THE LOST CITIES

OF CEYLQN

.
Mittor
of considerable repute,

By G.

E.

MITT^ni;^:on Normandy and

the Thar

The romance

of dead cities and a lost civilisation makes an

almost inexpressible appeal.
There are in Ceylon remains
of ancient buildings, records of a history that was all but
forgotten.

The book

tells

the story of those dead stones

and what they represent

}.

5. Mi b ton

author of "The Lost Cities of Ceylon," is an writer

She wrote "A Bachelor Girl
has travelled r.uch.
ic Railway," "Children's Book of London," "Children's
'itten several novels, and is joint author of books
10

THE LOST
.

..

MITTON,

Author of "Round the Wonderful

World,"

nth numerous

OP CEYLON.

CITIES

By G. E.

Illustrations.

In the Grip of the Wild

Demy

8vo.

Wa,

etc.

10*. 6d. net.

the latest book of the

1
^ e are accust omed to in the
average histories of lost civilizations' a rT^
S
he book has as UttJ e
as possible, the air of
uncontrollable kno
knn JJIed
P H e a "d
i its
-!
Jachievement is to
so much of historv ivifh^^ 11
\vithout
ustory
dullness and
Dailv r.i"~~j,T,

^^

'

NEW YORK: THE

problems."

F. A.

STOKES Co.

/>

IN

THE RUINED CITY OF ANURADHAPURA

(THUPARAMA IN THE DISTANCE)
Frontispiece.

THE LOST CITIES OF

CEYLON
BY

E.

G.

MITTON

AUTHOR OF "ROUND THE WONDERFUL WORLD'

"IM THE GRIP OF THE WILD WA," KTC.

' '

The Moving Finger writes and having

Moves on nor all your piety nor wit
;

writ,

Shall lure

Nor

all

it

back to cancel half a

line,

your tears wash out a word of

it."

RUBAlYAT OF OMAR KHAYYAM.

WITH ILLUSTRATIONS AND MAPS

NEW YORK
FREDERICK

A.

STOKES COMPANY

PUBLISHERS
1917

TO

MY

SISTER

EVELYN MAYNARD,
WHO SHARED WITH ME THB
JOY AND WONDER INSPIRED BY

THESE MYSTERIOUS RUINS.

CONTENTS
PAOB

INTRODUCTION

xi

TABLE OF PRINCIPAL KINGS

Xvi

CHAPTER
THE WONDER OF THE PAST

....

CHAPTER

II

THE ROAD THROUGH THE JUNGLE

CHAPTER

...

LANKARAMA DISTRICT

36

III

THE BEAUTIFUL CITY OF ANURADHAPURA

CHAPTER

.48

IV

A WORLD OF MONKS

QO

CHAPTER V
THE TWO GREATEST DAGABAS

CHAPTER

....
VI

ABOUT AND AROUND

Il6

CHAPTER
PAVILION, PALACE, OR

VII

MONASTERY?

CHAPTER
VIJAYARAMA

105

127

134

VIII

A JUNGLE SOLITUDE
vii

CONTENTS

viii

CHAPTER IX

....
X
....

TWO OUTLYING MONASTERIES

CHAPTER
MIHINTALE, THE SACRED HILL

141

146

CHAPTER XI
SIGIRIYA:

A PALACE ON A ROCK

CHAPTER
POLONNARUWA

158

170

XII

THE JUNGLE CITY

CHAPTER

XIII

THE EPIC OF PARAKRAMA

178

CHAPTER XIV
POLONNARUWA

THE CITADEL

IQ3

CHAPTER XV
A NECKLET OF ARCHITECTURE

....

205

CHAPTER XVI
SACRED SHRINES

21 6

CHAPTER XVII
A FLOWER IN STONE

22Q

CHAPTER
THE BEAUTY OF THE BUND

XVIII

....

237

CHAPTER XIX
YAPAHUWA

A FOURTEENTH-CENTURY FORTRESS

TABLE OF DISTANCES

INDEX

245

253

254

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
IN

THE RUINED CITY OF ANURADHAPURA

Frontispiece

FACING PACK

TISSA-WEWA

48

ANURADHAPURA HOTEL

48

THE SACRED BO-TREE

49

THE PEACOCK PALACE

56

....

MOONSTONE AT ANURADHAPURA

57

THE BRAZEN PALACE

57

RUANWELI DAGABA

64

.65

MAKARA BALUSTRADE
DALADA MALIGAWA, ANURADHAPURA

....

65

COBRA AND MONGOOSE FIGHT

80

THE PILLARS OF THUPARAMA

8l

THE

GUARD-STONE
STABLES

"

.......
AT

THE

ONE OF THE TWIN POKUNAS

SECTION OF MOONSTONE,

"

"

SO-CALLED

KING'S PALACE

SEVEN-HOODED COBRA AT ABHAYAGIRIYA

ELEPHANT

97

"
.

96

112

.112

BATHING-PLACE NEAR THE BUND OF TISSA-WEWA

113

CARVING ON WALL OF LOWER TERRACE AT ISURUMUNIYA

113

ISURUMUNIYA MONASTERY

128

MONK'S CAVE-CELL AT VESSAGIRIYA

ix

....

I2Q

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

VACXITO

A PORCH OF ONE OF THE PAVILIONS

...

THE HIGHEST STAIRCASE AT MIHINTALE

THE POOL OF THE FIVE-HOODED COBRA

VIJAYARAMA

SIGIRIYA

...'.

FROM THE NORTH SIDE

....
.

THE LION'S CLAW, SIGIRIYA

PAGE

134
135

144
145

l6o
l6l

"

DWARF-STONE AT VIJAYARAMA

176

SKIN OF LEOPARD SHOT NEAR THE REST-HOUSE, POLON-

NARUWA
THE ROYAL PALACE, POLONNARUWA
SIVA DEVALE, NO.

....

176

177

(COMMONLY CALLED DALADA MALI-

GAWA)

192

THUPARAMA TEMPLE

IQ3

SAT-MAHAL-PRASADA

2C>8

JETAWANARAMA TEMPLE

....

20Q

224

A BALUSTRADE AT POLONNARUWA

THE FLORAL ALTAR

224

ANANDA SORROWING FOR THE BUDDHA WHO HAS PASSED

INTO NIRVANA

225

THE LOTUS BATH

240

ROCK-CUT FIGURE, POPULARLY CALLED

THE GREAT
\

"..'..

"

...

PARAKRAMA
241

MAPS
ANURADHAPURA

72

MIHINTALE

I5 2

POLONNARUWA

232

CEYLON

At

the

end

INTRODUCTION
THE ruins
but

it is

Egypt have been known

for centuries,
recent
in
years the
only
comparatively
of

ruins of Ceylon have been unearthed. Since then

numbers have been attracted by these strange

and beautiful specimens

architecture quite
unlike anything found elsewhere. After the final
victories of the Tamils, when the Cingalese kings
were driven to their last stronghold, Kandy,
which lies among the hills in the centre of the
of

island, the jungle growth, so extraordinarily rapid

in the moist atmosphere of Ceylon, sprang up in

wave upon wave,

engulfing in a vast green sea the

That such cities
sites of these ancient capitals.

had existed had long been known, but knowledge

whereabouts only remained as a tradition.
In the early part of the nineteenth century an
Englishman, Lieut. Fagan, came upon some of
the ruins, and was immensely struck with them ;
he wrote an account in The Ceylon Gazette, Oct.
1820. The ruins were subsequently visited by one
or another of the European officials in Ceylon,
notably by Major Skinner on his road-making
of their

excursions in 1831, and subsequently. But it was

not till 1871 that any steps were really taken to
reclaim and preserve them. Then a series of fine

photographs of both Anuradhapura and Polonnaruwa, as they then were, was taken by Mr. Lawton,

and

official

began.

attention to archaeology in the island

Two years later

a survey of Anuradhapura

INTRODUCTION

xii

was carried

and measurements of the heights

dagabas and other details of the ruined
temples were made. In 1884-5 a good deal of
investigation was done under Mr. S. M. Burrows,
out,

of the

who

of the Ceylon Civil Service,

as office assistant

Government Agent of the North Central

Province was deputed to undertake this work.
to the

"
"
After this a series of
were
Sessional Papers
issued from time to time describing progress, and
in 1890 the first direct vote for archaeological
purposes was recorded. Mr. H. C. P. Bell, of the

Ceylon Civil Service, who had already been doing

some of the work, was appointed the first Archaeological Commissioner.
Mr. Bell began systematic work at Anuradhapura in the June of that year, and from that time
Annual Reports recording the work were made,
though, owing to lack of funds, or other causes,
they sometimes appeared years after the date to
which they referred. These Reports grew rapidly
all of them have a
in bulk and completeness
certain amount of illustration, and the later ones
contain perfect galleries of photographic reproductions, and are most interesting and informative,
giving an idea of the work in every stage. In the
nature of the case, however, these Reports deal
with all the ground covered in each year, and it is
often necessary to trace the course of any particular excavation through many of them, to get
a complete picture of it. The Reports are also,
it must be remembered, official records, and contain a great deal which, though of the utmost
value for reference, is tedious to the general reader,
;

who can

hardly be expected either, to carry about

INTRODUCTION

xiii

with him the vast bulk and weight of several of

them, which would be necessary if he is to gather
what is said about all the places visited.
Mr. S. M. Burrows issued a little handbook to
the ruins in 1905. This has since been reprinted,
but it suffers from the common fault of an expert's
It is quite imwork, it presupposes too much.
to
a
new-comer
for
gather from it where
possible
he is to find anything, and in arrangement it
leaves much to be desired. Mr. Cave's Ruined
Ceylon, issued in 1897, attracted some
attention at the time it came out, because of its
beautiful photogravures, but very much has been
Cities

of

discovered

since

then,

and the references to

Polonnaruwa in particular are at the present date

It has been felt, therefore,
entirely inadequate.
that on account of the quickly growing number
"
of visitors to these beautiful
cities," and also
because of the intrinsic interest of the ancient
history of the Cingalese, as illustrated by them,
a book was imperatively required to collate and
put in compact and readable form all that is known,
so that it might be used either as a guide-book on
the spot or be read by those unfortunate ones at
"
home, whose travel is solely in the mind."

As for myself, I am merely an interpreter. I

have to plead only a curiously intense interest in
"
these relics
in homely words,
it all comes
natural to me." The mighty monuments of Egypt
;

me

many attractions of Burma

amused and interested me superficially, in Ceylon
from the first moment I was at home. Maybe in

left

cold,

the

one of those previous

lives, of

have a shadowy notion,

which we sometimes
and the

lived there,

INTRODUCTION

xiv

faculty of being able to see

it all

as

it

was

is

merely

the stirring of a long-buried experience.

If by means of this book, which has been written
with genuine enthusiasm, I send a few people to
study for themselves these monuments, or to

burrow further in Mr. Bell's exhaustive Reports

if I carry one or two away from a war-worn world
;

into the realms of hitherto

all I

unknown

history, it is

ask.

A few explanations are necessary. The Reports

so constantly referred to in the body of the book
are of course the Ceylon Archaeological Survey
Reports issued by the Government. All historical
quotations enclosed in inverted commas without
a reference are from Mr. Tumour's and Mr.
Wijesinha's translations of the Mahawansa. The

which seem somehow so much

more expressive than the English in certain cases,
are here and there used. The first time they are
so used they are printed in italics with an interpretation.
If any one wants to gain an elementary
notion of Tamil or Cingalese, the two languages
of the island, he cannot do better than get the
little manuals, Tamil Self-Taught and Sinhalese
Self-Taught, by Don M. de Z. Wickremasinghe
Cingalese words,

(Marlborough & Co.).

On page xvi will be found a table giving the
dates of the principal kings mentioned in the
book.
The first column of figures is compiled
from the Mahawansa by the simple method of
reckoning backwards and adding up the numbers
of years and months specified for each king's
This is a rough-and-ready way. Recently
reign.
new light has been thrown on these dates by the

INTRODUCTION

xv

Don M. de Z. Wickremasinghe, who

has gathered new data from ancient inscriptions
unearthed in Ceylon. By his permission these

researches of

They are
figures are given in another column.
in most cases to be accepted as only provisional,
though confirmation of their accuracy has been
by comparing them with accounts of
embassies to Ceylon from China and India in olden
afforded

days, of which the dates are knowri, for in these

reference is sometimes made to the then reigning
king of Ceylon, and in this striking way it has been

found possible to prove Mr.

Wickremasinghe' s

deductions.

Of the help received on the spot from all officials,

including Dr. Joseph Pearson, D.Sc., Director of the
Colombo Museum, Mr. H. C. P. Bell, ex- Archaeological Commissioner, and the representatives of
the Survey, Muhandiram D. A. L. Perera at
Anuradhapura and Mr. Jayasekera at Polonnaruwa,
I cannot speak too warmly.
The work would
have been quite impossible without their cordial
co-operation.
I have also to acknowledge with thanks the
very prompt permission accorded me by the

Colonial Secretary in Ceylon in reply to my request

to reproduce plans and two photographs from the

Survey Reports, where my own had failed. The

two photographs Jof which I made use in accordance with this permission are duly notified, the
rest are my own.
I am grateful also for the
kindly help of Mr. G. F. Plant, C.C.S., in reading
"
my proofs while at home in England on leave,"
which was wholly occupied by work.
G. E. M.

NOTE
PRINCIPAL KINGS MENTIONED
Tumour.

Wijaya
Pandukabhaya
.

Dewanampia Tissa

Uttiya
Elala

Dutugemunu

Lajji Tissa

Walagambahu
Bhatikabhaya
Gaja Bahu I.
Maha Sena

Here ends the Mahawansa, the rest of the kings belong to ths
Suluwansa.

Dhatu Sena
Kasyapa I.

...
.

A.D. 459
A.D. 477

A.D. 495 reigned 18

A.D. 511
18

THE LOST

CITIES OF
CHAPTER

CEYLON

THE WONDER OF THE PAST

AGAINST the smoky orange-red of the after-glow
the monkeys looked like little black demons as
they leaped from one tree to another. The weird
beat of the tom-toms and the droning chant of
worshippers round the sacred bo-tree drew me
nearer and nearer to the enclosure till I passed
"
under the hideous plaster-coated entrance erected
"
1814
by some wealthy devotee. It was almost
too dark in the courtyard beyond to distinguish
the sturdy round stems, offspring of the parent
tree, so dense was the screen of their graceful
foliage, but flickering wood fires here and there
on the bare sand lit up the solemn dark faces of
the pilgrims come from far, and showed strange
flashes of Eastern colouring in their clothing. The
air was heavy with the fragrance of temple-tree
flowers, in scent and shape resembling tuber-roses,
lying waxen in saucers ready to be offered.
High

above, up two terraces, guarded and enclosed,

grew the oldest historical tree in the world, with
an authentic history of over 2,000 years. Since
the ages before Christ the tree has been tended,
J
2

THE LOST

CITIES OF

CEYLON

guarded, and watered, and surrounded with the

perfume of adoration and the atmosphere of prayer.
It grows at Anuradhapura, the Ancient Royal City
of Ceylon.

had

little

time,

when

first I

saw

it

nine years ago, to absorb the wonder and mystery,

or to search among the carved granite of that
city,

but ever after

was possessed with the

longing to return and penetrate the full measure

of its beauty, and at last the chance came.
There is nothing that so draws the heart of
educated man as the age-old ruins of a civilisation differing
ruins,

from his own

and when those

like jewels, are set in the gold of records

minute in detail, as authentic as anything in history can be, and reaching back into ages before
the Christian Era, their fascination is increased
The Cingalese possess, in that wonderful book the Mahawansa, or as it is sometimes
called after its first author, the Mahanama, chronicles surpassing anything other nations can show.
From about 500 B.C. up to the time of the EngAnd
lish occupation these historical records run.
the fact that they are history and not sacred writings distinguishes them from a multitude of docuten-fold.

ments of equal antiquity.

In the fifth century A.D. a

priest of the royal

set
called
himself
the task of
house,
Mahanama,
in
recording
orderly sequence the story of his
native land by means of gathering his facts from

existing records in the vernacular

and

collating

them.
His version carried the tale up to A.D. 301.
Hence it was taken on by one pen after another
in the same style, each scribe telling in simple

THE WONDER OF THE PAST

fashion and with marvellous

human

simplicity of

the life lived by king and people when Ceylon was

a kingdom and the royal cities were centres of
civilisation and learning, though as yet our
ancestry had not been evolved, and
"
"
"
Scottish," and
Irish," much more
English,"
"
"
"
"
connotanational

American or British
tion), were unknown.

The second part

of

its
(in
v

modern

the record

is

correctly

the inferior
but
generally speaking the
dynasty (see p. 24),

called the Suluwansa, or

whole

is

now

history of

referred to under one

title.

was made available for English readers by George Tumour, who

translated the first thirty chapters, the work of
Mahanama, in 1837.
Tumour was in the Ceylon Civil Service, and
in 1827 there came into his hands a transcript of
a commentary, which enabled him to translate
the Pali text of the original Mahawansa. This
commentary was also written by Mahanama.
Buddhist writers were in the habit of making
some such running commentary, as the Pali
scripts had to conform to certain rules of metre
which did not lend themselves to clearness of
sense, so it was a usual custom to write out a

The

first

part of these records

liberal translation in this form,

otherwise they
were often unintelligible. The task was completed many years later by the publication in
1889 of the translation of the remaining chapters
by L. C. Wijesinha, Mudaliyar, which carried the
history up to the English occupation. There
have since been other versions, but in this work
references and quotations are from these two books.

The Mahawansa

is

not the only ancient record

of the Cingalese, but it is far the most reliable

and continuous, also the most accessible to Eng-

Allowing for the legends and supernatural additions which have sprung up around
religious events, and discounting the repetitions
"
"
in the manner of the old
with a difference
the
book, as history, is exceednursery fairy-tale,
lish readers.

ingly interesting to-day.

the hundreds of visitors who yearly go

to Ceylon, and the thousands who stop a day in
"
somewhere or other " by
port on their way to
one of the great liners, it is safe to say that, while
all know of Kandy and the hill-resort of Nuwara
Eliya, there are comparatively few who have
heard anything at all about the far greater at-

Among

tractions

of

Anuradhapura,

Polonnaruwa,

and

Sigiriya, the three most famous of the royal

cities of old Ceylon.
Only yesterday a man, whose bent inclined him
to interest in old things, said casually in my hear-

"

ing,

shan't

stop in Ceylon, nothing to see

there," and was amazed to learn what there was

to see.

worth while going out East to visit the

ruins
alone, and specially to see, the exCeylon
these have nothing
quisitely carved moonstones
It is

to do with the jewels usually associated with the

island, but are semi-circular granite stones of a
kind peculiarly associated with Ceylon. A few
examples of semi-circular stones in a comparatively plain style have been found in South India
outside temple entrances, but they have little in
common with the richly carved specimens in

Anuradhapura and Polonnaruwa.

The carving on

the stones in these

cities is as fresh as the day it

was done, and is alive with the spirit of the artist
whose hand fashioned the lifelike elephants and
bullocks, the strange horses, and still stranger
lions, which run incessantly after one another in
a race beginning some 2,000 years ago and stretch-

ing to infinity.
Egypt has attracted its tens of thousands, and
of the books that have been written about it

no end, but mysterious and awe-inspiring

as are the mighty monuments and temples of
Egypt, they lack the individuality, the varying
touches, the humanness of these works of Ceylon,
where one is perpetually reminded by a thousand
inimitable touches that all is handicraft and not
machine-made.
there

is

The Cingalese have a tradition of a great king

who was the son of a lion, the word Sinha in their
language, hence their national name is more
correctly spelt Sinhalese, but the anglicised form,
being more familiar to English-speaking readers,
"
"
This
Sinha
had a
is adopted in this book.

grandson, Wijaya, from whom the real roll of the

kings of Lanka the ancient name for the island
1

begins.

Wijaya came over from India on a raiding

expedition and established himself in the island
some five and a half centuries before Christ
(543

B.C.).

The

original inhabitants of the island

his advent are somewhat con-

found by him on
1

Spelt also variously

Wejaya

or Vijaya.

THE LOST

CITIES OF

CEYLON

"
Yaktemptuously spoken of in the records as
kho" or "Yakkha" demons.
"
Mr. Still in his admirable little book says,
It
never
is a pity the Yakkhos are silent.
They
produced a book, an inscription, a coin, or a
1

permanent building."
The crowds of followers who came over with
Wijaya must have intermarried with these aborigines, for they soon ceased to have an independent
It may
existence, and reference to them stops.
be that the few Veddahs who live in the deepest
jungles to the present day are a remnant of them.

The next outstanding name among

Cingalese
or
of
that
Tissa,
kings
Dewanampiatissa, the
"
"
as he came to be called.
Beloved of the Gods
is

He

reigned forty years from 307 B.C., and it was

in his reign that the most important event in the
whole of Cingalese history happened, for Mahinda,
the pious son of the great King Asoka of India
the monarch to whom all Indian Buddhists look
as their greatest ruler came over on a mission
to convert the Cingalese.
In this he was eminently successful, not only
was the king converted, but his followers embraced the new religion wholesale, as the Kentish
men embraced Christianity after the example of
King Ethelbert, and ever since Ceylon has been
a Buddhist stronghold.
Buddhists cherish legends of the appearance of
no less than twenty-four Buddhas before that of
the present era, who is generally meant when the

He, the only historical example,

Ancient Genitals of Ceylon. (Cave & Co., Ceylon,

title is used.
1

Guide

1907.)

to the

THE WONDER OF THE PAST

they say, the fourth of this kalpa, or section of

time, in which there is still one to appear.
For a considerable time doubt was thrown
by the non-Buddhist world on the actual existence of Gautama, the latest Buddha, as the date

is,

of his birth

Even when

was doubtful.

this

was

admitted, he was, for many years, supposed to

be of an age considerably further back in time
than has since been conjectured. Professor Rhys
Davids, in his article on the subj ect in the Encyclopcedia Britannica, says

"

The date [of Buddha's death] derived from

Ceylon, which is usually assigned to that event,
is 543 B.C.
But those scholars who have devoted
most attention to the point hold this calculation
to contain a certain error of about sixty years,
and a probable error of about eighty to a hundred
more, so that the date for the death of Buddha
would have to be brought forward to 400 B.C. or
a few years later."
As

known

that

Buddha

lived to eightyone years of age, this puts his birth somewhere

it

is

Yet this is not final. The reM. Aurel Stein and others are
yearly bringing out fresh evidence on which to
form an opinion.
By independent calculations
based
on
the
evidence
of inscriptions, Don
also,
M. de Z. Wickremasinghe makes the death of
about 480

B.C.

searches of

Sir

Buddha 483 B.C., therefore his birth 564 B.C.

But there is not yet finality on this question.
Gautama was born in what is now known as the
borders of Nepal,
1

at

Kapilavastu.

Epigraphia Zeylanica, vol.

i.

His people

p. 156.

were called Shakyans and belonged to the warrior

or Kshatriya caste.
In spite of the fact that the Mahawansa describes the visits of

Gautama, and the three pre-

ceding Buddhas, to Ceylon, there seems to be not

the slightest historical evidence for such events,
and though the course of his life is fairly well
known, there is nothing in it which confirms the
idea of this visit. When the chroniclers of
Ceylon are dealing with facts which came within
their own cognisance they have often been proved
to be remarkably accurate, if the few natural
flourishes to embellish and aggrandise their kings
are allowed for
but when writing purely from
imagination, it is evident that their possession of
that quality was not despicable.
The continuance of any tradition rests more
upon the will to believe than is commonly sup;

and annually thousands of Buddhists still

gaze in awe and reverence on the monstrous fivefoot impression on Adam's Peak, supposed to
have been there imprinted by Gautama on the
posed,

last of his three visits to

the island

while the

other foot rested in the centre of Anuradhapura,

on the spot where the most sacred of the dagabas,
Ruanweli, now stands. How this remarkable
feat was accomplished needs no explaining to the

The print on Adam's Peak bears the

sacred lotus, which emblem is inthe
sign
seen sculped on the soles of prosto
be
variably
faithful.

of

trate images of

Buddha.

As the whole life of the people of Ceylon is bound

up with their religion, and their ancient monuments are overwhelmingly

of the religious rather

THE WONDER OF THE PAST

than

of the civil

brief sketch of

life, it is

what

necessary to give a very

means to its

this religion

votaries.

Gautama, who began

of a raja, received

life in luxury as the son

"revelation" which enlight-

ened him as to the riddle of

life.

"

Sitting one night under the tree, which

henceforth was called the Buddha-tree, he arrived
at perfect insight into the nature and cause of
sorrow, and the way of destroying it. He was
then Buddha, the Buddha of the age. He had
attained, unaided, and by direct insight and
conscious realisation, the saving truth for the
benefit of gods

and men."

For seven times seven days he sat thus, part

time sheltered from storms and rain by the
hood of a cobra, who watched over him tenderly.
Hence the origin of the many-headed cobras so
constantly found in Buddhistic sculpture. Pos"
"
Bodhi-tree
sibly this touch and that of the
were later additions designed to attract and bring
into the fold the remnant of those who followed
"
Tree and Serpent worship," for a characteristic
of early Buddhism was a vast catholicity.
In
its origin at all events it claimed to spring from
Hinduism, and to embrace and develop the spiritof the

ual side of that religion, and, entirely different

it is from Hinduism at the present day, many

as

educated Brahmins

still

hold this idea.

that

in

certain,
any case,
many
beliefs were incorporated into the
such as that of transmigration.

The summary
1

of

Buddha's

It

is

very

ancient

new

religion,

reflections

Buddhism in Ceylon, by Bishop Copleston, and

ed.

as

to

1908.

THE LOST

io

CITIES OF

CEYLON

embodied in what is called the Eightfold Path, which (as interpreted by Professor Rhys
conduct

is

Davids)

is

"

Right views, right aspiration, right

speech, right conduct, right mode of livelihood,

right effort, right mindfulness, and right rapture."
The gist of his ideas upon life was apparently,

that
"

all

misery comes from individuality.

Birth

disease is

attended with pain,

decay is painful,
death
is
painful, union with the
painful,
is

unpleasant is painful, painful is separation from

and any craving unsatisfied, that
the pleasant
too is painful."
;

Therefore if you get rid of this craving you get

rid of the individuality, and attain the bliss of
nothingness the Nirvana or Neh'ban, which has
been so frequently supposed to be a state of
individual happiness in another world. Buddha's
teaching is not so.
To rid oneself of suffering is the object, not to
attain joy. What is the suffering caused by ?
The clinging to objects on earth. Therefore if
one cuts oneself off from all environment the

must

But

end
cannot be attained all at once. For instance, no
layman living a normal human life can attain to
it, but he can earn progression toward a higher
existence in a succeeding life, and eventually win
To destroy the clinging threads is the work
it.
It can be begun by
of more than one life-time.
suffering

cease.

this

desirable

purity of conduct, self-control in regard to the

sins of the flesh, and this enables the subject to
1

Early Buddhism.

(Constable.

1914.)

THE WONDER OF THE PAST

meditate in utter self-forgetfulness of the world

until he finally gains insight.
The revelation which came to Buddha was that
he himself was an Arahat, that is to say, he had

around

previous existences and

"
attained to that entire absence of
clinging,"
which carried with it Nirvana. He had no threads,
"
"
suckers
no
attaching him to life. But instead of instantly resigning himself into a state
of passionless non-existence as he was able, he
chose to remain on earth and fulfil the span of
man's life and pass on to others that vision which

passed through

many

he had inwardly seen.

As was natural, an enormous accretion of teach-

and legends sprang up after his death, encrusting and enlarging upon his own comparatively few and simple words.

ings

In fact, believing Buddhists now know what,

whether he knew it or not, he never revealed in
his lifetime
namely, the whole of his 500 previous
existences in the flesh. These are embodied in
the Jatakas, a series of folk-lore tales, woven
with the Buddha as principal actor in animal or
human form. These form a favourite subject
for paintings,

at full length,

and were gloriously painted, almost

on the walls of one of the temples

of Ceylon,

"Demala-maha-seya," where,
and weather have not left much (see p.

alas,

wet

233).

be seen that the necessity for passing

onward from one life to another, as the inctividual
climbs the Ladder of Existence, presupposes transmigration, an idea so deeply embedded in the
human mind that it may almost be said to be
It will

natural to man.

Its hold lies in the explanation

THE LOST

12

CITIES OF

CEYLON

apparently offers of the inconsistency and injustice of human fate as meted out to ourselves
If we are paying for what
or those around us.
we earned in some previous though unremembered existence, we cannot prate of injustice.
This doctrine, however, as expounded in the
original Buddhist creed, is not the same as glibly
quoted by people of the Western world. They
apparently imagine that the soul or entity passes
entire into a new body which happens to be there,
and that somewhere, after the summit of perfection has been reached, the individual, who, even
now, has glimpses of previous existences, will be
able to look back over the whole sequence. Some
sort of a heaven, or spiritual, and still individual,
existence is usually postulated as the crown of
it

endeavour

Now Buddha

admitted no soul, and in his belief

was
the beginning and end of sufferindividuality
ing no heaven was to be the reward of effort
;

only extinction.
Professor Rhys Davids points this out emphatically.

