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THE INDIAN ANTIQUARY.
[Nov. 1, 1872.
temple, a broad road, overshadowed by coconut minisu 10 warusha tinen mok 88trees, leads to a group of plain stone pillars near the lautan Bhumi-maha-wiharayata mpat'sô sea-shore ; but from these my attention was attract- mehi era tun bo ranata ga- dhiya yutu ed by a single pillar, situated on a low rocky point,
prayojana tu etikala da pol w- megas preover wbich the sea breaks amidst hewn stones, the
ekkote ttayi pisima geta remains of some ancient building.
yojana wiIf Rama's expedition and conquest of Lanka ex- Nila sela gas 200yi Dew ra- ndinawun isted in any form, or had any foundation more siya yu jjuru-sâmîntat
matu mata material than a poet's fancy, this lone pillar may be
Warddhana kaļawunţa ta pela iconsidered as an index which has resisted the waste
yime lese mekun- nduwa of ages, and now battles with the waves of ocean
which written continuously is “ Siri Sangato maintain its position, and mark the utmost limit
Bo Sri Paråkrama Bahu Chakrawartti swamin which remains of Vishnu's conquest and religion.
wahanseta 10 warusha tinen Bhâmi-mahe-wihThe pillar is of a form alternately octagonal and square, and exactly resembles columns that are to
rayaţa era tun-bo ranata gata etikala da pol watbe seen on the sacred promontory of Trinkomali. tayi pisima-geta gas 200 (desiyayi) Dew-rajjaru
Near the temple of Vishnu stand a Buddhist sâmîntat warrdhana-kalawanţa tayi me lese wihara and dagoba; and a quarter of a mile farther mekunge paramparawen pawat wi saga mok inland is situated a stone building called Galgana, sampat sêdhiya yutu. Me gas prayojana winconsisting of two rooms; the roof as well as the dinawun matu mata pela induwa yutuyi minisu walls are of the hewn stone, and exhibit excellent (? minissa) lautan mehi prayojana ekkote Nila specimens of masonry. On the top there appears
selasiya yutu." formerly to have been a dágoba; but the ruin is The words in italics are doubtful and give no now covered with shrubs and creeping plants that
sense : (and though unfortunately the grammafind root in the interstices of the building. These remains of Buddhism were completed or restored
tical construction is not clear without them) yet in the reign of Dapaloo the Second, A.D. 686. A
their being so scarcely impairs the value of the stone, which had been rescued from the rubbish inscription whose importance lies in the name of near one of the ruins, was pointed out to me at the
the king, the name of the god, and the numerals house of my friend, Mr. B- the collector of the
used. district, with whom I was residing. It owes its I would translate : preservation and present place of safety to Mrs. In the tenth year of the overlord (Chakrawarti) B— to whom I am indebted for much informa- 1 siri Sanga Bo Sri Parikrama Bahu....near tion regarding the antiquities in this part of 'to the Bhåmi-mahê wihara and ... Cocoanut the island. In the inscription on this slab tope to the image house, and 200 ooooanut trees to the I recognised the name and sounding titles of the lord Dewa Raja (Vishnu). Let those who increase King Prákrama Bahu, a zealous restorer of religious these gifts, and maintain their unbroken succession buildings, and a most persevering recorder of his obtain the bliss of release in heaven (swargaown virtues and power : he reigned from A.D. moksha-sampatti). Those who enjoy the fruit 1153 to 1186.
(prayojana) of these trees ought from time to time On an upright stone, near the temple of Vishnu, to plant seedlings. People who pick up the fruits is cat an inscription in the ancient Cingalese cha- ought to present them to Nila (Vishnu)." racter: although considerably decayed, by persever- First as to the name of the king : Sanga-Bo ance it might probably be deciphered.
(for Bodhi) and Parákrama Bahu (for Bhoja) The inscription on the latter stone I have are both common epithets of Ceylon kings. The succeeded in completely deciphering with the
first came into use after the martyrdom, 248 A.D. exception of one lines and the one engraved on
of the first king and Buddhist devotee of that the front and two sides of the former I would
name, and nine kings are given by Turnour with transliterate thus
the name of Parikrama Bahu : but no king is
given with the name mentioned in the text. Širi sanga
ge para- Forbes states that the temples were comBo Sri Parikrama B&- mparawe- pleted or restored by Dâpulu the second A. D.
hu chakrawartti swa- n pawat 686, and Tennentt has copied the statement, but yutuyi min wahanseta
wi saga I find nothing to support this in the books. The • There is only one column, on which is an inscription Publinhed in July 1871. (See Ind. Antiquary, p. 59.-Ed.] T. W.R.D.
Notep 118 loc. atat. It is published with text translation and notes in the Turnoar gives in his list two king under the name of last number of the Caylon Asiatic Society; and the fac- Dipolu. The second one began to reign 686 and the other simile will be found in the Proceedings of the C. S. 796 A. D!
Śri.
