwork. The engraved face
would thus have been inside the portico. Its

date is the latter part of the twelfth century,

and it
gives some account of various good deeds
of the KingNissanka, who was famous
Kirti
for his attention to the repair and maintenance
of religious reciting that he
edifices. After
"decorated the city like a city of the gods," it
ends with an appeal to future princes to protect
and preserve the viharas, the people, and the
religion.
To
give a complete description of the Ruanweli
dagaba and of the numerous ruined halls, altars
and monuments that form part of or are con-
nected with it would fill a volume at least as
large as the present. We must, however, remark
briefly on a few more points of special interest.
The three terraces or pasadas round the base
of the bell are about seven feet wide, and were
used as ambulatories by the worshippers. The
uppermost terrace is ornamented with fore-quarters
of kneeling elephants to the number of about
one hundred and fifty. These are placed on
the outer edge at regular intervals all round the
dagaba. From the terraces the great hemi-
spherical mass of brickwork was carried to the

height of two hundred and seventy feet, including

the tee or small spire. Its present appearance.
)
 ANURADHAPURA. 75

as may be seen in our Plate facing page 68, is a

shapeless mound covered with trees sprung from
stray seeds but ;
beneath those trees are the
which were carefully and reli-
millions of bricks
two thousand years ago.
giously laid
The lower part of the bell has been restored
to some extent by pious pilgrims who have from
time to time expended considerable sums of
money upon it ;
but the race that could make
these immense shrines what they once were has
vanished, and with it the conditions which render-
ed such works possible.
The principal ornaments of the dagaba were
the chapels or altars at the four cardinal points.
All these are in a very ruinous condition, portions
of the friezes carved in quaint designs being
strewn about, as also are railings, mouldings,
brackets, vases, and sculptures of various kinds.
One of these structures, however, has been
restored as far as possible from the fragments
found lying about at the time of its excavation.
There are traces here and there of enamel and
colour, especially upon the figure subjects, and
it is
supposed from this that the whole surface
of the altars was covered with that wonderfully
durable white enamel called chunam, and that
they were made attractive to the native eye by
gaudy colouring of the figures and cornices.
In addition to the interesting architectural
features of the shrine there are numerous in-
76 ANURADHAPURA.

scriptions in old Singhalese characters, relating to

grants of land and other matters connected with
the dagaba. The ancient writings refer to a
number of monastic edifices that surround it.
Of these there are traces ; but, since we find
even lofty platforms buried in earth and over-
grown with grass and trees, the exploration of
smaller buildings is easily understood to be a
difficult matter. How extensive they must have
been we can imagine from the fact that many
thousands of monks were attached to the monas-
teries ofeach of the large dagabas and for their ;

personal accommodation, not to speak of the

requirements of their religious ceremonies, a
vast range of buildings must have been necessary.
Having now glanced at the present condition
of the ruined shrine of Ruanweli, we will now
turn to the Mahawansa for some particulars of
its origin. The chronicler, naturally enough,
attributes to a deity the supply of the necessary
materials but the account of the construction
;

is reasonable, and is in many particulars borne

out by what we see at the present day. To
support a solid mass of masonry two hundred
and seventy feet high and nearly a thousand in
circumference needed foundations of an extra-

ordinary character, and the attention devoted to

this unseen part of the work was justified by
results. Its success is evidenced by the fact

that not even now has any part of the foundation

raffl(BlEIIIPWIIW IP 1CA1ULA.
 '

F THE w
UNIVERSITY
OF

)
 ANURADHAPURA. 77

shown the slightest sign of subsidence.

After the necessary excavation had been made,
" The monarch Dutthagamini," says the chro-
" who could
nicle, discriminate the advantages
and disadvantages of things, causing round stones
to be brought by means of his soldiers, had
them well beaten down with pounders, and to
ensure greater durability to the foundation he
caused that layer of stones to be trampled by
enormous elephants, whose feet were protected
by leathern shoes. He had clay spread upon
the layer of stones, and upon this he laid bricks ;

over them a coat of cement over that a layer

;

of stones over them a network of iron

; over ;

that a layer of phalika stone, and over that he

laid a course of common stones. Above the
layer of common stones he laid a plate of brass,
eight inches thick, embedded in a cement made
of the gum of the kappitha tree, diluted in the
water of the small red cocoanut. Over that the
lord of the chariots laid a plate of silver seven
inches thick, cemented in vermilion paint mixed
in tila oil.

"The monarch, in his zealous devotion to the

cause of religion, having made these preparatory
arrangements at the spot where the Mahathupa
was to be built, thus addressed the priesthood :

*
Revered lords !
initiating the construction of
the great cetiya, I shall to-morrow lay the festival-
brick of the edifice let all our priesthood assem-
:
78 ANURADHAPURA,
ble there. Let my pious subjects, provided
all

with offerings, bringing fragrant flowers and other

oblations, repair to-morrow to the sight of the
Mahathupa."
"The ruler of the land, ever mindful of the
welfare of the people, for their accommodation

provided at the four gates of the city numerous

bath-attendants, barbers, and dressers, as well
as clothing, garlands, and savoury provisions.
The inhabitants of the capital as well as of the

provinces repaired to the thupa.

"The lord of the land, guarded by his officers

of state decked in all the insignia of their gala

dress, himself captivating all by the splendour
of his royal equipment, surrounded by a throng
of dancing and singing women rivalling in beauty
the celestial virgins decorated in their various
embellishments, attended by forty thousand men,
accompanied by a full band of musicians, repaired
to the site, as if he had himself been the king
of the Devas."

Next, the chronicler with evident exagger-

ation describes the throngs of priests who attended
the ceremony from various Indian monasteries.
After running up their number to nearly a million,

he seems to come to the limit of his notation,

and omits his estimate of the full number of
Ceylon monks. The account then continues :

"These priests, leaving a space in the centre

for the king, encircling the site of the cetiya,
 ANURADHAPURA. 79

in due order stood around. The king, having

entered the space and seeing the priesthood who
had thus arranged themselves, bowed down to
them with profound obeisance and overjoyed
;

at the spectacle, making offerings of fragrant

garlands and walking twice round, he stationed

himself in the centre on the spot where the rilled
chalice was placed with all honours. This mon-
arch supremely compassionate, and regardful
equally of the welfare of all beings, delighting
in the task assigned to him, caused a minister
of noble descent, well attired, to hold the end
of a fine rod of silver that was fitted into a golden
pivot, and began to make him walk round there-
with on the prepared ground, with the intent to
describe a great circle to mark the base of the

cetiya. Thereupon a thera of great spiritual

discernment, by name Siddhattha, who had an
insight into the future, dissuaded the king, saying
to himself, the king is about to build a great
'

thupa indeed so great that while yet it is in-

;

complete he would die moreover, if the thupa

:

be a very great one it would be exceedingly

difficult to keep in repair.' For these reasons,
looking into futurity, he prohibited it being con-
structed of that magnitude. The king, although
anxious to build it of that size, by the advice
of the priesthood and
at the suggestion of the

theras, adopting the proposal of the thera Sid-

dhattha, described a circle of more moderate
80 ANURADHAPURA.
dimensions. The indefatigable monarch placed
in the centre eight golden and eight silver vases,
and surrounded them with one thousand and
eight fresh vases and with cloth in quantities
of one hundred and eight pieces. He then caused
eight excellent bricks to be
placed separately,
one in each of the eight quarters, and causing
a minister, who was selected and fully arrayed
for the purpose, to take up one that was marked

with divers signs of prosperity, he laid the first

auspicious stone in the fine cement on the eastern
quarter ;
and lo ! when jessamine flowers were
"
offered thereunto, the earth quaked.
When the pediment was complete the very

important part of constructing the relic chamber

was proceeded with. This was placed in the
centre and afterwards covered by the mighty
mass of brickwork that forms the dagaba.
The Mahawansa gives the following minute
description of the formation of the receptacle
and the articles placed in it prior to the instal-
lation of the relics :

Six beautiful cloud-coloured stones were pro-

cured, in length and breadth eighty cubits and
eight inches thick. One of these slabs was placed
upon the flower-offering ledge from which the
dome was to rise, and four were placed on the
four sides in the shape of a box, the remaining
one being placed aside to be afterwards used as
" For the centre of this relic
the cover. recep-
 ANURADHAPURA. 81

tacle the king caused to be made an exquisitely

beautiful bo-tree in precious metals. The height
of the stem was eighteen cubits the root was
;

coral,and was fixed in emerald ground. The

stem was of pure silver its leaves glittered with
;

gems. The faded leaves were of gold ;

its fruit

and tender leaves were of coral. On its stem

there were representations of the eight auspicious

objects, plants and beautiful rows of quadrupeds

and geese. Above around the edges of a
this,

gorgeous cloth canopy, there was a fringe with

a gold border tinkling with pearls, and in various
parts garlands of flowers were suspended. At
the four corners of the canopy hung bunches

composed of pearls, each of them valued at nine

lacs. Emblems of the sun, moon, and stars,
and the various species of lotuses, represented
in gems, were appended to the canopy ....
At the foot of the bo-tree were arranged rows
of vases filled with the various flowers repre-
sented in jewellery and with the four kinds of
perfumed waters.
" On
a golden throne, erected on the eastern
side of the bo-tree, the king placed a resplendent

golden image of Buddha, in the attitude in which

he received buddhahood at the foot of the bo-tree
at Uruvela in the
kingdom of Magadha. The
features and limbs of that image were repre-
sented in their several appropriate colours in

exquisitely resplendent gems. Near the image

82 ANURADHAPURA.
of Buddhastood the figure of Mahabrahma bear-

ing the silver canopy of dominion Sakka, the ;

inaugurator, with his conch Pancasikha, harp

;

in hand ; Kalanga, together with his singers and

dancers ;
the hundred-armed Mara mounted on
his elephant and surrounded by his host of
"
attendants. The above was the arrangement
of the eastern side. On the other three sides
altars were formed in an equally elaborate and
costly manner. Groups of figures represented
numerous events in the life of Buddha and his
various deeds. There was Brahma in the act
of supplicating Buddha to expound his doctrines ;

the advance of King Bimbisara to meet Buddha ;

the lamentation of Devas and men on the demise

of Buddha, and a large number of other notable
occurrences. Flashes of lightning were repre-
sented on the cloud-coloured stone walls illu-
minating and setting off the apartment.
What the relics were that this elaborate recep-
tacle was made to receive not quite clear, but
is

some were obtained, and for the ceremony of

translation a canopy of cloth ornamented with
tassels of gems and borders of pearls was arranged
above the chamber. On the day of the full moon
" He
the monarch enshrined the relics. was,"
the " attended bands of
says Mahawansa, by
singers and dancers of every description by his ;

guard of warriors fully caparisoned by his great ;

military array, consisting of elephants, horses,

 ANURADHAPURA. 83

and chariots, resplendent by the perfection of

their equipment ; mounting his state carriage, to
which four perfectly white steeds of the Sindhava
breed were harnessed, he stood under the white
canopy of dominion bearing a golden casket for
the reception of the relics. Sending forward the
superb state elephant, Kandula, fully caparisoned
to lead the procession, men and women carrying
one thousand and eight exquisitely replenished
vases encircled the carriage. Females bearing
the same number of baskets of flowers and of
torches, and youths in their full dress bearing a
thousand and eight superb banners of various
colours surrounded the car." Amidst such a scene
the monarch Dutthagamini descended into the

receptacle carrying the casket of relics on his head

and deposited it on the golden altar. He then
ordered that the people who desired to do so
might place other relics on the top of the shrine
of the principal relics before the masonry dome
was erected, and thousands availed themselves
of the permission.
Now the work of building again proceeded, and
the massive dagaba was carried near to completion
when King Dutthagamini fell sick. The native
chronicle tells a pathetic story of the last scene,

describing how the dying monarch was carried

to a spot where, in moments, he could
his last

gaze on his greatest works the Lohapasada and

the Ruanweli Dagaba. Lying on a marble couch
84 ANURADHAPURA.
which pointed out to the visitor at the present
is

day, he was comforted by hearing read out an

enumeration of his own many pious acts. His
favourite priest, who had been a great warrior
and had been at his side in twenty-eight battles,
was now seated in front of him. The scene is
thus referred to in the Mahawansa " The
:
king
thus addressed his favourite priest :
(
In times

past, supported by thee, one of my warriors,

I engaged in battle now, single-handed, I have
;

commenced my coflict with death. I shall not

be allowed to overcome this antagonist.' To this

the thera replied :
*
Ruler of men, compose thy-
self. Without subduing sin, the dominion of the
foe, the power of the foe, death is invincible. For
by our divine teacher it has been announced
that all that is launched into this transitory world
will most assuredly perish ;
the whole creation
therefore is perishable. The principle of dissolu-
tion uninfluenced by the impulses of shame or
fear exerts its power, even over Buddha. Hence,
impress thyself with the conviction that created
things are subject to dissolution, afflicted with
griefs, and destitute of immortality. In thy ex-
istence immediately preceding the present one,

thy ambition to do good was truly great for ;

when the world of the gods was then even nigh

unto thee, and thou couldst have been born
therein, thou didst renounce that heavenly beati-
tude, and repairing thither thou didst perform
 ANURADHAPURA. 85

manifold acts of piety in various ways. Thy

object in reducing this realm under one sovereignity
was that thou mightest restore the glory of the
faith. My Lord, call to thy recollection the many
acts of piety performed from that period to the

present day, and consolation will be inevitably

afforded to thee.' The monarch having
. . .

derived consolation replied to the thera For :

'

four-and-twenty years have I been the patron

of the priesthood may even my corpse be sub-
;

servient to the protection of the ministers of the

faith Do ye therefore consume the corpse of
!

him who has been as submissive as a slave to

the priesthood in some conspicuous spot in the

yard of the Uposatha Hall within sight of the

Mahathupa.' Having expressed these wishes, he
addressed his younger brother :
'

My beloved
Tissa, do thou complete, in the most efficient
and perfect manner all that remains to be done
at the Mahathupa ; present flower offerings morn-
ing and evening; keep up three times a day
the sacred service, with full band of musicians.
Whatever may have been the offerings pres-
cribed by me to be made to the religion of the
deity of happy advent, do thou, my child, keep
up without any diminution. My beloved, in no
respects in the offices rendered to the priesthood
let there be any intermission.' Having thus
admonished him, the ruler of the land dropped
into silence."
86 ANURADHAPURA.
Saddha Tissa carefully carried out the dying
wishes of his brother and completed the pinnacle.
He also decorated the enclosing wall with ele-
phants, and enamelled the dome with chunam.
Each of several succeeding kings added some-

thing to the decoration, and erected more buildings

in the precincts of the great shrine. It is recorded

of King Batiya Tissa, who reigned between 19

B.C. and 9 A.D., and whose statue near the dagaba
we have already noticed, that on one occasion
he festooned the dagaba with jessamine from
pedestal to pinnacle and on another he literally
;

buried a heap of flowers, which he kept

it in
watered by means of machinery constructed for
the purpose. Another king is said to have placed
a diamond hoop upon the spire.
Whatever percentage we may be inclined to
deduct from these accounts, there is no doubt
that great wealth was lavished on the structure
for many years after its erection. In later times,
when the enemies of Buddhism obtained pos-
session of the city, the great dagaba suffered

severely on many
;
occasions
partially it was
-

destroyed, and again restored when the power

of the Singhalese was temporarily in the ascen-
dant. The last attempt to destroy it is said to
have taken place in the thirteenth century.
After our somewhat protracted examination of
the Ruanweli, we stroll away from its precincts
into one of the open stretches of park-like land
 ANURADHAPURA. 87

that have been reclaimed from forest and jungle.