"

In the popular

belief,

followed also in the

Brahmin theology, the bridge between the two

lives was a minute and subtle entity called the
soul, which left the one body at death and entered
into the new body. The new body happened to
be there, ready, with no soul in it. The soul did
not make the body. In the Buddhist adaptation
theory, no soul, no consciousness, no
memory, goes over from one body to the other.
It is the grasping, the craving, still existing at the
death of one body that causes the new set of
of

this

THE WONDER OF THE PAST

skandhas, that is, the new body, with
tendencies and capacities, to arise.
takes place is nowhere explained."

its

13

mental

How

this

merely the clinging to life which

on
in
the
passes
present world, gathering to
itself a body in which to clothe itself, and carry
on the contact with that material environment
for which it craves.
The craving ensures continued contact, and final severance from all
It is therefore

material things is only ensured when the last

"
"
is atrophied and there is no adherence
feeler
of any kind to this world left in what, for want
of words, must be described as the entity.
In the Buddhist creed the resumption of life
may be in the form of an animal instead of a

human

being.

"

Those who do not keep a guard over their

passions, who are abusive, and who refrain from
giving alms, will fall into the Bohng of animals.
Just as one man by reason of previous merits is
born a prince, while another barely scrapes into
human existence as an outcast pagoda slave, a
grave-digger, a leper, or a heretic, so there are
grades in the state of animals. To be an elephant
to
is, of course, nearly as good as being a man
;

usually very much better.

The vulture is highly honoured because it
never takes life but lives entirely on carrion." l

be a white elephant
.

is

Sir

George Scott's version

Commandments

is

of the

"

to
1

Not to take any kind of

commit adultery, not to
The Bur man

George Scott).

Buddhist Ten

life,
lie,

not to steal, not

not to drink in-

His Life and Notions, by Shway Yoe (Sk

(Macmillan.

1896.)

J.

14

THE LOST

CITIES OF

CEYLON

toxicating liquor. Also, not to eat after midday,

not to sing, dance, or play on any musical instrument, not to use cosmetics, not to sit, stand, or
sleep on platforms or elevated places improper
for one's position, not to touch gold or silver."

The first five are incumbent on all Buddhists,

the second five only on the monks, but the laity
are expected to observe them on sacred days.
Sir George Scott is writing of Burma, but the
Buddhism

of

Burma and Ceylon

is

very closely
akin, both being rooted in the Siamese school.
For in 1750 King Kirti Sri brought over to the
island twenty Siamese monks to revive the
national religion, and with very few exceptions
the island Buddhists follow their teaching. The
monks wear the yellow robe with the right shoulder uncovered. To this fraternity belong the

Kandy, Anuradhapura, Adam's Peak,

Kelani, and Tissamaharama.
"
"
Though more properly described as monks
than priests, because ministerial duties do not
enter into their vocation, yet these men do give
discourses and read aloud the Buddhist sacred
books to those who visit the shrines. The gramophone is now even adopted in some places so that
these discourses may be repeated and preserved.
To visit the shrines and make offerings is a
very constant duty of the Buddhist laity, and the
shrines of

precepts of cleanliness, dislike of taking animal

life, and charity may be very clearly observed in
their daily lives.
It seems extraordinary

negative and
and satisfied

that

so

millions of

apparently

have spread
should
have
people, and

colourless a creed should

THE WONDER OF THE PAST

flourished through the ages.

by way

of

It

offers

15

so

little

inducement and dwells more on the

vices than the virtues of

human

nature.

In Buddhism there can be no such thing as

thankfulness for the boon of life, no recognition
of a virile youthful joy in life itself wholly innostill less of that most poignant
cent and pure
found
closest
in
juxtaposition with sorrow.
joy
Yet on the other side it may be said, that the
purest source of all joy, loving-kindness in its
widest sense, is not only not barred out, but in;

"

Let him (the disciple) cultivate toward the whole world above, below, around a
heart of love unstinted, unmixed with the sense
sisted on.

Let a man
differing or opposing interests.
maintain this mindfulness all the while he is awake,
whether he be standing, walking, sitting, or lying
down." ..." Our mind shall not waver. No evil
of

speech will
will

we

within.

we

utter.

Tender and compassionate

loving in heart, void of malice

will be ever suffusing such a

abide,

And we

one with the rays of our loving thought."

No ideal could be more beautiful, and the
mind of an Arahat, who could attain to the
l

it, would doubtless find in itself a

heaven on earth, which was all that the great

fulfilment of

teacher intended.

Buddha was no
mortification

ness of this

it

believer in unnecessary self-

was the discovery

mode

of

of the barren-

overcoming the body which

caused his very

earliest disciples to break away

from him only to return to him later. His view
was to get rid of the body altogether in regard to
1

Early Buddhism

(Ibid.).

THE LOST

16

CITIES OF

CEYLON

any hold it had, not to emphasise its importance

by increasing the evil thing, suffering.
It is true that in Buddhist practice the way is
to be made easier to the monks by the removal
of all but the minimum of possessions necessary
for life and cleanliness, thus lessening objects of
desire, but this is far from inflicted penance.
Great stress in the creed is laid on the attain-

ment

knowledge, but this knowledge is quite

from the Christian wisdom, which may
be interpreted as the ability to take a true view
of

different

of things, to look at life in its real proportion,

which, if it were fully attained, would necessitate

the cessation of

sin.

It is also quite apart from the earthly knowledge denned as science. Buddhist knowledge

means knowledge
that
"
I

self,

of self,

to rid oneself of

and how to get

that

all

is

rid of

included in

am."

The

disciple must learn the Four Noble Truths.

sorrow is universal
that
second, that
First,
desire is the cause of sorrow
third, that cessation of sorrow can only be attained by eradication of desire
fourth, that the truth shows the
;

eightfold

way

of living.

seems incredible that the ordinary people

worshipping at the temples, carrying with them
It

fragrant offerings of flowers, or burning

their little candles, should have grasped even the
faintest notion of their teacher's meaning, for
their

much

is high philosophy.
Probably the
that they do
of
Buddhism
is
success
secret of the
not grasp it and never attempt to do so. They

of

it

regulate their conduct,

more

or less,

by the

ex-

THE WONDER OF THE PAST

17

practical application set before

believe that if they abstain from

cellent rules of

them.

They

keep themselves clean, visit the

shrines, speak truth and are kind to their neighbours, they are all right, and most of them probe
no deeper.
There is no idolatry in Buddhism the images
of the master constantly set up in sacred shrines
are not intended to be worshipped, but merely to
remind the devotees of the sage. Yet undoubtedly,
as is the case with all uneducated peoples, the
tangible material object in some sense seems to
them to imbibe and to emanate the power and
taking

life,

holiness of the object represented; still more is

this the case with those sacred relics, which, they

firmly believe, were a part of Buddha's own body,

or used by him. And they attribute to those
relics

miraculous power which was never claimed

by Gautama

himself

when

alive.

curious problem seems to be that a religion

made up for the most part of such gloomy tenets,
and at the best so negative in its prospects, should
inspire its followers with such everyday cheerNo one who knows nations which are
fulness.

overwhelmingly Buddhist, in contrast with others,

which are not, can class Buddhism among gloomy
The Burmese, with whom Buddhism is
beliefs.
the predominant faith, are notoriously cheerful.
It may be contended that this is due to a preBuddhistic temperament, but we have no means
of proving it one way or the other.
It is true,
Buddhism is tinged with nat or spirittheir
worship, and the means taken to placate the unfriendly nats (the friendly ones wouldn't hurt

THE LOST

i8

you anyhow,

CITIES OF

so they

largely into the

life

CEYLON

may be

disregarded) enter
of the people, so their Bud-

In Ceylon too there is a

horror of demons and evil spirits, and the solitudes
of the jungles are supposed to be infested by them,
But this hardly affects the
especially after dark.
question, as, if Buddhism were really a gloomy

dhism

is

not pure.

influence, it

would make

itself felt

anyhow,

rein-

forcing these intermingled beliefs.

Of all the Buddhist shrines

remaining in
the
with
possible exception of Adam's
Ceylon,
Peak, Anuradhapura attracts the most devotees.

It

is

essentially

a sacred as well

as

a royal

city.

Its foundation indeed had taken place before

the introduction of Buddhism into the island, but
it was there, subsequently, that the most sacred
relics were enshrined, the greatest monuments of
piety erected, and, above all, the sacred bo-tree
planted. The city was the capital of the kingdom
for more than eleven centuries of varying fortunes, with one small exception, so it is amazing
to consider that many English-speaking people
to whom Persepolis, Karnac, and Babylon are
household names, have never even heard of it.
The Mahawansa records the length of each

king's

reign,

hence

by working backwards a

chronological table of dates has been compiled.

There are, however, a few discrepancies and some
ambiguities, so there is room for divergence of
opinion, and the later part of the table of kings
given by Turnour in his version of the Mahawansa
does not altogether accord with that compiled by

Wijesinha.

Don Martino

de Z. Wickremasinghe,

THE WONDER OF THE PAST

ig

working on evidence deduced from the inscriptions

found in Ceylon, has yet another chronology which
in most cases differs from either of these.
In this
book Tumour is followed, as far as he goes historically

in his text, and after that the dates

Wijesinha are preferred, as the kings

given by
can be identified in the accounts he gives of them,
and as most of the Cingalese kings had two or
more names, this is an important matter. A
table of the principal kings mentioned, giving also
Don Wickremasinghe's version, will be found on
p. xvi.
King Tissa, as has been said, reigned for
forty years, and the roll of his pious deeds is long.
Among meritorious works, that of the making of
great reservoirs of water, which served to supply
the land by means of canals, was counted high.

These tanks, as they are called, in many cases

exist to-day though dwindled in extent, and they
have been restored by the English Government.
The word " tank " is a misnomer they resemble
beautiful lakes, and form one of the most attrac;

tive features in a lovely country.

All through the history of Ceylon

we hear of
Mahawansa

raids of the Tamils (" damilos," as the

calls them), who descended in hordes

from

southern India upon the little island, just as the

Danes and Northmen did upon England, harrying and destroying, being driven off and conquering alternately. It was not only the Cholyans,
but other races of south India, such as the Pandyans, who swarmed over to seek spoil and carry
off loot.
Fergusson, in his History of Indian
Architecture, describes the Pandyan kingdom as
occupying the extreme south of the Jndian Penin-

20

THE LOST

CITIES OF

CEYLON

sula, while the Cholyan kingdom was north of it

and extended into Mysore. One of their capitals
was Uraiyur, now a suburb of Trichinopoly, and,
later on what is now Conjivaram, while Madura
was for a long time the capital of the Pandyans.
These two states were constantly at war with one
another and were equally bitter foes to Ceylon.
They were both Tamil-speaking" and may equally
be meant under the word
damilo," which
in
the
chronicles.
The first
appears so frequently
recorded regular invasion was that of one Elala
(or Elaro) a Cholyan, who, with an army from
Mysore, arrived with force and succeeded in
establishing himself as King of Lanka (205 B.C.).
For forty-four years he reigned and reigned well.
Though he did not become a Buddhist, he was
liberal minded as regards the national religion,

upheld the monks, continued many useful works,

such as the building of tanks, and kept the people
together with a strong hand. As an instance of
his justness, the Mahawansa says that at the head
of his bed was a bell, with a long rope, ready to
be rung by those who sought redress. Elala' s
son, when on an excursion to the Tissa tank in
his chariot, ran over a full-grown calf, which was
on the road with its mother. The cow immedithe bell-rope and pulled it by
throwing herself against it. On hearing the story
the king struck off the head of his son with the
same wheel that had passed over the calf's neck
There are many other similar stories.
The great river, the Mahawelliganga, has
always formed a barrier across which it was difficult to penetrate, and the power of Elala did not

ately went

to

THE WONDER OF THE PAST

21

reach to the further side, where lay the hill country

of Rohuna, difficult to subdue, and forming at all
times a refuge for the lawless or fugitive from the
northern side.

Here were established some remaining members

of the royal line of Wijaya, living in petty state,
and fretting at their exile from power. Among

them was one boy, subsequently called Dutugemunu, but as a boy Gemunu or Gamini, and
These two
his brother Tissa, two years his junior.
were great-grandsons of King Tissa (Dewanan-

When only a lad of twelve, Gemunu

himself
down on a bed with his hands and
flung
His mother asked him why he
feet curled up.
did not stretch himself out comfortably, to which
"
Confined by the damilos beyond
he replied
piatissa).

the river (Mahawelliganga) and on the other side

by the unyielding ocean, how can I, in so con"
fined a space, lie down with outstretched limbs ?
This was taken as an omen that some time when
he attained man's estate he would oust the usurper
Elala, and recover the throne of his forefathers.
The father of the princes was of a peaceful or
timid disposition, and tried to exact promises
from the lads that they would never attempt to
recover their inheritance from the Tamils. But

both of them were

any such

refused

of different metal,

pledge.

On

and stoutly

the

contrary,

Gemunu

discovered ten strong men, heroes in

prowess, and attached them to himself, causing
them each to enlist ten more, as like themselves
as might be. These picked warriors became an
army under the command of the boy, who there-

upon applied

to his father for permission to cross

THE LOST

22

CITIES OF

CEYLON

the river and make war upon the invaders. Thrice

he made the request and thrice it was refused,
whereupon, in an outburst of contemptuous anger,
he sent a female jewel to his father, indicating
that he held him only fit for women's baubles.

This impertinence was promptly resented, and

Gemunu had to fly to the mountains near Adam's
Peak to save himself from his parent's wrath.
For the escapade he gained the additional name
"
of Duttha, or Dutu, meaning
rebellious."
While

he was away his father died, whereupon Tissa,

the younger brother, seized what power there was,
and established himself in his father's place. It
was hardly likely Dutugemunu would stand
this
Back he came and made war on his
brother, forcing both him and his mother to fly.
But they were persuaded to return, and Dutuge!

munu, emerging victorious, forgave them both

magnanimously and enlisted them on his side.
Having thus strengthened himself, Dututo carry out the desire of his
life.
He very sensibly set himself first to the
task of reducing the strongholds in the keeping

gemunu proceeded

of Elala's principal warriors.

The town Wijito
was besieged. It was protected by three lines of
lofty battlements

and an iron

gate.

The Tamils

who were defending

it poured down lumps of

and molten lead on the attackers. Some of
this stuff fell on the back of the state elephant
Kandulo, who was being employed as a battering-

iron

ram.

He rushed

into the water in his agony, but,

having been protected by a leathern covering of
"
well-softened buffalo hide sevenfold thick, and

an

oiled skin," he pluckily returned to the fray

THE WONDER OF THE PAST

23

It took the warrior

and burst in the gate.
four months to demolish the fortifications of
Wijito, and another four months to overcome
Then he started out for AnuradhaMahelo.
pura. Elala was quite ready for him/ having
heard of the fate of his outposts, and came out
to meet him.
Dutugemunu gave command that no one but
himself was to attack Elala, and, mounting on

the faithful Kandulo, he approached the southern

gate of the city. Elala accepted his challenge

and met him

there, beginning

by hurling

his spear

audacious youth.
Gemunu evaded it,
his elephant charge with his tusks the
other elephant, and at the same time hurled his
javelin at Elala, so that both rider and mount

at

this

and made

were slain.
This Homeric combat took place 161

B.C.,

and

the details are full of vivid actuality. We can

stand near the spot where the mighty joust was
played and conjure up the scene. Wonderful to
say, Dutugemunu was not deficient in chivalry.
He called together the foe, who had submitted on
the death of their leader, and held a festival in
honour of the dead king.
The corpse was burnt at a funeral pile on the
spot where the king fell, a tomb was built over it,
and Dutugemunu ordained that it should receive
"
Even unto
honour, as the Mahawansa says
this day, the monarchs who have succeeded to the
:

Lanka, on reaching that quarter of

the city, whatever the procession may be, they
silence their musical band:"
And these honours continued to be paid to the

kingdom

of

24

tomb

THE LOST
of Elala

CITIES OF

CEYLON

to the period of the British

up

when the Kandyan

occupation.
chief, Pilame" Talawe, the second of that name,
As

late as 1818,

was escaping,

after having unsuccessfully organised

a revolt against the British, he got down from his
litter on approaching the spot and walked for
a long way, though weary and ill, until he was
quite sure he had passed the precincts, for he was
not certain of the exact situation of the tomb.

reigned twenty-four years, and was

succeeded by his brother Tissa, for his only son
had married a low-caste (Chandala) woman and
renounced the succession.
The line of Cingalese sovereigns is divided into
two distinct classes the kings of the Mahawansa,
or superior dynasty, which includes all the names
up to that of Maha Sena (A.D. 275-302), and the

Dutugemunu

Sula-wansa, or inferior race, who followed, and

held the throne down to the occupation of the
island by Europeans. But this division is not a
question of blood or race, for the king who succeeded Maha Sena was his own son, Kitsiri Maiwan,
who, with many of an altogether different race,
is included in the Sula-wansa.
The distinction
is rather one of power.
There were numerous deeds of violence and

murder, numerous usurpations. The kings succeeding Tissa seem to have had as their chief
occupations, keeping down the quick growth of
jungle, repelling Tamils, and rebuilding shrines

and repairing tanks

after their incursions.

The

second great recorded invasion of Tamils was

that in 104 B.C., which drove Walagambahu I, or
Watagemunu, to Dambulla caves, and the third

25

no

when thousands of Cingalese were

away captive. Maha Sena, mentioned
was
an "apostate king" who encouraged
above,
heretic sects to the discomfiture of the monks of
the Maha Vihara, who had held their position
unchallenged from the time of Tissa. Tumour's
version of the Mahawansa includes and goes
that in

B.C.,

carried

beyond Maha Sena, telling the tale of the kings

up to Kasyapa I, the tenth Cingalese king of the
Suluwansa. But in the time of the eighth king
of this class, Mitta Sena (A.D. 433), the Tamils
acquired such ascendancy that they actually
reigned for five and twenty years. Then Dhatu
Sena (A.D. 459) succeeded in freeing the land from
them, and held the sovereignty for the next
quarter of a century.
He was a good king, but came to a most
unhappy end. He had a daughter, whom he
loved dearly, and gave in marriage to his nephew,
who was also his chief general. This man flogged
"
her
on her thighs with a whip," and the king,
furiously angry, caused the nephew's mother,
presumably his own sister, to be burnt. The
nephew made common cause with the king's son,
Kasyapa, and rose against him. Another and
older son, Moggallana, thereupon fled for safety,
leaving his father a prisoner.

The nephew, desirous of revenge, suggested to

Kasyapa that the old king was con-

his cousin

cealing treasure in order that he might give

Moggallana.

it to
Therefore again and again Kasyapa

demanding of his father to tell him where

the treasures were concealed, The old king was
longing to bathe once more in Kalawapi tank
sent

26

by the Cingalese Kala-Wewa), which

(called
he had made, and he thought that by means
of a ruse he might accomplish his desire and
see

his

friend

the

thero,

or

at last he replied to his son,

me to the Kalawapi tank, I

monk,
"If ye

there,

so

will take
be able to
tell where the treasures are," and so he was
allowed to go. The thero met him with pleasure,
making a meal of "grain mixed with meat," or,
as Wijesinha has it, "a rich meal of beans with

shall

"

for him, and sat and

the flesh of water-fowl
talked to him, and when it was finished the old
king went down to the tank, "diving into and

bathing delightedly in it," and when he

finished he said quietly to Kasyapa's guards,
"

had

who

stood impatiently awaiting him,

Oh, friends, this
the treasure that I possess." They hurried
him back to Anuradhapura and told the story
to the usurping king, who, furious at being thus
is all

deluded, seized his father and threw him into a cell.

The general (his nephew) clothed himself in his
richest garments and walked up and down before
the poor captive king, who weakly tried to con-

him, but he would have none of it. Then

he stripped the king naked, and bound him with
chains inside the wall (of his prison) with his
"
face to the east, and caused it to be
plastered
up with clay."
But we are told that the king's terrible end
ciliate

was only

justice, for, when many years before, in

of his prosperity, he was building the

the days
great tank, he saw a priest sitting there meditating, and in his impatience he could not wait until
the man recovered from his absorption, but

THE WONDER OF THE PAST

27

ordered earth to be heaped over him, and had

him buried alive
The wretch Kasyapa knew no peace, for he
was frightened of the vengeance of his brother,
!

and, having failed to kill him by sending his groom

for that purpose, he himself fled to the
"
He cleared it round
strong rock of Sigiri.
surrounded
and
it
about,
by a rampart and built

and cook

(ornamented) with figures of lions,

wherefore it took its name of Sihagiri (the lion's
We shall
rock)," and he built a palace there.
meet Kasyapa again.
In the middle of the ninth century A.D. there
was a great Tamil invasion by the king of Pandy
(Madura), and though one of the Cingalese princes
made a valiant stand at Abhayagiri vihara (or
temple) single-handed, he had to fly at last. Then
the Pandyan king took all the valuables of
galleries in it

Anuradhapura, including the jewels in the king's

palace, the golden image set up in it, the
ewelled eyes of another statue, the golden coverings of Thuparama, and the golden images in

the different viharas, and laid waste the "beautiful city."

After this time the place now called Polonnaruwa became the real capital, though it never
attained the sacredness of Anuradhapura, and

the king (Sena I) returned again to the wasted

city when the Tamils had withdrawn.
Polonnaruwa is quite a modern name and is
never mentioned in the Mahawansa. There the
town is referred to as Pulatthi and another ancient

name is Pulastipura.
The relations of the Pandyans with the Cinga-

THE LOST

z8

lese after this are

CITIES OF

CEYLON

much mixed, because we

find

the king's successor and grandson Sena II (date *

A.D. 866 as given by Wijesinha) going to India to
help a prince of Pandy who had quarrelled with
his father, and the combined forces penetrated
to the capital and even recovered many of the
things which had been previously carried away

from Ceylon.
At last, in the reign of Mahinda V (A.D. 1001),
disaster overwhelmed the Cingalese. The kings had
been in the habit of maintaining armies of Malabar s as mercenaries, but this king, being a mild
man, did not enforce the collection of revenue,

and had no money to pay them, so they revolted,

and he fled by a secret passage (he was at that
time at Anuradhapura) and escaped to Rohuna.
So the invaders had everything their own way
and, hearing how it was, more enemies came over
from India and took all the spoil from the relic
"
houses of Anuradhapura, and
like unto demons
;

who suck up

blood, they took to themselves all

the substance that was also therein," and they

carried the king himself

Wijaya Bahu

away

captive.

grandson of Mahinda, ascended

1065 (almost the date of our own William the Conqueror) he reigned for seventeen years in Rohuna,
I,

holding together the remnant of his people, and

then he attacked Polonnaruwa still held by the
Tamils. The Tamils sallied forth, but were driven
back into the city, whereupon they shut the gates
and manned the walls but after six weeks they had
.

1 From this
point the dates in the text are taken from
Wijesinha's version as Tumour's text goes no further than Kas-

yapa

I.

29
to give
of his

and the king became lord of the throne

ancestors and went up to be crowned at
in,

Anuradhapura, but he lived at Polonnaruwa.

He built round Polonnaruwa " a strong wall of
great height, and ornamented it with plasterwork, and protected it with towers built thereon,
and with a deep moat round about it of great
length and breadth, so that the

enemy could not

break through
Wijaya Bahu reigned for fifty-five years, he
was a great poet among other things, and his
"
to well-born
good deeds were notorious even
women that were helpless by becoming widows
he gave land and food and raiment according to
His brother succeeded him,
their necessities."
one
year, and then came his son,
reigning only
it."

easily

Wikrama Bahu

(A.D. 1121),

who was an unfaithful

king, and gave away the precious relics to his

followers, and apparently also to buy off insurrectionists, so the priests took the sacred Toothrelic

and Alms-bowl

fled to

relic while

Rohuna with them.

they were safe and

The king managed,

however, to retain his throne for twenty-one years

on to his son, Gaja Bahu II (A.D.

1142), who reigned twenty-two years, but was
defeated and succeeded by the great hero Parakrama Bahu, who ascended in 1164 (according
He was the son of
to Wickremasinghe, 1153).

and handed

it

Princess Ratanavali, daughter of Wijaya Bahu I, of

he was therefore a grandson. Parakrama's

whom
life

is

interwoven with Polonnaruwa, and most

of the existing buildings there owe their origin

to him, so his story, which reads like that of one
of the old

Greek heroes,

will

be told in connection

THE LOST

30

with that

city.

CITIES OF

CEYLON

Parakrama was succeeded by

weak and bad rulers, who failed to defend Polonnaruwa against the invaders, and in 1592 Kandy
became the capital.
Europeans had begun to make themselves felt
in the island, first the Portuguese and then the
Dutch, appearing and pushing ever inwards to
the seat of government in the hills. It was the
that saved the native race then as before, for
when the white-faced invaders appeared at Kandy,
they found the precious Tooth-relic and other
valuables had been carried away into inaccessible
hills

fastnesses.

Both races eventually had to give way before

the British, who about the end of the eighteenth
century established themselves on the sea-coast.
After a long period of desultory fighting, and, it
must be noted, some terrible blundering, the last
king, Sri

Wickrema Raja Singha, was deposed in

definitely became a British

1814 and the island

possession.

The

Kandyan kings were selfish despots

of a mediaeval type, who ruthlessly exploited
their own subjects.
By far the best account of
later

the island during their regime is to be found in

a book l written by Robert Knox, who was a
prisoner in the island for nineteen years from
1660. Knox was a sailor, and as a young man of
nineteen was taken prisoner by the Cingalese,
with his father and fourteen of their men, when
they landed near Trincomalee, having put in to
repair their ship. The king treated them with
1

Ceylon.

1681.)

(MacLehose.

New

edition 1911.

First published

THE WONDER OF THE PAST

31

humanity and quartered them on various

He commanded
of the community.
his subjects to find them food, but made no
allowance for clothes. After about two years
perfect

members

who shared

a hut with his son, died,

and for no less than nineteen and a half years the
the captain,

rest

The remarkable part

that the king, who was in other

remained prisoners.

of the story

is,

ways an unmitigated scoundrel, never ill-treated

these helpless captives, though he was extraordinarily careful in not allowing

He was very suspicious

them

to escape.

of the written word, think-

ing that plans of escape might be made thereby.

On one occasion one of the English sailors had
received a letter from a Portuguese, also a prisoner,

and took it to a native to get it translated this

was discovered, and all three were condemned to
death, and, according to the ghastly custom prevalent, were torn limb from limb by elephants.
The prisoners, after a while, were put to great
shifts for clothing.
So they started knitting caps
to exchange them for garments, and did quite a
;

brisk trade.

Stephen Rutland was the only other man, beKnox, who had kept himself free from
entanglements with native women, and the two
sides

They succeeded at last in getting

a
decent
house
and did a good deal of tradquite
ing in grain and other things.
The king was absolutely autocratic he would
be waited on only by all the best looking youths
in his kingdom, and messengers were sent round
lived together.

them every now and again.

fortunate youths never lived long.

to collect

These unThey were

THE LOST

32

CITIES OF

CEYLON

invariably executed as the reward of their service.

The parents knew quite well what service at
court meant, and mourned their son as dead

already

when he was summoned, but dared not

those who resisted the royal will were

resist, for

impaled or torn to

pieces, or

if

women were

flung

into the river.

As Knox

"

like an ox
youths went
to the slaughter, only with far more heavy hearts."
Yet he is careful to explain there was no question
of improper behaviour by the king in regard to
them.
After the wretched youths were killed or
handed over as slaves to some one and one of
these two fates none of them escaped then their

says, these

father's property was seized.

The only good the
parents got out of it was that while the boy was

actually at court they were free from taxation, a

dearly-bought and short-lived privilege.

The soldiers were not paid or even provided

with food.
Once during Knox's time there was
a rebellion and the king fled to the hills, those
who had engineered it not having the nerve to
seize him before he was aware of it.
His only
child, a lad of fifteen, kept in close confinement
by his father's orders, was brought out and set
on the throne, but his aunt ran away with him
to the king

and the

rebellion collapsed.

Knox says that the king himself shortly afterwards poisoned the boy to prevent the possible
recurrence of such a plot, but this is not borne
out by historical records.
He tells a story showing how unsafe were the
heads of the royal entourage on their shoulders.

THE WONDER OF THE PAST

33

The

king, while bathing in a pond, pretended to

be drowning to see what his subjects would do.
Two of them sprang in and rescued him. They

and executed

were afterwards sent for

The

pretext being they had presumed to lay hands

But in fact, presumon the king's sacred body
he
could not bear the existence of
ably, because
!

whom he was under an obligation.

As year by year went by, Rutland and Knox
planned their escape. They used to travel about

anyone to

and sell goods, extending their wanderings further

and further north to gain familiarity with the
country. The difficulty was the want of water.
For beyond the zone of the rivers they were reduced to drinking, from muddy pools fouled by
animals, which gave them violent gripes. Besides this, at the limits of the king's territory, on
all main tracks (and it was almost impossible to
break through the jungle otherwise) were guards.
At length, in October 1679, the P a i r managed to
get as far as Anuradhapura, which Knox calls
Anarodgburro, which was very near the limits of
the king's territory.