The gardens that were once an especially beautiful
feature of the ancient city were but a few years

ago overgrown with and dense thicket had

trees,
veiled every vestige of brick and stone. Recent
clearings have, however, disclosed numberless
remains which form a unique feature in the
landscape. Clusters of pillars with exquisitely
carved capitals, as perfect as if they had recently
leftthe hands of the sculptor, appear interspersed
with the groups of trees that have been spared
for picturesque effect. Here and there numbers
of carved monoliths are lying prostrate, bearing
evidence of wilful destruction. As we wander
through one of these charming glades we are
attracted especially by the group of pillars illus-
trated in our Plate facing page 86. In almost
every instance of such groups the ornamental
wings on the landing at the top of the steps
are exposed, although the steps and mouldings
of the bases are buried in earth. In the illus-
tration here given it will be noticed that these
wing-stones, covered with makara and scroll,
vie with the carved capitals in their excellent
preservation the fabulous monster forming the
;

upper portion and the lion on the side are still

perfect in every particular.

It is probable that these buildings consisted
of an entrance hall and a shrine, and that they
were purely devoted to religious purposes although
88 ANURADHAPURA.
they are popularly supposed to have been royal
pavilions.
Another very interesting feature of the cleared
spaces is the large number of stone-built baths
or tanks called " pokunas." There are so many,
and they vary so much in architectural treatment,
that they must have added greatly to the beauti-
fulaspect of the city. The specimen illustrated
in our Plate has been recently restored, and
gives a good idea of the original appearance,

although much of the ornamental portion is

missing. It will be noticed that on one side

there is a stone paved terrace, within which is
an inner bath. This inner bath was doubtless
sheltered by a roof supported upon stone pillars,
of which there are several fractured pieces and
socket holes remaining. The inner bath leads into
a chamber like the opposite one visible in the

picture. The walls of these chambers are beauti-

fully-worked single stones, and the tops are

covered by enormous slabs of a similar kind,
measuring twelve by seven feet.
Wherever clearings are made pokunas are sure
to be unearthed. The most interesting example
yet discovered iskuttam-pokuna or twin
the
bath (see Plate facing page 90). This consists
of a couple of tanks placed end to end, measuring
in all about two hundred and twenty by fifty

feet. The left side of the picture serves to show

the condition in which the baths were when
 ANURADHAPURA. 89

discovered, but on the right we see that some

considerable restoration has been effected. The
materials are
generally found
quite complete
although dislodged and out of place.
Our photograph was taken in January, before
the end of the rainy season, and in consequence
the tank appears too full of water to admit of
the structure being seen at any considerable
depth, and some verbal description is therefore

necessary.
The sides are built in projecting tiers of large
granite blocks so planned as to form terraces
round the tank at various depths, the maxi-
all

mum depth being about twenty feet. Handsome

flights of steps descend to the terraces, some of
them having carved scrolls on the wings. The
bold mouldings of the parapet give an exceedingly
fine effect to the sides. There are signs of rich
carvings in many parts of the structure, but
every portion is too much defaced to trace the

designs.
There is something very weird about these
remnants of ancient luxury hidden in the lonely
forest. In the dry season of the year, when
the ruined terraces of the kuttam-pokuna can
be seen to the depth of sixteen feet, this scene
is one of the most impressive in
Anuradhapura.
We
cannot help reflecting, too, that the famous
baths of the Roman emperors were constructed
contemporaneously with these, and that while
go ANURADHAPURA.
those of Caracalla and Diocletian, being built
of brick, havecrumbled now beyond repair, the
picturesque and elegant baths of Dutthagamini
with their beautiful terraces and stairways of
granite can with little trouble be restored to
their pristine condition.

impossible to arrive at the exact purpose

It is

of the various forms of baths found at Anuradha-

pura. Some were doubtless attached to the

monasteries and used exclusively for ceremonial
ablutions ;
some were private baths of the royal
family others were possibly for public use, and
;

many served as receptacles of the drinking water

of the inhabitants. All of them were fed from
artificial lakes outside the city.
We have already referred to the usurpation
of the throne of Ceylon by the Tamil invader,
Elara, and to the combat with Dutthagamini,
which resulted in the defeat and death of the
usurper. Strange as it may appear, the victor,
who had merely regained his birthright, was
constrained to make atonement for bloodshed as
well as the natural thank offering for his victory,
and to this we owe the building of the great
monastery of the Brazen Palace and the Ruan-
weli Dagaba. We
a curious repetition of
find

history in the occurrences that took place about

thirty years after his death, when the old enemy
again got the upper hand. The king Walagam-
bahu, was deposed, and the usurper, Pulahatta,
 ANURADHAPURA. 91

assumed the sovereignty. Fifteen more years of

alien ruleensued, during which no less than
.
four of the usurpers were murdered by their suc-

cessor, until Walagambahu vanquished the fifth,

Dathiya. He then proceeded to raise a monastery

and shrine that should eclipse in magnitude
those constructed by Dutthagamini under similar
circumstances.
The buildings of the monastery have vanished,
save only the boundary walls and the stumps
of its pillars which are found in large numbers ;

but the Abhayagiriya Dagaba (Plate facing page

92), of its kind the greatest monument in the
world, has defied all the forces of destruction,
both of man and nature, and although forsaken
for many centuries during which it received its
vesture of forest, there is still a very large pro-

portion of the original building left. The native

annals give as the measurement of the Abhaya-
giriya a height of four hundred and five feet,
or fifty feet higher than St. Paul's Cathedral,
with three hundred and sixty feet as the diameter
of the dome. The height is now greatly reduced,
but the base covers about eight acres, and

sufficiently attests the enormous size of its super-

structure. The lower part of the dome is buried
under the debris of bricks which must have
been hurled from above in attempts at
infidel
destruction. Beneath this mass the remains of
the numerous edifices, altars, and statues, which
92 ANURADHAPURA.
surrounded the dagaba are for the most part
concealed, but excavations at various periods
have disclosed some ruins of considerable interest,

notably the altars of the four cardinal points,

one of which is visible in our illustration facing this
page. These altars are very similar to those of
the Ruanweli Dagaba but much larger and more
elaborate in detail, being about fifty feet in
breadth. of the carvings are in remarkable
Many
preservation considering their vast age and the
perils they have experienced. Between the stelae
were the usual strings of carved ornaments, with
an additional one composed of running figures
representing horses, elephants, bulls, and lions.
The stelae, of which there are two at each
end, are elaborately carved, as will be seen from
the accompanying illustrations the fronts being
;

adorned with a decoration springing from

floral

a vase, and surmounted by three lions. The

return faces are formed of two panels. The upper
has a carved male figure (Naga), with a five-
headed cobra as a sort of halo, holding flowers
in the right hand and resting the left on his

hip. In the lower panel is a female (Nagani)

with single hood the upper part of whose body
;

is bare, with the exception of some jewellery,

while below the waist the limbs are draped in
a transparent robe ;
the ankles are encircled by

bangles ; right hand supports

and the palm of her
a vessel, containing a lotus-bud. Adjoining the
 OF THE
UNIVERSITY
OF
 OF THE
UNIVERSITY
OF
mi
 Of THE
UNIVERSITY I
OF
 ANURADHAPURA. 93

stelae is a sculptured seven-headed cobra, the

carving of which reproduces the scaly nature

of the skin with remarkable fidelity.
The west end of the altar is finished in a
similar manner, but here the lower part of the
outer stele is destroyed the upper panel of the
;

return face contains a more elaborately executed

male figure, sumptuously attired and bedecked
with jewels. There was doubtless the counter-
part female figure below, but it has been entirely
demolished.
The eastern altar, the first to be excavated,
is the most interesting and perfect of all that
have yet been discovered.
This dagaba, like the Ruanweli, stands on a
square paved platform with sides of about six
hundred feet in length, with the usual elephant
path below and guard houses at each of the
four entrances. Doubtless a very large number
of buildings were erected on the platform, but

scarcely a vestige of these remains. It will be

remembered that Maha Sen enriched the Abhaya-

giriya with spoils from the Brazen Palace, and
it is therefore likely that it was more
elaborately
embellished than any other dagaba.
Perhaps no ruin at Anuradhapura gives a more
complete idea of the utter transience of every
perishable part of a building than the so-called
Peacock Palace (Plate facing page 94). Not
only the superstructure, which was doubtless of
 94 ANURADHAPURA.
woodwork, but every vestige of material other
than granite has passed away. This building
was erected in the first century of the Christian
era, and is said to have owed its title, to the
brilliance of its external decoration. A circle of

finely wrought pillars with beautiful sculptured

capitals and the carved wings at the entrance
are, as we see, all that remain.
The
next group of ruins to which we come

belong to the third century, when Maha Sen,

on his recantation of his heresy, built another
enormous dagaba and a series of smaller reli-
gious edifices, of which there are some very
interesting remains. This monarch ascended the
throne A.D. 275, and died A.D. 302. His support
of the schismatics who had seceded from the
orthodox faith is attributable to a tutor under whose
influence he came by the secret machinations
of the party. The result of this was that upon
coming to the throne he persecuted those monas-
tic orders that turned a deaf ear to the new
doctrines. Hundreds of their buildings were
razed to the ground, including the famous Brazen
Palace, and the materials were used for the
erection of shrines and monasteries for the new
sect. When, however, after the lapse of some
years, the old faith still held its place in the
affections of the people and his throne was en-

dangered by general discontent, he returned to

the faith of his fathers, restored all the buildings
 Of THE
UNIVERSITY
Or
 ANURADHAPURA. 95

that he had destroyed, and reinstated the members

of every foundation that he had overthrown.
The inception of the Jetawanarama monastery
and dagaba is attributed to the middle period
of this monarch's reign in the following quotation
from the Mahawansa :

" The
king having had two brazen images or
statues cast placed them in the hall of the great

bo-tree ;
and in of
remonstrance, in his
spite
infatuated partiality for the thera Tissa of the

Abhayagiriya fraternity a hypocrite, a dissembler,

a companion of and a vulgar man
sinners,
constructed the Jetawanarama vihara for him,
within the consecrated bounds of the garden
called Joti, belonging to the Mahavihara."
The Jetawanarama thus begun before the re-

cantation of the raja was not completed till the

reign of his son Kitsiri Maiwan.
We shall merely take a glance at the remains
of this great shrine across the glistening waters
of the Basawak Kulam from a distance of about
two miles (see Plate facing page 96). The
Basawak Kulam is one of the lakes constructed
as tanks for the supply of water to the city.
Although we shall have occasion to refer to these
tanks later, we may here notice that this one
is said to be the oldest and dates from B.C. 437.
The lofty dome which sixteen centuries ago stood

gleaming from its ivory-polished surface above

the trees and spires which dotted the landscape
96 ANURADHAPURA.
now stands a desolate mountain of ruined brick-
work, over which the forest has crept in pity of
its forlorn appearance. Its original height is
open to question. It is said to have been three
hundred and fifteen feet, but at present it is no
more than two hundred and fifty. Like the other
dagaba already described it was restored at various
periods, and its original outline may have been
altered. The spire which still crowns the dome
was probably added when the dagaba was restored
by king Parakrama Bahu in the eleventh century.
Sir Emerson Tennent's pithy remarks upon this
monument cannot be overlooked by any writer
on Anuradhapura, and must be reproduced here:
" The solid mass of
masonry in this vast mound
is prodigious. Its diameter is three hundred and

sixty feet, and its present height (including the

pedestal and spire) two hundred and forty-nine
feet ;
so that the contents of the semi-circular
dome of brickwork and the platform of stone
seven hundred and twenty feet square and fifteen
feet high exceed twenty millions of cubic feet.
Even with the facilities which modern invention
supplies for economising labour, the building of
such a mass would at present occupy five hundred
bricklayers from six to seven years, and would
involve an expenditure of at least a million sterling.
The materials are sufficient to raise eight thousand
houses, each with twenty feet frontage, and these
would form thirty streets half a mile in length.
 ANURADHAPURA. 97

They would construct a town the size of Ipswich

or Coventry; they would
an ordinary rail-
line

way tunnel twenty miles long, or form a wall

one foot in thickness and ten feet in height,
reaching from London to Edinburgh. Such are
the dagabas of Anuradhapura structures whose
stupendous dimensions and the waste and mis-
application of labour lavished on them are hardly
outdone even in the instance of the Pyramids
of Egypt."
All the large dagabas correspond so closely
design that when you have seen one
in general

you may be said to have seen all. Differences

exist only in the numerous small structures with
which the platforms abound, and in the details
of the ornamentation. The Jetawanarama, for

instance, has a railing in brickwork, of the form

known as a " Buddhist railing" to which we
shall revert hereafter upon each face of the cube
above the dome. The drum sustaining the spire
was also the subject of considerable embellishment,
and has eight niches in which statues were pro-
bably placed. Another peculiarity has been noticed
in the shape of the bricks with which the dome
was faced. They were very large and wedge-
shaped. The measurement of one was found to
be Length, eighteen inches breadth, twelve
;

inches at one end and nine and a half at the

other ; thickness, three and a half inches at the
broad end and three inches at the other. Some
98 ANURADHAPURA.
of the panels that decorate the stelae of the altars
have unusual characteristics, particularly one in
which a male figure is represented as leading
an animal by a rope ;
and in the panel below
a dancing woman attired in transparent clothing.
On the paved platforms are lying many enormous
slabs and portions of small structures, which
show clearly the thoroughness of the destruction
carried out by the Tamils. The accumulation
of earth around the base of the dome is some

thirty feet deep, rendering excavation a somewhat

formidable task.
It would be monotonous in the extreme to
attempt a description of all the ancient dagabas
of Anuradhapura. They are very numerous, and
have few points of difference. now proceed We
to the interesting ruins said to be the remains
of Maha Sen's palace. As they are in close
proximity to the great Jetawanarama Dagaba they
are probably parts of religious edifices erected

by that monarch. There were in all five buildings

in one enclosure measuring two hundred feet

square. In the centre stood the principal pavilion,

the ruins of which are shown in Plate xxxii. At
the four corners of the enclosure were the sub-
sidiary edifices, now only traceable by a few stone
pillars that mark the site of each. Only so much
of the central pavilion as is seen in this Plate
has been excavated, but it suffices to show some
exquisite carving and to give some idea of the
'

or THE
"'!
 ANURADHAPURA. 99

importance of the building. The handsome sty-

lobate, although cleared some few years ago, is

again covered with jungle. It measures sixty-two

by forty-two feet, and had a beautifully moulded
base of finely-wrought granite. The superstruc-
ture has entirely disappeared. The flight of
steps the entrance needs very few words of
at

description, as it can be seen in our illustration

facing page 98. The landing is a fine monolith
thirteen feet long and eight wide. On either
side of the
landing isfigure. A
a grotesque

coping skirts the landing on each side, and ter-

minates in a rectangular block ornamented with
a panel containing a seated lion beautifully carved
in high relief. This is one of the best pieces of
sculpture we shall meet with. The
strength of
the beast is well brought out, while the
uplifted
paw and the look of defiance are most suggestive.
But as remarkable as the skill of the craftsman
is preservation exposed and uninjured during
its

so many centuries. The steps are ornamented

by squatting dwarfs who appear to be supporting
the tread ; these, too, are well carved ;
the hands
are pressed upon the knees the waist is girdled,
;

and a jewelled band falls over the shoulders ;

from the head waving curls are flowing their ;

ears, arms, elbows, wrists and ankles are adorned

with jewelled rings and bangles. The pilasters
on either side of each dwarf are carved in similar

minute detail and represent bundles of leaves.

i oo ANURADHAPURA.
At the foot of the steps lies the best preserved
moonstone yet discovered. The moonstone, it

may be observed, isalmost peculiar to Singha-

lese architecture and is a semi-circular slab
forming the doorstep to the principal entrance
of a building. Its ornamentation varies consider-

ably as may be seen on comparing Plate with

Plate. In our specimen from Maha Sen's pavilion

(Plate facing page 98), the innermost fillet contains

a floral scroll of lilies next comes a row of the
;

hansa, or sacred goose, each carrying in its beak

a lotus-bud with two small leaves then comes ;

a very handsome scroll of flowers and leaves ;

after thisa procession of elephants, horses,

is

lions and bulls and, lastly, a border of rich

;

foliage. All this carving sharp and well

is as
defined as if it were fresh from the sculptor's
chisel, and this in spite of an interval of one
thousand six hundred years.
Guard stones and wing stones doubtless formed
part of the decoration of these handsome steps,
but they have entirely disappeared. The dvarpal
stones which face one another on the landing
are not so well preserved as the steps, owing to
their being exposed while the lower portion of
the structure was buried.
Our illustration facing this page represents the
remains of one of the so-called pavilions,
probably erected in the third century. It has
been called the Queen's Pavilion, but was doubt-
 ANURADHAPURA. i oi

less a vihara, or shrine. The most noticeable

feature is its massive stylobate of dressed granite
ornamented by base mouldings of a very massive
character. The pediment is unlike any other
that has been discovered, being duplicated and
carried higher than usual.
The forest is everywhere teeming with ruins
awaiting discovery and excavation. Sometimes
the only sign of an important edifice is a single

pillar or group of pillars standing above the

ground, or perhaps a portion of some stairway

which has not yet become entirely hidden by
earth. A few years ago Mr. S. M. Burrows
discovered the most perfect door-guardians and

flight of steps yet unearthed by a very slight

indication of the kind referred to. These form
the subject of our Illustration facing page 102.
quote Mr. Burrows own words in reference
7
I
"
to them from his Archaeological Report: On
'
the opposite side of the road to the stone
canoe,' the extreme tip of what appeared to be
a 'dorapaluwa' (door-guardian stone), and some
fine pillars at a little distance from it, invited
excavation. The was highly satisfactory.
result
A vihara of the first-class, measuring about eighty
feet by sixty, was gradually unearthed, with

perhaps the finest flight of stone steps in the

ruins. The moonstone,' though very large,
'

presents the lotus only, without the usual con-

centric circles of animal figures ;
but one at least
102 ANURADHAPURA.
of the door-guardian stones, standing over five
feet high, is unrivalled in excellence of preser-
vation and delicacy of finish. Every detail, both
of the central and its two attendants,
figure
stands out as clear and perfect as when it was
first carved for the stone had fallen head down-
;

wards, and was buried under seven or eight feet of

earth. Onthe top of the landing-stone of the

stairway are two stone seats hollowed out for

the back; and exactly opposite to the stairway
on the further side of the vihara is a 'yogi,' or
meditation stone, still in position. There is a
smaller chapel at each corner of the vihara,
approached in like manner by a stone stairway
and moonstone. The boundary wall of the vihara

presents the usual ogee moulding, carried out

in stone near the stairway, and continued in

brick."
So called "yogi" stones are very plentiful
amongst the ruins of Anuradhapura. They vary
very much both in size and the number of square-
cut For a long time they
holes they contain.
were supposed to have been in use by the ancient
monks for the purpose of assisting them in their
meditation. The method was to sit gazing intent-

ly at the holes thinking of nothing until in the

entire absence of all distractions the mind could
become free from desire and fit to be turned
upon
self analysis. In this way the monks were suppos-
ed to be able to realize their own permanent
n

a
 ANURADHAPURA .
103

and true nature. A later and more reasonable

theory that these curious stones were receptacles
is

for articles of value deposited as offerings in the

shrines, that they were built into the altars, and

that the Tamils, aware of their existence, demo-
lished the shrines in search of their precious

contents, a proceeding which would more satis-

factorily account for their being scattered about.

Among restorations which have recently been
carried out is that of a beautiful stone canopy,

every piece of which has been found almost perfect.

It is very massive, and the moulding is particularly

fine. The centre piece alone is said to weigh

about five tons. This was another of the dis-

coveries of Mr. Burrows, who gives the following
" find " in his
interesting account of his report
to the Government " While:
superintending
some repairs to the so-called
'
stone canoe I was
'

led to explore the forest in the immediate vicinity,

and was fortunate enough to discover a magni-
ficentoblong stone with sunk panelled mouldings,
which evidently formed the centre-piece of a
canopy. It was almost completely buried, face
downwards, and consequently was in excellent
preservation. The jungle was immediately cleared
all round it, and after a diligent search the two

flanking stones, which completed the roof, were

discovered, together with the stones forming the
frieze which ran along the outer edge of the

roof. These stones are delicately carved and

io 4 ANURADHAPURA.
moulded, and bear altogether six elaborate repre-
sentations of the familiar
'
Buddhist window,'
surmounted by a '

makara-torana,' or figure of
a mythical beast, the guardian of the entrance.
That all these stones formed the roof of a canopy
was further proved by the fact that the centre
and two flanking stones bore, when first un-
earthed, plain marks of the squares on to which
the sustaining pillars had fitted. Further ex-
cavations revealed a platform which exactly
corresponded to the measurement of the three

roof-stones, an unbroken pillar (together with

several fragments of other similar ones) which

accurately fitted the square marks still visible

on the roof stones, and a staircase of six mono-
lithic steps, each stone bearing traces of an ancient
inscription, at right angles to the platform. On
communicating these discoveries to His Excellency,
the restoration of the canopy- was at once ordered.
This was a work of several weeks, for we had
no appliances at hand for raising heavy stones,
except a piece of old chain (and the three
roof-stones together weighed over twenty tons)
and no skilled labour, except a soi-disant mason,
who had turned his talents to house-breaking,
and became a convict in consequence. From
the multitude of pillars in the jungle we selected
seven, of precisely the same measurement as
the one unbroken pillar discovered, and set up
all eight in position. Filling up the whole of
 ANURADHAPURA. 105

the interior with earth to the tops of the pillars,

and erecting a sloping platform of earth from
the spot where the roof-stones lay to the pillar-

tops, we gradually worked the roof-stones upwards,

and into position, with and wooden
crowbars
rollers. The earth between the pillars was then
cleared away, and the canopy was complete. It

is more than
likely that this was the very method
by which the building was originally erected
nearly two thousand years ago."
The excavations being carried out by the Arch-
aeological Commissioner frequently bring to light

something of intense interest. One of the best

of recent discoveries is the site shown by the
Plate facing page 106. For a description of this we
cannot do better than consult Mr. H. C, P. Bell's
most interesting report, from which the following
" Here were found an
is quoted :
octagonal shaft
and puhul capital (a type not hitherto noticed
at Anuradhapura) and some narrow moulded slabs

deeply morticed. These gave hope of further

discovery. When the raised site, six or eight
feet above ground and some one hundred
level,
and forty feet in length by one hundred and ten
feet broad, had been cleared of scrub, search was
'
rewarded by a valuable archaeological '
find a
post with three rails attached, in pieces a genuine
fragment of a structural Buddhist railing.' For-
*

tunately the peculiar shape of the semi-convex

rails had saved them from the fate of the shapely
106 ANURADHAPURA.
pillars which but stumps remain in position.
of
The tenons at both ends of the standard explained
at once the purpose of the morticed slabs. Here
were the rail, post, and plinth
only the coping
;

seemed wanting. After continued search a por-

was found, showing a few inches above
tion of this

ground, and close to it two slabs of a rounded

basement, ten inches in depth, as originally built
at right angles to each other. This fixed the
south-east corner and determined the plan of the

railing which followed the lines of the oblong site.

Trial excavation brought up more pieces of rails
and coping, and two additional members a step-
ped sub-plinth and a low socle below the quarter-
round base. There therefore every reason to
is

hope that by running a trench along the foot

of the mound more of this fine railing will be
unearthed, and that it may yet be possible to
restore it in part to nearly its pristine form.
" The railing square eight inch
consisted of
standards, the angle posts probably ten inches

by eight inches, three feet ten inches in height,

kept upright by tenons (three inches by two inches)
at top and bottom, which fitted mortices in the

upper plinth and coping. Three lenticular rails,

thirteen and a half inches deep, project from the
posts nine inches to twelve inches. The centre
rail is separated one and a half inches from the

upper and lower rails, and these two inches from

coping and plinth respectively. A thin tie (one
 ANURADHAPURA. 107

and a half inch by half inch) strengthens the rails

near their lateral extremities. The widest inter-
spaces of the mortice holes on the plinth slabs are
but seventeen inches, which would bring the posts
within a foot of one another some would seem to
;

have been still The

coping, round-
closer together.
ed at top, is eight inches deep, the upper plinth
thirteen inches, and both are delicately moulded.

The lower plinth,

three-stepped 2
(two, two and a L^~

quarter, two and p4~

three quarter in- --

ches), seven inches in depth, the basement

is

eight inches, and the socle nine inches all cut

on their upper surface with a half inch set to pre-

vent the members above sagging outwards. The
entire railing rested on a stone foundation, and from

ground to coping was seven feet six inches in height.

* After these
drawings were mack a later discovery showed that a
second ovolo member should come in above the
stepped plinth, cf. plate
facing page 106.
loS ANURADHAPURA.
"
Comparing it with the best known Indian
examples, it follows that at Buddha Gaya in being
rectangular, therein differing from the Bharhut,
Sanchi and Amaravati rails. In unsculptured
bareness resembles the railing round the Great
it

Tope of Sanchi, but carries simplicity even further

by square, in lieu of
octagonal posts."
The James Fergusson, the eminent autho-
late
" Rude
rity on Indian architecture, states in his
Stone Monuments " that " the architectural mate-
rial of India was wood down to B.C. 250 or 300.
It then became timidly lithic, but retained all
its wooden forms and simulated carpentry fasten-

ings down, at all events, to the Christian era.

The rail at Sanchi, which was erected in the
course of the two centuries preceding our era,
is still essentially wooden in all its parts, so much
so that it is difficult to see how it could be
constructed in stone." This is interesting in
connection with the railing discovered at Anura-
dhapura, which is in pattern almost identical with
the one at Sanchi, but is of solid granite. More-
over, its age must be somewhere about the

beginning of the Christian era.

The following is taken from Mr. Bell's later
" Considerable
report on this site: progress has
been made in the excavation of the site near
Abhayagiri Dagaba where the Buddhist railing
was discovered. The whole of the ground between
the rail and the inner basement line of the build-
 OF THE
[ UNIVERSITY j
kLiFOR!
 ANURADHAPURA. 109

ing has been turned up to a depth of six feet

or more. Most of the rails, coping, &c., were
unearthed within this space.
u On the east since the
face, guard-stones
alluded to in the last report were found, some

grand columns of quartz, but greatly disintegrated,

and unfortunately broken into two or three pieces,
have been brought to light. Like the granite
pillars already described, these have octagonal
shafts, but a variant form of capital. The necking
of the column slides into the round by a triple

astragal moulding, upon which rests a flattened

cushion capital, circular, with a low abacus.
" Near these
pillars was dug out a single step
of the east stairway. This is ten feet in length,
the tread slightly fluted with a shallow lotus boss
at each end, and a third at the centre. The riser
of the step, also fluted, has in a central panel
a horse kneeling to the proper left. The step
is broken across the centre, but is otherwise little

damaged, and not much worn.

" Some broken
statuary was also exhumed.
A very dilapidated kneeling bull in two pieces ;

of the Buddha, sedent image complete, but

a
in two the lower portion of a second resting
;

on the coils of Muchalinda Naga Raja and the

;

mere trunk of a standing figure. The last has

small holes bored into it at the neck, wrists, and
ankles, showing that the head, hands and feet
were originally joined on by iron or copper joggles.
no ANURADHAPURA.
The hands of the seated Buddhas are as usual

placed in their lap, the back of the right hand

resting on the left palm. But the crossed feet
have been carved in an impossible position, a
falseperspective, intended to exhibit to distant
view the magul lakunu, or sacred marks on the
soles a conventionalism (abandoned in later days)
which necessarily detracts from the artistic finish
of the figure, giving it a somewhat distorted

appearance. All these are of quartz.