"

To Anarodgburro therefore we came, called

also Neur Waug.
Which is not so much a particular single Town as a territory.
It is a vast
the
like
I
saw
in
all
the island,
never
green plain,
in the midst whereof is a lake, which may be a
mile over, not natural, but made by Art, as other
in the Country to serve them to water their
corn grounds. This Plain is encompassed round
with Woods, and small Towns among them on
every side, inhabitated by Malabars, a distinct
people from the Chingulays."

Ponds

THE LOST

34

CEYLON

CITIES OF

The comrades were brought before the governor,

who required a good deal of talking before he was
convinced that they were what they professed to
be, namely prisoners allowed to go about trading (though they certainly would not have been
allowed to wander to such a distance, had the

known

Finding it impossible, after

reconnoitring, to get through the watch, stationed
four or five miles out from the town, they turned
king

it

back to the previous place they had come through,

Colliwilla, whose governor they had satisfied by
saying they were going off in search of deer's
meat, promising to come back with it. But instead of going to Colliwilla they turned off about
half-way, down a little stream Malwat Oya they
had noticed, which they concluded must some-

how find its way to the sea.

They had a terrible time on their way down
to the coast.
They were torn and lacerated with
thorns, in constant terror of being caught and
sent back to Kandy by the inhabitants, whose

voices they often heard quite distinctly in the

jungle. They were in alarm at wild elephants,

which abounded, and they were armed only with

knives fastened to long stakes.
also

They

carried

"

Rice, flesh,
victuals in
;

fish,

pepper,

salt,

a basin to boil our

two Calabasses to fetch water

two

great Talipats (leaves of the Talipot palm) for

tents, big enough to sleep under if it should rain,
Jaggery (a kind of brown sugar) and sweetmeats,
tobacco also and Betel, Tinder-boxes, two or
three for failing, and a deer's skin to make us
shoes."
,

THE WONDER OF THE PAST

35

They only wore waistcoats like the natives and

had grown great beards.
"
"
They ran at one time into a Parcel of Towns
and hid in a hollow tree. The river was full of
alligators, and they encountered bears, hogs,
At length, as they
deer, and wild buffaloes.
descended, the river dried up, being only pools
between sandy stretches, so they were able to
walk in the bed of it but even this had its drawbacks, as they had to take great care not to be
;

seen, so they travelled

"

"

by

night, but

when

it

was

"

a
dark moon they couldn't get on at all, the
River anights so full of elephants and other wild
beasts coming to drink."
At last, after nearly a week, having started
from Anuradhapura on a Sunday, they arrived
at the Dutch fort of Arripe on the coast, on
Saturday afternoon, and were warmly received
by the inhabitants, and sent first to Colombo and
thence to Batavia, where they picked up an

English ship.
On the way

home Knox wrote his story, which

was published through the East India Company.
It is marvellous that having been so long away
from civilisation, when apparently he had been
unable to take any notes, he should have written
down everything in such clear and detailed
fashion, showing a wonderful

memory.

His book gives a unique picture of the life of

the Cingalese under the Kandyan kings. It is a
wonderful contemporary record, and should be
read by every one interested in Ceylon.

CHAPTER

II

THE ROAD THROUGH THE JUNGLE

CEYLON

slung like a drop-pearl from the

southernmost point of India. Where the major
and minor axes cross one another, much nearer to
the southern end than the northern, lies the hillcountry of which Kandy is the centre. Almost
is

due north

of

Kandy, along the major

axis, at

some

is Anuradhapura, which
about
between
half-way
Kandy and the
just
north of the island.
The road between Kandy and Anuradhapura is
itself bisected at Dambulla, where the main
highway from Colombo to Trincomalee crosses it

eighty-nine miles' distance,

is

diagonally. Those who go to Anuradhapura by

road will find Dambulla a convenient half-way

who go by rail from Colombo

Kandy at all. They start on the

house, but those

do not visit

Kandy

line,

but change at Polgahawela junction

some hours short of Kandy, and go directly north

The best train in the day,
to Anuradhapura.
starting in the cool of the morning, catches a
direct connection at the junction, and the journey
takes five hours and a half. The scenes passed

through are pleasant enough though not wildly

The natives working in their paddy
exciting.
36

THE ROAD THROUGH THE JUNGLE

37

the buffaloes, with the little white cranes

attendance on them, and the palm and

fields,

in

plantain plantations show

a peaceful picture, and beyond Polgahawela the line runs on

straight through mile after mile of jungle of

many

tangle and variety, where masses of a

flower are here and there broken by
flashes of the royal red Gloria sa superba.
In the little clearings for paddy almost invariably there is a small thatch and mat shelter,
raised on rickety-looking bamboo posts, in which
the owners can sit in safety to scare wild creatures from the crop, and in the great tanks covered
with lotus flowers lie the ungainly water buffaloes

infinite

bell-like

with only their heads showing.

The best time to visit Ceylon is not in the
last but the first months of the year, and those
who come earlier must be prepared to face some
rain, more or less according to whether the
monsoon, beginning in October, has already exhausted itself or not.
The roads are, as a whole, excellent, though
sometimes narrow. Every motorist should manage to get hold of that fascinating, but curiously
unequal, book Fifty Years in Ceylon, by Major
T. B. Skinner, because it is to Skinner we owe
many of the main roads. He came out to Ceylon
in 1818 as a. lad of fourteen, and received a commission in the Ceylon Regiment, though he was
so small that his full-sized sword was a serious
embarrassment. When sent up-country and told
"
one in twenty,"
to make a road with a gradient of
he had not the slightest idea what was meant
1
W. H. Allen & Co. 1891.
1

THE LOST

38

CITIES OF

CEYLON

But without technical knowledge he set himself

to the task, and succeeded so well that in later
years he was put in charge of the public works
roads and bridges then in the Quartermaster
General's Department before the existence of the
P.W.D., and under his superintendence the roads
now described were made. The
Kandy-Dambulla road was laid out in 1831-2,
and at Dambulla it met the Colombo-Trincomalee
road, so far accomplished, which was then carried
forward, and on the day it was completed an
Order in Council abolished compulsory labour in
the island, and thus freed the natives from an
exaction, which, under their own later kings, had
become almost as intolerable as the corvee in
Egypt. In going to Anuradhapura by road from
Colombo some choose the direct way by Kurunegala,
but the greater number of people prefer to go via
Kandy. It means about thirty miles more but
the road is better, and there is an opportunity
for seeing Kandy en route.
This is preferable even
for those who possess their own motors, but the
in the district

argument is stronger still in the case of those

who want to hire a car, because the first part of
the journey from Colombo to Kandy is best
accomplished by rail, as it involves a heavy climb,
and the start by road can be made from Kandy,
thus saving mileage. Excellent motors can be
hired

Sons

in

either

Colombo

or

Kandy (Walker

&

Co. Ltd.), at the rate of about

4 (60
rupees) a day, including a competent chauffeur

and
is

his keep.

The grand scenery of this part of the railway

too well known to need description, the splen-

dours of the rocky heights, clad with rich jungle

growth, rising on one side, the ranges of the far
hills and deep valleys on the other, spreading out
as the train winds along a narrow ledge turning
and twisting, are familiar to all who know anything whatever of Ceylon.
As already stated, the distance from Kandy to
Anuradhapura is eighty-nine miles. There is a
capital road map, published by the P. & O.S.N.
Co., showing all the possible roads in the island
this should be obtained before starting.
From Kandy the first part of the way is excellent, and almost all in shade in the early morning.
It was the end of December when I left the
Queen's Hotel, and the weather, which had been
very uncertain, and at times hopelessly wet,
cleared up for the day and was as perfect as only
Ceylon weather can be. The road winds around,
dropping here and there steeply, with sharp
curves requiring careful driving. The flowers for
which Ceylon is so famous are seen in masses;
they include the trumpet-shaped white blossoms
of the Datura fastuosa, the little bright terra-cotta
blossoms of the ubiquitous lantana, and immense
;

yellow daisies, resembling leopard's bane in all

but the foliage.
It gives one a queer sensation to look down on
a little patch of cropped green by a waterhole and
see tortoises feeding on the grass as rabbits do at
home. But this is one of the local touches that
add savour to the experience
About three miles out the mighty River Mahawelliganga is crossed. In old days this formed a
barrier, cutting off the hill-country of Rohuna,
!

40

THE LOST

CITIES OF

CEYLON

the refuge of dispossessed princes, from the settled

territory in the neighbourhood of the capital.
Then the road winds through tea, coffee, rubber,
cocoa, and, later on, pepper plantations. The red
pods of the cocoa hang over the road in clusters,
looking exactly like their pictures in familiar
advertisements. The workers in the plantations
are mostly Tamils, and the women in their red

with their large ornamental gold

earrings of a cockleshell pattern covering the
whole of the extended lobe of the ear, are quite
picturesque. Young Ceylon, with slates and copybooks, winds its way to school, clad in small
European-made frocks or in nothing at all, as the
fancy takes its parents. As the weather had been
so uncertain, umbrellas of every sort and shade,
adorned with patches of many hues, were frequently
carried; those who cannot afford an umbrella
in Ceylon fall back on the leaves of the talipot
palm, which, even as in the days of Knox's sojourn
in the island, are used as shelters from the rain.
These leaves are of a V-shape and fold up like a

patterned

saris,

They are really in many ways more convenient than an umbrella, and it is surprising
that some enterprising firm has not patented an
umbrella modelled on their lines. They can be constantly seen, and are carried by all ages and classes,
from the shy child, who uses hers as a screen to
hide her face, to the demure monk, starting on a
journey, with his folded talipot under one arm,
and a small boy carrying a minute satchel, containing all his worldly gear, following him. Like others
of the numerous palm tribe, the talipot is made
use of in many ways from its leaves are prepared
fan.

THE ROAD THROUGH THE JUNGLE

41

the best of the olas, the palm-leaf books used by

the monks, which were for centuries the only kind
of books known in the island, and on which are
written the originals of the famous chronicles, and
the sacred suttas, or discourses. The talipot flowers
only once after many years, and the supreme
effort appears to exhaust it, for from thenceforward it decays. As we emerged from a wooded
gorge, we saw on the rising slopes opposite, one of
these fine trees rearing itself to a height of fifty
feet or more, with a plumed head, sandy-coloured,
in the

moment

of its chief glory.

Before reaching Matale the road climbs the

summit of a range of hills, and then rapidly drops
700 feet to the town. Here the railway line ends,
and there is nothing but road traffic beyond.
Matale is a great cattle centre, and droves of the
glossy skinned beasts may be met from time to
time, dappled with the light and shade as they
pass reluctantly along the tree-bordered road.
The town boasts also one of the largest bazaars
in the province, and as the car runs through, on
either side may be seen the endless rows of openfronted shops, little more than cells or stalls,
where native products are thrust aside in favour
of piles of cotton goods and tinned stuffs from
Europe, and the sewing-machine rivals the native
crickets in its noise- making industry.
Straight through Matale we pass, in at one

and out

end

at the other, and about two miles after

the
town behind, a narrow turn on the
leaving
left indicates the way to the rocky monastery called
Alu-vihara, where the sacred books of Buddhist
Ceylon, transmitted orally from the time of

THE LOST

42

CITIES OF

CEYLON

between 104 B.C. and 76 B.C., were

then written down on olas; the text of the Pitakatha in Pali and the commentary, or Attakatha,
in Cingalese, to be afterwards translated into Pali
by Buddhaghosa, who came from Magadha in
A.D. 412 these commentaries of his are among the
most important Buddhist books of Ceylon, for the
Cingalese version is not now extant. These are the
Sacred Books, quite different from the Mahawansa,
which is historical. The date of the important
work of transcription is noted in the Mahawansa.
The road declines in interest before Dambulla
(pronounced Dambool), which is reached at about
The rest-house at the far end
forty-five miles.
of the village is quite good, and late breakfast or
lunch can be always obtained. With its screen

Mahinda

till

growing over a trellis

crotons
in pots, it is a
bright-coloured
if
is
as on the day
little
it
not
place,
picturesque
dressed up in stiff fringes and
of my arrival
arches of plaited and pinned palm leaves in
honour of the passing through of the government
agent of the North Central Province
As far as Dambulla a sort of mail-coach runs
of flowering pink antigonon

and

its

from Matale, and on

this

any particularly enter-

prising person could probably find a seat, but

beyond this point only private means of locomotion prevail. A motor-bicycle is admirable, and
even an ordinary cycle to an energetic, resourceful
person would be very useful, as the road surface is
sufficiently good except after heavy rain.
If any one is not already satiated with cave-

temples,

it

Dambulla,

is

worth while to go up to those of

very terrific, and

for the ascent is not

THE ROAD THROUGH THE JUNGLE

43

the view splendid. The path breaks off about

half-way through the village a quarter of a
no guide is
mile back from the rest-house
a great slope
lies
first
over
The
ascent
necessary.
of black rock, and as we rise the country opens
;

out on

showing wide spaces of jungle.

all sides,

Then we pass up steps under shady avenues of

green, broken by the bare twigs of the templeload of sweet-scented blossoms.
At the top we go through a brick gateway
(murage) and so on to the platform. From here
there is a fine panorama, including many conical
trees, carrying their

and oddly lumpy

hills,

rising abruptly

from the

sea of jungle even to the far distance.

The great
near
at
covered
with
hand, completely
sugar-loaf
trees

and

scrub,

is

Dahiya Kande, and from one

point the odd mushroom-shaped rock of Sigiri,

for eighteen years the capital of the kingdom, can

be made out far to the north-east.

There are five temples altogether
the first
stands detached and contains a recumbent statue
of Buddha, forty-seven feet long, cut out of the
solid rock.
He rests on an ornamental pillow
and the soles of the feet are carved with lotus
flowers.
On the rock face by the door is an inscription recording the virtues of King Nissanka
Malla (A.D. 1198), whose statue is in one of the
;

other caves.

He

is chiefly

celebrated for his in-

scriptions, by which he propagated for the benefit

of posterity the fame of his many virtues (see p. 1 96).

These shrines are undoubtedly as ancient as the

earliest foundation of the Buddhist religion in
Ceylon, but they were brought prominently into
notice

by King Walagambahu

(or

Watagemunu),

THE LOST

44

CITIES OF

CEYLON

104 B.C., who fled here to hide from the Tamils,

almost immediately after he had succeeded to the
throne.
He remained in these great caverns
where he had taken refuge, for about sixteen
years, before he regained his throne and returned
to Anuradhapura.

The mingling

Buddhism and Hinduism is

very apparent in all these temples. The name of
"
the first, Dew a Raja Vihara, means the
Temple
of the Great God," a reference to Vishnu, and a
statue of Vishnu in wood stands near the head
of the Buddha, and is considered equally sacred,
or even more so. The stone doorway is decorated,
and near it is a carved cistern. The outside of
all the rest of the caves is rendered hideous by a
modern brick excrescence, a sort of verandah,
of which the monks are exceedingly proud.
The
interiors are too gloomy to be managed photographically with success. The whole group of
monks and neophytes, with the addition of a
small boy

of

who had

attached himself to

me

as

interpreter, followed me about pointing out the

inartistic work that was being done as if it conferred special merit on themselves.
The next temple is large, and is a natural cave,

up and outwards. The whole of the roof

covered with fresco paintings, brilliant in gaudy
The Buddha
colour, renewed from time to time.
is carved from the living rock, as is the case also
in the succeeding temples, but the seated Buddhas,
forming a semicircle round the inner wall behind
the shrine, are of painted clay. In this cavern
alone there are fifty-eight statues. The most interesting of the fresco paintings are at the back,

sloping
is

THE ROAD THROUGH THE JUNGLE

45

including some of Vishnu, always referred to by the

monks as "god," and some showing the victorious
Dutugemunu and dying Elala, the planting of the
bo-tree and other scenes from the royal city ; these
are said to have been executed by monks from
Anuradhapura. In this cave a vessel is placed to

catch the clear water, which falls ceaselessly, drop

by drop, throughout the year, even in the driest
season, from one particular place in the roof.
The third temple, Maha Alut Vihara, or the

New Temple," is large also, and includes

almost as many statues as the preceding one.
In making the tour of these temples it is well to be
provided with plenty of small change, for though
the priests of Buddha are not supposed to possess
"Great

money or to accrete worldly goods in any form, they

are not above eagerly indicating the collectionbox in every single cave visited. However, a very
small piece dropped into one or two of the boxes
The last two temples are small,
satisfies them.
and one of them, more modern than the rest, contains a statue of one of the latest Kandyan kings.
The people in the village of Dambulla and
around are nearly all Cingalese.
If we were going to Polonnaruwa, the later
Cingalese capital, or to the great rock of Sigiri,
we should, after Dambulla, turn off north-eastward
on the Trincomalee road, but as these capitals
can best be understood after a visit to Anuradhapura, it is wiser to go there first.
Continuing our way therefore, we run along a

where handsome flowers may be

noticed here and there in the jungle scrub
the
most conspicuous is a creeper, which looks at a

delightful road

46

THE LOST

CITIES OF

CEYLON

distance like a vivid red honeysuckle, but on examination proves to be quite a different type. This
is the Gloriosa superba, already mentioned, and fitly
named, a royal plant, holding up a corona of frilled
red tongue-like petals in the form of a cup. There
are also bushes of wild hybiscus, showing white blossoms with splashes of purple in the centre, blossoms
which burn bright pink as they fade. With the
lantana, which appears by the roadside, is mingled

a blue flower rather like lavender, forming an excellent contrast. Also very frequently to be noticed
is a bush with snow-white leaves scattered irreguit is related
larly amid the ordinary green ones
to the poinsettia tribe.
With all this decorative
is
lack
of variety by the way.
there
no
colouring,
If possible a detour should be made from
Kekirawa, twelve miles from Dambulla, to visit
Kala-Wewa, one of the large stand most important
of the restored tanks of the ancient kings.
This
;

was made by King Dhatu Sena

(A.D. 459),

and

be associated with his touching plea to

be allowed to bathe there once more before his
death as already described on p. 26. There is a
rest-house at Kekirawa, but any meal required
should be ordered beforehand. Thence it is about
five miles to the brink of the tank on foot, and a
couple of miles further by road. The tank as
will ever

made and planned was enormous, the

water laving the foot of the rock at Dambulla.
Though considerably curtailed now, having been
ruined by the bursting or destruction of the emoriginally

bankment

at

some unknown

date,

it is still large,

forming a sort of double or twin-tank, with a total

area of about seven square miles. It receives the

THE ROAD THROUGH THE JUNGLE

47

water from the central hill country by means of

channels, and in turn is connected with Anuradhapura by a winding canal, the Yoda-ela, or
Giant's Canal, between fifty and sixty miles long,
due also in its origin to King Dhatu Sena, who
had magnificent ideas and carried them out
worthily. The canal joins up the great Tissa
tank at Anuradhapura, and incidentally, on its
way, supplies several village tanks.

The
and

it

restoration of the tank took three years,

in 1888.

was reopened

few ruins of a very early settlement at Vijitapura can be seen en route to the tank, and two
and a half miles north-west of the spill-wall is an
interesting tall rock-carved figure of Buddha in
what must once have been a temple, the Aukana
Vihara. The great bund on the western side of
the tank and the enormous spill-wall are worth
examining, as they speak perhaps more eloquently
of the power and value of the ancient irrigation
work of the old kings, by which the great part
of Ceylon was made cultivatable, than anything
else.
When the tanks fell into ruin, and irrigation was destroyed by the incursions of the
Tamils, the jungle once more crept over the land,

and its power to support a large population decreased correspondingly.

It is only since the
British took over the island that roads have
been opened up, ancient tanks and channels
This Vijitrestored, and the jungle cut down.
apura or Wijitapura has sometimes been identified
with Wijito (see p. 22), besieged by Dutugemunu,
but beyond the name there seems no evidence of
this,

and good

authorities discredit

it.

CHAPTER

III

THE BEAUTIFUL CITY OF ANURADHAPURA

do justice to the beauty of Anuradhapura it combines so much not usually found
in an eastern town. The wide park-like spaces
of short grass are shaded by the beautiful spreadIT

is difficult

to

"

rain-trees," so-called because their leaves

ing
fold together at night, and, opening in the morning, drop dew on the heads of those who pass
below. The grass is studded with ruins, showing
many a specimen of exquisite carving in granite,

fresh as the

ago.

The

day

it

three

was done, possibly 2,000 years

mighty dagabas, Ruanweli,

Abhayagiri, and Jetawanarama, with their treegrown summits great mounds of millions and
millions of bricks can at some points be seen
all at once
while the glimmering of the blue or
sunset-dyed water of Tissa Wewa or Basawak
Kulam seen through the trees adds distance and
mystery to many a view. Kulam is the word
for tank in Tamil, as wewa is in Cingalese,
;

and wapi or vapi in Pali or Sanskrit. Further

north, where the people are almost all Tamils,
the word kulam is generally used.
"
"
do
Anuradhapura in a day
Many people
48

TISSA-WEWA

ANURADHAPURA HOTEL.

p. 5

THE SACRED BO-TREE

(THE OLDEST HISTORICAL TREE ix THE WORLD).

p. 54

ANURADHAPURA

49

and think they have seen it all. It is possible

that they can see a good deal, for the principal
sights are near together, but many weeks may
easily be spent here without exhausting its wonders.

Fergusson

says that Ceylon alone of

all

known countries possesses a series of Buddhistic

monuments extending from the time of Asoka to
the present day. Most of them may be found in
this city.

The

walls of this wonderful city have never

been discovered, its exact boundaries are unknown, the royal residence of its kings has not

been unearthed. Nearly all the ruins which lie

together have obviously been of some ecclesiastical or sacred use, so that it has been suggested
that the residential part of the city lies elsewhere
and has still to be discovered. Some people have
"
"
on
even professed to find in the
pavilions
the Outer Circular Road westward the remains of
this district, for these buildings, though similar
in character among themselves, are entirely different in construction
or

vihara.

from the ordinary type

of

This

theory concerning
monastery
will be discussed more fully later on.
Apart
from this we can picture ancient Anuradhapura
lying due north and south, equalling present-

them

day London in extent, housing a huge population,

and presenting evidence of a civilisation we are
exclusively our own.
Major T. B. Skinner, who visited the place in 1832,
says, "No one that I could ever hear of had

accustomed

to

consider

travelled through it, not even a government agent,

and from the fact of its being so completely a
1

History of Indian Architecture.

(Murray.

1910 edition.)

THE BEAUTIFUL CITY

50

took an unusual interest in exIn this, however, he was not quite

ploring it."
for
correct,
Major Forbes had visited it in 1828
in company with a government agent.
In 1907 a fine hotel was opened to supersede
the little rest-house, now the post-office, which
until then had served for visitors, but in the
season even the accommodation of the hotel is
strained to the utmost, and rooms must be
booked some time beforehand. It stands on the
south-west of the town on large grounds, once
the government gardens. Numerous species of
trees have been brought together here
they are
labelled or numbered, and there is a list of them
in the hotel, so that it is easy to identify any
Prices are fixed by governespecially noticed.
ment (8 rupees a day inclusive), and out here
terms really are inclusive, covering baths and
afternoon tea and other items, by means of which
European hotel-keepers run up exorbitant bills.
The hotel has all the charm of eastern style, with
it faces north,
open verandahs and deep eaves
a great consideration in this climate. At night
the peevish whine of the flying foxes is heard in
the trees and a myriad fireflies shine among the
branches like wandering stars. From far off
come the weird screams of a pack of jackals racing
along the bund of the tank or searching for scraps
round the outlying huts.
For those who have arrived by train and do
not possess motor-cars, transit around the district
The hotel trap can be hired very
is not difficult.
reasonably (a rupee first hour, half a rupee each
terra incognita I
l

Fifty Years in Ctylon.

ANURADHAPURA
hour

and

51

already engaged, bullock

still cheaper rate.
The story of King Pandukabhaya (437 B.C.),
who first founded the city of Anuradhapura, is as
full of excitement as the old legends of Greece.
His grandmother the queen gave birth to ten sons
after),

hackries can be

if it

had

is

at a

and one daughter, Chitta, who was the youngest,

and of whom it was foretold that her son should
destroy his maternal uncles and usurp the throne.
Naturally they wanted to put her to death, and
oddly enough, considering the times, they did
not do so. But to make everything safe, she
was confined in an apartment built on a single
However, as she was of course exquisitely
pillar.
the
lovely,
pre-ordained prince soon made his
"
way to her secretly, and she carried on an in-

by sending him presents of betel leaves,

and receiving from him fragrant flowers and other
gifts," until the intercourse was discovered by
the brothers. As the suitor was of high birth,
they agreed to let their sister marry him on contrigue

dition the expected child were slain if a boy.

the child was born, the mother (as in all

When

fairy tales) conveniently substituted a peasant's

daughter and handed over her son to be brought

up by a peasant.

When

in

discovered

course

of

time

the

how they had been

bad
tricked,

uncles

they

hunted diligently to find the boy's whereabouts,

and learned that he was in the habit of bathing
with other boys in a certain marsh, so they gave
orders to their attendants to kill all boys found
so bathing.
Pandukabhaya, as the lad was
dived
under
water and slipped up inside
called,

THE BEAUTIFUL CITY

52

a hollow

and so escaped.

Once again he
a
similar
fate
in later years.
miraculously escaped
When he grew up he married a beautiful princess,
who had the charming gift of turning the leaves
of trees into gold.
He also captured a " Yakkha,"
tree,

witch-mare, who carried him to victory, so

that in time he met in battle and slew eight of
his uncles.
Observing the skulls of his eight
uncles surmounting the heap of heads (of the rest
of the slain), he remarked, "It is like a heap of
or

Such a young man was naturally des... In course of time he called

upon one of his remaining uncles at Anuradhapura.
This gentleman, after giving up the palace to him
peaceably, was allowed to live, as was also the
fruit."

tined to go far.

eldest uncle,

Abhaya.

"

Having consulted a fortune-teller versed in

the advantages (which a town ought to possess),
according to his directions, he founded an extensive city in that very village.
On account of its
of
Anuradho and
having been the settlement
because it was founded under the constellation
Anuradho,

it

was called Anuradhapura."

(Maha-

wansa.)

Major Forbes in

his admirable

this in a note, saying

book

refers to

the general belief of uneducated natives

name of the city is derived from Anurajah (ninety kings), but it was from the name
of the constellation, Anuradha."

"It

is

that the

Elf ten Years in Ceylon.

(Bentley.

Second edition 1841.)

ANURADHAPURA

53

was only from the time of Uttiya (267

A.D. 729
B.C.) it became the settled capital until
(with an interlude of Sigiriya in A.D. 477). Then
Polonnaruwa was the capital to A.D. 1013, and
But

it

King Pandu's
again, with breaks, up to 1314.
second son was Tissa, in whose reign one of the
most momentous events in the whole history of
the island took place, for, as already related,
Ceylon was converted to Buddhism by Mahinda,
son of the great Asoka. The king met him on
Mihintale Hill, eight miles from the town, and
when he returned, bringing with him the great
missionary, the people were naturally anxious to

and clamoured at the palace gates. If

could
we
only know to-day exactly where that
The king said to his noisy subpalace stood
"
For
all
of you to assemble in this place
jects,
is insufficient
prepare the great stables of the
state elephants
there the inhabitants of the
see him,

people, howthe elephant stables also are

ever, declared
"
the royal
too confined," and so they went to
pleasure-garden Nandana, situated without the
capital

may

see these theros."

The

"

southern gate, in a delightful forest, cool from its

deep shade and soft green turf."
Subsequently, after addressing the multitude,
"
the saintly stranger went
out of the southern
of
the
Nandana
gate
pleasure-garden to the
Mahamego pleasure-garden by its south-western
There (on the western side of the spot
gate."
where the bo-tree was subsequently planted),
furnishing a delightful royal palace with splendid
beds, chairs, and other conveniences in the most
Do thou
complete manner, he (the king) said,
'

'

THE BEAUTIFUL CITY

54

The king then dedisojourn here in comfort.'

cated the Mahamego pleasure-garden to the
priesthood. Thereafter he marked the limits of
the ground thus given and ploughed the boundary
line with a golden plough.
J

Exquisitely painted vases, gorgeous flags tinkling with the bells attached to them, mirrors of
glittering glass, festoons and baskets of flowers
were carried in procession
triumphal arches
;

were

made

of

plantain

trees,

women

carried

umbrellas, and hundreds ran waving handkerchiefs.