" bolts (iron and copper)
and
Specimens of nails
with a small copper bell and an iron chisel were
dug up at different points.
"
Starting near the centre, the brick walls of
what proved to be a small chamber, eight feet
square, were soon exposed at a depth of three feet
to four feet below the level of the stone pavement,
which was laid down in the corridors of the

pillared buildings if not throughout it. Some

two or three feet height of the chamber walls
remain above a well-laid brick flooring outside.
It was full of the fallen brickwork. When this
debris had been cleared, in the centre was dis-
covered a box-like receptacle, two feet square
by one foot in height, divided into half-a-dozen
irregular partitions by bricks set up endwise. The
chamber may have been originally a relic chamber,
and this smaller compartment the receptacle of
the actual relics and the gems, &c., stored with
them.
 OF THE
UNIVERSITY
OF
 ANURADHAPURA. in
" From chamber
the brick walls of the most
solid or narrow pavements, three
construction,
feet in
width, branch off in several directions,

probably to form separate rooms or mark passages.

The bricks are of the largest size yet found in

Anuradhapura, eighteen inches by nine inches by

three inches, of excellent quality, sharply edged
and kiln-baked to perfection. Those of the
chamber and inner receptacle are smaller, twelve
inches by nine inches by two inches. No mortar
was used the whole being in puddle a strong
evidence of its antiquity.
"When clearing round the chamber wall a
large quantity of coloured beads of all sizes were
picked out. These beads vary in size, from two
five-eighths of an inch in circumference to the
' '
finest dust variety, almost too diminutive to
thread. The predominant colour is pale green,
after which comes blue, orange, dull red, and
black in the order given. The larger beads,
and the greater part of the smaller kinds (with
an exception of an oblong seed-shaped pebble),
are of glass more or less corroded a few are of :

bone. Found with the beads and apparently

buried with them was a quantity of zircon and
dark red garnets with some calcite and quartz.
" As at the ,site of the ancient temple at Tiru-

ketisvaram, near Mannar, besides beads, fragments

of ancient glass, plain and coloured, were turned

up thick glass two and a half inches long, small

;
ii2 ANURADHAPURA.
bits of thin blue and white glass, one sixteenth
and one thirty-second of an inch thick. To these
should be added a large lump of beautiful trans-
lucent rock crystal, and two worked crystal

fragments one an hexagonal prism, two inches

long by one inch in diameter (perhaps the kota
or pinnacle of a crystal dagaba-shaped karanduwa)
the other, the moulded pediment to a small

image, both broken.

" But
perhaps the most unexpected find was
an oblong four-sided dice complete, and pieces
of another, both of calcined bone.
" Thereasonable expectation of discovering a
large assortment of ancient coins has not been
realised. Fortunately a few unearthed possess
a historical value, which will go far towards fixing
the age of the brick building. The coins com-

prisea few punch-marked hidings,' the oldest

form of coin currency met with in India some ;

copper coins of the Kurumbar or Pallawa kingdom

(at their zenith between
the fourth and seventh

centuries) ;
two ancient Singhalese coins those

oblong figured tablets or plaques hitherto found

mostly in the Northern Province. Most note-
'

worthy are two

*
third brass coins of the later
Roman Empire.
" The profusion of stone pavement, basement
slabs, pillars, ornamental bosses, &c., covering
and inextricably running down into the uncon-
nected brickwork below at all angles in bafHing
 Of THE
UNIVERSITY
OF
 ANURADHAPURA. L 1
3

confusion, is almost certain evidence of a stone

superstructure richly colonaded (to which the
magnificent railing was a fitting frame) raised

upon the ruins of a still earlier structure of brick.

The natural impression to be gathered from the

present stage of the excavation seems to point

to the site marking the ruins of two periods a
brick era, before the employment of mortar, fol-
lowed by an age of stone construction, here ex-
emplified at its best. It may prove impossible,

even when the site is embowelled to the lowest

strata of debris, ever to lay down with confidence
the plan of the building which once stood upon
it. Certainly until excavation from end to end
reaches to the very foundations it were useless
theorising as to its constructive features, its object
first and last, and the varied fortune to which
the early simple brickwork and subsequent stone
elaboration were subjected."
Since the above was written further progress
in the excavation of this site has been made, and
the restoration of the Buddhist railing has been
to some extent carried out. Unfortunately, when
I secured my photograph in January, 1896, the
railing itself was not in situ, but portions of it were
lying quite close to the pediment mouldings
which, as may be seen in the Plate facing page
106 were partially restored. The Plate facing
page 108 shows the complete restoration which
has since been effected.
 1 1
4 ANURADHAPURA.
Plate which faces page no represents a
Our
colossal figure of Buddha. It is a monolith eight

feet high and has probably been in the forest where

we now find it for more than a thousand years.
It stands upon three pillar stumps now buried.
It is carved in very dark granite, and the surface

is now quite black.

Our illustration facing page 112represents a
galge, or hermit's cell, excavated out of the natu-
ral rock, with an outer wall of brick. This is

a place of considerable interest. The rock, which

is a huge hummock about one hundred and
twenty yards long, bears signs of having been
extensively quarried for other buildings. Wedge
marks, as in our illustration, appear in many parts,
giving indications of the manner in which the
builders detached the huge monoliths found every-

where, and going far to prove that two thousand

years ago they used a method which was introduced
*'
into Europe in the nineteenth century. This
'
Mr. Bell, " was
1
rock-house or cave," writes

prepared for hermit priests with considerable

its

care. First, a slice thirty-four feet in width by

thirteen feet six inches deep was wedged from
the rock then a further depth of ten feet smooth-
;

ly scooped out in ovolo shape, the bellying roof

being beautifully rounded. Finally, a substantial

wall, two feet thick, and puddle was
of brick

probably run up to form the front and divide the

interior space into three chambers. The centre
 ANURADHAPURA. 1 15

cell, entered by a chastely moulded stone door

(six feet six inches by three feet five inches), is
sixteen feet seven inches in length and eight feet
six inches in depth, with a maximum height of

eight feet nine inches. At the left back corner

a stone shelf was cut ;
on the right of the doorway
is a bed, and at the back a long seat, both
fashioned of clay. This cell has two small win-
dows, now blocked. The two side cells are very
cramped, being but five feet six inches by five
feet three inches and six feet one inch in height

and entered by low arches. A katare was cut

above the cells to divert the drip. In front of
them is a rock cistern, twenty feet by eight feet
six inches, hollowed from the slab rock."
Near this cave ruins are very abundant ;
the
basements of upwards of twenty buildings, several
fine pokunas, and quite a forest of pillars are
visible.

We have already referred to Kitsiri Mai wan I.,

who finished the great Jetawanarama begun by

his father, Maha In the ninth year of his
Sen.

reign, A.D. 311, the famous tooth-relic of Buddha

was brought to Ceylon by a princess who in
time of war is said to have fled to Ceylon for

safety with the tooth concealed in the coils of

her hair. The Dalada Maligawa, or Temple of
the Tooth, was then built for its reception within
the Thuparama enclosure. The ruins of this
famous temple are well worthy of inspection.
j 16 ANURADHAPURA.
The building appears to have consisted of an
entrance hall, an ante-chamber, and a relic-
chamber. Our illustration shows the moulded
jambs and lintel of the entrance to the ante-
chamber still in situ. The principal chamber is

interesting for curiously carved pillars, the

its

heads of which are worked into a design often

supposed to represent the sacred tooth. At the

principal entrance there is a handsome flight of
stone steps, at the foot of which is a richly-
sculptured moonstone and a dvarpal on either
side. The origin of the Perahara festivals, still
held annually at Kandy,* dates from the erection
of this temple from which the tooth was upon
festival occasions borne
through the streets of
Anuradhapura on the back of a white elephant
which was always kept at the temple for the
purpose. During the invasions of the Malabars,
when the temple was more than once destroyed,
the sacred relic was on several occasions removed
for safety and thus preserved, but at length, in
the fourteenth century, it was seized and carried
off to India. The Singhalese king Parakrama
Bahu III., however, by proceeding to India
successfully negotiated its ransom and brought
it back again. There is a story of its having
been taken and destroyed by the Portuguese at
a later date, and although Europeans consider
the evidences of this final mishap as historical,
* See the Author's "
Picturesque Ceylon," Vol. ii.
 ;,u

IF ASS Miensra
 OF THE
( UNIVERSITY )
OF
^UFORHM
 ANURADHAPURA. 1 1
7

the natives are satisfied that the original relic

still exists in the temple at Kandy and regard
it with the greatest veneration.
As we wander from one part of the sacred
and inspect remains which suggest
city to another
a past of such grandeur and prosperity it is
somewhat depressing to notice the squalid appear-
ance of the modern native dwellings and their
inhabitants. Although much has been done of
late years to by restoring means
improve their lot

of cultivation and the fever demon has been

banished by the removal of large tracts of
jungle and forest, still the sight of the mud
dwellings roofed with leaves and sticks amidst
the signs of former magnificence gives rise to
serious reflections. For the most part the miser-
able remnant of the native population live only
on kurrukan, something like millet, not being
even able to afford rice.

The annals give

native many particulars of
the streets of the ancient city, but considering
how deeply buried are the foundations of buildings
traces of the streets are difficult to find. There
is, however, one of considerable interest at
Toluwila, a couple of miles east from the centre
of the (Plate facing page 116).
city Here for
several hundred yards the way is paved and ori
either side there are mouldings and copings.
At intervals where the road rises and falls there
are flights of steps, at which points there were
1 1 8 ANURADHAPURA.

probably some buildings. In the vicinity there

are a good many indications of dwellings and
a small dagaba. It is very likely that this was
within the sacred part of the ancient city.
We
have visited those architectural remains
of Anuradhapura which have been reclaimed
from the dense forest, but the greater part of
the city entombed.
still lies When in the
twentieth century the whole province shall have
been restored to the prosperity that certainly
awaits it and the work of the archaeological
commissioner shall have borne full fruit, the
contents of this volume will be an insignificant
portion of the information available. At present
we depart from the city with a feeling that we
have touched only the fringe of a great and
interesting subject.
se<e>nDBJE
 OF THE
UNIVERSITY
OF
 CHAPTER V.

SIGIRI.

|ITHERTO we have kept to the beaten

tracks of travel but we now enter

upon the more adventurous part of

our journey which may be considered
to begin with our visit to Sigiri. The historic
interest which attaches to this lonely crag centres
in the story of the parricide King Kasyapa, who
after depriving his father Dhatu Sen of throne
and sought security by converting this rock
life,

into an impregnable fortress. Although it has

been said that was a stronghold in pre-
Sigiri
historic times, we have no account of it earlier
than the time of Kasyapa, the particulars of whose
reign related in the Mahawansa are considered
specially reliable as being written by the Buddhist
monk Mahanamo, an eye witness of the troublous
times that he describes. It is, moreover, the

only contemporary account of Sigiri that has

come to light.
We cannot, therefore, more effectually stimu-
late our interest in this remarkable fortress than
by recounting the story of outrage and cruelty
120 SIGIRL

which led to its adoption as a royal residence

and its adaptation as a tower of defence. The
actors in this tragedy, so thoroughly illustrative
of the fiendish cruelty native to the Singhalese

princes of that age, were king Dhatu Sen, who

ascended the throne A.D. 463 ;
his two sons

Kasyapa and Moggallana his only daughter

; ;

his uncle and our chronicler Mahanamo and ;

his nephew who was his commander-in-chief.

Dhatu Sen who was a scion of the line royal,
had during his youth lived in retirement in
consequence of the supremacy of the Tamil
usurpers during the period from A.D. 434 to
A.D. Educated by Mahanamo
459. he entered
the priesthood, but upon reaching man's estate
the oppression of the alien rulers, their devastation
of the temples, and the prospect of a mixed
and hybrid race, called him from a life of con-
templation. Believing that his country was in
danger of being lost for ever to the Singhalese,
he resolved upon a desperate effort to recover
the throne. In this he eventually succeeded,
and after the complete extirpation of the invaders
he applied himself to re-establish peace through-
out the island and to restore the old religion
to its former pre-eminence. Those of the nobles
who had during the usurpation formed alliances
with the Tamils were degraded to the position
of serfs on their own land, but all who had
remained steadfast in their devotion to their
 OF THE
UNIVERSITY
OF
 SIGIPI. 121

country were called to honour, and more especially

the companions of his adversities.
He now applied himself as vigorously to the
arts of peace as he had to those of war. He
founded hospitals for the halt and sick, con-
structed a large number of reservoirs in districts
that had long been neglected, founded many
new monasteries, restored and re-decorated all
the chief religious edifices, devoting his private
treasures and his large store of jewels to the
re-adornment of statues that had been desecrated
and despoiled. "Who can describe in detail
"
all the good deeds that he has done ? says
the Mahawansa.
We however, that these great virtues
learn,
were counterbalanced to some extent by a dis-
position to cruel revenge. We are told that

having an only daughter dear to him as his own

life he gave her in marriage to the commander-

in-chief of his army. The marriage was not

happy, and it soon reached the king's ears that
his daughter had been ignominiously and un-
deservedly flogged by her husband. Dhatu Sen
thereupon ordered the culprit's mother to be strip-

ped and put to death with great cruelty. But

this barbarous act soon brought its retribution.
The son-in-law was now
the aggrieved person and
at once conspired to dethrone the king. This he
accomplished by the corruption of Kasyapa. The
people were gained over and the king seized and
122 SIGIRI.

cast into chains. In vain Moggallana endeavoured

to oppose his brother's treachery he could only ;

seek refuge in flight to India. The next move of

the outraged son-in-law was to persuade Kasyapa
that his father had hidden his treasures with intent
to bestow them on Moggallana. Kasyapa there-

upon sent messengers to his father who was in

prison to demand of him where the treasures were
concealed. Dhatu Sen saw in this a plot against
" It
his life, and resigning himself to his fate, said :

is as well that I should die after that I have seen

my old friend Mahanamo once more and washed
myself in the waters of Kalawewa."
* He then told
the messengers that Kasyapa would allow him to
if

be taken to Kalawewa he could point out his

treasures. Kasyapa, delighted at the prospect,
sent the messengers back to his father with a
chariot for his conveyance to Kalawewa. While
on the journey the ill-fated king ate rice with the
charioteer, who showed
great compassion for him.
Upon arriving at Kalawewa he derived great
solace from the interview with his old friend Maha-
namo. He bathed in the great reservoir and drank
of its waters ;
then pointing to his friend Maha-
namo and the waters around turned to his
to
" These are all the treasures
guards and said:
that I possess." When they heard these words
they were filled with wrath and immediately
* The immense artificial lake referred to on page 30 and the greatest
work of this monarch.
 SIGIRL 123

conveyed him back to his son Kasyapa who,

handing him over to the chief of the army, ordered
his execution. He was now doomed to suffer
the worst death that his arch-enemy could devise.
After heaping insults upon him this fiend stripped
him naked, bound him in chains, and walled up
the entrance to his prison.

Kasyapa, having thus rendered himself un-

popular by his crimes, and dreading an attack
from his brother Moggallana, dared no longer to
openly in Anuradhapura and retired to Sigiri.
live

The perpendicular sides of this rock made it

impossible to climb, but Kasyapa by a clever
device carried a spiral gallery around it gradually

rising from base to summit. He next surrounded

the rock with a rampart of great strength within
which he collected all his wealth and treasure
and set guards over them. He then raised a
splendid palace and other buildings needful for
the seat of government. Here he lived in great
luxury. But in spite of all distractions he soon
began to repent of the crimes which had placed
him on the throne, and in true Buddhist fashion
endeavoured to escape the meed of unfavourable
transmigration by acts of merit such as the build-
ing of monasteries and the granting of lands for
.the support of the priesthood. Not less oppres-
sive than the dread of his next life was the fear of
hands of his brother Moggallana,
retribution at the
who at length invaded the island at the head of
i2 4 SIGIRI.

an overwhelming force. The two armies encoun-

tered each other " like two seas that had burst
their bounds," and in the great battle that ensued

Kasyapa, on coming to a deep marsh, caused

his elephant to turn back so that he might ad-
vance by another direction. His followers inter-
preting this as a sign of flight broke in headlong
rout, and Kasyapa committed suicide on the field.

Having thus prepared ourselves with its history,

we now proceed to the rock itself and the remains
that are still extant. At Dambulla we provision
one of our bullock-carts for the day and send
it on
miles to the small village of Inamalawa,
six

which marks the first stage of our journey to

Minneria which we hope to reach the next night.
At daybreak we drive to Inamalawa where we
branch through the jungle by a path too rough
off

for springs but practicable for the bullock-cart

although exceedingly difficult in places. The
path is very picturesque, and the jungle gay with

birds of brightest plumage and alive with wild

animals. Troops of monkeys are frequently seen
and jackals here and there put in an appearance.
At length after about six miles of this path
we emerge into the open and of a sudden Sigiri
appears rising abruptly from the plain. An
artificial lake, formed under the south side of
the rock, helps to form a striking picture (see
Plate facing page 120). There are traces of
massive stone walls enclosing about fifty acres
I? 'IF
nr IP
 SIGIRL 125

round the base of the rock and forming the first

line of defence. Upon a nearer approach we
observe that terraces were formed on the slopes
which lead to the perpendicular side of the
rock they are faced with stone and were doubtless
;

constructed for purposes of defence. Here and

there huge boulders have been carved into
foundations for halls, and into luxurious baths.
Mr. H. C. P. Bell, who is now engaged in the
tells us of
" scores of
exploration, boulders, large
and marked by grooves and mortice holes
small,
innumerable, that formerly held walls and pillars
of the city buildings."
We have read in the story of Kasyapa of the
spiral galleries which were carried to the summit
of the rock. We now see in our illustrations parts
of their remains. The Plates facing page 124
show the entrance to the gallery, the wall which
enclosed it, and an inside view. The stairway
from the terraces to the gallery has quite
disappeared and the latter is now reached
by an easy climb aided by the handrail and
ladder which have been recently affixed.
The wall which will be noticed is about nine
feet high, and was built on the edge of the

terrace, so that persons within the gallery would

have a sense of perfect safety, and, in fact,
would be secure from the missile of any enemy.
This wall coated with chunam, a very hard
is

cement, susceptible of a polish equal to that of

 126 SIGIKL

marble, and it retains its smooth surface to

thisday although it has been exposed to the
monsoons of fifteen centuries.
Those who have ascended this rock in modern
times are few, for its galleries inmost parts
have entirely collapsed. The feat was a most
dangerous one until an iron handrail was fixed

by the. government department of public works.*

Even now in many parts a slip would mean
instant death but a few years ago the adven-
;

turous spirits who climbed this rock and some

half a dozen Englishmen are known to have
done so had to walk along six-inch grooves
on the bare face of the cliff. This, I believe,
would only be possible to the barefooted, and
even then exceedingly dangerous. Moreover,
there were other risks than slipping. The rock
is noted for its colonies of bees, with an intensely

painful and poisonous sting, which frequently

attack and even disable the coolies at work

upon the excavations. An assault by a hive

of these when upon the six-inch ledge would

certainly mean a fall down a sheer precipice of

two or three hundred feet.
Forty-five feet above the gallery illustrated

by our Plates facing page 124 there is a sort of

pocket or shallow cave with some remarkable

frescoes on its walls. They represent groups of

* This 2 feet
high rail was so dangerous that the Architectural Survey
has since erected a 5 feet rail with diagonal bars between standards.
 SIGIRI. 127

females, probably queens and their attendants,

and the colouring is still marvellously fresh and
bright. This place is accessible only by means
of a ladder hung on stays driven into the face
of the rock, but the figures and the colouring
can be seen very clearly by means of a field
glass from the terraces below.
Mr. A. Murray ascended to the frescoes in 1889,
and the careful crayon drawings that he made
in colours like the originals may be seen in the
He " the
Colombo Museum. says freshness of
the colouring is wonderful ;
and it is curious
that green predominates, a colour rarely, if ever,
used by native artists of the present day. In
some portions of the roof that are more exposed
to the elements the plaster has fallen away,
affording a fair indication of the method by which
it was attached to the rock. This was first
smooth surface, then a layer
chiselled to a fairly
of finely tempered clay, mixed with rice husk
and straw applied half an inch thick, and over
this an equal thickness of lime mortar worked
to an exceedingly smooth surface, upon which
7
the paintings are executed.'
In 1894 the Government archaeological com-
missioner, Mr. Bell, took the risk of a climb to
the summit by means of the ladders and the
shallow rock grooves already referred to in order
to gain a notion of the amount of work that
would be necessary to fully complete the ex-
128 SIGIRI.

ploration. Since that time much

has been done
in clearing and excavating, and Mr. Bell has

published an interim report of his operations, in

which, referring to the summit, he says :

" Excavations were started from the head

of
the steps which mark the point where the
still
1

gallery
'
reached the summit at the north-east
edge of the rock. Progress was necessarily slow.
The intense almost unbearable heat on the

exposed and shadeless rock only impure water ;

from the pokuna to slake thirst and an unusual ;

depth (fifteen feet in places) to deal with of caked

brick and stone debris, held together by tree

roots, all rendered the daily task no light one.

" It soon became patent that we had to face
ruins of at leasttwo periods. Walls were found
to run over walls, pavement above pavement,
and stairs below stone ramps. I therefore deemed
it advisable to sink the trenches down to the
bare rock in most cases. As, too, the internal
arrangement of rooms varied, every wall had to
be followed along its inner as well as its outer
face. Further, the certainty that buildings,
passages, &c., covered the entire summit to the
very edge of the cliff all round made itnecessary
to carry every basketful of earth, &c., to the
eastern verge and throw it to spoil below.

"Broadly speaking, the buildings (so far as

can at present be judged) seem to have contained
spacious rooms separated by passages paved with
 SIGIRI. 129

quartz flags and united by quartz stairs quartz

everywhere a striking feature of the Sigiriya
ruins. One boldly-carved asanaya (nine feet ten
inches by four feet six inches) or throne, hewn
out of the maha-gala (the gneiss rock
core), has
been exposed. It fronts east, and lies at the
foot of the higji
ground west of the area excavated.
A little useful work was also done near the
south-west edge. The cistern sunk here into
the solid rock, measuring thirteen feet two inches

by nine feet ten inches and eight feet six inches

in depth,was cleared of some seven feet of brick
and mud, and scrubbed clean for future use,
the ground round about being dug up and levelled
off to prevent the wash of the rains
finding its
way again into the cistern."*
We shall not trespass further into the
region
of Mr. Bell's recent discoveries at Sigiri, it
being
our object to call attention to his brilliant work
rather than discuss it in detail.
Our visit to Sigiri results in the very agreeable

feeling that we have seen one

of the most fasci-

nating and romantic spots that the old-world

scenes of any country can afford. The warm
red tones of its cliffs, the beautifully worked

quartz stairs of its ruined galleries and terraces,

the picturesque lay of its massive ruins, the

* Since the edition of this book was published, in

first 1897, these ex-
cavations have been completed; and the courtyards, passages and
numerous apartments have been laid bare as seen in the plate facing
page 128.
1 3o SIGIRL

grandeur of the forest which surrounds it, and

the waters of its lake, with the dark and mys-
terious reflections amidst the lotus leaves that

o'erspread the surface, combine to form an

impression that will never fade from the memory.
 CHAPTER VI.

MINNERIA.
ROM Sigiri we retrace
steps our
through the forest to Inamalawa and
drive thence to Habarane, which is
six miles further north on the main
road to Trincomalee. Here the comfortable
quarters which we find at the rest-house are
the more welcome after the toil of our visit to
the rock fortress. indeed a surprise to find
It is

in that wild and sparsely inhabited part of the

country such a clean and well appointed little

bungalow for the use of travellers, and our

satisfaction is none the less
upon discovering
that it is
charge of
in a clever servant who is
an excellent cook. Having sent forward notice
of our coming, upon our arrival at 8-30 p.m.
we are punctually served with a dinner beyond
reproach. No doubt hunger is an admirable
sauce, and we with a good supply, but
arrive
still we are of opinion that the fare is better
than the ordinary traveller could reasonably
expect. These little details of the comfort
afforded to visitors by the very practical pro-
1
32 MINNERIA.
visions of theGovernment are not without interest,
and the blessings of wayfarers are showered daily
on the providence of our rulers.
Upon leaving Habarane for the lake of Min-
neria and the ruined city of Polonnaruwa, we

quit the main road and are cast upon our own
resources. For a few miles a minor road which
is in course of construction serves us, and we
proceed easily enough until within two or three
miles Minneria, when we have to trudge
of

through marshes, our visit being made at the

end of the wet season.
Whatever the discomfort of this may be, we
forget it at the first glimpse of the lake. No
words can adequately describe a thing of such
exquisite beauty. Killarney and other well-known
beautiful expanses of water and woodland may
be mentioned in comparison, but at Minneria
there are many additional charms of which
climate is not the least. The islands and wood-
lands unexplored a thousand years are so
for

thoroughly things of nature. Then the creatures

everywhere add to the romance the myriads ;

of curious birds, many of great size and magni-

ficent plumage ;
the crocodiles lazily basking

upon the banks, and the spotted deer often

darting across the open glades. Even the
knowledge that the elephant, the bear, and the
leopard, though out of sight, are present in large
numbers, lends additional interest to a scene
 MINNERIA. 133

which is beyond description.

We find a modest bungaletta commanding one
of the finest views from the bund. It is un-
furnished, but in it we take up our quarters for
the night, our native servants cleverly rigging

up stick bedsteads to keep us high above the

floor, a necessary precaution for the avoidance
of malarial fever. In such a climate protection
from cold is unnecessary, but something more
than a tent is advisable owing to the miasma
from decaying vegetation.
There are no ruins of any importance to

inspect in the neighbourhood of this

lake, but
the lake itself is so well worth seeing that we

are glad to spend a night here both on our

outward and return journeys. Its history, too,
'
is of
very considerable interest in connection
with our subject generally. It is said to have

been constructed in the third century by Maha

Sen, to whom reference has been made at Anu-
radhapura. Its about twenty
circumference is

miles. The masonry and earthwork dams which

were formed to divert the waters of the stream
which fills it extend for many miles and average

a height of about eighty feet.

Nothing occasions us greater wonder or more
fully attests the enormous energy of the ancient
kings than the construction of these giant tanks
and the numerous smaller ones dependent on
them, forming a system of irrigation that estab-
134 MINNERIA.
lished plenty throughout large districts otherwise

beyond the pale of cultivation. Such works were

not confined merely to the northern plains which
are now so sparsely populated, but extended over
the whole country. Even in the mountains of
the Central Province at an elevation of six thou-
sand feet we find remains of masonry and earth-
works which were designed to divert the streams
and rivers to those plains which were subject
to periodical drought. There is evidence every-
where of such feats of engineering skill in irrigation
matters as would in these days be a matter of
pride to any nation. How they were possible
in early times is only to be understood by a
complete grasp of the conditions of government
under which the ancient race existed.
There was undoubtedly a dense population
under obligation of free labour in the king's service.
They held their lands on condition of devoting
a large share of their efforts to what was called
rajah-karia king's service. Under this tenure
the monarch claimed free labour for the construc-
tion of irrigation and the building ot
works
temples and shrines. Such serfdom as this for
the common good was no hardship in a country
where agricultural pursuits, consisting chiefly of
growing rice, could be carried on with a small
demand on the labourers' time where the tanks
;

for storing and the channels for distributing the

necessary water were so well made and so skilfully

 MINNERIA. 135

arranged that the precious fertilizer could be

admitted to the fields at the exact time required
and the surplus drawn off with equal ease at
the proper moment. Such compulsory service
was entirely for their own good, and its necessity
is only too apparent at the present time when
in a state of freedom it is found to be so difficult

to restore the former conditions of health and

prosperity ;
so much
so that what has been done

is, as we have hinted before, the result of a half-

hearted compromise whereby the people have been

enticed to give a certain amount of free labour
in consideration of a greater contribution by the
Government.
There are lands belonging to Buddhist
still

temples held by tenants on the condition of

supplying labour for keeping the temples in repair,
or of cultivating other lands to provide funds
for the temple service but the compulsory service
;

for the tanks which fifty years ago might have

been re-introduced to the salvation of the natives

is now impossible, freedom having been pre-
maturely granted to a people whose character
is still such that they need a wise system of

paternal control. That the provinces now lying

waste will be restored to prosperity there is little
doubt, but it be done with greater difficulty
will

and less speedily than might have been the case

under the old regime. There are some five
thousand tanks to be repaired and brought into
136 MINNERIA.

a state of efficiency before this consummation

can be reached but the good work is proceeding.
;