The whole scene is so human and natural
we can picture it without difficulty, and we even

know whereabouts

it
happened, for the bo-tree
stands to this day and gives us a landmark.
The planting of this sacred tree Ficus Reliwas one of the earliest events in the history
giosa
And to-day the road from the
of the city.
It is in the centre of the ground
station passes it.
mentioned above which was given as a pleasuregarden by the king to the priests.
Come and visit the courtyard, passing through
the ugly portal described on the first page of this
book. Outside there are vendors of temple flowers
and of pyramids of the unopened buds of the
lotus, white and pink, looking like piles of fruit.
It is a work of merit to buy these and turn back
each petal lovingly until the flowers are fully
opened before they are offered.
It is more than likely we shall be beset by
beggars in the courtyard beyond the entrance,
but Cingalese beggars are as a rule easily repulsed,
and are not so audacious as those of India.
Under the shade of innumerable bo-trees, sprung

ANURADHAPURA
from the parent-tree,

by a curious wooden

sits

55

a calm Buddha, close

and posts. This is

woodwork remainAnuradhapura amid all the brick and stone,
lintel

the only fragment of ancient

ing in
and, though of course not ancient in comparison
with some of the latter, is interesting on its own
account. Mount to the higher terrace, and from

there again up a steeper flight of steps to another,

where there is a walk all round the tree, itself on

a higher level still. In fact, the masonry consists

of four platforms, each rather smaller than the
one below, so as to leave a walk or terrace round
it.
It is said that originally the sacred tree was
on the ground-level, but it has been built up by
rich and special soil until the roots are far below
the present surface.

Through two sets of railings, between which

runs a narrow walk, we can gaze at the twisted
stems of this amazing tree, carrying still a goodly
crop of large pear-shaped leaves, resembling
those of a balsam poplar. The wall of the inner-

banked by ugly glazed green tiles,

such as are used for the sides of suburban fire-

most terrace

is

places.

When I visited
after many years'

the sacred spot a second time,

interval, a line of devout wor-

was swaying and bowing, chanting

while, alone
monotonously on the outer terrace
on the inner one a monk, in a robe toned by frequent washing to an exquisite cinnamon colour,
strode up and down. A mother-monkey, clasping
her baby to her breast, ran down the sacred tree,
but hurriedly scrambled back on seeing the
monk in such close proximity. Her antipathy
shippers

THE BEAUTIFUL CITY

56

was

natural, for the

monks

object to the irreverent

even attempted to banish them, but

monkeys, and
without success. The tree was surrounded by
hundreds of little three-cornered flags, the offerings of pilgrims, and in vain I tried to find a
spot where it was sufficiently visible to be photographed. The difficulty was increased by the
fact that the light is at all times bad, for the tree
is overshadowed by buildings and higher trees
growing in the vicinity. The only result of this
first attempt was
flags, and a clear view of the
that
supports the ancient stem, so that the
prop
"
Monpicture seemed to call aloud for the title of
the
suburbs."
I
in
came
times
day
again many
without result, and remembered regretfully the
time long ago when I had wandered at will
beneath the very shadow of the tree and even
picked up one of the leaves which happened to
No such chance now The
float to my feet.
leaves are esteemed of immense value, and even
the devoutest of pilgrims has difficulty in getting
!

At

speaking through an
interpreter, I managed to persuade the solemnfaced monk who strode within the enclosure, of the
earnestness of my desire, and he agreed to open
the padlocked gate provided I removed my shoes
before entering. I agreed readily, as the space
was strewn with clean sand, and, making the
most of the opportunity, obtained a result showing
the actual tree (see p. 49).
It was the sister of Mahinda, Princess Sanghamitta, who, following him in 288 B.C. to the island,
brought with her a branch of the bo-tree under
which Buddha sat in India when he received
one.

last,

one day,

THE PEACOCK PALACE.

p.

6O

MOONSTONE AT ANURADHAPURA.

p. 7 I

THE BRAZEN PALACE.

p. 61

ANURADHAPURA

57

According to the accepted account

the branch of the bo-tree, being encircled with a

revelation.

vermilion pencil, had immediately severed itself

from the parent tree and planted itself in the
golden vase prepared for it. For seven days the

with her eleven attendant priestesses,

journeyed to the port of embarkation, and seven
days were occupied by their voyage across the
princess,

When

the great train of people arrived

at Ceylon, King Tissa met them with all state
and rushed into the waves up to his neck, chant"
This is the
ing forth in his zeal and fervour,
"
bo from the bo-tree
(at which Buddha attained
When
they finally reached the
Buddhahood).
the
were
roads
sprinkled with white sand,
capital,
ocean.

decorated with every variety of flowers, and lined

"
with banners and garlands.
At the hour when
the shadows are most extended he [the king]
entered the superbly decorated capital by the
northern gate, and passing in procession out of
the southern gate, and entering the Mahamego

came

to the spot destined for the tree."

the ceremony of the miraculous plant"
A heavy deluge of
ing had been accomplished,
rain fell around and dense cold clouds completely
enveloped the great Bo in its snowy womb for
seven days." Which shows the climate must
have been as moist then as now. This was nineteen years after the king's conversion, which had
happened in the first year of his reign.
Princess Sanghamitta and her followers were
installed in a delightful building called the Hatthalako.
The king lived to 267 B.C., Mahinda
survived him eight years, and the princess lived

garden,

And when

THE BEAUTIFUL CITY

58

one year more. The tree is constantly referred

to throughout the Mahawansa
any such terrible
catastrophe as its death or decay could not have
been concealed. It is as certain as anything of
the kind can be that this tree has stood here over
2,200 years, and whether it came originally from
the sacred tree of Buddha or not, it has attained
A temple was built
sanctity on its own account.
over it, and in its honour was instituted a water
festival, which was held every twelfth year and
kept up for generations. Miracles were recorded
;

and firmly believed in

continue to come, from

of the tree

and

far

still

pilgrims came,
and wide, to

prostrate themselves before it, and it is one of

the Eight Sacred Sites of the Buddhist community
called in their
Sir E.

own tongue

Tennent

tersely

the Atamasthana.

sums up the case thus

"

Compared with it the oak of Ellerslie is but

a sapling, and the Conqueror's oak in Windsor
Forest barely numbers half its years. The yewtrees of Fountains Abbey are believed to have
the
flourished there twelve hundred years ago
olives in the Garden of Gethsemane were fullgrown when the Saracens were expelled from
and the cypress of Soma, in LomJerusalem
is
said
to have been a tree in the time of
bardy,
Caesar
yet, the Bo-tree is older than the
Julius
oldest of these by a century, and would almost
seem to verify the prophecy pronounced when it
was planted, that it would flourish and be green
;

'

for ever.'

"

Such a tree must inspire the most careless with

a passing feeling of reverence.
1

Ceylon.

(Longmans.

1860.)

ANURADHAPURA

59

the bazaar with its long

"
"
bazaars
are getting
straggling
more and more given up to the display of cheap
European goods, and increasingly difficult is it to
pick up home-made wares, but some good baskets,
admirably plaited, and of convenient shapes, can
Close

by the bo-tree

is

These

street.

be bought in Anuradhapura.
The " cab-stand," where bullock hackries conIt is not
gregate, is in the middle of the bazaar.
a
that
bullock
is
often, however,
good trotting
unless by special arrangement, and
with any other sort progress is very slow. But
the bullocks are usually kindly treated and fairly
well-fed there is not a great deal of tail-twisting,
and sores are rare. The Indian variety, with long
curved horns, is seen as plentifully as the little
stumpy-horned bullocks of Ceylon. The animal
has the yoke fixed to bear against the hump, and
a few strands of rope secure it under his neck.
available

The

if any weight is thrown sudback

of
the cart he is in danger of
denly at the
being strangled, and much dexterity has to be

result is that

exercised in adjusting the weight for mounting

and descending from the carts, which are two-

wheeled only. The charge for these hackries is

half a rupee an hour, and the longer you keep him
waiting anywhere on the way the better pleased
the sleepy-headed native driver.
The well-being of the people is carefully considered by the authorities. Between the bazaar
and the hotel are three large ponds kept strictly
"
for drinking, bathing, and washing
by order

is

'

purposes respectively.
like his

Burmese

The unregenerate

brother,

much

native,
to
bathe,
prefers

60

THE BEAUTIFUL CITY

wash his clothes, and drink in that order all in

the same water, but he is learning better things.
The bathing-pond is greatly appreciated
at
of
the
men
and
at
hour
their
worsen,
day
every
respective sets of steps, dip and pour water over
their black shining locks, and they are always
clad with perfect decency. Small boys meantime
catch miniature fish, and are as eager and proud
At
of the results as their little white brothers.
the washing -pond energetic dhobies smack the
white clothes on the stones with reports like
pistol-shots, and the tortoises sit pensively with
;

outstretched necks in the little hollows under the

bank watching them. The green grass behind is
perpetually spread with drying clothes.
Not far from these ponds, between them and
the bazaar, is the English Church, and a road running parallel with that through the bazaar, on
the north, passes between two small beautifully
built bathing-tanks, disused now, though one has
been excellently repaired. Tanks such as these,
formed with hewn stone for bathing purposes,
are called pokuna, and are a very noticeable feature of ancient Ceylon. There are other larger
specimens also at Anuradhapura.
At the bazaar end, near the bo-tree, there are
some ruins of antiquity actually among the
houses, the so-called Peacock Palace, a collection
of leaning columns
in barbed wire to

and carved capitals, enclosed

keep them from desecration,

being one. Nothing is known as to the origin of

its decorative name, and it was obviously a vihara,
or temple, and never a "palace."
This is a little
down
the
almost
way
Kurunegala Road,
opposite

ANURADHAPURA

61

to the Archaeological Survey Offices and the small

attached museum. Returning again to the other
side of the bazaar near the fruit market, we see
the ruin of the Ransimalakaya also enclosed.
This at one time was used merely as a cattle
pound, and was only saved from total destruction
by being enclosed. The name is a modern one
;

history also being unknown.

But far the most striking object in the vicinity
of the bo-tree is the group of 1,600 columns known

its

as Lohopasada, or the Brazen Palace, built first

in the reign of King Dutugemunu in the second
B.C., though subsequently often restored.
have
a most minute account of the buildWe
ing of this marvellous place in the Mahawansa.
The king, contrary to the usual custom of his
time, decided to pay his workmen, and before
"
"
and a thousand
beginning deposited
eight lacs
suits of clothing, and vessels filled with honey and

century

sugar at the four gates for their use. The palace

rose to the height of nine storeys (afterwards reduced to seven), all covered with brazen tiles,

which shone like gold in the burning sun. It was

surrounded by a polished wall broken by the
"
four gates, which were
embattled." Inside, the
was
so
as
to be almost unbeliev^
splendour
great
Each storey contained one hundred apartable.
ments festooned with beads and flower ornaments
consisting of gems set in gold. There was a gilt
hall supported on golden columns in the centre,

and besides the usual decorations

this hall

had

festoons of pearls also. In the centre was an

ivory throne with the sun on it in gold, the moon
in silver, and the stars in pearls. As for the

THE BEAUTIFUL CITY

62

furnishing of this magnificent shell, it sounds like

that of a modern house, for it was provided with
chairs and couches and woollen carpets, but all
of the most costly materials of their kind, for it
particularly mentioned that even the ladle of
It is not exactly
the rice-boiler was of gold
what
intention
this
known with
splendid buildis
was
but
it
founded,
supposed to have been
ing
the chief residence of the monks of the Maha
vihara, the most important and oldest estabThis word
lished community in Anuradhapura.
for
is
or
it
written
either
vihare,
vihara,
way, is
applied either to monasteries or temples in the
is

Mahawansa, but always refers to some religious

building and never to a secular one. A vihara
seems to have been at first a hall or meetingplace of monks, and afterwards was naturally
used to signify a temple which may have included an inner shrine.

The gnarled grey monoliths are

in a perfect forest closely

still

standing

crowded together and

of a fair-sized English cathedral.

are in forty parallel lines with forty pillars

occupy the space

They

in each.

The problem

is

to conjecture

how

any-

one could have found space to walk between

them, but it is highly probable that the groundspace was not occupied, being, after the fashion
of the choungs, or monks' dwellings in Burma,
merely an open space unwalled. The building underwent many vicissitudes, being thrown

"
king in
apostate
A.D. 286, and rebuilt by his son and successor.
It will be noted that in the centre and at the
corners the columns are of double thickness, com-

down by Maha

Sena,

the

"

ANURADHAPURA

63

pared with the outer ones, which are narrower,

having been split, probably to supply the place
The last
of some which had been lost or broken.
in
Great
was
the
due
Parakrama
to
rebuilding
the twelfth century.
I do not know if the Cingalese monks, like the
Burmese ones, dislike having any one's feet above
their heads, but it seems that it cannot have been
so in the old days if each storey were divided into
a number of apartments (the round number 100

may be taken as merely symbolic of many) instead of those above the first being merely ornamental shells, roofed in but unoccupied as in
Burmese monasteries.
It is a curious sensation to

stand alone in this

stone forest, recalling the march of time and
picturing the sombre flitting of the dark-skinned
priests, and the many intrigues which were carried
on within these precincts ages ago.
"

Now

But

all

And

every road goes

the

their life

is

rounded by a shade,
down behind the rim."

striped furry-tailed squirrels run

with a curious clockwork movement,

little

up and down
and flitting lizards sun themselves and vanish.

The legend

told of the

common

or palm-squirrel

helped the monkeys in making Adam's

Bridge
god Rama, by rolling in the sand
and so gathering it up in its hairs, and then
bestowing it between the stones to bind them
together. To encourage it Rama stroked it with
three fingers, leaving the impress in the form of
three stripes down its back.
Straight up from the Bo-tree, past the Brazen

is

that

it

for the

THE BEAUTIFUL CITY

64

Palace runs the Sacred Road, for tens of hundreds

trodden by the feet of pilgrims. Over-

of years

shadowed by spreading "rain-trees," bordered by

green spaces, this ancient road was one of the
great thoroughfares of Anuradhapura the Royal.
Down it have passed in procession the halt and
sick, eager to be cured, believing that the sight
of the blessed Bo-tree would restore health
the
the
of
most
his
the
beggar making
misery
;

schemer

the braggart Pharisee

the humbleminded and devout
the woman aching for the
and pains of motherhood
the young boy
j oys
on the threshold of life, awed by its mystery.
;

Surrounded by his courtiers, with flashing umbrellas and flags, and accompanied by the beat
of drums came the despotic king, holding in his
hand the lives of thousands of such as these, and

followed the blood-thirsty

scheming to dispossess
these
shadows of the past,
him. They glide by,
and then the vision falls away like a coloured
one sees the road, empty save for two
veil
Cingalese clerks, clad in European garments and

maybe

in

his

train

prince, his near relative,

with cropped heads, hastening to the Kachcheri,

or government offices, to work under the direction
of white men of whom these ancestors of theirs
had never heard.
The next object that attracts attention, bulking huge across the space where cattle are peaceOf
fully feeding, is the great dagaba Ruanweli.
all the ideas that entered the mind of man this
surely

was the most extraordinary

to erect huge

piles of stones in the shape of an inverted bowl,

solid except for a tiny passage to a secret chamber

RUANWELI DAGABA.

MAKARA BALUSTRADE.

DALADA MALIGAWA, ANURADHAPURA.

P-

74

p. 81

ANURADHAPURA

65

which contained a relic

Closely akin in idea to
the pagodas of Burma, these dagabas are yet
quite different in style. Fergusson says in a note
!

in his Indian Architecture

"

Dag aba

a Singalese word applied to

is

'

'

from the Sanskrit

relic,'
dhatu,' a
element and garbha,' a womb/ receptacle,'
or
shrine.'
Dhatugharba is thus the relicreceptacle or inner shrine, and is strictly applicstupa,
'

'

'

'

'

'

able only to the

dome

of the stupa."

He

mentions in another place the word Chaitya

as applied to stupas, and it is as a Chetiyo, the
same word, that Ruanweli is continually referred
to in the Mahawansa, but there is no need in this

book to multiply confusion in the multiplication

of foreign words, and dagaba is usually employed.
Ruanweli was a real dagaba in the sense of being
a relic store-house, while Abhayagiri and Jetawanarama were merely commemoration piles,
but have been equally described as dagabas though
lacking the intrinsic meaning of the word these
are the three largest known dagabas. It is necessary to imagine the dome of St. Paul's Cathedral
;

sliced off

some idea
ing one.

and

set

on the ground in order to get

of these curious buildings without seeof Ruanweli is to-day

The upper part

covered with green jungle scrub, while the lower

is rendered hideous by a huge new binding wall.
Ruanweli is one of the Eight Sacred Places at
Anuradhapura held by the Buddhist community

Atamasthana, the others being the Bo-tree,

Brazen Palace, Abhayagiri, Thuparama, Jeta-

or

THE BEAUTIFUL CITY

66

wanarama, Lankarama, and Mirisaveti dagabas.

Consequently the archaeological survey authorities
are not responsible for its preservation. Some
years ago a great slice of it fell down, burying in
its debris three or four statues of a king (supposed
to be Dutugemunu) and four Buddhas supposed
to

represent the

four

Buddhas

of

this

kalpa,

which formerly stood along the platform for

this huge bowl is surrounded by a platform of set
granite blocks, and on the sides of the dagaba at
the four cardinalpoints are four altars, or "screens,"
facing outwards. That facing south is decorated
with elephants' heads in relief. Among the rubble

and

fallen bricks

work plump

little

Tamil women,

who

chatter as they sort the still perfect bricks

from the piles, and carry them over to the work-

men who

are building up the great new supporting

The scarp of the outer platform, which is
square, is now buried to a great extent beneath
wall.

the rubble mounds, but was once decorated with

elephants' heads in relief, facing outwards, shoulder to shoulder, all round. These were made of

coated with chunam, and supplied with

tusks of real ivory. In its freshness the gleaming
ring must have looked magnificent. Only a few
of the elephants, of worn brick, with vacant tusk
It is
sockets, can now be seen on the north side.
a
to
of
difficult
them, as
very
get
photograph
brick,

they are always in deepest shade, and two exposures resulted in failure.

The upper platform of Ruanweli is now disfigured by hideous little gim-crack buildings like
sugar toys, put up by the priests. In one of
them, painted out of recognition, and with all

ANURADHAPURA

67

charm gone, are the rescued statues of the

king and the Buddhas above mentioned. Opposite the south altar, stately in its blackened and
worn stone, is the statue of another king, suptheir

posed to be Bhatikabhaya (19 B.C.), who alone of

all laymen was allowed, on account of his sanctity,
to penetrate into the relic - chamber.
Major
Forbes gives another account, saying that the king
wore holes in the pavement with his knees by
his continued prayers that he might obtain
entrance to the relic-chamber, so that, at last the

gods showed him an underground and secret way.

The entrance to this, covered by a stone slab at
a considerable distance from the outer enclosure
of the dagaba, was pointed out to Major Forbes
by a priest who greatly desired to obtain his
favour. This same priest, however, on subsequent occasions denied all knowledge of such an
entrance, nor could it again be found.
How long has this mighty dagaba stood in its
present position,
building

it ?

We

and who was responsible

learn

all

for

about that in the

was the conception of the great

King Dutugemunu, and he determined, as in the
case of the Brazen Palace, that the labour should
Mahawansa.

be paid

When

It

for.

the question of the shape of the great

stupa was under discussion, the king asked the

"
The bricklayer,
bricklayer what he suggested.
dish
and
a
with
water,
filling
golden
taking some
water on the palm of his hand, dashed it against
a great globule in the
the water (in the dish)
form of a coral bead rose to the surface, and he
"
I will construct it in this form.'
said,
;

'

THE BEAUTIFUL CITY

68

The foundations were

solidly laid,

for

round

stones were brought and well beaten in, and then

trampled further by elephants wearing leathern

pads on their feet. Many surreptitious attempts

were made by monks and others to contribute
unpaid labour in the form of a brick or handful of
earth, so as to gain merit, but when discovered
they were always defeated, generally by payment
"
of the doer, which destroyed his
merit," for the
was
determined
the
great monument should
king
be made by paid labour only.
There was a tremendous ceremony at the deposition of the relics in Ruanweli, which included
the largest and most important collection of relics
ever enshrined together in one place. Hence the
peculiar sacredness of Ruanweli. At the ceremony bands played and flowers and incense were
offered, and the people assembled in glad thousands, for then, as now, they loved a pinkama.

The king gave the priesthood "

robes, cane-sugar,
buffalo butter," and many other things.
When the sacred relics had been enshrined in a

receptacle

of

great magnificence,

posited also all the regal

the king

ornaments he had on

dehis

person, then the priests closed the receptacle with

a stone, after which the people were allowed to
put any relics they wished on the top of the shrine.
Ruanweli is not the largest of the Anuradhapura
dagabas, coming third in size. The height of the
drum, or body, at the present day is 178 feet 8

capped by a modern copper spire.

the construction of the spire and the
plastering of the dagaba alone remained to be
completed, the king became very ill. Sending

inches.

When

It is

ANURADHAPURA

69

he told him to finish the

The prince wanted to show his
brother what the dagaba would look like when
finished, so he had a case made of white cloth
and fixed it on a temporary bamboo frame in the

for his brother Tissa,

mighty work.

shape

the

Then he

dagaba

would

eventually

told the king that the

work was

assume.
finished.

And the king, who knew by this time that he

was dying, was carried to gaze on Ruanweli and
the Brazen Palace, and he looked long and
earnestly, first at one and then the other of his
most mighty works, from a spot where he had a
"
was filled with joy." He
full view of both, and
sent for the great warrior Theraputtabhaya, who
had fought twenty-eight pitched battles by his
"
side, and among other things said to him,
Now,

have commenced my conflict

Then, according to the cheerful
Buddhist custom, all the good deeds of the dying
king were recited, among them that he had
"
maintained at eighteen different places hospitals provided with suitable diet and medicines
single-handed
with death."

prepared by medical practitioners for the infirm."

And with his eyes fixed on Ruanweli he died in
the year 137 B.C. after a reign of twenty-four years.
The very stone on which he lay when dying, a
straight, tomb-like slab, is still pointed out on the
east of the Pilgrims' Road, abreast of Ruanweli.

may be so. From this place both the Brazen

Palace and the great dagaba could be seen in turn.
The king turned on his " left side " to look at the
"
"
one and on his right side to look at the other,
and the positions correspond. With monuments
It

of equal

antiquity and undoubted authenticity

THE BEAUTIFUL CITY

70

in
bable ?
still

situ,

who

is

to say that this

Of King Bhatikabhaya(i9

B.C.),

is

not pro-

who penetrated

"
to the relic-chamber, we are told
This ruler of
the
taxes
due
to
men, remitting
himself, caused
to be planted within the space of one yojana
:

environing the town, the small and large jessamine plants." With these he festooned Ruanweli,
"
from the pedestal ledge to the pinnacle, with
fragrant garlands four inches thick," and, having
stuck flow ers in between, he made the whole one
immense bouquet. It is said also that he covered
r

the stupa with a paste made of red lead and

stuck the flowers in by their stalks so as to preserve them.
A line drawn northward across the beautiful
park-like space would connect Ruanweli with
Thuparama, which can be seen gleaming in the

much smaller, and resembling in its

All
the
bell-shaped pagodas of Burma.
shape
which
is
in
not large
round this space,
extent,
runs a road known as the Inner Circular Road.
To the west of Ruanweli is a most beautiful
vihara, raised, as all were, on a platform, and
approached by a moonstone and carved steps.
The moonstones of Ceylon are unique; in no
other country in the world are they found in this
shape and style. In whose fertile brain they first
originated it is not known, but it must have been
a native of the island, for though many details
distance,

1 The
length of a yojana has been variously estimated, but
Mr. H. Parker (Ancient Ceylon, Luzac, 1909), an excellent authomiles, which is not actually a measured
rity, puts it at about 8
"
length, but
probably the length ascertained by the time in
walking from one place to another."

ANURADHAPURA

71

were borrowed from India and

Indian
thought, the only repreby
in India is a poor thing
these
stones
of
sentative
without the peculiar animal symbols which are a
It is unfortunate
feature of the Cingalese type.
that these stones are known by the same name
as the milky-blue j ewel, also found only in Ceylon,
because much confusion has resulted, though the
two bear no relation whatever to each other.
of architecture

influenced

The

architectural

moonstones are semi-circular

slabs of stone, set at the foot of a flight of entrance

To the fact that
steps, and wonderfully carved.

most of those who passed over them went barefoot we probably owe the fact of their won-

The stone is divided into

derful preservation.
concentric rings, first and outermost a narrow,
conventional design, then a wider band in which
a procession of animals elephant, horse, lion,
and bullock follow one another round there are
two complete sets of these animals, and the elephant being thrice repeated, beginning and end;

ing the procession, makes nine figures in all. The

elephants are excellently executed, full of fire
and life, and differing from each other in detail.

The bullocks are not bad, but the horses are

poor and the lions almost grotesque. The artist
must have seen horses, lions he can never have
seen, but it is odd that the lion should figure so
prominently in Cingalese tradition and carving,
when the living animal is in no way associated
with the country, and, so far as we know, never
has been.
Inside the animal frieze of the moonstone

is

another floral scroll of artistic design, and within

THE BEAUTIFUL CITY

72

that again a row of hansas, or sacred geese, while

the centre of the stone is occupied by the half of
a conventional lotus flower. There are several
other points to notice. The outside edge of the
block at the extreme points is left uncut to show

was hewn from solid rock. The

began the work from left to right

it

the geese,
large,

artist evidently
;

in the middle

who

but,

are carrying the lotus flowers, grow

as he has not calculated his space

end with a bit not big

and has had to fill in
with an extra spray of flower. -This is still more
clearly shown in the moonstones of the viharas
lying between this and Thuparama, almost due
north, where the last goose is ingeniously twisting
itself backwards to fit into the curtailed space.
Small divergencies, due to individual handiwork,
can be noted in all these stones. In one the
correctly, he is left at the
enough for a whole goose

animals are much poorer. In another the geese

are larger and their heads overlap the rim. In
one they carry lotus flowers in their beaks, and
But the most curious point is
in another not.
that at Anuradhapura all the stones of this kind
yet discovered, with one exception, have a procession of mixed animals (always in the same
The exception is one stone at the Boorder).
tree

where

lions are omitted.

At Polonnaruwa (of

date) the stones almost invariably are

decorated by a row of elephants and then a row
of horses.
By far the finest moonstone at Anuis
that at the so-called King's Palace,
radhapura
is
three
feet more in diameter than any
which
other (see p. 102).
It has been surmised that these particular four
later

ANURADHAPURA

ANURADHAPURA

73

had something to do
with the four cardinal points (see p. 139). That
they had some significance is certain. Fa Hien,
a Chinese monk who visited India and Ceylon
beasts found on moonstones

400, mentions having heard of a

India
in
built of five storeys, decorated
temple
"
with
elephant figures, lion shapes, horse shapes,

about

A.D.

ox shapes, and dove shapes," the last of which

may have been intended for the sacred geese.
The selection of animals coinciding with those on
these moonstones is at least suggestive. In speaking of the temple at Halebid in South India,
Fergusson refers to the Chinese pilgrim's description, and says that in the temple also there were
animal friezes in this order, elephants, lions,
horses, a conventional beast replacing the oxen,
"
and a
bird of a species that would puzzle a
He adds
naturalist."
:

"

The succession, however, is the same, and

the same five genera of living things form the
ornaments of the moonstone thresholds of the
various monuments in Ceylon.
Sometimes in
modern Hindu temples only two or three animal
friezes are found, but the succession is always the
When we know the cause of it, it
same.
seems as if this curious selection and succession
might lead to some very suggestive conclusions."
'

The

'

dwarfs called ganas, or children of

"
"
seen on the
can
risers
be
of the stairs
Ganesh,
at the vihara, and the carving on the balustrades
should also be noted. These entrance stairs
almost invariably follow one pattern. By far the
finest example at Anuradhapura is that at a little
little

THE BEAUTIFUL CITY

74

vihara across the Inner Circular Road westward,

Here
slightly to the south, easily to be found.
the delicacy of the carving is an inexhaustible

marvel

We

(see p. 65).

see

the

curious

from the mouth

beast,

scroll-balustrade

issuing

of

a makara, a kind of fabulous

half-dragon,

half-crocodile, and running

like the finest lace-

down, carved in a pattern

work, to a cushion, while in the panel enclosed

by it on the outside is a heraldic lion with upraised paw. Note the sharpness of the lion's
teeth and the crocodile's claws. And this was
executed somewhere about two thousand years
ago, whereas in England the stone work of our
most ancient cathedrals cannot boast more than
half those years
The makara motif is also used in Indian archi!

tecture,

"

The

and spoken

"

of as a

dolphin," or shark.

'

makara,' a fabulous fish or shark very

depicted with a curling trunk like an
elephant, cunningly incorporated with conventional foliage, is found in a thousand different
The makara
forms on the buildings of Nepal.
is said to be the vehicle of Varuna, the God of the
Ocean, and is also borne on the banner of the God
It represents the sign of Capricornus in
of Love.
the Hindu zodiac, and is a feature of Asiatic art in
The naga, the hansa
all countries and all ages.
(goose), the kirti muka, and scores of other forms
in Oriental art all have their own deep meaning
and attractive story, an investigation of which,
like the makara, would open up an interesting
and illuminating field of research."
often

Picturesque Nepal,

by Percy Brown.

(A.

&

C. Black.

1912.)

ANURADHAPURA

75

The naga and hansa are met with at every turn

in Ceylon and seen in many guises.
The moonstone of this little vihara is undecorated save for the central half-lotus. It is a
pity that the artist who executed the upper
carvings did not find time to do that too. Perhaps he planned it and died before execution,
and so we lost what might have been the most
delicately dainty

moonstone

of

them

all.

Passing on north up the Inner Circular Road,

with Basawak Kulam on the left, we come to a
green hillock with the remains of ruins on the

summit and among them a yantra gala, a square

stone with holes in it (see p. 114).
To sit on the summit of this hillock and absorb
the beauty and strangeness of the surroundings
is an occupation that can never pall.
Across the
wide park-like spaces of grass, beneath the shady
rain-trees, herds of cattle are driven to the feeding grounds around the tank. Black and very
dark brown are most of them, but some have the
fawn-coloured tint of a Jersey. They are followed
calves, not so big as the great goats of
"
mutton " in a
country, which represent

by tiny
the

district

where sheep cannot

live.

The herdsmen

of the poorer class are clad in dust-coloured rags,

with sometimes a twist of red stuff around the

head. But here in Anuradhapura, where races

are so mixed, headgear is very varied
the
a
as
wear
but
their
own
rule,
Cingalese,
nothing
abundant locks, unless they throw a cloth around
;

to keep off exceptionally bright sun. Chignons

are not entirely out of fashion for men, but those

who have come under European

influence often

76

THE BEAUTIFUL CITY

crop their thick hair. Every imaginable garment

makes its appearance. In this pure atmosphere
things keep clean for a long time, and a great deal
of white is worn, supplemented by gay pinks,
greens, blues, and reds, for the Cingalee-ioes not
share the prejudice of the Burman against blues
and greens. Probably that is because he knows
instinctively his dark colouring is not turned
sallow by the contact, as is the honey-coloured
skin of the Burman.
On one side are the clerks belonging to the
Kachcheri in spotless European suits of white drill
on the other is the gentleman who dresses in
nothing but a skirt, possibly supplemented by a
vivid-coloured scarf over his well-formed shoulders.
Differing a little from him is the man who completes the skirt by a European vest or shirt, the
latter of course worn outside, making a most convenient garment. The people of Ceylon have as a
whole good manners the Cingalese are gentle and
polite, they stare little, and you hear no loud laughs
after you have passed, best of all, there is very
little touting or pestering.
May it be long before
are
ruined
the
of tourists,
indiscretion
they
by
and become a nation of touts
There are few
places in the East where you can sit at peace in
a great shady park-like space in the midst of
antiquities dating from B.C. unworried by "guides,"
without any one even to cast an intrusive glance.
A little bay on Basawak Kulam is a favourite
haunt with those who prefer mixed bathing, and
probably find pure drinking water insipid. Here,
close inshore, they are safe from crocodiles, even
to the fat baby, who stamps with delight as its
;

ANURADHAPURA

77

mother empties one kerosene tin after another of

water over it in a deluge. Basawak Kulam has
been identified with the Abhaya tank made about
300 B.C. and has therefore been in existence from
the earliest days of Anuradhapura.

large jay, with wings and tail of metallic

blue, has spread himself to get warmed through
by the sun on a heap of red earth. The markings

extended wings are like those on a winged

scarab of Egypt. Hideous little scavenger birds,
"
called The Seven Sisters," in nun-like livery, with
thick heads and necks, give out metallic cries.

on

his

Such

many

Anuradhapura as

is

at present, and
same as about the
But then it was a

it is

of the features are the

time of King Dutugemunu.

thickly populated city, as large as London.
"

city covered an area of 256 square miles.

distance between opposite gates, north and
In one street are eleven
south, was sixteen miles.

The

The

of them being two storeys

the smaller streets are innumerable."

thousand houses, many

in height

Skinner (Fifty Years in Ceylon), who, as beforementioned, visited the place on a road- making
"
expedition in 1832, speaks of the
great north
"
"
and south street
as
a forest, only denned by
the wells, which, centuries ago, supplied the houses
with water." The line of some of these streets
can still be traced. In them the bright-robed
people, with whom were mingled thousands of
yellow-robed monks, passed to and fro, while
lordly
1

elephants strolled along

having passage

Ancient Ceylon, by H. Parker. (Luzac, 1909.)

"
Quoted by Forbes from an ancient native account."

THE BEAUTIFUL CITY

78

made

them. Beyond the walls, from a distance, could be seen the golden roofs flashing in
the sun against the thrilling blue of the sky. Inside, if it were a festival day, maybe the huge
dome of Ruanweli would be one mass of flowers
for

lotus,

orchid,

and jasmine

scenting
air with an almost overpowering odour.

all

the

There
were great parks containing pavilions peacocks
strolled on the close-clipped grass between the
;

flower-beds, and the vast stretches of mirror-like

water were freely used for bathing. Around the
bo-tree rose a temple of several storeys, and there,
as to-day, were always worshippers, silent, darkfaced, offering flowers and bowing themselves in
Men of the lowest caste hastened
reverence.
along, watering the streets from skins to lay the
dust. The grand buildings set among the trees
gleamed like marble and were adorned with free
bold carving and bands of gold and silver, and
inside there were many pillared richly decorated
halls, containing possibly thrones of gold and
ivory, holding in corners great golden images of
Buddha looking out from inscrutable jewelled
eyes.

And

in various parts

of

this great city

were alms-houses where the poor received food

hospitals where complaints are tended and healed
and on the outskirts, great cemeteries for the
;

burial of the dead.

A
11

well-known authority gives

it

as his opinion

Anuradhapura was not one city but two, one

within the other, and the royal residences and
chief monastic edifices and dagabas were enclosed
within walls of great strength, and shut in by
massive gates, flanked by watch towers and

ANURADHAPURA

79

Beyond these limits was the outer

city set apart for the lower orders, wherein the
business life of the capital was transacted. It
consisted mainly of one long, wide street, composed of shops for the sale of every description of
goods, and these were divided as usual in Eastern
cities
into quarters for the various callings of
guard houses.

provision-dealers, drapers, goldsmiths, artisans,

and even to the retailers of children's toys, some
of which have been found buried beneath the
ruins of buildings. On the outskirts of the lesser
city were extensive tracts set apart for the growth
of innumerable flowers, solely for the decoration
of temples and dagabas and for the ornamentation of the streets on great Buddhist festal days."
l

An

account of Anuradhapura at this time is

Mahawansa, in mentioning a visitor
had never been there before.

given in the

who

"

Bathing in the Tissa tank, making offerings

at the great Bo-tree and the Thuparama dagaba,
and for the purpose of seeing the whole capital,
entering the town and purchasing aromatic drugs
from the bazaars, he departed out of the northern
gate, and gathering uppalla flowers from the

uppalla-planted marshes, presented himself to the

Brahman."
Mr. Parker, 1 who was in the Irrigation Department, puts the southern gate of the Inner City to
the north of Thuparama, which was built in the
Nandana garden (also called Jotivana) south of the
city, while further south still was the Mahamegho
garden which contained the Bo-tree.
1

no
8

Architectural

Remains

(Folio),

by

date, circ. 1890.

Ancient Ceylon.

(Luzac, 1909.)

J.

G. Smither, F.R.I.B.A.,

THE BEAUTIFUL CITY

80

The

signs and sounds of ancient glory die away,

music
the
of the drums grows dim in our ears,
and the flashing of gold and silver vanishes once
more we awake to reality on the hillock in the
;

great peace of the present-time city. Climbing

down we may pass on toward Thuparama and
continue our investigations. Amid numerous evi-

dences of the former monasteries we presently

to one a little south-west of the dagaba,
where the huge balustrade of the entrance stairs
is split from top to bottom.
This balustrade and
The
its companion are well worth examining.
design is quite unusual. The conventional lion
is crammed into a small space and the rest of the
stones is divided into small compartments, with
various dainty and graceful carvings.
But the gem of the carving is on the right side
of the southern stone, and consists in a spirited
representation of a fight between a cobra and
mongoose, while a monkey, clasping its baby to its
A
breast, looks down from a large-leaved tree.

come

unique carving was made especially

for this book by Muhandiram D. A. L. Perera, of
the Archaeological Survey. This is worth examining
in some detail, as such a homely subject is ex-

drawing

of this

tremely rare.

For the position

of the stone see

Frontispiece.
There are graceful figures of women on the
stone to the north, and a drawing in low relief
of a house or temple at the inner end of each

These are some

of the

very few repre-

sentations of houses remaining to

show us what

balustrade.

such buildings were like when complete. The

columns exactly resemble those standing about

Drawing by Muhandiram D. A.

COBRA AND MONGOOSE FIGHT.

I,.

Perern.

THE PILLARS OF THUPARAMA.

p. 8 5

ANURADHAPURA
everywhere at the present day, so

81
it

is

at least

likely that the top storeys are faithfully depicted

too.
Such a building is also occasionally found

on a stone used

for certain

purposes of daily

life

(see p. 87).

Passing onward again we see to the left a forest

of columns, once a house for priests, and to the
right the Dalada Maligawa, Temple of the Tooth,
easily recognised

by the odd

capitals of its

columns

(seep. 65).
The Tooth-relic

was brought to Ceylon in A.D.

311, long after Dutugemunu's time, by a Brahman
princess, but it was lodged in an already existing
building of King Tissa, so parts of this ruin
may be as old as anything else in the city.
The relic was regarded as so peculiarly sacred

was carried away for safety during the

worst Tamil raids.
It accompanied the court
whenever the king had sufficient power to take
it with him, and was lodged at all the various
Occacapitals of the kingdom from time to time.
reason
the
monks
had
to
when
distrust
sionally,
their monarch's good faith, they, who had access
to it, carried it off themselves, until he came to
reason. It was not even safe from members of
that

it

the royal household, for in the time of the great

Parakrama it was stolen by his aunt, and he had
considerable difficulty in getting it back from her
before she carried it off to India. It was stolen and
actually taken to India in the fourteenth century,
but was restored after the Cingalese monarch himself, Parakrama III, had been over to the mainland
to plead for it in person. The story of this, the

most sacred
7

relic of all to

Buddhists,

is

a most

82

THE BEAUTIFUL CITY

enthralling one, and it is a pity it is not accessible

in English.
The adventures of the Tooth are, in-

deed, recorded in Elu, the classical language of the

Cingalese, in the Dhatuwansa, a work mentioned

the Mahawansa and still extant, but even in

translation the style of this would not appeal to
From golden caskets set with
English readers.

inj

jewels, raised above bowing, swaying, adoring multitudes, to the hair of a princess's head or the

saffron folds of a priest's robe as places of hurried

From temples of
concealment, the story runs.
granite, decorated with gold and silver, to windy

caves on bare hillsides and holes in the depths of

the T'ooth has wandered. It is said to have
j ungles
been rescued from the funeral pyre of Buddha
by Khema the sage, and eventually brought to
Ceylon concealed in the hair of the princess, who
was of Kalinga lineage, a race that gave more

than one king to Ceylon.

The feat must have been

the fantastic size of this much-prized

robs it in unprejudiced eyes of any possible
claim to be what it represents to be, though its
great age and the reverence bestowed upon it
The tooth is
invest it with peculiar interest.
very seldom seen indeed by Europeans. It is
enclosed in many caskets and guarded at Kandy,
where it is carried in procession every year at the
great festival or Perahera, which now takes place
in August. But though the original cannot be
seen, there is a model in Colombo museum, which
shows exactly what it is like. It is held up by a
wire, which encircles it and springs from the heart
of a lotus-flower after the usual fashion for such
The tooth
relics in Burma as well as Ceylon.
difficult, for

relic

ANURADHAPURA

83

about two inches in length, and the thickness

and shape of a man's little finger, and if a tooth at
all, is possibly the fossil one of some animal.
Just
such a shape, though a little smaller, is the precious
is

"

tooth-relic

lay,

which

"

in the Queen's Monastery, Mandamyself have seen. Whatever the

original relic of Ceylon may have been, the truth

about the present one cannot be doubtful. It is
said by one account that the Portuguese destroyed
the genuine relic in their raid on Kandy in 1560,
and that the loss was concealed and denied by

who

substituted the present relic. It

is no inherent impossibility
there
may
in the fact of the genuine relic having been
brought over to the island originally, though, in

the monks,

be

so, for

that case, it is at least strange that those clever

monks did not model the new tooth on the old,
and make it of some shape that might possibly
once have been found in a human mouth.

The natural scepticism

all

such

relics

felt by the West toward

must, however, be discounted, when

John Marshall, DirectorArchaeology in India, whose testimony

just recently (1916) Sir

General of
cannot be gainsaid, has found, at the ancient city
of Taxila, twenty-five miles north-west of Rawal
Pindi, the third set of the relics distributed after
Buddha's death. The account of that event,
usually accepted by Buddhists, tells that when the
flesh had been consumed on the funeral pyre, but
before the bones had been destroyed, a heavy
shower of rain fell and put the fire out. Thereupon much discussion arose as to the custody of
the remains. It was eventually agreed that they
should be divided into eight lots and distributed

84

THE BEAUTIFUL CITY

widely, so that cairns, or dagabas, might be raised

over them. This was done. Two of such sets

have already been unearthed, one at Piprava in

the Terai in 1898, one at Kanishka near Peshawar
in 1914, and now the third set has been unearthed
with an inscription, proving, at any rate, what it
was supposed to be. The curious feature of this
find is that Sir John Marshall was led to the spot
by following the account given by the Chinese
pilgrim, Hiuen Tsiang, of his visit to Taxila in the
seventh century.
There is comparatively little said in the
Chronicles about the advent of the Tooth at
Anuradhapura, as compared with the account
of the advent of the Bo-tree, or the Collarbone, the two other of the city's most precious
relics.
Yet of the three the Tooth is now regarded more as the actual core and centre of the
Buddhist community than even the Bo-tree itself.
The inner shrine of the Dalada Maligawa, in
which this relic was probably bestowed, is the
one in which appear the very curiously crowned
"
columns already alluded to. The open lanterns
of these are supposed to represent a tooth
"

they represent anything, it is a hollow double

tooth, which, in this case, is not appropriate.
as the
They cannot be said to be nearly as graceful
"
"
usual style of capital found here, and
curious
is the only word that can fitly be applied to them.
The entrance to the outer building shows a fine
if

moonstone, and balustrades or wings of the most

common

type.
Close to the ruined temple is the white dome of
Thuparama, held to be of great sacredness as the

ANURADHAPURA
original receptacle of the sacred
The shell of the present building

85

"

Collar-bone."
is, as a matter

modern, and of an altogether different

from
the
original one, but it encloses a core
shape
of great antiquity described by Mr. Fergusson as
of fact, quite

"

older, or at least as old, as anything now

wood-cut
existing on the continent of India."
in his widely known book, The History of Indian

being

Architecture, gives a view of the dagaba as it

appeared in 1870, when it was purely of the pudding-

basin type like the larger dagabas, but on a very

small scale. The original work is enclosed in the
present graceful dome, which is the shape of a

This springs from a circular platform,

bell.
reached from the ground by a fairly steep flight
of steps.
The bell at its base is 40 feet, 6 inches
It is capped by a circular spire tipped
with two crystals. From pavement to crystals
is 63 feet (J. G. Smither).
The chief beauty
of Thuparama, however, is found in its slender
columns, some of a great height, which spring
from the platform encircling it. There are four

in diameter.

rows

varying from 14 feet to nearly 23

Each of the carved capitals in
feet in height.
the first three rows is made from a separate stone
and fitted on to the shaft with a socket. They are
finely decorated like those at Lankarama(see p. 90).

The

of these,

original

number

of pillars

was 176 and

of

these 42 are missing. The use of these pillars has

been often questioned. It is hardly possible to

suppose they supported a roof, as any such roof

would not be

tall

enough to enclose the dagaba

In the Mahawansa it is mentioned that great

coloured pictures, representative of scenes in the
itself.

86

THE BEAUTIFUL CITY

Buddha, were carried in festival processions.

It may possibly be that these pictures were susHowever,
pended from the posts like screens.
the posts may have been merely used to support
garlands of flowers strung from one to the other.
The dagaba was constructed in the reign of
King Tissa (307-267 B.C.), and in it was installed
life of

the Collar-bone relic.

A long account is given
of the ceremony.
The relic was placed on the
"
the deback of the state elephant, whereupon
conitself
roared."
The
lighted elephant
dagaba
sumed in the building " thousands of bricks," and
among them a receptacle was excavated for the
relic.
Close by the king then built a vihara, or
temple. The Mahawansa also tells us that before
"
the building of the dagaba the site was
overrun
with the thorns called Kadambo."
In the reign of many kings the decoration of
Thuparama occupied a prominent place. Aggha"
bodi VI (A.D. 741) made for it a
cover of gold
ornamented with bands of silver set at distances."
"
covered Thuparama with
Udaya (A.D. 901)
a band of gold."
Sena IV (A.D. 972)' "made
a door of pure gold for the relic house at
Thuparama." It was treasure of this kind which
repaid the Tamils for coming over to the island
*

and raiding it.

At the foot of the long flight of steps leading
up to the platform is a great cistern, hewn
out of a block of stone, and about a hundred
yards eastward across the road
larger one.

is

a similar, but

This, the natives say, with that in-

1
These dates are taken from Mr. Wijesinha's version
Mahawansa.

of the

ANURADHAPURA

87

genuity in detail which characterises them, was

"
the
drinking-trough of King Dutugemunu's
state elephant/'
East-north-east of Thuparama
at the corner of the Y Road going north is a small

dagaba which
mitta's

"
traditionally called
Sanghaafter the princess-missionary who

is

Tomb,"

brought the Bo-tree branch to Ceylon.

We may return from Thuparama by the eastern
section of the Inner Circular Road, which is mainly
formed by the Sacred Road running north from the

The

object noticed is the modern

hospital, successor to so many far back in the ages.
If we could only have seen them and studied their
Bo-tree.

first

methods, what quaint superstitions and customs

we might have discovered. So many times are
hospitals mentioned among the works of merit of
the ancient kings that an elaboration of them

would become tedious.

Among them Kasyapa

IV

(A.D. 912) built hospitals both here and at

"
for the prevention of pestilential
Polonnaruwa

diseases,"

and not only

so,

but

"

dispensaries for

medicine."

Passing on down the road till we come almost

abreast of Ruanweli, we see the slab where King
Dutugemunu is supposed to have lain dying.
of the little platform on which it
one of the curious stones, already referred to, where the representation of a house is
carved. This house stands on open columns with
three storeys in the centre and two at each side.
Mr. Still says

At the back
stands

is

"

this stone of humble purpose we are

a
clue
to the form of the buildings before
given

By

THE BEAUTIFUL CITY

88

the superstructure all collapsed. I consider this

stone to be one of the most interesting in the
City."

He

did not

know

of a

much more

elaborate

specimen, since discovered near the Outer Circular

Road

A
one

(see p. 130).
further south, still beside the road, is
"
of the curiously shaped
medicine-boats,"

little

or sarcophagi, of which three are known at Anuradhapura in this the rude outline of a human being
Down a side road
is hollowed out of the stone.
;

the post

office, formerly the restare the ruins of a large

mahapali, or alms-hall, which is generally supposed
to be that built by King Tissa II in the first

to the

left is

house, and beside

it

was burnt down and reconstructed by Mahinda IV at the end of the tenth

century

B.C.

It

century A.D.

The most

interesting feature remaining is the

very perfect specimen of a stone boat or canoe
lying along the east side. It is 44 feet 3 inches in
length. There is no doubt as to the use of these

great boats, they are distinctly described in the

Mahawansa as a "receptacle shaped like a boat
to hold rice," and are always found in connection
with alms-halls. Usually there are two, a larger

and

smaller, standing at right angles to each other,

is only
one remaining. This
noted
in
the
records
of many kings.
mahapali
When Silameghavana (A.D. 614) had killed his
"
entered the beautiful city of
predecessor, he
and when he had saluted the
Anuradhapura,
Order and the Bodhi, he rendered the honours

but

here

there

is

ANURADHAPURA

89

that were due to the three thupas, and patronised

the alms-hall.
.In a time of great scarcity he
distributed milk-rice among the Order, mixed
with ghee and honey, and supplied the monks
He gave largely to
with water-strainers also.
the beggar, the wayfarer, and the mendicant,

and by divers acts

of charity gained their love.

And

being kind-hearted by nature, he even gave

away cake-money among the children."
In the centre of the mahapali there is a floral
altar with representation of the prints of Buddha's

feet.

North

of the post office, bounded by the Inner

Circular Road on one side and by Abhayagiriya on

a tract of ground crossed by numerous

paths, but apt to be swampy and not altogether
desirable unless the way is carefully chosen. In
it lies Selchaitiya dagaba, now a small shapeless
mound, with a few carved stones. It is still
visited by pilgrims, as the little flags and blackened
altars testify.
It was built by King Lajji Tissa
(119 B.C.), and has a reputation for sacredness.
The Inner Circular Road leads back to the
bazaar, and to reach the hotel there are other
roads below Ruanweli which can be taken if prethe other,

ferred.

is

CHAPTER IV
LANKARAMA DISTRICT

A WORLD OF MONKS

STARTING from Thuparama, a long road runs

northward and finally bifurcates, one branch going
to Jetawanarama and the other to Lankarama and
This is appropriately named the
The first part of it is not interesting
is lined by plantain plantations and the only ruin
a small Hindu temple about half-way up on

neighbourhood.

Y
it

is

Road.

the west.
By the western branch Lankarama is soon
reached. This small dilapidated dagaba is surrounded by tall slender pillars much like those of
Thuparama, but only in three circles. They vary
from 12 feet to 16 feet 8 inches in height. If they
are examined, they will be seen to be all carved

and column hewn together.

A line of decoration runs round the head of the
shaft, in the form of a looped and tasselled design,
falling to a depth of 6 or 8 inches, and varying
a little so as to become in some cases exactly like
a fleur-de-lys.
Above this rise the capitals
of
showing bands
jovial little dwarfs or quaint
Palms and a temple-tree spring from the
lions.

in one block, capital

platform, finding root-hold between the granite

blocks, and though destructive of the stonework,
they certainly add to the picture as a picture.
90

A WORLD OF MONKS

91

" The
dagaba, one of the Eight Sacred sites, has
for years been allowed to remain in a dilapidated
state, completely ruined on the north side where
it has collapsed, without any effort on the part of
the Buddhists to restore it, though such restoration would involve little expense and no technical
"

(1910-11 Report}.
name of the dagaba is not known,
but its sanctity and the fact that it so closely
resembles Thuparama lead to the conclusion that
it is one of the older buildings of the city.
All around, in its neighbourhood, are the remains
of monasteries, besides several headless sedent
difficulty

The

real

Buddhas. A very little way beyond Lankarama,

on the other side of the road, are many ruins well
worth examining. The road curves a little, and
just

beyond the curve crosses a deep channel

in Cingalese as an ela; which is dry.
At

known

if driving, to leave any

and send it on to wait at the junction of
Road and Outer Circular Road, and then

this point it is advisable,

vehicle

the

on foot to plunge across the intervening

woodland.
of

strip of

Facing the road, plainly in view, are the remains

a large vihara, with well-preserved moulded

platform,

and

distinguishing mark in two

stone slabs which flank the

immense upright
entrance.
Here, what Mr.
as the

"

five-of-cards

"

Bell has aptly described

pattern common to so

very readily be
a
central temple
composed
or shrine in the middle of an open space, with
four small shrines in the corners. The central
shrine is usually a pilimage, or image-house, and

many

of

discerned.

these monasteries
It is

may
of

LANKARAMA DISTRICT

92

the four smaller ones may be defined as chapels.

all enclosed by the inner wall of the
monastery, and outside lie the piriven, or monks'
cells, more or less in number according to the
sometimes there is also
size of the monastery

These are

a pansala, or refectory, and almost invariably

a tank for water supply, with possibly small
pokuna for use as rock-hewn baths or cisterns.
There may also be in some monasteries a dagaba,
"
and very often a
street/' or what was once a
covered verandah leading up to a porch. Here

and there

special distinctive features are found,

in
this case, these curious upright slabs
as,
of stone, which are not quite like anything found

such

elsewhere.

Facing this vihara, a little to the left and behind

a low hummock of rock, on the top of which
are several incised drawings, a man fighting, an

it, is

elephant, and some diagrams that look like geometrical illustrations, but may be maps (see p. 120).

About an equal distance north of the vihara is a

great mound or lump of earth built partly up with
This

brick.

is

not a dagaba.

"

As there are no further clues to fix the object

commanding building served, it can only
be surmised that it was the Priory or Chief Panthis

sala for one or both monasteries, or possibly a

House of Meditation common to the whole Sangharama in these western quarters." (1911-12

Report.)

At the back
rock,

room.

is

behind another outcrop of

a deeply cut bath with a little dressingof

it,

A WORLD OF MONKS

93

To wander through

these woods in the early

the
morning, hearing
deep throaty song of birds
coo
of
and the soft
the wood pigeon is pleasant
The
enough.
undergrowth is so cleared as to

make walking

easy, and the ground is softened by

the thick leaves of a little plant resembling wood

curious rock hummocks add

the
scene, suggesting witches and
mystery
gnomes and dwarfs the innumerable ruins and
bits of carving gleaming in the sunlight or flecked
by shadow carry the mind back into the romance
of history.
Troops of monkeys disturbed in
You
feeding glide up tree- trunks like wraiths.
turn, thinking they are all gone, but there are
Away
always a few more vanishing into space
to the west are two great tanks, of the pattern
generally found in the vicinity of any large
monastery. Many outlying ruins claim atten"
street,"
tion, and in the midst is the straight
or alley, a characteristic feature of many of the
monasteries, with the entrance porch still standing,
facing the Outer Circular Road. Parallel with
this alley lies the chief rock hummock, like the
back of a stranded whale. It is called Gal-ge,
"stone-house," for beneath its shadow, uncountable years ago, a solitary monk lived.
Just
outside the doorway of the hermit's cave in the
west side, when I saw it, great bushes of the cassia
alata were in flower.
The picture lacked no touch
to perfect it. The royal orange-red blossoms
crowned the feathery fronds, rearing themselves
against the black rock. The door-posts and lintel
stand square beneath the curve of the overhanging
rock, and an immense tree with its roots tightly

The

anemone.

to

LANKARAMA DISTRICT

94

throws
down a deep shade. A cursory glance shows that
the little apartment was once provided with a facing
wall on each side of the door and was divided into
three cells. Clear of the plants, a rock-cut bath
or cistern, not twenty yards away, shows whence
the necessary supply of water was drawn.

clamped to the bare surface

of the granite,

imagine anything more peaceand remote than this little cell nestling in the
shadow of the rocks. These rock dwellings seem
to have exercised a great fascination on the
monkish mind all over they are found, the best
specimens in this neighbourhood being here, and
at Vessagiriya three miles southward, where there
is an almost exactly similar lintel (see p. 126).
"
Gal-ge is the longest and most northerly of these
rock hummocks, very similar in shape, and of
little width, which all rise sharply and stretch
out as part of that ridge outcrop, the line of which
(continued intermittently north and for miles
southward) may be followed through Basawakkulam Tank and the Mirisaveti rocks." (1911-^-12
It is impossible to

ful

Report.}

Passing round the end of Gal-ge", and continuing

beside a small portico to the road, we see that its
outer wall is decorated by a frieze of elephants
in relief, somewhat in the same style as that
encompassing the platform at Ruanweli. Just
behind it is a small vihara, of which the chief point
to notice is that the guard-stones have a carved
canopy like that at the Elephant Stables, and

Nakha vehera

(pp. 96,

no).

At the junction of the Y Road and Outer

Circular Road are twin ponds, called the Tammet-

A WORLD OF MONKS

95

"

tan Pokuna, or
pair of kettle-drums," but before
"
Elephant
reaching these we pass an angle of the

Pokuna
is

"

which almost touches the

so called, not because

elephants, but because

it
it

Road.

It

had anything to do with

was of exceptional size.

melancholy enough now, with the huge blocks

its sides falling away, and the
bare branches of dead trees stretching over it,
It is

that once lined

to the delight of

brilliant-hued kingfishers.
From this point we can drive on, and turning
right, in the Outer Circular Road, soon pass on

many

the left a small and dilapidated dagaba called,

without any apparent cause, Dutugemunu's Tomb.
This road was designed simply to show the
ruins, and so twists around all the most interesting points. On the left, on raised ground, is the
so-called Queen's Palace, to which the ascent is
It exhibits the usual characteristics, and
easy.
"

was undoubtedly a monastery and no

palace."
Then the road passes a seated Buddha much
mutilated, and loops right round in a horse-shoe.
At the furthest point of the bend are two stone
canoes, one large and one smaller, at right angles
to

each other.

As already

relative position in

and

noted,

this

is

the

which they are usually found,

has been facetiously suggested, that if the

one
was for rice, then the smaller one was
larger
for curry, jaggery, honey, or whatever was used
it

to flavour

it.