At Minneria we find an engineer officer of the

Public Works Department with a large staff of

labourers at work upon the several ancient lakes

which it is hoped will again serve the hundreds
of smaller village tanks in the large district now
centered by the ruins of the once mighty city of
Polonnaruwa. To this gentleman, Mr. Weinman,
we are indebted for valuable assistance without
which we should be unable to reach the goal
of our ambition. Not only had news that the
jungle tracks were impassable and that the open
country was all under water reached us from
the headman of the district who had told us
that it was impossible Polonnaruwa at
to reach
that time, but the drivers of the bullocks had
heard of the prevalence of the cattle disease and
with the coolies were on the brink of mutiny.
We were, however, determined to make the
attempt, and our good friend the district engineer
above referred to then lent us his aid in the
shape of a further supply of coolies to replace the
disaffected.
Once on the way the coolies became manage-
able enough. Our party may be seen by reference
to the
Plate facing page 134. The scene is
one of the open spaces which occur at intervals
to relieve the monotony of the jungle tracks

through which the journey for the most part

 MINNERIA. 137

has to be made. The rough nature of these

tracks may be gathered by reference to the
Plate facing page 136, where one of our baggage
carts seems to require the services of Hercules.
"
Shouts of "thalu, thalu (lift, lift) from the
coolies ring through the forest as they haul the
cart bodily out of the mud holes. are struck We
with admiration and surprise at the power and
pluck of the little bullocks, who after having
fallen upon their knees in pulling their load
up the steep of a torrent bed would never allow
their humps to shirk the pole, but continued
to push with all their might until the heavy
weight behind them triumphantly emerged once
more upon the level.
No less surprising is the skill of the drivers,
whose keen watchfulness and ready resource
are in request for three hours at a stretch, when

every other minute promises an inevitable upset ;

at one moment their

" steeds "
they encourage
to charge a trunk hurled across the path by
some freakish elephant, and with resistless force
the wheels strike and jump the obstruction ;
at
another they crash down a
steep incline amidst
boulders of rock and through a stream of doubtful
depth. Only, however, when the courageous
little animals get literally wedged in some crevice

do the eighteen coolies render any but lip service,

and supplement their war whoop by real lifting.
Thus for about twelve miles we proceed in
138 MINNERIA.
the direction of
Polonnaruwa, at a pace not
exceeding one mile and a half an hour. For
the most part the tracks which we follow lie

through dense forests, but the journey is by no

means monotonous. Apart from the incidents
connected with our baggage transit there is

sport to be had on the way. Spotted deer

frequently bound across our path ; large grey
jackals put in an occasional appearance ;
the
small black bear is there in goodly numbers ;

while elephants excite our wonder and curiosity

at frequent intervals by their noiseless gliding
off upon winding our approach, leaving evidence
of their flight in fresh footprints in the soft earth.
We seldom see a herd although many are near
us, and if we are curious as to the size of in-
dividuals we have to content ourselves with
" ex-
measuring the diameter of their footprints
pede Herculem."
At one point of our journey we come across
some hunters of the Afghan race surrounded by
their captives recently taken and still bound as
shown our Plate facing this page.
in The Af-
ghans who may be seen in the picture standing
by their hut in the jungle have come to catch
and export elephants to their own country. They
are allowed to do this upon paying the Ceylon
Government ten rupees for each elephant caught
and a royalty of two hundred rupees for each
one exported. There is a steady demand for
 MINNERIA. 139

them to supply the courts of the rajahs in India,

and the enterprising Afghan is the man who
does the business although he does not actually
effect the capture. His method is to tempor-
arily establish himself in some district where
herds of elephants are known to be, and engage
a party of Singhalese to capture them under his
instructions. The Afghan alone carries a gun
while the Singhalese are provided with ropes made
from the fibre of the Kitool palm. They hide
themselves near some spot where a herd is likely
to come, and upon its arrival the Afghan fires
off his gun merely to alarm the game. A stam-
pede ensues and the Singhalese lasso them as
they bolt. The noose flies round the leg of the
beast, and with wondrous celerity the other end
of the rope is coiled round the nearest large

tree, and the elephant is left there until thoroughly

subdued.
We are now within two miles of the ancient
city, and our bullock drivers refuse
to proceed

further, but we are determined to reach it in

spite of every discouragement from all manner
of persons acquainted with the district including
the Dissawe or headman who resides there. We

argue that where carts had been carts might

go again, but we are met by the reply that the rains
have been greater than for years and the country
istherefore impassable. We
then resolve to leave
the carts and proceed on foot, the coolies carrying
140 MINNER1A.
our baggage on their heads. We are told that
the journey is possible for barefooted coolies,
but that noEuropeans can walk through the
mud and water. However, we proceed and even
enjoy the novel experience, though we arrive only
just in time to save being caught by the darkness.
No one could be more astonished at our arrival
than the Dissawe, Mr. Gabriel Jayewardene, who
had in several letters cautioned us against attempt-
ing to come
before the wet season was quite over.
His surprise did not affect the warmth of his
welcome, and we were the first visitors for two
years. He placed at our disposal a little bungalow
in a lovely position on the bank of the Topawewa,
the principal lake of the old city. The bungalow
was empty and slightly out of repair, but we
were so elated at the completion of our journey
that we did not criticisethe sumptuousness of
our shelter and proceeded to make ourselves
happy upon the bare floors ;
but the Dissawe soon
laid us under further obligation by supplying us
with tables, chairs, and fresh milk, besides offering
for the morrow his services as cicerone.
 CHAPTER VII.
POLONNARUWA.
had been a place of
royal residence in the palmiest days
of the older city, but it was not till
the eighth century that was adopted
it

as the seat of government. The decay of Anu-

radhapura had been creeping on ever since the
days of Kasyapa and the fortification of Sigiri.
Internecine war fostered by rival branches of
the royal house, no less than the interminable
struggles with the Tamil invaders, hastened its
downfall. The history of the sixth and seventh
centuries a story of bloodshed and anarchy
is ;

the murders of a dozen kings, conspiracies, and

the assassination of high and low, made violent
death an everyday occurrence ;
wholesale emi-
gration set in ;
cultivation was interrupted and
buildings and irrigation works alike were destroyed
or neglected. At length the Tamils, taking every
advantage of internal dissention among the natives,
so strengthened their position in and around
Anuradhapura that the only means of the Singha-
lese government retaining any pretence of power
i 42 POLONNARUWA.
lay in retiring before them. These circumstances
led to the establishment of Polonnaruwa as the

capital and the fate of Anuradhapura was sealed,

for when abandoned to the Tamils its debasement

and ruin were assured. Unfortunately they were

the worst type of conquerors. While overthrow-
ing the Singhalese authority they made no
attempt to introduce any order of their own,
but rather encouraged and abetted every lawless
effort at destruction. No wonder then at the
spectacle of ruin and desolation presented by
Anuradhapura after a few years of Tamil dominion.
The new capital, however, soon made amends,
and grew with amazing rapidity until in its
religious buildings, royal palaces, its lakes
its

and gardens, it eclipsed the older city in splendour

as it did in extent. It was not, however, to

remain long in tranquility. The Tamils soon

made their way thither and the old struggle was
repeated. Sometimes under a strong native king
religion flourishedand a spell of general pros-
perity was experienced, only to be followed by
a period of disaster and destruction.
That the Singhalese should have been able
notwithstanding this constant disquiet to build
and maintain a city of such unrivalled wealth,
beauty, and power, is proof enough of the
splendid qualities of the race. For one century
only, however, during the Polonnaruan epoch
did they have a fair opportunity of exercising
 POL ONNAR UWA. 1 43

their natural faculties to full advantage. What

they needed were freedom from the harassing
incursions of marauders and a cessation of
domestic rivalry amongst their rulers. These
they obtained about the middle of the twelfth
century,when there arose a genuine hero who
commanded the allegiance of all his subjects.
This monarch, Parakrama the Great, not only
regained possession of the whole of the country
by expelling the Tamils and quieting all dis-
affection,but even invaded India and other
more distant countries. Under his rule the city
of Polonnaruwa reached the zenith of its greatness,
and we shall best gather the story of the desolate
but impressive remains that we are about to
visit by a review of Parakrama's reign as related
in the Mahawansa.
We may at once say that the reader need
not regard either the noble qualities or the
innumerable great works which the historian

assigns to this monarch

as one whit extravagant
or romantic, as they are fully attested by existing
evidence.
In his youth we are told he was quick in the
attainment of arts and sciences, and by the
help of a higher wisdom he perfected himself
in the knowledge of laws, religion, logic, poetry

and music, and manly arts of riding and

in the

the use of the sword and the bow. He seems

to have studied the arts of peace equally with
 i
44 POLONNARUWA.
those of war, and it is remarkable that even
before he had entered upon the campaigns
that were to bring the whole country under his
dominion he formed his plans for restoring pros-

perity to the soil. In his

speech to his
first

ministers he is reported to have said:

" In a

i
country like this not even the least quantity of
rain water should be allowed to flow into the
ocean without profiting man. .

Remember that it is not meet that men like

unto us should live and enjoy what has come
into our hands and care not for the people.
Let there not be left anywhere in my kingdom
a piece of land, though it be of the smallest
dimensions, that does not yield some benefit
to man."
To
strengthen his hand before he entered upon
the conquest of the rebellious tribes he arranged
for the residence in own
palaces of the
his

youth of all the noble families that they might

"
grow up familiar with the service of kings
and become skilled in managing horses and
elephants and in fencing."
Finding the wealth that he had inherited
insufficient the prosecution of his plans, he
for

devised means of filling his treasury without

oppressing the people. He increased the export
of gems, and trustworthy officers over
placed
the revenue. And in order that the efficiency
of his army might be improved he instituted mock
 POLONNARUWA. 145

battles, and personally selected the most dex-

terous for places of honour in the field.
When every department was perfect and his
materiel of war prepared, having reviewed his

army, he entered upon a series of contests with

the various chieftains who
held possession
still

of the greater part of the country. pass over We

the particulars of the battles that he fought
and won, our purpose being rather to follow
the fortunes of the royal city.
When the various pretenders and disaffected
tribeshad been subdued or won over, as much
by admiration of the great Parakrama as by the
force of his arms, he submitted to a second corona-

tion, which is described by the historian in the

" On that
following words: day the deafening
sound of divers drums was terrible, even as the
rolling of the ocean when it is shaken to and
froby the tempest at the end of the world. And
the elephants, decked with coverings of gold,
made the street before the palace to look as if
clouds had descended thereon with flashes of

lightning and with the prancing of the steeds

;

of war the whole city on that day seemed to

wave even like And the sky was wholly
the sea.
shut out of sight with rows of umbrellas of divers
colours and with lines of flags of gold. And there
was the waving of garments and the clapping
of hands. And the inhabitants of the city shouted,

saying,
'
Live ! O live great king
! And there
!
'
146 POLONNARUWA.
was feasting over the whole land, which was filled

with arches of plantains intermingled with rows

of flower-pots and hundreds of minstrels chanted
;

songs of praise, and the air was filled with the

smoke of sweet incense. Many persons also
arrayed themselves in cloths of divers colours
and decked themselves in ornaments of divers
kinds and the great soldiers who were practised
;

in war, mighty men, armed with divers kinds

of weapons, and with the mien of graceful heroes,
moved about hither and thither like unto elephants
that had broken asunder their bonds.
" reason of the archers who
By many also,
walked about with their bows in their hands,
it seemed as if an army of gods had visited the
land ;
and the city with its multitude of palaces,
gorgeously decorated with gold and gems and
pearls, seemed like unto the firmament that is
studded with stars.

"And mighty king, with eyes that were

this

long like the lily, caused many wonderful and

marvellous things to be displayed, and adorned
himself with divers ornaments, and ascended a
golden stage supported on the backs of two
elephants that were covered with cloth of gold.
And he bore on his head a crown that shone
with the rays of gems, like as the eastern moun-
tain beareth the glorious and rising sun. And
casting into the shade the beauty of spring by the
strength of his own beauty, he drew tears of
{ UNIVERSITY )
OF
 POL ONNAR UWA. 1 47

joy from the eyes of the beautiful women of the

city. And he marched round the city, beaming
with the signs of happiness, and, like unto the
god with the thousand eyes, entered the beauteous
palace of the king."
Peace being established and the ceremony of
the second coronation over, Parakrama applied
himself at once to the advancement of religion
and the welfare of the people. Buddhism had
been riven to its very core by heresies and dis-
tracted by the disputes of its various fraternities ;

the great families had been ruined and scattered ;

crowds of poor were starving without any regu-

lated means of relief; and the sick were absolutely
uncared for. The king first brought about a
reconciliation of the rival religious brotherhoods,
a task in which his predecessors had for centuries
failed, and which cost him more labour than
the re-establishment of the kingdom. He erected
alms-halls in every quarter of the city, making
them beautiful with gardens, and endowing them
with every necessity for the poor. He next
built hospitals for the sick, in whom he took

great personal being himself a skilled

interest,

physician. These were equipped with a staff

so ample that no sick person was at any moment
left without an attendant and the king himself
;

was their visitor, showing great pity and enquir-

ing fully of the physicians as to their manner
of treatment, ofttimes administering medicine
1
48 POL ONNAR UWA .

with his own hands. Thus did his great natural

kindness of heart endear him to the people.
Having secured the happiness of his people
so long oppressed, he proceeded to enlarge and
adorn the famous city of Polonnaruwa. With
a keen determination that the works upon which
he was about to spend great treasure should
not suffer the fate of those of his predecessors
which were so frequently plundered by the in-
vader he turned his attention especially to the
question of fortifications. He placed a chain of
massive ramparts around the city and within
this three lesser walls. There is not much doubt
of the existence of these, and their eventual
discovery will be a subject of great interest to
future explorers.