"

Burrows' Canopy," so called

Quite near is
because restored by Mr. Burrows, C.C.S., in 1885.
It consists of a roof with a beautifully moulded
standing on columns. The stones composing it were found detached and buried, and
ceiling,

96

LANKARAMA DISTRICT

were put together in position with considerable

difficulty.

Dipping up again, the road comes to the so"

Elephant Stables," a name as remote
from actuality as the Elephant Pokuna. On an
immense platform stand some columns of a most
unusual height and size, only matched in Anuradcalled

hapura by those near Mirisaveti Dagaba(see p. 117).

Beside the steps stands the most wonderful
dwarpal, or guard-stone, yet unearthed. This
magnificent bit of sculpture stands 5 feet high,
and is capped by a carved torana, or canopy, a

most unusual feature in such stones, but, as we

have just seen, not unique. On the outer side is a
small elephant, and the central figure is most
perfectly designed, and finished with a profusion
The " guard " is the same in general
of detail.
outlines for all this type of stones, but the exact

He has
of the symbolism is not known.
sometimes two, small ganas in attendance,
"
and is always represented under a
serpenthood " of a many-hooded naga, or cobra. In
this case, the flesh is depicted with a reality
unseen elsewhere. The stone owes its unusually
excellent preservation to the fact that it was
found lying face downward in the earth. Occasionally a dwarf takes the place of this singularly
graceful figure, and in one or two instances the
stones are plain or sculped with a floral ornament.
The most interesting fact in connection with
this area is that from inscriptions discovered near
meaning

one, or

the stone canoes, and at the

"

Elephant Stables,"
has been rendered almost certain that the two
great dagabas Abhayagiri and Jetawanarama bear

it

THE GUARD-STONE AT THE SO-CALLED " ELEPHANT STABLES."

ONE OF THE TWIN POKUNAS

p. 108

A WORLD OF MONKS
each other's names, though when and

97

how

this

curious transposition occurred is not known. It

would be of course impossible to change them
back again now, owing to the confusion that

would

in identifying literary references,

one really interested in these matters

result

but any

must remember that

historical references to the

one in the chronicles, in reality belong to the

other. The mistake was for long suspected by
Mr. H. C. P. Bell, Archaeological Commissioner for
five-and-twenty years. In his 1910-11 Report he
says in a note

"

To

the late Mr. H. Nevill, Ceylon Civil Serbelongs the real credit for first urging, more
than twenty years ago, that the names of the
Abhayagiri and Jetawanarama dagabas had been
wrongly transposed in the course of centuries."
vice,

The two slabs near the stone canoes are of the

date of Mahinda IV and refer to gifts and regulations made to the Abhayagiri vihara lying west
Abhayagiri dagaba. The great edifice known
as Ratana-maha-pasada (Pali) was built here by
l
King Kanittha Tissa (A.D. 229-247) and later
of

rebuilt with great magnificence by Mahinda II at

a cost of 300,000 pieces of gold. This building,
for various reasons which need not be gone into

here; has been practically identified with that

known now as the " Elephant Stables." The

evidence already available on the subject of the

identity of the dagabas was reinforced by the
discovery by Mr. Bell of an inscription on a stone
slab now forming one of the flag-stones of the
1

Date given by Mr. Wickremasinghe.

JETAWANARAMA

98

south altar of Jetawanarama

recording repairs and grants of King Malu Tissa
(who has been identified with Kanittha Tissa) for
the maintenance of the Abhayagiri vihara and
As it is obviously unlikely that such
its monks.
a slab would have been laid at any dagaba but
that to which it referred, this is very strong confirmatory evidence. A full account of these
three slabs and their inscriptions can be found in

pavement

at the

Epigraphia Zeylanica, edited and translated by

Don Martino de Z. Wickremasinghe (Vol. I, Part
VI, 1912, Oxfd. Univ. Press).

The most

interesting bit of translation is perthe second slab of Mahinda IV

that
from
haps

mentioned above

"

(The income of) the villages set apart for

repairs (of buildings) shall not be devoted to (the
provision of) food and raiment (to monks) but
shall
"

be

utilised for repairs.

there are no villages

When

apart for

set

repairs, the surplus (of the revenue) that remains

after providing food and raiment according to
ancient usage, shall be spent on repairs. The
wardens who have not acted in this manner shall

be sent away from residence

"

(Ibid.).

This interesting passage shows both the minuteness and strictness of the regulations governing
the conduct of monks. But if any further evidence on the point is needed, we find it in the
travels of the Chinese monk, Fa-Hien.
He was a native of Wu-yang in Shansi, and
undertook a journey to India in search of complete
1

Fa-Hien, by James Legge.

1886.

A WORLD OF MONKS

99

copies of the sacred book, the Vinaya pitaka, about

A.D. 400.

He

started from Changan, Shansi, west of

which he eventually returned.

Nan-

king, to

wandering through Central Asia and

one by death from exlosing his companions
and
others
who
turned
back he got over
posure
After

the Himalayas into India and visited all the

scenes of Buddha's lifetime. Then he left the
mouth of the Hugli and took a boat to Ceylon.
He believed firmly in the legend of Buddha's
visit to Ceylon.
"

When Buddha came to this country, wishing

to transform the wicked nagas, by his supernatural
power, he planted one foot at the north of the
royal city [Anuradhapura] and the other on the
top of a mountain [Adam's Peak].
(<

Over the footprint at the north of the city

the king built a large tope, 400 cubits high,
grandly adorned with gold and silver. By the
side of the tope he further built a monastery
called the Abhayagiri, where there are now 5,000
There is in it a hall of Buddha adorned
monks.
with carved and inlaid work of gold and silver,
and rich in the seven precious substances, in

which there is an image (of Buddha) in green jade,

more than 20 cubits in height and glittering all
over and having an appearance of solemn dignity
which words cannot express. In the palm of the
right

hand there

As the

is

a priceless pearl."

dagaba is due east

and Jetawanarama due north, it is plain
that the conjecture of experts is right, and that
so-called Abhayagiri

of the city

LANKARAMA DISTRICT

ioo

some time in the past confusion has

the names have been transposed.
at

arisen

and

Mr. Parker surmises that the misnaming may

date from the twelfth century, when the men sent
by Parakrama the Great to restore the dagabas
found them practically abandoned, " and because
of the great heaps of bricks and clay and the
l

thickets of the forest, no man

"
access thereto
(Mahawansa).

The whole

was able to have

book is worth reading

written
in
the third person with
though
the exception of a few sentences at the end, it
conveys throughout a sense of personal descrip-

for

of Fa-Hien's

it is

tion which has kept it alive until the present time.

One rather pathetic touch is that one day when

Fa-Hien, sitting by the image he describes, saw a

merchant offering a fan of white silk which carried
him back at a bound to his native land, " the
tears of sorrow involuntarily filled his eyes and
It was years since he had seen
fell down."
his country, all those who had started with him
had died or left him, and he was overcome by a

wave

of home-sickness.

fifteen years,

and

He was away

his journey

altogether

was a miracle

of

and adaptability.
gives in detail the ceremony by which the
tooth of Buddha was brought forth and taken

fortitude

He

Great coloured
to Abhayagiriya for ninety days.
of
number
to
the
500, showing Buddha
figures
in his 500 bodily forms, lined both sides of the

These may have been the paintings, which

some conjecture to have been hung on the pillars

road.

surrounding the dagabas.

1

Ancient Ceylon.

(Luzac, 1909.)

A WORLD OF MONKS

101

Before going on to the so-called Jetawanarama

dagaba itself, there are other things to see nearer
at hand.
There is in fact a choice of two ways
and on both are objects of interest. The carriageroad, a continuation of the Outer Circular, which
comes out at the back of the dagaba, and another
a rough cart-road (feasible for most vehicles with
care) starts from close by the stone canoes and
goes off at right angles, ending up in front of the
great dagaba.

penetrating along this for a little distance

a blackened sedent Buddha is passed. It is
curious to note how very much more common this
type is than either the standing or lying Buddha.
I remember seeing only one of the former class
at Anuradhapura, a yery small and mutilated

By

one at Vijayarama.
The three positions denote
Buddha in meditation under the Bo-tree, as
he was when he received revelation
Buddha
and Buddha as he
preaching to enlighten others
was when he attained Nirvana. In the Burmese
representations of the seated Buddha, almost
invariably the left hand lies in the lap and the
right falls downwards over the knee; but in
the Cingalese type both hands usually rest together
in the lap.
Where the statue has been mutilated,
:

as in this case,

it is

not easy to judge of

its original

attitude.

plunging into the imi^le abreast of this

the
central block of a most beautiful vihara
figure
can be quickly seen. The steps and guards are
"
The granite staircase of this
unusually perfect.
vihare" for completeness and rare beauty is, in its

By

own

line,

the

gem

of

Anuradhapura

art

and

sculp-

LANKARAMA DISTRICT

102

ture."

The guard-stones are

(1911 Report)

at

than that remaining at the

but they are without a sculp-

least four inches higher

elephant stables,
tured torana. The steps are well decorated, and
at the top on both sides are stone seats.
Behind
the vihara is a pokuna turning left from this we
come into the long thoroughfare, or passage-way.
This leads to a very beautiful group of pillars,
with richly carved capitals. Away to the right
again others gleam amid the trees, and any
;

one interested might wander on in this section

of the jungle for long, finding many interesting
memorials of the great company of monks who

made

In the nickering sunit their home.

dew
still on the leaves,
the
with
morning
light,
alone with the butterflies and birds, squirrels and
lizards, and occasionally a wild, shy creature of
the woods, this desultory wandering among evidence of ancient life has a peculiar fascination.
An excellent plan of all this district is to be found
in the 1911-12 Archaeological Report.
By retracing our steps along the central line of
thoroughfare we come out again on the cartonce

track which leads through to Jetawanarama, and

can then return to the canoes and try the other
road. This, the Outer Circular Road, passes a
very splendid specimen of a monastery known as
"
the
King's Palace," where there is the largest
and most perfect moonstone yet discovered. The
surface shines like marble, and a lively procession of
thirteen, instead of the usual nine, animals prances
round it. The difficulty of photographing a

moonstone, which

is

ground, and keeping

of course
it

always

flat

in perfect focus,

on the
is np

A WORLD OF MONKS

103

In this case, though the stone is so

larger than usual, the task is easier because
a square stone at the top of the steps provides a
convenient mount from which the camera may be
It is only by doing so that
tilted downwards.
the detail on the stone can be shown, and the
illustration on p. 112 gives a section of the moonstone taken in this manner to show the delicacy of
small one.

much

the carving and the

life-like activity of

The sacred geese are

large,

the animals.

and carry a

lotus in

their beaks in the usual fashion.

As it is only by the examination of detail that

observation is encouraged, it is well here to look

closely at these fine steps, which are built after a
pattern continually to be seen in these royal cities,
but are more easily examined than most owing to
the fact that the wing-stones, or balustrades, are
missing. To begin with, each step has in the centre
and at both ends a squatting dwarf in an Atlas-

which suggests he is supporting the

tread with enormous effort. He is on the usual
model of such dwarfs, and a larger specimen of
the brotherhood appears on a panel above the
They all have curled wigs and are girded
steps.

like posture,

with cords and adorned with necklets. That they

were not slaves is shown by the profusion of ornaments, bangles, and anklets which cover arms and
Each one grasps in one hand what looks
legs.
like a stalk of a plant, but is really a conventiona"
"
snake
lised snake, thus bringing in the
touch

shown

"

in the usual guard-stones in their

nagahoods." The dwarf guardian is said to represent

Bhairava, defender of temples and treasures.

this entrance, with its many beauties,
[_ Though

LANKARAMA DISTRICT

104

may well encourage lingering, there are other points

about this extraordinarily large and fine specimen
of a monastery
for of course it was that and no
"

"

that demand attention. Th size of

palace
the coping - stones alone calls for admiration.
Eight of them are sufficient to border the immense
central platform. And the largest of these attains
Though size is not to
thirty- one feet in length.
be numbered among the attractions of the ancient
specimens of sculpture to be found in Ceylon, as
it was in Egypt, where the colossal dimensions of
temples and the unparalleled achievements in
handling blocks of stone evoke awe, yet that the
Cingalese could have excelled in this way also, had
they chosen, is shown in such specimens as these.
As a rule, however, they rely upon grace and
"
mightiness/' and even here
delicacy rather than
it is not so much the dimensions of the stones as
the perfect line of the moulding which absorbs
attention.

In the four corners of the court were the four

"
usual smaller
temples." At the back, outside
the wall, is the usual pond, and there are various
other ruins which would repay examination.

The whole

of this splendidly proportioned and

designed monastery was cleared out in the season
of 1911-12.

CHAPTER V
THE TWO GREATEST DAGABAS

JETAWANARAMA dagaba was handed over

to the

Buddhist community in 1909, after which two

members of the Atamasthana Committee issued a
permit for five years to a Buddhist monk to work
"
"
improvements on it. There were certain conditions attached to this permit to safeguard the
dagaba, and all of these were broken. One con-

was no trees were to be felled on the tope

He dug
and the monk felled them all
an
amateur
one of
in
and
broke
way
recklessly
dition

or stupa,

the flat upright pillars beautifully carved called

a stele. So the Archaeological Commissioners
stepped in, in 1910, with the tacit consent of the
Committee, to save the venerable ruin. (19107-11
Report.} But even yet there is something in the
cropped condition of the dagaba, which arouses
a feeling of dissatisfaction.
The guards at the south entrance are ganas, or
dwarfs, a more unusual figure than the ordinary
they follow the
guardian and not so graceful
;

typical lines considered proper for dwarfs.

The chief beauty of the ruin lies in the splendid

platform of hewn blocks from which the drum

rises, and the bits of carving on stele and stones
near the altars. Some of these are very high art
105

106

JETAWANARAMA

well worth study, showing the most graceful

human figures as well as floral design of great
The platform is covered with a thick
delicacy.

and

of a small pink-flowered shrub, diversified

a
handsome
plant like a variegated foxglove,
by
different
in the manner of its growth.
though quite
But this is not difficult to penetrate, as luckily
it does not share in the partiality for thorns indulged in by so many shrubs of this country. On
the north side is a circular floral altar. On this side
also, beyond the dagaba platform, and reaching
far into the jungle, are the ruins of a great monastery of fourteen buildings, including shrines and

growth

and bath-house, as well as a

The monastery entrance is still
small dagaba.
standing. It is a wonderful experience to traverse
these silent groves, and see, on and on, as far as perspective allows, the grey columns, carrying one in
thought back to the monoliths in wind-swept
Cornwall or on the rocky shores of Scotland.
Taking it for granted that Jetawanarama is the

residences, refectory

Abhayagiriya, we may recall that th^

built 88 B.C. by a set of monks in
the older community of the Maha
with
rivalry
Vihara or Chief Monastery of Anuradhapura, of
which the Brazen Palace may have been the headquarters. This was on the return of King Watagemunu, nephew of Dutugemunu, from the Caves of
ancient

dagaba was

Dambulla, where he had stayed in exile sixteen

years, having ascended the throne in 104 B.C.
and having been almost immediately driven out.
It was enlarged by King Gaja Bahu I, between
A.D. 113 and 125, and reached 315 feet in height.
King Maha Sena (A.D. 275), misled by a heretic

THE TWO GREATEST DAGABAS

107

down the Maha

Vihara, scattered
the
the monks, and exalted
Abhayagiri community.
He used the stones of the destroyed buildings for
making a hall for the reception of a statue of

priest, pulled

Buddha, and the dagaba

at

this time attained

the height of its splendour.

In the seventh century the religious fraternity
disgraced themselves sadly, and slaughtered a
certain monk who had told tales of them to the
reigning

king.

They were

severely

punished,

having their hands cut off and being appointed

guardians of tanks a degraded office. But, as we
seen, in the reign of Mahinda II (A.D 787)
the monastery was rebuilt, costing 300,000 pieces
He built " an exceedingly beautiof gold.
ful terraced palace with several floors," and out

have

of 60,000 pieces of gold he

made an image of
gem of great

Buddha, adorning the head with a

was probably this image which was

a jewel by King Dhatu Sena, the
with
presented
"
"
lost out of its eye
also
jewel having been
"
Dhatu Sena caused the supreme curly locks of
"
"
to be represented by
that image
a profusion
value.

It

of sapphires," though how this difficult feat was

carried out is hard to imagine. Curly hair is
admired by the Cingalese, who differ in this trait

from the lank-locked Burmese.

Passing round Jetawanarama, and following
eastward the Outer Circular Road, we come to a
stately image of Buddha alone by the roadside
amid the trees. The canopy once sheltering it
has gone, and it sits here in the shadowy grove,
silent and revered, with the smoke and grease of
a never-ceasing stream of devotees blackening

JETAWANARAMA

io8
still

further the ancient stone.

Beyond

it

the

road winds northward and leads to a most beauti-

Twin) Pokuna.
so that the firm

admired.

This

known

Kuttam (or
One has been partially restored,
lines of the hewn blocks can be

ful pair of stone baths,

is

as the

the nearer one, and the flight

of steps leading down into it has a balustrade of

scroll pattern, contrasting with the much more

unusual one of straight design in the further tank.

The two

tanks,

which

in breadth, while one

lie

is

end to end, are 51 feet

132 feet and the other

91 feet in length. The stones used in construction are very long and laid in regular courses. As
I drew near two green lizards, about a yard long,
darted into holes in the stones, and just as I
snapped the shutter, a tortoise, making a dive

from the steps, broke through the green weed

which had formed a covering for the whole pond,
and left a black hole like a distorted image of
Bathing-places such as these, either stoneor
hewn stone-lined, are true pokuna whatever their
The conception of this pair is masterly and
size.
to use them must have been a delight. There is
itself

no history attached to them, but

take

much

imagination to

it

does not

repeople them with

bright-hued figures trooping down to the margin,

throwing off their outer garments, bobbing up
and down in the water, and pouring it over themselves as their descendants love to do to the
present day.
"
"
street
or road of the
To the west lies a
ancient city, a continuation of the Sacred Road.
Beside it on the east, close to the Kuttam Pokuna,
are the ruins of a large monastery, and a little

THE TWO GREATEST DAGABAS

109

further up, on the other side, a number of Hindu

"
ruins in a group. Can this be
the residence for
"
mentioned in the followpeople of foreign faiths
extract
?
ing

"

King Pandukabhaya formed the four suburbs

of the city and the Abhya tank and to the westward of the palace, the great cemetery and the
place of execution and torture. He provided a
nigroada tree for the devata Wessawano, and a
a gilt hall for his
temple for the Wiyadhodevo
own use, as well as a palace distributed into
;

many apartments. These he constructed near the

western gate. He employed a body of 500
chandalas (low caste people) to be scavengers of
the city, and 200 chandalas to be nightmen
150
chandalas to be carriers of corpses, and the same
number of chandalas at the cemetery.
"
He formed a village for them on the northwest of the cemetery and they constantly performed every work according to the direction of
the king. To the north-east of this chandala
village he established a village of Nichi-chandalas,
to serve as cemetery men to the low castes. To
the northward of that cemetery and between it
and the Pusala mountains, a range of buildings
was at the same time constructed for the king's
huntsmen. To the northward of these, he formed
the Gamini tank. He also constructed a dwelling
for the various classes of devotees.
To the eastward of that cemetery, the king built a residence
for the Brahman Jotiyo (the chief engineer) "...
"
To the westward of that
besides other items.
eastward
of
the huntsmen's buildings
and
temple
he provided a residence for 500 persons of various foreign religious faiths."
;

This extract

is

given in

full,

as

any one who

OUTER CIRCULAR ROAD

no

has gained even an elementary notion of the

principal points of the city may instructively trace
out the references, and, followed as far as is possible,
"
foreign
they work out so that the settlement of
"
comes somewhere near these ruins.
faiths

Close by the Kuttam Pokuna on the east is an

ancient track which winds round (about i J miles)
to Pankuliya, a monastery showing a fine set of
ruins and a seated stone image of Buddha.
Still

further out north-west of this

is

Vijayarama

(see p. 137).

By the Outer Circular Road (east branch) from

the Kuttam Pokuna we may return to the centre
of the city.
it
This is not an interesting route
runs for the first part through plantain groves and
paddy fields. Soon an irrigation canal appears
on the right or west of the road. In the strip of
jungle beyond it on that side are several interesting remains, but their exact positions are
;

almost impossible to indicate they can only be

found by those who search for them. In one of
them the dwarf guardian stone appears. Another
shows a very distinct type, having a paved verandah. But most interesting of all is an extraordinary pit with brick dwellings in it, the use and
meaning of which can only be vaguely conjectured.
Could this possibly have been at one time
of
the vast subterranean buildings of the
part
Royal Palace ? The basement, in fact ?
On the other side of the Outer Circular Road
a small path, about fifty yards from where the irrigation canal crosses the road, leads to a plantain
This marks the track to "Nakha
plantation.
Vehera." This particular place is always so
;

THE TWO GREATEST DAGABAS

in

spelt in the Archaeological Reports, and in spite of

the fact that Vehera and Vihara are given iden-

"

meanings in a Cingalese dictionary, "Vehera

is used of a dagaba and not a temple, for instance,
Et Vehera Kande at Mihintale is so spelt, see
p. 152, and in the present instance the principal
building was once a dagaba. The path is a little
swampy, but supplied with stepping-stones. It
goes direct to a cottage, from which point it is
necessary to break away to the right before seeing
rather a shapeless brick mass in open ground. Near
these are the remains of a vihara. The central ruin
On the west
is quite unlike anything yet seen.
side are cut deep recesses, and there are flat slabs
at the cardinal points on three sides, possibly
floral altars.
Very little is known about this
vehera, which does not follow the usual type
at all. To the north-west, about two minutes'
walk away, is another vihara, worth seeing, betical

cause the guard-stones are very finely carved, and,

like those at the King's Palace, display a sculptured tor ana.
After this, returning to the Outer Circular
Road and following it, we pass on the left, just
before reaching Abhayagiri dagaba, the headquarters of one of the few communities of
Buddhist monks, here, who do not belong to
the Siamese fraternity.
The so-called Abhayagiriya is spoilt by the
hideous brick erection built on the summit to
replace the old one which fell into ruins, but
otherwise it has great charm. Now that Ruanweli has been vulgarised and Jetawanarama shorn
of its glory, the unspoiled beauty of Abhayagiriya

H2
makes

ABHAYAGIRIYA

the most attractive of the three great

dagabas, at any rate to those who have an eye
it

for beauty.

The worn, broken

steps,

the feathery shrubs

growing from the red pavement slabs, the orange

tinge of the altars, and the tope rising, thickly
clothed in jasmine and lantana, show pictures at
every turn. Here and there are fine remains of
carving, one, a perfect slab, with a seven-headed
cobra which caught the light of the sun and shone

out from a dark background, positively cried

aloud for reproduction. It is 3 feet 10 inches in
height, and the minuteness of the work shows the
very scales. The naga's throat is encircled by a
jewelled collar. In the eastern chapel, or altar,
remains of painting and gilding can be traced
the northern one has been reset. The height to
the top of the drum is at present 150 feet 6 inches.
Opposite each of the four altars outside the
platform is a mandapaya, or guardhouse, making a
most effective entrance, the worn pillars and graceful vases being overshadowed by spreading trees.
It has often been said that the Cingalese
;

dagabas on insufficient
foundations, but this aspersion has recently been
proved untrue. A shaft was sunk at Abhayagiriya
which revealed brick to a depth of 26 feet, and
that was founded on a bed of concrete. As a
matter of fact these solid erections with their
tremendous weight could never have stood through
the march of time as they have done had they
"
not been
well and truly laid," with foundations
extended to resist the lateral as well as the direct
architects

built

vertical thrust.

their

SECTION OF MOONSTONE, " KING'S PALACE."

SEVEN-HOODED COBRA AT ABHAYAGIRIYA*

p. 103

BATHING-PLACE NEAR THE BUND OF TISSA-WEWA.

CARVING ON WALL OF LOWER TERRACE AT ISURUMUNIYA.

p.

p. 122

THE TWO GREATEST DAGABAS

113

ascend to the summit of this

a
great tope by path, which, though steep, presents
It is possible to

no

any ordinarily active person.

The height of the dagaba (Jetawanarama), as
given in the Mahawansa, was originally 160 cubits
difficulty to

a Ceylon builder's cubit is reckoned by Mr. Parker,

after careful comparisons, to be equal to 2 feet.
The present height, exclusive of the brick-work
1

crown, or platform, is about 230 feet. In an interesting diagram Mr. Parker shows that the apex
of the third pyramid at Gizeh would fall within
the spire of Abhayagiriya and its base angles
coincide with the base from altar to altar, but the
bowl-shaped dagaba does not give nearly so great
an impression of size as the angular pyramid.
The view from the summit is good, but not
striking.

It consists of acres

and acres

of richly

green tree-tops, broken here and there by the

spires of the great sister dagabas which rise from
the living sea.

The dagaba was begun by King Maha Sena

(A.D. 275-292), the same king who pulled down
the Maha Vihara, or Brazen Palace, and used the
stones for enlarging other religious buildings
elsewhere. He never lived to complete the work,
which was carried on by his son and successor.

Leaving the dagaba and passing on by the road,

which runs around it in a great curve, we soon see
ruins on every side, remnants of the monasteries
which clustered round the mighty dagaba.
On
the left, under a tree, is an unusually fine
specimen of a Yantra-gala, cut into twenty-five
square compartments on the surface like the
1

Ancient Ctylon.

(Luzac, 1909.)

ABHAYAGIRIYA

H4

one already seen near Ruanweli. The curious

feature of these stones is that they are always
found cut in squares of five or three, making
the number of holes nine or twenty-five, but
why this should be so remains a mystery. At
one time it was a common idea to suppose that
monks used these stones to induce a state of
hypnotism, and they were called yogi stones, but
it has now long been proved that they were
relic-receptacles, placed beneath the pedestal of

some great image to receive the treasured relics

there deposited by the faithful. In many cases
they have been found in situ, thus proving the
matter beyond dispute.
A very short distance from the Yantra-gala is
a fine railing of a curious pattern, made completely of stone, but in a style more appropriate
to wood. This is called a Buddhist railing, and
specimens of this class of work are very rare. It
was found in 1890 in a mass of debris, and later
completely rebuilt and set up. It is an excellent

example
found it

the

of

way

in

which

earlier

builders

shake their ideas free from

The railing forms a magical
the use of wood.
evil
th$ magic circle
spirits
protection against
for
the
relics
enclosed within it
and
or square
the three rails usually found in it most probably
difficult to

'

'

refuges
typify the three protecting
hism the Buddha, the Law, and the

'

of

Budd-

Community

Several examples of such a railin India, but far more frequent

known
are
ing
than the actual thing is the representation of it
in slight relief, which forms a fairly common
of

Monks."

Ancient Ceylon,

by H. Parker.

(Luzac, 1909.)

THE TWO GREATEST DAGABAS

Indian ornament.

It

may be noted

that

115

the

htees, or platforms, supporting the spires on the

dagabas are often built to represent, in a rather

way, this form of railing, and it may be

when looked for on those of Abhayagiriya
and Jetawanarama. Mr. Fergusson
(rebuilt)
far-off

traced

devotes a chapter to these railings. He speaks of

the oldest-known examples being at Bodh-gaya
and Bharhaut; but those are far more richly
decorated than the specimen before us, and can
in fact hardly be

compared with

it.

It resembles

very closely that at Sanchi, where, however, the

posts are octagonal instead of square as in this
instance.
Mr. Fergusson comments on the essen-

woodenness of the structure, and notes how

the holes must have been cut in the uprights,
which were then thrust on to the horizontal rails,
"
not as any stone- work was done either before or
tial

after." 1

The gateways in the rail at Sanchi, however, rise

high, and are decorated with overpowering richThere is nothing of that sort at Anuradhapura, where the only ornament is a vase with
a flower on the outermost face of the post. We do
not know the date of this rail, but it is possible
it is antecedent to A.D. 200, at which Mr. Fergusson places the limiting date of the Indian
examples. All around are the remains of the
building to which it belonged, and which was,
probably in Tamil incursions, so completely thrown
down that literally there is not " one stone upon
another," except where they have been dug out
and replaced.
ness.

History of Indian Architecture.

(Murray.

1910 edition.)

CHAPTER

VI

ABOUT AND AROUND

obvious that the position of the hotel was
determined by the fine grounds available at the
government gardens, and though it is not so
centrally placed as the old rest-house, which was
as near the main ruins as anything well could be,
it has many things of interest round it.
Just
outside the grounds, near the jail, is Mirisaveti
dagaba, the fourth largest in Anuradhapura it
was built by King Dutugemunu, even before
Ruanweli and the Brazen Palace, and so dates
from the second century B.C. It has been restored
with funds supplied by the King of Siam, who,
as prince, stayed in Ceylon in 1888 and left a sum
of money to be applied to the restoration of some
Buddhist building. An outer covering of red
brick has been built up round the old core. The
space between the two is a mansion for an innumerable colony of bats, and it is one of the
sights of Anuradhapura to see them whirring out
at sunset like the sweep of smoke or leaves blown
before a gale.
IT

is

The

origin of Mirisavetiya lies in the forgetfulness of the king, who was accustomed to offer a

portion of whatever he ate to the monks, but

"
absent-mindedly one day consumed a condiment
1x6

ABOUT AND AROUND

flavoured with

117

miriswetiya, or chillithe word for a preparation of

chillies in Cingalese), omitting the usual ceremony,
and felt bound in expiation to erect the dagaba
chillies, called

sambal" (which

is

called Mirisavetiya.
The chief beauty of this rotund pile lies in the
altars, which are unusually high and decorated in
alto-relievo.

That on the west is the

finest

example,
Notice the two tall stele
having been reset.
with the flowing floral design. At the time when
Tennent wrote the dagaba was merely a mound
covered with scrub, and the altars were buried
in the de"bris.

The dagaba is surrounded by monastery ruins

on three sides, there being no less than fourteen
monasteries in this one community. Enclosed
within the area belonging to them was also a large
park-like space on the shores of Basawak Kulam.
Up to the time of Kasyapa IV (A.D. 912) the community of Mirisaveti, the Maricavetti of the Mahawansa, was apparently not of much account. But
it was rebuilt in the reign of Kasyapa V (A.D. 929939),

and richly gifted and endowed, though by

become the capital of

that date Polonnaruwa had

the kingdom.

It is possible that the vihara, with huge columns,

"
the
standing to the west of the dagaba, may be

house

at

Maricavatti," built by Prince

Kasyapa in the seventeenth century for the monk
Maha Dhammakathi. These mighty columns are
unmatched except by those at the " Elephant

great

Stables."
They have grooves 12 inches wide, cut
at the top, in which rested the beams supporting

the roof.

u8
Mirisavetiya

TISSA-WEWA
is

best reached from the hotel

by

footpath breaking away on the west and

following the banks of a small stream, presently
crossed by a rough bridge. This is one of the
canals fed by Tissa-Wewa. At every turn one is
reminded of the difference between East and West
the entire dissimilarity of the foliage, the odd
creatures encountered, keep one's mind ever fresh
and attract the attention even of the naturally
unobservant.
Along this tiny stream as I
wandered one evening, a tortoise, about half the
size of a football, under the tree roots on the
bank, was attempting to bite a small squirming
fish he had somehow caught.
But the jaws of
the gourmand could make no impression on the
tough skin of the victim, and at last he dragged
it into his home under the bank to be tackled at
leisure.
Only a few yards further up a mudcoloured water-snake lay motionless in the shallows

little

waiting for prey to drop into his jaws.

If instead of crossing this tiny stream we follow
the path along it, we come to a junction of three
streams, in two of which people are forbidden to
bathe as the water runs into the drinking -tank
but the third, being merely for irrigation, is open,
and much appreciated, as the pretty sight of a
mother with a young daughter just budding into
womanhood, and three small children, all bathing
together, showed.
From here we can mount to the bund of Tissa,
which sweeps round in a magnificent curve, showing views of this most beautiful of all the lakes,
which was formed by the great King Tissa. This
tank it is which is kept up by a channel, Yoda Ela t
;

ABOUT AND AROUND

connecting

it

119

with Kala-Wewa, 56 miles away (see

p. 46).

Beneath the steep slope of the bund on the

landward side are some curious rock outcrops,
the Gal-ge" and Vessagiriya
nestling
beneath one of these is a small bathing-tank, with
a dressing-room hewn out of solid rock. On the
face of the rock, flanking the dressing-room on each
side, is a most animated bas-relief, on one side of
elephants bathing amid lotus plants, and on the

like those at

charging away frightened by a sudden

Mr. Bell describes this as an absolutely
unique piece of sculpture, and without exception
the most spirited and life-like to be seen anywhere
among the ruins of Anuradhapura. It is supposed
to date from the time of Parakrama. A very
little way beyond is a more elaborate tank, and
a little columned chamber beneath the shadow
of a huge boulder.
There is nothing these
ancient people are more to be envied for than
other,
scare.

their delightful facilities for bathing

ful surroundings in the open air.

In

amongst the great

amid beauti-

boulders above

is

curious little lean-to dwelling, made by placing

stone rafters across a niche in the rock, another
example of the use of stone after the manner of
wood as in the Buddhist railing.
In a further set of great boulders, facing toward
the lake, under an overhanging rock, is a curious

diagram filled with mysterious symbols

and having a procession of figures scratched on the
circumference. The whole is so lightly done it
looks as if it might be the work of some idle tourist

circular

of yesterday playing with a knife,

but

it

represents

TISSA-WEWA

120

the scientific knowledge of some man who lived

close on a thousand years ago maybe, and the
meaning of the fish, scorpion, tortoise, and other
sketches which suggest, but do not follow, the
signs of the zodiac, were of deep significance to
him. For here we have what may be one of the

very earliest maps of the world. Needless to say,

is founded on the Buddhist cosmogony, that
"
"
in the air
idea which seems to us so absurdly
that it is marvellous any sane man could ever
it

have believed

it.

"

The circle is 6 feet in diameter and has a

double ring round the edge in which fish and
crustaceans are represented undoubtedly the
ocean. The concentric circles, with their wide
interspaces at the centre of the ring, can assuredly

mean only

the Sakvala, in the centre of which rises

surrounded by the seven seas and
walls of rock which shut in that fabulous mounSun and moon (in the second strips) lie
tain.
round about in
on either side of the Sakvala
are
other
scattered
numerous
worlds represpace
Below and
circles.
sented by quadrisected
around is the world of waters in which swarm
gigantic uncouth denizens fish, turtle, crab, chank
and other marine fauna." (1901 Report.)

Maha Meru
.

The Buddhist cosmogony

is

altogether

too

complicated to be referred to at length here, but

a very short summary, compiled from Sir George
Scott's The Burman, may explain the principal
1

The central point is this great mountain,

the
Meru,
highest peak in the world, in shape
something like a cask floating end up in the water.
details.

The Burman

millan, 1896.)

His Life and Notions, by Shway Yoe.

(Mao

ABOUT AND AROUND

At various heights upon

it

121

are the six blissful

seats of the Dewahs, or fortunate gods or spirits,

though many dwell elsewhere, for instance in the

sun and

moon and

stars

and

"

planets.

Away on

the empyrean, rising perpendicularly one above

the other," are sixteen seats where those who are
"
clinging," dwell.
perfect, having got rid of all
"
It is not till they have freed themselves from all
affection for matter and material things that they
can pass to the incalculable heights of the four
seats of Arupa, where the Immaterials dwell in
a state of sublimest contemplation, waiting only

for the

moment when they

shall pass

beyond into

Down

beneath the earth are eight

hells
of small ones.
and
thousands
great
Girdling
the earth are seven ranges of mountains and seven
Neh'ban."

Also four great islands, in the southernwhich dwells the race of man. Each of
these has 500 smaller ones round it, where dwell
nations like the English and other heretics.
It will be seen, therefore, that the old-time
seas.

most

of

monk who attempted

to depict this cosmogony

on the rock was of an ambitious disposition. How
he, and others like him, reconcile their theology

with such a cosmogony is beyond the range of the

simple Western mind to understand.
A very little way beyond the " map " we come
to an opening by a pond, which takes us at once
into the precincts of Isurumuniya, a curious little

temple built in the rocks, and having many points

of interest.
Isurumuniya dates back to the time
of King Tissa, but has been much restored and
modernised. A hideous brick structure, used as a
preaching -hall,

is

completed by protruding iron

122

ISURUMUNIYA

this
and furnished with a gramophone
stands not far from the rock-cut recumbent
statue of the Buddha, in weird contrast, which
does not in any way seem to jar on the devotees.
The chief abbot, of many years, to whom a
"
"
restoration
is due, wanders
good deal of the
about, a venerable figure holding a long staff of
alternate strips of black and white horn and ivory.
Finding he had on the wall of the sleeping -quarters
pictures torn from illustrated papers representing
girders,

many European monarchs but

lacking King
Britain
George,
being only represented by a very
ancient print of Queen Victoria, I offered to send
him a coloured picture of his sovereign, whereupon

he drew out of the folds of his yellow robes, and

handed to me with a flourish, a correct English
"
Rev. H. J. Saranankara."
calling-card engraved

The chief shrine is painted white, and perched

up against the huge black rocks with striking
effect.
The gilded image within is also rock-cut,
and is surrounded by innumerable tiny ones in
every conceivable material, a jumble of the offerings made by pilgrims from age to age.
The terrace on which this temple stands shows
some fine bits of stone-carving in the panels, and
by the edge of the pretty little tank are executed

and bas-relief, in that

manner
which
never
fails to compel
spirited
attention however often repeated the subject may
elephants in both alto

A tiny niche in the rock above is intended for

a lamp, to throw light upon them in the darkness,
and opposite is a curious carving of a man and a
horse.
Happening to remark to the native inter-

be.

preter that the

man was

not of an Indian, but

ABOUT AND AROUND

123

rather of an Egyptian type, I received the awed

reply
"
That not a man, that god."
Above the tank grows a bo-tree, and on the plat"
"
Buddha's
form, still higher, is a manufactured
:

footprint in imitation of that at

Adam's Peak.

At Isurumuniya the ramble on foot ends, but if

desired the pretty little temple may be equally
well approached by road, and this way the expedition

may be

prolonged.

By

this route

we have

to start through the bazaar, turning down the

Kurunegala Road past the Peacock Palace. Not

very far from

it, on the right, is a hillock of con"

siderable size popularly called
Elala's Tomb."
Elala, we know, was buried outside the southern
gate of the city, but even the position of the

southern gate is a matter of conjecture, being

placed by some authorities north of Thuparama.
The Archaeological authorities have cut deep into
this mound without finding anything to confirm
the tradition, but much to suggest it has been a
dagaba.

Not

far

beyond

this

is

a very rough road

leading
angles to Isurumuniya, which
can be seen gleaming white against the black backoff at right

ground about a quarter of a mile away.

It is perhaps about half a mile further, by continuing on the main road, that we come to Vessa-

amid three great groups of granite

are
rock,
mingled the remains of a monastery of
immense extent. This is a most fascinating
giriya, where,

scramble, revealing platforms,

stairways,

caves,

and many mysterious and attractive angles and

corners and unexpected niches.

VESSAGIRIYA

124

It is quite different

a town in

from anything yet seen.

It

a town of many levels and

many dwellings. Facing the central group of
rocks, on the ground level, are the remains of a
"
small
Tooth Temple," where at some time in its
varied history the sacred relic may have been
hidden.
From here a flight of steps, renewed, leads easily
to the summit of the great outcrop, whence is
revealed a splendid panorama. The huge hill of
Mihintale, eight miles away, with a dagaba stuck
like a wen on its side, shows up sharply from a
rich tree-clad plain. Near it is the still sharper
outline of Ritigala. And on all sides the eye
wanders easily to the limit of sight.
There is so much to see immediately round the
bases of the giant boulders that it would take a
considerable time to trace it all out. A confused
is

itself,

impression remains of low boundary walls marking

the outlines of spacious hall and refectory, and
stumps of pillars showing where the roofs were
upheld. The oldest part of the monastery is
coeval with Mihintale and the dawn of Buddhism
The
in the land, but much has been added later.
first
group of rocks was at one time thickly
covered with buildings, and on the far side the

ground-remains

On

tell

their

own

tale.

the summit of the middle group are traces

of decayed dagabas, but much more interesting

than these are the great boulders, tumbled at all
angles,

some

so lightly poised that

it

looks as

if

shower of raindrops would overbalance them, and

others firmly set, a growth of the mass itself.
Amid these boulders, underneath their hanging

ABOUT AND AROUND

eaves,
cells,

125

nestling into their curved sides, are the

or caves of individual monks. Each has

been careful to cut a horizontal dripstone above

his dwelling so that the floods of rain-water might
not follow the curve inwards to his living-room,
and across and above the drip-stone are queercut markings of a date more ancient than any
inscriptions on slabs yet found. These are in the
"
record" and have been
Brahmi-lipi letter
deciphered. They tell of individual ownership in
a community where most things were held in

common.
needs more imagination than the average
man possesses to reconstruct this rabbit-warren as
it must have been in the time of its glory.
But we
It

might attempt it, peopling the cool shadows of the

great rocks with the shaven, brown-faced men,
noting the sudden precipices falling from the
thresholds of their habitations, the queer little
steps cut from the face of the rock conjuring up
;

the bird's-eye view they must have had of the

beautiful buildings below, lying spread out like a
draught-board between this group and the next,

with the sunlight and shadow showing on the tiled

roofs and paved courtyards and decorated entrances and to complete the picture it is necessary
to imagine some of the saffron-clad monks flitting
;

up and down and

species of giant

in

and out

like

some strange

moth, passing steadily barefoot

along the terraces, over the little connecting bridges,

and up and down the sun-baked slopes of the rocks,

while around and about their groups of island

homes the great jungle-covered plain billowed and
rolled like a green ocean.

VESSAGIRIYA

126

The most interesting of all the caves is to be

found in the third or most southerly group of
It is spacious, and the lintel and doorrocks.
posts still stand in position, resembling those
The heaps of bricks, worn and
left at the Gal-g6.
on
each
tumbled,
side, show where the outer
That it is now tenanted by inwall stood.
numerable bats at least one sense testifies.
The inscription shows it to have been the " Cave

Kuma, son of the Chief Tisa." This is cut at

a higher level than the entrance, and is found above
a sort of fault or shaft on one side, down which
air and a feeble glint of light may have reached the

of

occupant.
Vessagiriya is one of the last of the great
monasteries to be excavated completely. In the
Report of the Archaeological Survey published
in 1914 we read a full account of it, and gather
the extent of its power in the days when its
grounds reached up to Isurumuniya and the bund
of

Tissa-Wewa.

CHAPTER
PAVILION, PALACE, OR

LYING west

VII

MONASTERY

Anuradhapura is a galaxy of
supreme interest whose use and design
have puzzled the most experienced heads they
are likely to remain an insoluble problem unless
of

buildings of

fresh evidence

is

forthcoming.
than fourteen similar groups
of buildings so far excavated, strung out along
the Outer Circular Road and the Arripu Road,
which cuts it as the arrow bisects the bow. These
are built on a plan differing entirely from the
usual nve-of-cards type of monastery so often
exemplified. The characters which distinguish
them reappear in all, and the differences are in

There are no

less

minor points. One marked similarity is that

they are all built, apparently of set purpose, on
rocky sites, and the rock, wherever possible, is
worked into the building, allowed for, and adapted.
The plan of all is of two buildings, or platforms,
an outer and an inner, built with geometrical
exactitude and linked by a stone of such dimensions and so ponderous that the wonder is how it
was ever placed where it is. This crosses a chasm,
or moat, which surrounds the inner building, but
its weight precluded its having been anything in
127

OUTER CIRCULAR ROAD

128

the nature of a drawbridge, for in some instances

amounts to over thirty tons.

it

The outer building

is entered by a
porch, and
of
ever
no
evidence
had
having
gives
any pillars,
whereas the inner one in every case has been

plentifully supplied with pillars,

as stumps or complete, remain.

The " bridge

many

of which,

"

stone has a short flight of steps

to
it
on
both sides, and the threshold
ascending
of the inner building is paved by a large flat stone,
in which the grooves cut for the door-sockets are

conspicuous. All the buildings are distinguished

by a notable plainness with one or two small
exceptions, noted hereafter, there is nothing in
the nature of ornament to be found on them.
There are outbuildings in various positions
fitted into the general plan as the character of the
ground allows they generally surround the twin
central block, and in some cases the remains of
an ambulatory or covered walk can be traced as
;

well.

drive along the Outer Circular Road is an

easy one. The first group of ruins passed is not
of very great interest
by far the best specimens
are to be seen near the junction of the Arippu
and Outer Circular Roads or in the former. It is

The

therefore advisable to turn at once down the leafy

arch of this deserted route, and explore the

Blocks numbered

A and B by the Survey.

Block

of particular interest, for here in February, 1913,

under the superintendence of Mr. Perera, of the

is

Archaeological Survey, there were excavated by

the coolies two tiny gold images of the sedent

Buddha

one of solid bronze coated with gold,

ISURUMUXIYA MONASTERY.

MONK'S CAVE-CELL AT VESSAGJRIYA.

p.

126

PAVILION, PALACE,

OR MONASTERY?

129

about three inches high, follows the local pattern,

with the hands lying palms upward, in the lap,
the other, a fragile shell
one above the other
of gold, about half the size of the first, is of
art unmistakable Burmese character, the image
;

having Mongolian features and being represented

with the right hand drooping over the knee in

Burmese

style.

Excavation has proved that the roofs of these

"
"
buildings were made of tiles, and that the bridge
There are, however, no indiitself was roofed.
"
"
cations that the outer platforms of the pavilions
were covered in at all for, besides the fact that
;

there were no pillars, there are no stones cut to

receive wooden posts such as might have been
substituted for them, thus we are driven to the
conclusion that this portion was a sort of open

courtyard.

B a special feature is a deep well, cut

out
of the rock in a curved basin, and
partly
a rock-hewn flight
partly lined by shaped stones
of steps descends to it.
Close to the junction of the Arippu and Outer
Circular Roads are Blocks D and E. The former
in fact, if time
is a most interesting specimen
In Block

and only one group can be visited, this

should be chosen. The moat is very deep and
wide, and can be especially well seen from the

lacks,

a system of running water were in use

and the Cingalese were so clever in this matter
one can hardly doubt it was so this surrounding
moat must have kept the living-rooms pleasantly
cool.
It is impossible to suppose that these
people, who were so punctilious in the matter of
10

back.

If

OUTER CIRCULAR ROAD

130

ablution, would have allowed stagnant water,

with all its horrible possibilities for evil, to lie
around their dwellings.
The most interesting detail in this block is a
mutra-gala, or urinal, so highly decorated and
sculped as to be almost startling in the midst of

buildings whose sole adornment is a plain mould

or maybe a little fluted pilaster in low relief. The

decoration of this wonderful piece of work can

only be described as flamboyant on the horizontal
slab is a representation of the inevitable house.
"
"
In the first block of pavilions examined there
is a specimen of a perfectly restored porch showing
the arrangement of the pillars which supported
it.
In Block F it will be noticed that a similar
;

this has been left unporch has sunk forwards

touched just as it stands, but the slant was evidently not intentional on the part of the ancient
builder, being due to a subsidence (see p. 134).
Mr. Burrows says of these entrances
;

"

They were all constructed to one design.

Small porticoes project from front and back to
the door-frame
these are supported on eight
inner and a like number of outer uprights, and
roofed by horizontal slabs laid athwart crossbeams.
Upon the ceiling slabs a sikhara of some sort in
brick-work must have risen, for the slabs are
;

roughed externally above.

"It was the undue weight of these superstructures, undoubtedly, which caused the spreading of the outer pillars and the sinking always
inward of the roof, so as to give the appearance
of a deliberately designed backward slope."
l

Quoted

in Archaeological Report, 1911-12.

PAVILION, PALACE,
After seeing some or

OR MONASTERY?

131

these ruins,

the

all

arises

question inevitably

of

what can have been

do they all so closely resemble each other and so strikingly differ from

their purpose

Why

anything else in ancient Anuradhapura ? Some

people have seen in them the residential part of
the town as distinct from the religious edifices,
and others have gone so far as to identify them
with the palaces of bygone kings. The latter are
not experts, but the local guides, finding that the
"
"
attracts popular attention more
term
palaces
than any other word, have enlarged on this view.

The complete excavation of these groups of

buildings was carried out by Mr. Ayrton, ArchaeoCommissioner in 1913, but of course their
existence had been known long before that date.
By far the best authority, of course, is Mr.
Bell, with whose judgment and experience in
such a matter no one can attempt to compete.
In the 1911-12 Report he gives a detailed account
of the buildings so far as they were then known.
He says they were photographed as long ago as
1870, and that Mr. Burrows did some digging,
and described them in 1885. He quotes from Mr.
Burrows' Report, from which an extract appears
on the previous page. Then he adds a few
remarks of his own. He suggests they are monasHe
teries, but monasteries of a peculiar type.
them
with the similar buildings found
compares
at Ritigala to the number of about fifty.
In his own words
logical

"

What ascetical monks then once bore with

the isolation and physical discomfort of habita-

OUTER CIRCULAR ROAD

132

on exposed sun-smitten rock, rather

than accept shelter at better found, cool, and
shady monasteries, of gregarious, if less austere,
brethren of the robe ?
"
The Mahawansa furnishes the answer
"It was for the Pansukulika brethren, the
rag-robed fraternity, that Sena I (A.D. 846-866)
built, as it were by a miracle, a great vihara at
Arittha Pabbata (Ritigala) and endowed it with
tions built

it royal privileges and

honours.
"
In the twentieth year of his successor, Sena II
Pansukulika Brethren/ who
(A.D. 866-901), the
had apparently lived hitherto with the Abhayagiri
sect in peace, are recorded to have left the
Abhayagiri and departed thence."

great possessions, giving to

'

Mr. Bell goes on to associate these monks with

the Mirisaveti dagaba, and thence, guided by
architectural connecting-links, with these strange
buildings, and concludes
:

"

The Buddhist monks, who occupied the inclement rock-stretches, apart from other fraternities,

may
had
and

well have been a Pansukulika schism which

cut itself adrift from its Buddhist brethren,
shunned the haunts of men."

VXX

UUB UMMMV

JL.TJ.J.

^ V* V\*U *VMMMJfc0

"

It is supported by a poor array of facts, but as

the only satisfactory one yet put forward, it
is worth serious consideration."
it is

To

this

we may add

that there

is little likely

any one whose knowledge in these matters

surpasses that of Mr. Bell, and his theory must
to be

PAVILION, PALACE,
be

OR MONASTERY?

133

precedence unless further

evidence contradicts or confirms it, and this is
improbable, as all the excavation possible has
therefore

given

already been accomplished in this district. The

"
pavilions," therefore, are merely another kind of
monastery, but so long as human nature remains
unaltered, so long will visitors prefer to be told
"
"
that these mysterious ruins are the
palaces
of

King

Tissa,

King Dutugemunu, and King

Parakrama, the only three kings whose names

they can remember.

CHAPTER
VIJAYARAMA

VIII

A JUNGLE SOLITUDE

THERE

are an increasing number of people who,

"
"
drive
of modern
in reaction from the intense
life and inventions, prefer to strike out, even if

ever so

little,

toward the

solitudes.

One such

way, may be attained by an

excursion to the outlying monastery of Vijayarama.
A guide must be taken, as the way is not altogether
solitude, in a small

easy to find, and involves a fair amount of walking.

Choice of routes is abundant, but it is well to
start by the Sacred Road and go on by its continuation, the Green Path Road, so as to pick
up one or two objects, not yet visited, by the

way.

About

half a mile

up

this

road a vista has been

cut through the trees to the right, to enable any

one to see the ruined mass called Burrows' Brick

which has evoked

interest altogether
to
its
because
it is built on
size,
disproportionate
the same lines as the Royal Palace at Polonnaruwa,

Building,

though it is much smaller. It is difficult, indeed,

an amateur to make anything of the shapeless
pile, overgrown, distorted, and clamped together
by the sinuous roots of the trees which have
fastened themselves upon it. If they were cut
away now the whole of the brick-work would

for

134

A PORCH OF ONE OF THE PAVILIONS.

VIJAYARAMA.

P- I3 8

A JUNGLE SOLITUDE
As

probably collapse.
glade, a

monument

it is, it

telling

135

stands in the quiet

an imperfect story not

yet fully deciphered. But it is at all events

quite different from anything yet discovered at
Anuradhapura. As I stood there, looking at it,
my mind ran back to the account of King DutuWhile seated on the
gemunu in his palace
covered
with drapery of exwhich
was
throne,
the
state apartments,
and
in
softness,
quisite value
lighted up with aromatic oils, and perfumed with
every variety of incense, and spread with the
richest
attended by musicians and
carpets,
'

decked this monarch was pondering

over his exalted royal state, and calling to his
recollection the sacrifice of countless lives he had
occasioned
and peace of mind was denied
choristers

him."

Near by me a spider, of a kind I had never seen

before, had spun an enormous web of a curious
shape. It glittered iridescent in the sun, which
pierced through the foliage in a lightning shaft.
The insect itself was not so large as a two-anna

He had

a canoe-shaped excrescence at right

This was striped black
and white and the body beneath was speckled
with yellow. Like the monarch, he sat in the
midst of his gorgeous palace, though the lives
that he had sacrificed did not trouble him
Toor
to-morrow
he
would
be
no
more,
day
swept
away with the result of his labour, and though the
king had a rather longer lease, yet he too, musing
in the midst of his embroideries, had been swept
away, leaving only a problematical tree-grown
pile to suggest the whereabouts of his palace.

bit.

angles across his back.

VIJAYARAMA

136

On

the subject of this palace Mr. Bell says

"

Everything points to its definite location

within the area now lying between the Y Road
and Outer Circular Road on the east, or, broadly,
between Jetawanarama, Abhaygiri and Thuparama
Groups ... of the Palace itself, unless it be the
massive brick structure once storied, still standing no traces remain above ground and Tamil
invaders have left not a stone standing." (1893
Report.}

Mr. Burrows, who had the best opportunity

he saw it before it became so dilapithinks
that
the present building may have
dated,
been erected by King Nissanka Malla on his visit

for judging, as

to Anuradhapura at the end of the twelfth cen-

tury he judges thus because of its striking resemblance to the palace still standing at Polonnaruwa
sometimes attributed to that monarch. It may
;

have been so, and yet on this same site may have
stood an earlier palace of the kings of the line of
For it is probable that if once used as
Wijaya.
a royal site, such a tradition would be preserved
through the ages and no meaner buildings allowed
to encroach on the king's reservation. Major
"
Forbes quotes from an
ancient native account,"
the name of which he does not give
:

'

The palace

[at
ranges of building,

Anuradhapura] has immense

some of two, others of three
and its subterranean apart-

storeys in height ;
ments are of great extent."

Beyond this to-day we cannot get, the mystery

remains a mystery lightened only by vague shafts
of conjecture.

A JUNGLE SOLITUDE
The Green Path Road may be

137

followed

up to

the neighbourhood of the Kuttam Pokuna, and

beyond this point the way to Vijayarama lies along
the ancient grass-grown road (mentioned on p. 108),
Followfinally merges into a jungle track.
ing this, for ever in deep shade, screened by the
thickly growing scrub and trees, we came at last

which

to a small plantation

and mounted the bund

of

a tank (Palugas Wewa) covered with lotus flowers.

Once more in the jungle the way leads through
a wood of scraggy trees resembling olives these
are called Vim, and in season (August) bear a
;

small edible fruit like a raspberry. The undergrowth has been cleared out by the labour of the
Archaeological Survey, and, peering between the

twisted stems, we soon see the gleam of granite

From
stones, here and there, scattered widely.
the point where walking begins near the Kuttam
Pokuna, the distance to these buildings is about

one mile and a

half.

Of Vijayarama itself nothing is known except

what the stones and tokens have revealed there
is nothing by which we can recognise it in the
even the name has been given
country's annals
to it in modern times. Yet here once stood a
large and spreading monastery which possessed,
;

in addition to all the usual buildings, a dagaba,

and a preaching -hall of an exceedingly beautiful

design which has attracted men from far. This

was connected with the main building by a raised
passage walled in, and reached by a flight of steps

on each side.
The most attractive feature of this fine piece of
work are the carved stones decorating the exterior

VIJAYARAMA

138

These are panels with

figures differing from each other, some containing
only a single male figure and others a male and
female.
They stand beneath a carved canopy
of
makara - pattern.
curious
These bloated
each
other
beasts
face
dragon
open-mouthed,
each with a figure, sometimes human, sometimes
animal, in their jaws. In the hollows of their
backs are quaint dwarfs. The makaras, with their
curved backs and fish-like tails, here much more
resemble dolphins than crocodiles. Besides these
wall

of

the platform.

there are striking gargoyles and bits of floral

decoration falling vertically.
The impression

made by

this careful

and

artistic

work, here, far

out in the jungle, visited by comparatively few,

was heightened by the gleams of light which,
falling through the trees, struck, as if of set purpose, on the carvings, bringing out the delicate
The
chiselling against a background of shadows.
of
a
small
a
bloated
vihara, showing
guard-stones
dwarf of unusual size, positively shone with a
kind of malicious intensity. The enormously fat
figure sways to one side with one hand on hip,
and follows his type in all the usual details, which
may be clearly studied here owing to his comparatively large size (see illustration, p. 176).
One of the small viharas contains a headless

and armless
attitude.

figure of

There

similar figures

Buddha

were

in the rare upright

probably three other

and four seated

ones.

"It may not be unreasonable, perhaps, to

assume that this pilimage (image-house) was dedicated to the four Manushi Buddhas, three of whom

A JUNGLE SOLITUDE
preceded Gautama in the present Kalpa"

139

(1893

Report.}

Outside the monastery wall are the monks'

cells and the refectory, and in the outermost precincts a very interesting discovery was made of
what has been undoubtedly a hot- water bathroom.
The arrangement of the room leaves no doubt as
to its purpose, and a quantity of charcoal and
ashes was dug up, while there was
"

a low platform of brick -work, 5 feet square,

doubtless the base of the lipa (hearth) used for
heating the chatties of water intended for the
ablution of the clay-bedaubed monks."
(1893
Report.)