Although Parakrama is credited with such

genuine solicitude for his people that his memory
even now is greatly revered, he was not less

mindful of his own temporal comforts. He

built for himself the Vejayanta, a palace of

great splendour. It had seven

stories, and its
thousand rooms were no less remarkable for
the massive and beautiful pillars that supported
the floors than its roof which was surmounted

by hundreds of pinnacles wrought in precious

metals. The furnishing was equally sumptuous,
from carpets of great value to the tables inlaid
with ivory and gold.
The religious buildings erected by him during
:.
 POLONNARUWA. 149

his reign of thirty-three years were very numerous,

and for most part of colossal proportion.
the

Amongst them as showing the king's toleration

of all religious systems is mentioned one for
"
propitiatory rites to be performed therein by
Brahmans " as well as the circular house " where
;

he himself might listen to the Jatakas of Buddha,

read by the learned priest who dwelt there."
Nor were places of entertainment omitted.
He built theatres glittering with golden pillars
and delighted the assemblage with paintings,
representing scenes of their hero's exploits halls ;

of recreation in which it seemed " as if the hall

of assembly of the gods had descended to the
earth, and the manners and customs of the
whole world had been gathered together into
one place."
The native chronicle refers to a temple built
in the reign of Parakrama for the relic of Buddha's

tooth, but neither of the ruins yet discovered

can be positively identified as the one mentioned.
It is said to have shone with roofs, doors and

windows of gold and countless works of art

both within and without, and to have been
ornamented with canopies of divers colours.
" It
was like unto the palace of the goddess of
beauty, and \ shone with a lustre so great that
all that was delightful on earth seemed to have

been gathered together and brought into one

"
place.
150 POLONNARUWA.
The Mahavvansa has also many references to
the pleasant parks and gardens of the city in
which the ornamental baths so frequently met
with amongst the ruins were a special feature.
One of the gardens is said to have been famous
for "abathing hall that dazzled the eyes of
the beholder, and from which issued forth sprays
of water conducted through pipes by means of
machines, making the place to look as if the
clouds poured down rain without ceasing."
Most of the remains of the city thus nobly
enriched by the greatest of Singhalese kings
are buried beneath many feet of soil or hidden
in the dense forest that has
overgrown the
many thousands of acres over which they extend ;

but by the assistance of our good friend the

Dissawe and hispeace officer we are enabled
to find all those which have been made accessible.
The dagabas have all the characteristics of their

prototypes at Anuradhapura less the charm of

greater antiquity, so we will not repeat descrip-
tions already given, but merely remark that

they are numerous and in some cases of enormous

dimensions. We
shall find more advantage in

interesting ourselves in those ruins which are

distinctly characteristic of the mediaeval city.

First, let us glance at the
Jetawanarama temple,
perhaps the most imposing pile remaining (Plates
facing pages 140 and 142). It is a building of one

hundred and seventy feet in length with walls about

MOTIFJU
 POLONNARUWA. 151

twelve feet thick and eighty feet high. Though

built of red brick it appears to have been plastered
with chunam, which still adheres in patches,
as may easily be seen by reference to Plate

facing page 140. This is a view from the east

showing the entrance between the two polygonal

turrets. The warm tints of the crumbling bricks
interspersed with lighter patches where the
polished chunam still remains have a pleasing
effect inthe masses of green forest around, the

complete scene when suddenly bursting on the

sight being perhaps the most impressive we
shall meet with. The
dilapidated figure of
Buddha, sixty feet high, opposite the entrance,
gives a crestfallen appearance to the whole.
The exterior decoration of the building is dis-
tinctly Hindu in character, which is the more
strange when we consider that the Jetavana,
after which this temple and its adjoining monastery
are supposed to be built, was the famous temple
of Buddha himself. But the curious mixture
of Hindu character with that which is purely
Buddhist is a special feature of the Polon-
naruwan buildings. The cause is rather difficult

to decide. It may be due to the influence of

the victorious Hindus who at intervals held the
island during several centuries combined with
the broad eclecticism of Buddhism, but it is a

question too abstruse and speculative to enter

upon here at length.
152 POLONNARUWA.
There are doubtless beneath the soil foundations
of many noble buildings around this temple.
The native chronicle refers to eight stately houses
of three stories built for the priests, and for the
chief priest a mansion of great splendour con-
taining many halls and chambers, also seventy

image houses of three stories, besides a great

number of lesser halls and libraries.
The Thuparama illustrated by our Plates facing
pages 144 and 146 is no less interesting and pictures-
que. It is an oblong brick building with a square
tower. The walls are very massive,and for the
most part quite five feet thick. It was to some
extent explored by Mr. S. M. Burrows in 1886,
and the following is an extract from his report
to the Government: " The
entrance to and
interior of this curious building was almost entirely
blocked up with fallen masonry and other debris.
This has been removed at a considerable cost
of labour, for most of the fallen blocks of masonry
were so large that they had to be broken up
with the pickaxe before removal was possible.
But the labour was well expended, for the
inner and principal shrine is one of the very
few buildings remaining to us in either capital
with a perfect roof; certainly the only building
of such a size, and it presents a very remarkable

example of the dimensions to which the false

arch was capable of attaining. The fragments
of no less than twelve statues of Buddha (none
 POL ONNAR UWA. 1
53

quite, though some very nearly, perfect) were

found in this shrine, while at the foot of the

large brick statue of Buddha which stands against

the western wall a large granite slab or stone seat

('
was uncovered, with an excellently
gal-asanaya ')

preserved inscription running round its four sides."

The
following is a translation of the inscription
referred to :

" His
Majesty, Kalinga Chakrawarthi Parakrama Bahu, who was a
descendant of the Okaka race, having made all Lanka's isle to appear
like a festive island, having made all Lanka like unto a wishing- tree,
having made all Lanka like unto an incomparably decorated house,
having subjugated in war Sita, Choda, Gauda, &c., went to Maha
Dambadiwa with great hosts and seeing that because of his coming
;

kings and others left their countries and came to him for protection,
he treated them with kindness and their fears
stilled and having met
;

with no rival after his landing in Dambadiwa, he erected pillars of

victory, and again came to Lanka's isle. Lanka having been neg-
lected for a long time, he erected alms-houses at different places
throughout the whole of Dambadiwa and Ceylon; and on his return
spent ever so much treasure on mendicants. Not being content with
all he determined on a distribution of alms four times in every
this,
year, and by (giving) gold, jewels, cloth, ornaments, &c., having
extinguished the poverty of the inhabitants of the world, and done
good to the world and to religion, this is the seat on which he sat
to allay body weariness."

The Thuparama suffering greatly from the is

inroads of vegetation. Parasitic plants take root

in the crevices, and growing into great trees

rend the walls. Our

Plate facing page 150 serves
to show how they creep over the brickwork and

push their way into great masses of masonry.

This picture of a spot called Kotuwa, or the Fort,
is introduced merely to show the disruptive effect
of trees on the brickwork. The building may
or may not have been a fort. massive walls,
Its

which are all that is left, have no doubt suggested

the name.
i 54 POL ONNAR UWA.
The Sat-mahal-prasada, or palace of seven
stories, another building the origin of which
is

is veiled in mystery. Statues ornament each

storey, and there are traces of a staircase within,
but does not appear to lead to the summit,
it

which can only be reached from without by means

of ladders. There is an exterior flight of steps
leading however only to the top of the first storey.
The most venerable of all the relics of Buddha,
the tooth, experienced so many vicissitudes and
translations during the Tamil wars that the stories
of its various hiding places, and the temples built
for its reception, as recorded in the ancient chroni-
cles, aresomewhat confusing. In the account of
Parakrama's foundation at Polonnaruwa (see page
149) we read of the beautiful temple he built ;

and again very little later the historian tells of

the temple built for it in the same city by Nissanka
Malla, who came to the throne A.D. 1198, only
two years after Parakrama's death. And as there
are other allusions to the arrival of the tooth
at Polonnaruwa at a later date, it may well
be inferred that it was at various intervals re-
moved for safety. however, that
It is curious,
both Parakrama and Nissanka Malla should have
builtmagnificent temples for the same object
about the same date, and to which of these kings
to ascribe the building Dalada
known as the

Maligawa at Polonnaruwa, the remains of which

present the most beautiful specimen of stone work
 POLONNARUWA. 155

yet discovered (see Plate facing page 154), it is

difficult to decide. The Mahawansa says that
Nissanka "built of stone the beautiful temple
of the tooth relic," and what we see is generally
attributed to him
but possibly the earlier des-
;

cription refers to the same building, although

it
generally supposed that Parakrama's shrine
is

was a curious and elaborate circular building

known as the Wata Dage, and that a second
temple was built for the tooth
by Nissanka.
It will be noticed from our Plate that the stone

work is in beautiful preservation considering its

age. The roof has gone, but the mouldings and

coolings of the granite have scarcely suffered at all

from their exposure of seven centuries.

One of the most interesting of the discoveries
at Polonnaruwa is a rock temple with three
colossal figures and a shrine carved out of one

huge boulder of dark brown granite (Plate facing

page 156). This is known as the Gal Vihara.
In spite of appearances these figures are still

part of the rock in which they were hewn. The

work very cleverly done, and especially the
is

recumbent statue of Buddha, which is forty-six

feet in length. The head rests upon the right
hand supported on a bolster into which it sinks
very naturally, suggesting nothing but perfect
repose the folds of the robe are also carved with
;

equal fidelity. The erect statue is thought to

represent Ananda, the favourite disciple of Buddha.
156 POLONNARUWA.
It twenty-three feet high, and stands on a
is

pedestal ornamented with lotus leaves. Beyond

this is the entrance to the temple itself, and within
an altar and an image of Buddha in sitting
posture, all carved out of the same rock in similar
high relief. The shrine has been profusely de-
corated and coloured by modern devotees. At
the farther end will be noticed a large sitting
statue of Buddha, the figure alone being fifteen
feet high. It is a most elaborate work, with a

background of carved pagodas, and the pedestal

is ornamented with a frieze of lions and
quaint
emblems. There is no doubt as to the date of
this striking and curious specimen of rock temple,
as it is referred to in the Mahawansa as the work
of the great Parakrama.
A
complete description of even those ruins that
have been discovered in the explorations that have
been made with such limited resources is beyond
the scope of the present work. How many still

lie hidden in the dense forest it is impossible

to say, but when we look at the records of those

only which were built during one or two of the

most prosperous reigns we cannot help being
impressed with the possibilities of the great
" finds" that will be made when the whole
pro-
vince is
again cleared and brought under cultiva-
tion. Then railways will convey thousands of
visitorsfrom every part of the world to these
ancient cities which will surely find their rightful
 POL ONNAR UWA. 1 57

place among the monuments of the world.

We must not take our leave of the Polonnaruwan
remains without a glimpse at one which seems
to deserve a parting glance. A walk of a little
more than a mile along the lofty embankment
of the Topawewa, one of the most remarkable
instances of the highest art concealing itself, and
more beautiful than ever now that it has been
left for so many centuries to the great artificer,
Nature, brings us to a large hummock of rock

abruptly rising from the plain. In this rock is

a striking statue of King Parakrama carved, like
that of the recumbent Buddha, in the solid rock.

(See Plate facing page 158). The monarch, who

raised most of the temples and monuments of the
city,stands with his back to his great works holding
an ola, or palm leaf book, in his hands as if at the
end of his glorious reign he had found in the study
of the Buddhist scriptures his final consolation.
With the death of Parakrama in 1197 the power
of the Singhalese nation began to decline. For
a few years only at the beginning of the thirteenth
century was the country again under capable
government. The prosperity and wealth to which
the city had attained only served to excite the
rapacity of invaders. The Tamils, twenty thou-
sand strong, under a chief named Magha took
Polonnaruwa in the year 1215 and laid waste the
whole country, "This Magha" says the Maha-
" who was like unto a fierce
wansa, drought,
1 58 POL ONNAR UWA .

commanded his of strong men to ransack

army
the kingdom of Lanka, even as a wild fire doth
a Thereupon these wicked disturbers of
forest.

the peace stalked about the land hither and

thither crying out boastfully, Lo we are the '
!

gaints of Kerala.' And they robbed the inhabi-

tants of their garlands and their jewels and every-

thing that they had. They cut off also the hands
and feet of the people and despoiled their dwell-
ings. Their oxen, buffaloes, and other beasts
they bound up and carried away forcibly. The
rich men they tied up with cord and tortured,
and took possession of all their wealth and brought
them to poverty. They broke down the image
houses and destroyed many cetiyas. They took
up their dwellings in the viharas and beat the
pious laymen therein. They flogged children and
sorely distressed the five ranks of the religious
orders. They compelled the people to carry
burdens and made them labour heavily. Many
books also of great excellence did they loose from
the cords that bound them and cast them away
in divers places. Even the great and lofty cetiyas

they spared not, but utterly destroyed them, and

caused a great many bodily relics which were
unto them as their lives to disappear thereby.
Alas ! alas ! Even so did those Tamil gaints,
like the giants of Mara, destroy the kingdom and
religion of the land. And then they surrounded
the city of Polonnaruwa on every side, and took
IF
 POLONNARUWA. 159

Parakrama Pandu captive and plucked out his

eyes, and robbed all the treasures that were there-
in with all the pearls and precious stones." *

* The
quotations from the Mahawansa in this chapter have been taken
from the translation of Mudaliyar L. C. Wijesinha.
 CHAPTER VIII.

THE ROCK TEMPLES OF DAMBULLA

AND ALUWIHARI.

|T
remains now only to retrace our steps
to Colombo, and to visit on the way
the famous rock temples of Dambulla
and the Aluwihari at Matale, which
date from the first century B.C. In their natural
state they were selected as hiding places by King
Walagambahu upon his being driven by the
Tamils from his throne at Anuradhapura. After
fifteen years of exile he regained his throne, and
in gratitude for the protection they had afforded
him transformed them into temples.
Those at Dambulla are a series of five natural

caverns entered from a ledge near the summit

of a huge boulder of dark gneiss five hundred
feet high and two thousand in length. The ascent
is made by a steep but picturesque stairway cut
in the natural rock. At the top of this a land-
scape bursts into view that apart from the interest
would well repay a more toilsome
of the temples
climb. Ranges of mountains stretch away over
the Kandyan province in the dim grey distance ;
 DAMBULL A. 161

the rock of Sigiri rises in solitary grandeur from

the dense forest to the east and beneath us lie;

the rice fields granted by the ancient kings as

the endowment of the temples.
Our Frontispiece gives some idea of the forma-
tion of the ledge and overhanging rock above the
entrances to the caves. It is, however, difficult

to get a photograph at all owing to the short

distance which it is possible to recede. This
ledge where we see three monks standing extends
only to the tree on the left and ends in a precipice.
We see the rude entrances to the caves on the

right. They are, of course, modern, and like

all attempts at restoration in this period are totally
out of character with the place. But the scene
presented on entering is imposing, though weird
and grotesque. We notice at once a strange
mixture of Brahman and Buddhist images and
pictures. Here is Vishnu in wood standing oppo-
site to a colossal figure of Buddha recumbent
in stone forty-seven feet long and carved out of
the solid rock. As soon
as the eye gets accustom-
ed to the dim religious light we notice that the
walls are highly ornamented, and we learn from
the monks that some of the frescoes are nearly
two thousand years old.
In another compartment called the Maha Vihara
there is a statue of King Walagambahu, and up-
wards of fifty others mostly larger than life size,
many being images of Buddha, though Hindu
1 62 DAMBULLA.
deities are not negelected. This cave is the largest
and grandest of all. It is about one hundred
and sixty by fiftyfeet, and at the entrance twenty-
three feet high, the roof sloping gradually down
as we go further into the chamber till at the back
its height is but four feet. The who is
student
interested in the relation between Buddhism and
Hinduism remark a very curious blending
will

of the symbols of both in the frescoes with which

the walls and ceilings are literally covered. Not
less noticeable are many historical scenes, among
them the famous combat between King Duttha-
gamini and the Tamil prince Elara, to which
we have already referred. There are besides
many representations of earlier events,
quaint
amongst which the most curious is perhaps the
landing of the Singhalese under Prince Wijayo
B.C. 543. The size of the fish who are popping

up heads above the waves and menacing

their
the ships is that affected by all the ancient
hydrographers.
The other two chambers are of the same shape
though smaller, and are furnished with a plentiful
supply of objects of worship, from the usual
cyclopean monolithic Buddhas to smaller images
of the Hindu deities.

Few visitors enter these caverns without being

greatly impressed by the strange and eerie sight
which seems to increase as the eyes get more
accustomed to the dimness, while some are even
 ALUWIHARI. 163

haunted by the memory of the uncanny vision.

There are many interesting inscriptions on the
bare face of the rock, one of which is an ordinance
that when absolute grants of land are made such
dispositions shall not be recorded on palm leaves,
which are liable to be destroyed, but shall be
engraved upon plates of copper, to be imperish-
able through all ages. This ordinance is attributed
to the great Parakrama, and it sometimes happens
even now that a copper title-deed figures in the
law courts of Colombo as evidence in disputed
cases of ownership.

Leaving Dambulla we pursue our homeward

journey for some thirty-five miles until just before
reaching Matale we turn aside to the rock temple
of Aluwihari, which claims our attention both
as an extremely picturesque spot and one to which
is attached considerable literary interest. We
take to a jungle path off the main road till we
come upon a flight of stone steps which lead to
what appears to have been originally a cleft in
the rock (Plate facing page 18.) On the left side
runs a verandah, a modern tiled erection,
which conceals the entrance to a cavern sacred
as the scene of King Walagambahu's convention
of monks century B.C., at which were
in the first
transcribed the sayings of Buddha hitherto pre-
served only by tradition. The object of the con-
vention was, however, not confined to the mere
committal to writing of the master's words but
1 64 ALUWIHARI.
had in view also the provision of means of com-
bating the heresy of the Abhayagiriya fraternity,
which, as we have remarked in a previous chapter,
was then causing serious trouble at Anuradhapura.
To the enlightened Buddhist this secluded
and comparatively unpretending cavern must be
of infinitely greater interest than the Temple of
the Tooth or the Thuparama itself.
Protected by the verandah and painted on the
exterior of the rock are some interesting frescoes
with a striking resemblance in idea as well as
in execution to the rude mediaeval illustrations

of the punishments awaiting the impious in a

future state. Such representations are found in
most Buddhist temples.
And now that we have made the round of the
ruined cities we cannot but be painfully impressed
with the meagre knowledge that is at present
at our disposal. Only the merest fringe of this
great subject has been touched. have follow- We
ed in the wake of pious devotees and of a sym-
pathetic Government who have, no doubt, spent
considerable sums in such work of renovation and
exploration as has already been accomplished.
But this is merely infinitesimal. The trackless

jungle covers the greater part of the huge

still

cities of Anuradhapura and Polonnaruwa, while

other remains of its glorious past are scattered

here and there all over the island. The work
of exploration proceeds slowly; more funds are
 ALUWIHARL 165

needed, and these can only be expected from

Government sources. Not that the Buddhists
of to-day are indifferent to the monuments erected

by the piety of their forefathers. At the present

moment a scion of the royal house of Siam is
devoting a large fortune to the restoration of the
Miriswetiya Dagaba at Anuradhapura but it is ;

hopeless to expect that the equally costly work

of laying bare the buried remains can be carried
out by the private enterprise of individuals.
Should it be the good fortune of this unpreten-
tious account, of whose many imperfections no
one is more conscious than the author, to arouse
the interest of those to whom the ruined citie.s

are unknown and to quicken that already existing,

the object of this volume will be amply realised.
 INDEX
Abhayagiriya Dagaba, 91
,, ,,
Altars of, 92
Fraternity, 164
Aborigines, 32
Adam's Peak, 45
Agriculture in early times, 3, 4
,,
Ideal condition of, 4
Aluwihari, cave -temple, 18, 163, 164
Ambustele Dagaba, 47
Ananda, Statue of, 155
Animals, Wild, 4
Antiquarian interest, 17
Anuradhapura, Inner city of, 11
,, Journey to, 13
View of, from Mihintale, 36
Decay of, 141
Arittha,57
Asoka, 41, 67
Aryans, 32, 37

Basawak Kulam, 95
Batiyatissa, Statue of King, 72
,,
festoons the Ruanweli Dagaba, 86
Reads, Discovery of ancient, 111
Bell, Mr. H. C. P. Explorations at Sigiri, 127
Benares, 37
Bimbisara, Conversion of, 38
Birds, 26
Bo -Tree, Sacred, 7, 56, 57
Botany, 31
Brazen Palace, 8, 64, 65, 66, 68, 69
Bricks, Peculiar shape of, 97
Buddha, Death of, 40
,,
Visits to Ceylon by, 43
Relic of the collar bone of, 52
Statues of, at Ruanweli, 72
Colossal statue of, 114
,,
Recumbent statue of, 155
,, Sayings of, first transcribed, 163
2 INDEX.
Buddhism, Its adoption by the Singhalese, 37
,, Principles of, 38
Its four dogmas, 39
,,
in the time of Parakrama, 147
Buddhist Railing, 105
Bullock Carts, 14

Canopy, Stone, 103

Ceylon in early times, 2
Circular House, 149
Civilization, Dawn
of, in India, 32
Clusters of Pillars, 87
Cobra, Buddhist legend regarding the, 5
Coins, Discovery of Ancient, 112
Communication, Want of, 16
Coolies on the march from India, 20
Crocodiles, 62

Dhatu Sen, King, 120

of, Murder
123
^
Dalada Maligawa at Anuradhapura, 56, 115
,, ,,
at Polonnaruwa, 154
Dambulla, 21, 25, 124
,, Rock Temples at, 159
Dancing Halls, 8
Dutthagamini, King, 64
Fight with Elara, 64
Statue of, 73
Death of, 83
,, Dying wishes of, 85
Dvarpal at Maha Sen's Palace, 100
Dwellings, Native Modern, 117

Elara usurps the throne, 64

Tomb of, 65
Elephant Wall at Ruanweli Dagaba, 70
Elephants, Catching, 138, 139
Engineering skill in early times, 134
Etwehera Dagaba, 36
Explorations, Future, 156

Flowers, Culture of, 4

Use of, 10
Foundations of Shrines, 69
Frescoes at Sigiri, 127
 INDEX.
Galge, 114
Gal Vihara at Polonnaruwa, 155
Gems, Export of, 144
Giri, Island of, 44
Glass, Discovery of ancient, 111
Golden Age of Lanka, 1
Gotama chooses the life of a mendicant, 38
Greeks, Invasion of India by the, 40
Gregory, Sir William, 16

Habarane, 131
Health of inhabitants improving, 17
Heresy, Buddhist, 68
History of Remains, Authentic, 35

Inamalawa, 124, 132

Incidents of travel, 15
Information, Sources of, 2
Inhabitants, Destitution of, in modern times, 16
Inner City, 11
Inscriptions upon natural rocks, 6
Inscription of Nissanka, 73
Inscriptions, Old Singhalese, 76
Irrigation Works, 16
,, repairs to, 17
Isurumuniya Temple, 62
Bas Relief sculptures at, 63

Jetavana, 151
Jetawanarama at Anuradhapura, 95
at Polonnaruwa, 130
Johannis, Ingenuity of, 23
Journey to Anuradhapura, 13
Jungle, Clearance of, 17

Kalawewa, 30
Kalawewa, Dhatu Sen's last visit to, 122
Kandyan District, 15
Kasyapa, King, fortifies Sigiri, 119
Suicide of, 124
Kekirawa, 26
Maiwan, 115
Kitsiri
Kotuwa, 153
Kuttam-pokuna, 88
Kynsey, Dr. 17
4 INDEX.
Lakes, Artificial, 3
Language of the Singhalese. 33
Landscape, Beauty of, 3
Lion, Carving of, at Maha Sen's Palace, 99
Loha Pasada, 65

Magadha, 38
Magha, Polonnaruwa taken by, 157
Mahamegha Garden, 7
Ceremony of dedication, 50
Mahanamo, 122
119,
Maha Seya Dagaba, 36
Maha Sen, 68
,, Results of his recantation, 94
Palace of, 98
Mahathupa, Ceremony of foundation, 78
Mahawansa, 33
Mahinda, 34, 37, 41, 42
Mahinda, Bed of, 48
Malaria, 21
Manufactures, 1 1
Matale, 13, 17
Mihintale, 19, 32, 35
Interesting features of, 46
The great Vihara at, 46
Minueria, 132
MoggaUaua, 120, 122, 123
Moonstones, 100
Murray, Mr. A. 127

Naga Pokuna, 47
Nagas, 45
Nalande, 20
Nissanka, Inscription of, 74
Nissanka Malla, 154

Olas, Preservation of, 35

Ootooankande, 15, 27

Pandu-Orua, 56
Parakrama the Great, Accomplishments of, 143
Speech to his Minister, 144
Second Coronation of, 145
Works of, 147
Statue of, 157
Parangi, 16
Park-like scenery, 87
 INDEX.
Pataliputra, 57
Peacock Palace, 93
Perahera, Origin of, 116
Pokunas, 10
Pokuna, Restored, 88
Polonnaruwa, Road to, 136
Polonnaruwa, Incident of journey to, 137, 138
History of, 141
Theatres at, 149
Taken by the Tamils, 157
Potter, Native, 19
Provisions, 14

Queen's Pavilion, 100

Quinine, 21

Railing, Buddhist, 105

Raja-kariya, 5, 134
Ramparts at Polonnamwa, 148
Resthouses, 22
Fare at, 22
,, Amusement at, 22
River courses, 3
Roads, 14
Route, 14
Ruanweli Dagaba, 69
,, ,, Objects of interest around, 72
,, Foundations of, 76
Relic Chamber of, 80

Sadhatissa, King, 68
Sakyans, 37
Sanchi, Buddhist railing at, 108
Sanghamitta, '57
Sardiel, 27
Sat Mahal Prasada, 1 54

Saunders, Sir Frederick, 28

Sidhatta, The Thera, 79
Sigiri,
'
119
Gallery of, 123, 125
Ascent of, 126
Frescoes at, 127
Singhalese, conditions of existence of, in early times, 1

,,
Of what race were the, 32
Early history of, 33
,, Language of, 33
6 INDEX.
Singhalese, Conversion of, 43
Qualities of the race of, 142
Nation, Decline of, 157
Situation of Euined Cities, 14
Steps, Height of, at Mihintale, 35
Streets in early times, 8, 11
Sumana, 44

Tamils, Debasement of Anuradhapura by the, 142

Polounaruwa taken by the, 157
Tanks now in working order, 17
Temple Lands, 135
Theatres, 8
,,
at Polonnaruwa, 149
Thuparama Dagaba, 53
at Polonnaruwa, 152
explored by Mr. S. M. Burrows, 152
Tirappanne, 26
Tissa, King, 41
Conversion of, 46
,, ,,
Monuments erected by, 49
Toluwila, Excavations at, 117
Tooth of Buddha, its arrival in Ceylon, 56
Ransom of, by Parakrama, 116
Tooth, Temple of the, 56, 115
Topawewa, 140, 157
Trees, 30
Trough, Ornamental Granite, 55

Vejayanta, The, 148

Visitors' Book at Dambulla, 22

Walagambahu, Bang, Deposition of, 90

Vanquishes Dathiya, 91
Hiding place of, 160
His convention of monks, 163
Wata Dage, 155
Water, 15
"Ways and means for travelling, 13
Wealth in early times, 2
Wijayo, 34

Yakkas, 33
Yogi Stones, 102

Of TH
UNIVERSITY
ILII
 WORKS ON CEYLON
BY

HENRY W. CAVE, M.A., F.R.G.S.

Member of the Royal Asiatic Society.

PICTURESQUE CEYLON
AND ITS

A new
RUINED CITIES
Edition with 124 Photogravures and 55 Half Tone Engravings
from Photographs by the Author.
LONDON: SAMPSON Low, MARSTON & Co., LIMITED,
1903.
5. 5. 0. Net.

Photography has seldom been more admirably turned to the poetic inter-
pretation of nature. The Speaker.
It is difficult to decide to whom
to give the palm to the artist on the one
hand or to the author on the other. Examiner.
The book is most beautifully illustrated. Some of the pictures are of
extraordinary merit and the accompanying letterpress is always interest-
ing and readable. Pall Mall Gazette.
It is charmingly written and charmingly illustrated. Black and White.
We are glad to find Mr. Cave carrying on his work. Tosay that this book is
as worthy of its subject as its predecessors is praise enough. The Spectator.

GOLDEN TIPS
A description of Ceylon and its Great Tea Industry
BY HENRY W. CAVE, M.A., F.R.G.S.
With 2/5 illustrations from Photographs by the author. Price IDS. 6d. net.

OPINIONS OF THE PRESS.

Westminster Gazette. Mr. H. W. Cave has given as a most fascinating and
picturesque account of Ceylon. No one will read the book, with its en-
trancing photographs, without wishing to set out at once to the enchanted
island.

Glasgow Daily Mail. Mr. Cave has written much and well about the island
.
.
Every reader will rise up and call him blessed.
.

The Daily News. Mr. Cave's well-written and beautifully illustrated book
should interest the investor no less than the seeker after recreation and
the picturesque.
The Morning Post. A most graphic and pleasing account of Ceylon and its

great tea industry.

 14 DAY USE
RETURN TO DESK FROM WHICH BORROWED
LOAN DEPT.
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is
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Renewed books are subject to immediate recall.

VtE

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BEC. CIS. MAY 5 1979

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 YC

10470
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