Judging by the sculpture and some votive

tablets
copper plaques unearthed at the dagaba
here, the date of the monastery is placed at about
the ninth century. Quaint bronze figures of men
and animals very rudely shaped were dug up in
the shrines. As two of these, a figure and an
animal, lay in the direction of each of the cardinal
points i.e. north a lion, south a horse, east an
elephant Mr. Bell suggests that this series of
animals, the same as that appearing on the moonstones (with the exception of the bullock, which
may easily have been lost), points out some underlying connection between the two ; the series may
also have had some astronomical significance.
Further out even than Vijayarama extended the
sacred buildings of Anuradhapura. For half a
mile north-east

is

Kiribat dagaba, linked by

name

140

A JUNGLE SOLITUDE

with that other "milk-rice" dagaba at Polonnaruwa. It is now a mere shapeless mass, only
30 feet high and 200 feet round the base, but
from its condition and construction may be
ranked among the older, and may possibly have
been the oldest of all the large dagabas.

CHAPTER IX
TWO OUTLYING MONASTERIES
MULLEGALLA has been warmly

praised

ex- Archaeological Commissioner.

Yet

ful if it will

by the

it is

appeal to ordinary people as

doubt-

much

as

its superb preaching-hall, which

the
gives
imagination something to work upon.
those
who have a live interest in these
Only
exceptional ruins will take the trouble to visit this

Vijayarama with

most lonely little monastery, lying amid trees,

beneath a carpet of speedwell blue.
To find it, Mihintale Road must first be followed
to its junction with that to Jaffna. Some distance further the Jaffna Road is crossed by the
railway, and here any conveyance must be left
while we turn up the line to the left. A guide is
essential, otherwise the narrow jungle path, breaking off about three-quarters of a mile beyond the
crossing, would never be found. This leads through
dappled light and shade, brightened by the red
clusters of leaves of a plant like laurel, shining
with the transparency of rubies where they catch
the sun-shafts.
The walk is not severe, and almost unexpectedly
we face in surprise a very small ruin showing many
"
of the characteristics of the
Outer Pavilions."
Wonder deepens as the details of the construc141

MULLEGALLA

142

tion are noted

and seen to be exact, though all in

"
moat " is but a ditch, the stone

The

miniature.

connecting-slab a

and without

toy, the little platforms, with

pillars, respectively,

are very small,

yet their similarity to those of the larger pavilions

is undeniable.
How comes it then that here, far to the northeast of the city, lies, so far as we know, one small
isolated example of the same structures so abundantly found on the west ? The query is unanswered. But there is this to add, at every
fresh disclosure, every new excursion in Anuradhapura, we find some stimulus to the imagination,

some

which sets thought workwhich

makes
ing
any trouble taken so
The interest is
abundantly well worth while.
;

distinctive feature
it is

this

inexhaustible.

The remaining buildings

of Mullegalla monasare
on
the rock, and the
founded
mostly
tery
from
which
the
stone
was
procured is but
quarry

a few yards away.

In one place four short broken flights of steps
lead up to what was once a dagaba, and the plain"
"
ness of the guard-stones and
risers
is another
"
the
of
with
Outer
Pavilions."
similarity
point
There are some faint traces of a vase and blossoms
having been scratched on one stone, but otherwise
the blocks are plain. Around the dagaba are the
stumps of the pillars in which once rested floral
altars.
The main building is deeply sunk in shade
it lies a little distance from the ruined steps
;

which,

in

their

peaceful

abandonment, suggest

something of the spirit of the place.

It is possible to extend this excursion

by

in-

BRICK PITS
eluding in

it

143

a visit to the immense

monastery

Puliyankulam lying not far away. To do this

it is necessary to return to the junction of road
and rail and continue onward by the former in
the direction of Jaffna.
After about a mile it is worth while to stop in
order to inspect some curious deep earth pits,
divided into compartments by brick-work, of which
the use and meaning have not yet been solved.
It is believed that these strange underground
dwellings if they were dwellings belong to the
very oldest part of the city life and may even
have been in existence before the actual foundation of the city, but very little can be even guessed
about them.
of

"

What purpose

brick-lined

pits

did

these

ill-shaped,

huge mysterious

mutually

adjacent,

though wholly unconnected serve ? Manifestly

are of great age.
they
"
They were not the dwellings of troglodytes
they can hardly have been brick or lime kilns
from their general unsuitability for such use
;

nor granaries, nor refuse bins of the ancient city

The most reasonable theory at
scavengers.
present without further light would seem to be
that this gravelly mound or hillock
was one
;

of the cemeteries of ancient

Anuradhapura, and

the brick cists the actual receptacles for cinerary

inhumation." (1909 Report.)

Across the road and stretching onward away

from it the ruins of the mighty monastery of Puliyankulam claim attention. They are in very
good preservation as regards the ground-plan,
and would be an excellent model on which any-

PULIYANKULAM

144

one could study the disposition of the buildings

included in one of these monasteries. Unfortun"
McBride's Folly," after the
ately a road named
unlucky originator, has been driven across a part
of the monastery, cutting off an angle and thus
destroying the symmetry of the plan, but in
imagination it is not difficult to efface this and
see

it

as a whole.

In arrangement Puliyankulam resembles Vijayarama, but it has no preaching-hall. At Vijayarama there is but one row of piriven, or monks'
round, and here there are two. Inside
monastery wall all the usual features are
to be found, the dagaba, pilimage, viharas, etc.
The walls of the platforms are singularly perfect,
and show with great clearness the curious method
of the old stone-layers, who, instead of finishing
each block rectangularly so that any one fitted
any other one, worked one block to fit into another
like a puzzle, thus saving themselves trouble in
one way, but redoubling it in another. This monastery has suffered perhaps more than any other
from stones having been taken from it for culverts
and other road-building purposes in the dark
days before the archaeological authority intervened.
The jungle around was cleared out in 1891.
cells,

all

the

An

inscription was unearthed in one place

giving a date of twelfth year of Dappula V, which
is A.D. 952, and two similar inscriptions were

found in the dagaba, so that the age is well known.

Across McBride's Road, separated by only a
short distance from the precincts of Puliyankulam,
is an unnamed monastery which was apparently
quite a separate institution.

The

ruins here are

THE HIGHEST STAIRCASE AT MIHINTALE.

P-

THE POOL OF THE FIVE-HOODED COBRA.

p.

152

TWO OUTLYING MONASTERIES

abundant and well worth

145

seeing, especially for the

sake of the singularly tall graceful pillar still standThis attains a height of twenty-one feet
ing erect.
and is slenderly proportioned. It gives that little
note of distinction or singularity which is never
lacking to each of these buildings, and bespeaks a
quality of initiative and originality in that world
Whatever
of men who were responsible for them.
the
else they might be,
Cingalese designers were no
copyists or slaves to precedent.
Close by this last monastery, across the Jaffna
Road, are the Government Experimental Gardens,

where many useful experiments in growing grain

and foodstuffs are carried on, to discover which
are suited to the climate.

ii

CHAPTER X
MIHINTALE, THE SACRED HILL

MIHINTALE

is

the Medina of Cingalese Buddhists

this sacred hill, rising eight miles east of the city,

was the scene of King Tissa's meeting with the

and his consequent conversion.

But though this alone would cause it to be the
goal of thousands of pilgrims, still more sacred
to the average Buddhist does it become from the
great apostle

fact that the bones of the missionary rest here

on one of the highest plateaux.

As

in all other stories, told of the beginning of

Buddhism, so in this one legend and chronicle are

On

the very summit of the great

out
the boulder on which Mahinda
pointed
alighted after his miraculous flight from India to
convey the good tidings, and here, as history relates
with probable truth, it was where King Tissa, in
"
"
elk
pursuit of the elk sambhur are called
to this day in Ceylon encountered the stranger

interwoven.
hill is

and listened to him.

The run of eight miles from Anuradhapura is
a mere nothing to those possessed of a motor-car,
and part of the way may be followed along the
bund of Nuwara-wewa by horse and trap, supplied from the hotel, it takes longer naturally, and
by bullock hackery longest of all. There is also
;

THE SACRED HILL

147

a motor-coach going to Trincomalee every day,

and this passes Mihintale, but as it runs in the
heat of the day, it is not very desirable the fare
the hotel trap costs eleven
is five rupees each way
both
ways, allowing for staying a night.
rupees
Whatever arrangement is made, a night should be
spent at the very rough little rest-house if possible.
As the only time for climbing the hill in comfort
is early or late, a day-excursion does not leave
;

sufficient time.

The

direct road to Mihintale is singularly uninteresting and devoid of shade it is jungle-lined

;

almost the whole way, but the trees are mostly of

no great height and have been cut back many
yards on each side of the track to interfere with the
playful little habits of jungle beasts who used to
leap out on unwary passers-by, and even on the
coach
Not far from the bund of Nuwara-wewa, near
Anuradhapura station, is the ruined monastery of
Toluwila, a coined name, for nothing is known
as to the past history of the place. It is indeed
!

of

no great

interest,

recognised lines

and

is

though the plan follows

especially clear in definition.

The whole eight miles between the sacred hill

and the royal city were once covered by a carpet
by order

of King Bhatikabhaya (19 B.C.) (the king

entered the relic-chamber at Ruanweli), so
that pilgrims might pass from one to the other
without soiling their feet. The wonder of this

who

fact is naturally felt with greater or less force

according to whether the road has been traversed

in a bullock-cart or a motor-car
Mihintale is not seen until we are actually there.
!

MIHINTALE

148

stopping at the rest-house (second-class), where

the keeper should be notified beforehand if meals
or accommodation are required.
Next to the rest-house is the P.W.D. Bungalow,
and just beyond its compound a path leaves the
main road and strikes across to the top end of the

small bazaar. Another path from here leads on

across the road. This is exceedingly pretty,
running through cleared out (1910) woodland.
It passes on the right a hospital or dispensary with
"
"
a stone
medicine-boat
(this is one of the only
three of such receptacles hitherto discovered in
Ceylon), being a slab hollowed out like the human
From an inscription on one of the guardfigure.
stones the conjecture as to this being a hospital is
confirmed, the inscription (translation) begins,
"
"
For the benefit of the hospital," and ends, anyone who takes by force what has been provided
(hospital) will become a goat-slaying
little farther on,
Rakkhasa " a terrible curse

for

this

on the

The

are the ruins of a vihara.

left,

stone steps bursts on one with

the beauty of a dream fulfilled, a stairway leading
to Heaven
Just such a vision must that have
been seen by Jacob.
Overhanging trees throw
on
the
worn
shadows
stone, and the shifting
green
first flight of

golden lights between may well be taken for the

angel visitants. For twenty centuries or more the
uncovered feet of innumerable dark multitudes
have ascended and descended, their owners filled
with reverent awe, and seeing visions as surely as
did Jacob visions of the mighty Buddha overshadowing the island with his presence and of

Mahinda, his apostle, alighting on the topmost

THE SACRED HILL

crag which towers
overhead.

up

into

149

the azure sky far

more than a short way in

but the top of the flight reveals a precipitous crag on the right heavily draped in foliage,
crowned by a tottering dagaba of ruined brick,
called Giribandha, which can be reached by a
worn and steep path. In the cave below there
It is difficult to see

front,

is

an important inscription signifying

"

Cave

dedicated to the community by the noble Asili,

son of the righteous King Gamini."
Not many visitors ascend this eyrie. They usually
pass on to the second flight of steps and thence to
another, above which, on a flattish terrace, are
several ruins.
On the left the first seen is of fair
size and contains two specimens of stone canoes.
"
This is known as the Alms Hall," and was doubtless the refectory for the monks living around.
"

On

the north side of the quadrangle is an

elongated room, 45 feet in length, brick walled
and shut off from the kitchens. This was probably the actual salle d manger where meals were
served."
(1910-11 Report.)

Just a

above

a small vihara with

tables of stone," of the
mighty inscribed slabs,
time of Mahinda IV (A.D. 975), bearing a detailed
record of temple privileges and regulations.
Right across the track is a third building, very
small, known as the Halfway House, once a
little

it

is

"

Mandapaya, or entrance-hall or porch. Turning

right from this a little path leads downwards beside
a dressed terrace wall, to one of the wonders of
Mihintale, an open-air bath, much carved, where

MIHINTALE

150

a most robust and pugnacious

lion,

ramping on

his hind legs, holds up the stonework.

Alas, he
so
and
hemmed
in
is
faces north-east,
by trees it
Three
is impossible to get a good photograph.

attempts proved failures, and his majesty must

remain unrepresented in this book. The stone
bath itself has been carefully restored, and has a
Mr. Bell
fringe of interesting carvings round it.
says of

"

it

is probably no more handsome speciof bold artistic work of its kind in granite
to be found in Ceylon than this finely conceived
piece of sculpture."

There

men

Notice in the panels the dwarfs fighting and

boxing and wrestling, the lion figures, the dancing
girl

and

The

others.

lion is 7 feet 4 inches in height,

and was

with

great ingenuity, having

from his high estate. He stands
"
in the round," and it is difficult to
out
do justice to his extreme virility and audacity.

pieced

together

fallen altogether

that we know of the habits of

Ceylon, the variety of architectural

Perhaps of
ancient

all

design bestowed on open-air bathing-places is

the most attractive. The large pokunas, with
their massive hewn blocks and carved steps and
their

charming

little

pillared dressing-chambers

and the most

deep-cut,
baths
such
as
and
the famous
this
original single
lotus-bath at Polonnaruwa, all show care and
design in this type of work which no people have
the

ever surpassed.

rock-hewn pools;

THE SACRED HILL

151

From

the Lion-Bath a jungle track leads onward, coming out on the road on the way to
Kaludiya Pokuna (p. 156). However, the rest of
the wonders of Mihintale have to be seen first.
"
Returning to the
Halfway House/' which lies
across the original track, we see the remains of

numerous viharas in and around

it,

and can

explore as much as time allows. Then we pass

on, up a flight of steps at right angles to those
already traversed. This is even more entrancing
than what has gone before. It is narrower and
The steps are shallow, but with great
longer.
variations in the tread, here being suitable for a
baby's foot, and there sufficient for a giant's.

The way

is

fringed

by huge maidenhair fronds

from every crevice, and the

hanging gracefully
green sweetness of their growth is like the freshness of a spring morning. The steps were formed
by King Bhatikabhaya, who reigned from 19 B.C.
to A.D. 9.

From the top of this flight a terrace walk leads

away on the right, along the side of a hill to the
Naga Pokuna. This is a most beautiful walk,
disclosing at every turn rolling views for miles
over the jungle, which are enhanced by being seen

between the drooping fronds of fairy-like boughs.

The path ends abruptly in sun-blackened rock,
and after a scramble the Naga Pokuna comes
suddenly into sight. It faces due west, and on this
evening it was lit up by the radiant glory of the
setting sun in a cloudless sky, which showed up
the black veins and streaks on the precipitous cliff
face.
Gradually some of these lines and streaks
resolved themselves into a figure, and as the

MIHINTALE

152

eye traced them they outlined a gigantic fiveheaded cobra, cut in low relief, but with a sure
his body is said to
touch, from the rock face
continue beneath the water. Aggabodhi I (A.D.
"
Nagasondi," and this may possibly
564) built a
;

be

giant-hooded beast, rearing himsheer out of the water, has so stood facing the
If so, this

it.

self

sunrise for between thirteen

and fourteen hundred

years
Passing the Naga Pokuna, it is possible, after
rather a scramble, to come out on the highest part
Here a dagaba was
of the hill, Et Vehera Kanda.
erected about the first year of the Christian Era
"
to
cover a hair which grew on the forehead of
Buddha over the left eyebrow."
!

But few

visitors get so far as this.

Returning
again by the terrace walk to the head of the last
narrow flight of steps, a short distance over the
face of embedded rock brings us out on the plateau
where stands the Ambastale dagaba in a small
grove of palms almost surrounded by the monks'
We are now on one of the most sacred
dwellings.
the
whole of Ceylon, and if, to European
in
spots
the
white
eyes,
painted dagaba, surrounded by
pillars, is not nearly so interesting as what has
already been seen, yet the atmosphere of history

and legend woven around this spot adds something

to it that even the most casual must feel. This
with Lankarama and Thuparama are the only
three of this particular class of dagaba found at
Anuradhapura. Here, however, there are only two
circles of pillars,
twelve feet high.

which are monolithic and about

The dagaba stands on a circular

platform mounted by a

flight of plain steps.

\fH

^*"**" \\*

(,

ET VEHERA

KANDA

Ml HIM TALE

KANDA

M1H1NTALE
permission of the
Cey/on Archaeological Survey

THE SACRED HILL

153

of the faithful Buddhist, as he gazes on

that bald crag behind the dagaba, sees in faith the

The eye

alighting miraculously. The

the
rock-cut steps in a rapture
pilgrim passes up
of devotion to offer what he can before this sacred
Returning once again, he recalls how the
place.
King while hunting was providentially led to the
feet of the apostle, who was seated beneath a mango

figure of

Mahinda

(ambo) tree just where the Ambastale dagaba now

rises, enshrining, on evidence which even the
sceptical cannot reject, the bones of Mahinda,
who died 259 B.C.
We can afford to dismiss the 40,000 followers of
the King as a pardonable exaggeration, and we can
well believe it may have been the pursuit of a real
"
"
devo of that mountain
in its
elk, and not a
the
led
to
but
which
encounter,
apart
shape,
from these points we see nothing unlikely in the
As a sample of the test of common
tradition.
sense applied by the holy man to his visitor, to
discover if his understanding was sound,
given the following catchy dialogue

we

are

"

Oh, King, what

is this tree called

called the ambo tree.
"
Beside this one is there any other

"It

is

ambo

tree

"
There are many ambo trees.
"
Besides this ambo tree and those other ambos,
are there any other trees on earth ?
"
Lord, there are many other trees, but they are
not ambo trees.
"
Besides the other ambo trees and the trees
that are not ambo, is there any other ?
"
This ambo tree
Gracious Lord
"
Thou art wise "
Ruler of men
!

MIHINTALE

154

Thereupon the doctrine and precepts of the

Buddhist faith were expounded to the King.
Here it was Tissa established the missionary at
the head of a powerful monastery, placing the
brethren in cells and rock-cut caves, some of which
still exist and are used by the monks.
One king
after another delighted to honour the sanctuary,
and probably in the deep recesses of the hill beyond
the platform there are many caves and relics still
unearthed. In the third century A.D. the monastery was in charge of the Dhammaruci brethren,
a sect considered heretical by the monks of the
Maha Vihara.
Opposite to the crag is another height up which
steps lead to the Maha Seya Dagaba, now falling
to pieces, and behind it are others still more

To examine

the full extent of

Mihintale hill involves therefore no small effort,
and more time than most people are able to allow,
dilapidated.

especially

and

they do not stay at least one night

both evening and morning. It is as

if

utilise

well to get up to the full heights the first visit,

so that they need not be again climbed, leaving

the lower parts, such as the Lion-Bath and the

ruins round the Halfway House, for the second
visit.

Mr. Bell says

"In

the recollection of Mihintale' s hill and

carried
ruins,
away by the ordinary visitor, the
and
end with the long stairways, the
sights begin
stone-boats and inscription-flanked vihara ruin,
picturesquely placed Ambastale dagaba,
ringed in by graceful columns mid coconut palms,
bringing to mind the similar Thuparama and
the

THE SACRED HILL

155

Lankarama dagabas of Anuradhapura the bold

roundness of Maha Seya dagaba which crowns
Mihintale Kanda, the rock-cut Naga Pokuna, with,
maybe si dis placeat, if the guiding gods are
descent to that cool rock retreat,
complacent
Mahinda's Bed so called, and a cursory look at
the ornamental, but far less ancient, stone bath
fatuously connected with the same apostle of
Buddhism, near the half-way terrace.
"
These are, and rightly, held to be the chief
sights which, once rushed past, the normal tourist
hugs himself with the comfortable self-gratulation that he has
done Mihintale thoroughly."
;

'

'

'

'

'

'

(1910-11 Report.)
"
"
off the
goes on to speak of the side-shows
beaten track, the numerous caves, other dagabas,
"
"
to be disnot infrequent monasteries
and
covered by those who search for them. Mahinda's
bed is a flat shelf in the face of a precipitous rock
commanding a widespread view.
Those who stay even one night at Mihintale
will probably have time before leaving next morning to follow up the road leading southward from
the bazaar past the Indu Katu vihara ruins with
its dagaba, and so on to the mysterious caves, under
the great boulders of Raja-girilena-kanda, to
which the path opens off on the right, leading by
a perfect fairy-land of beauty to the goal. Flights
of stone steps ascend to the high cave-dwellings
"a better hermitage for Buddhist
of the cliffs
monks could hardly be selected than these caverns ;
they command from their peaceful secluded eleva-

He

unimpeded restful view across dark green

forest and silvery tanks."
There are also remains
tion

THE SACRED HILL

156

of monastery buildings, but the caves are the chief

In wet weather bears still occasionally

seek shelter in them. Further along the road on
interest.

a rather inconspicuous path leads by a

"
narrow opening to Kaludiya Pokuna, the Black-

the

left

Water pool," nestling beneath Et Vehera Kanda

and Anai-kutti-kanda " the Elephant Calf hill "
it is interesting to note that the first two words of
,

name

this

are Tamil, the last Cingalese.

The monastic buildings formerly stood

all

round

this secluded glen, and even now their remains,

leaning this way and that, a strong wall,

tall pillars

hewn bathing-tank may be found. But there

an eeriness about the place possibly accounted
for by the evil demon who makes the tank his
own. Our attention was called to him by a small
boy from the village, who, in his own tongue,
frantically implored us not to bathe (an intention
which did not exist), and then motioned us to
silence, and it was not long before the glassy
silence of the lake, which mirrored the overhanging
or a

is

trees in perfect duplicate, shivered slightly, as the

huge rounded back of a mighty crocodile, like a
half-submerged submarine, rose to the surface and

floated mysteriously across.

The monastery in this quiet retreat

was

of later

date than the Mihintale buildings, but it was in

occupation during the tenth and eleventh centuries.
Mr. Bell says
:

"

A suggestion may fairly be hazarded that it was

'

Hadayunha (the heart- warming ') Vihara

which Kasyapa IV (A.D. 912-929) built at the
Chetiya Pabbata and bestowed on the Dhamthat

"THAT DWELL

IN

GROVES"

157

maruchika brethren, when he also prepared cells

or caves perhaps by improving some of those on
'

Anai-kutti-kanda
dwell in groves.'

for the use of the priests that

'

(1911-12 Report.)

Certainly no situation could be

such as had this habit

for

more appropriate

CHAPTER XI
SIGIRIYA

ANY one who

A PALACE ON A ROCK

takes the trouble to visit Sigiriya will

carry away an impression that can never be

effaced.

This extraordinary granite rock rises sheer 400

in itself it would be a
feet from a sea of jungle
remarkable geological phenomenon, but when it
;

is

remembered that a king

his palace
it

by a

in the fifth century built

on the summit, carrying the way up to

series of galleries that constitute a

marvel-

lous engineering feat even to-day, and that he

ruled the kingdom from the inconvenient eyrie for
eighteen years, the wonder of it is greatly increased.

The rock lies some miles off the main road from
Colombo to Trincomalee, and about twelve from
Dambulla. From Anuradhapura the distance is
about fifty miles either by the Habarane road
(sometimes very bad and closed to motors) or by
going near Dambulla. The rest-house (small) at
Sigiriya is one of the prettiest in the province, but

very out-of-the-way, letters being delivered only

by special coolie and paid for accordingly. As
may be imagined, therefore, that those who like
luxuries, such as unsweetened milk in their tea,
will

do well to provide accordingly.

On the

forest

road, before arrival, only glimpses of the magnifi158

A PALACE ON A ROCK

159

cent rock are caught however, it is in clear view

of the rest-house.
In the evening, when the western sun smites full
upon it, making the red granite shine out between
the dark streaks, the effect is doubly striking.
The black curved lines on the surface, result of the
monsoon rains, serve to emphasise the overhanging
;

mushroom formation of this strange geological

The sides rise bare and abrupt from the
waving foliage round the base, but on the summit

or

freak.

one or two detached trees, of the apparent size

of plants, stand out against the sky.
The road past the rest-house runs on to the
rock for a distance of half a mile, and stops at the
foot of the first flight of stairs.
As now arranged, the ascent presents no difficulty to any normal person not easily turned
giddy by heights, and can be accomplished in

about half an hour.

The

first flight of

worn

steps leads

upwards to

the raised ground, impinging on the foot of the

rock, and carry one straightway into a perfect
Paradise. But this is best explored on the return
journey.

The next

flight of steps is

the south entrance.

what was known as

This is rather misleading, as

one naturally supposes it to be on the south side
of the rock, instead of, as it is, on the western, but
as a matter of fact the two ascents, north and
south, were only so-called in relation to each
The
other, and are both on the western face.
remains of the rough broken steps of the northern
one can be seen when we begin the ascent on the
southern. The upper stairs of the south approach

160

SIGIRIYA

were excavated in 1895, the steps were relaid in

1909, also three staircases and landings were
partially constructed, almost uniting the upper
flights with the terrace below, from which the
staircase ascent was originally made.
When the outer slopes were cleaned of rubbish,
the substantial staircase of rubble stone set in
mortar, over which .we mount, was built up to
save the scramble over the tedious ascent. In
the old days this part of the ascent was carried by
a staircase to the right, passing up a rock-lined
gully from the tank. At the top of the stairs is a
small platform, or view-point leaving this on the
right, we enter one of the grand galleries with a
;

guarding wall, which, more than anything

brings realisation of the engineering feat

else,

accom-

This great gallery runs horizontally,

and, with its extension, embraces about a quarter
of the rock-circumference in its clasp.
The story of Sigiri rock, already outlined, is as
romantic and wonderful as anything to be found

plished.

in history.

In the history of the island we have already met

with King Kasyapa I (A.D. 477 or 511), and heard
why he felt the urgent need of placing himself in
some strong position to defy his brother's wrath
This parricide chose Sigiri rock, and
(see p. 27).
it into a stronghold from
there
converted
flying
which he ruled the land, until he met his welldeserved fate. His engineers adapted the precipices in a marvellously skilful manner, and it is
Kasyapa' s galleries, restored, which are still used.
From the great gallery, which is broken here

and there by short ascents

of

two or three

steps,

THE LION'S CLAW, SIGIRIVA.

p.

163

A PALACE ON A ROCK

161

can be seen overhead a sort of pocket or shallow

cave with the remains of some frescoes. As a
"
"
matter of fact, many of the pockets on the face
of the cliff have been thus decorated, but this par"
ticular cave, containing two
pockets," is the most
first
taken
in charge by the SurWhen
important.
vey, they had suffered terribly from the work of
mud-nesting birds and bees. The cave is not accessible to the ordinary visitor, but the frescoes have
been faithfully reproduced, and the reproductions
can be seen in the Colombo museum. The work was
done in 1897 by Muhandiram D. A. L. Perera of the
Survey, and done under difficulties of which only
a faint idea can be conveyed. He had to lie on
his back on an improvised scaffolding to get a
proper view of the originals, and working thus he
took nineteen weeks to complete the task, fighting
fever, cramp, and other torments,
the
south-west monsoon and the
latterly
driving wind, but he has carried out the task to
admiration, and enabled hundreds, who would
never have seen them, to get a faithful idea of the

against heat,

flies,

and

originals.

The

scenes represent the ladies of Kasyapa's

court, with their attendants, carrying offerings
of flowers to Piduragala, the vihara on the
conical hill to the north of Sigiriya.
They are
similar to the paintings in the Ajanta caves,
except that here the figures, all female, are only

There are twenty-one

length.
The outlines are full and
figures in this cave.
three-quarter

marred by no anaemic tendencies, and the

colouring of the flesh varies from yellow and orange

rich,

in the case of the mistresses, to the greenish-blue

12

SIGIRIYA

162

supposed to indicate a dark-skinned race, in the

case of some of the serving-maids. Both mistresses
"
and maids are highly ornamented
Coronets,
flowers and
tiaras, aigrettes, crown the head
ribbons adorn the hair and ears; neck, breast,
arms and wrists are loaded with a plethora of the
heaviest ornaments and jewelled gauds." Though
:

at the first glance these figures might be taken to

be nude from the waist upwards, a second will
show that they are all clad in a filmy gauze
ending at the neck.
After the manner of his kind, Kasyapa, when he
had gained what he wanted by crime, began to

think himself of good works. He built, among

other things, this vihara near his rock to which

women-folk resorted, and called it after his

two daughters. In connection with this we find
one of those homely touches of which the chronicles
"
are full.
Having eaten once of a meal of rice
his

that a

woman had

prepared for him [the king]

in the milk of coconut

and

ghee, flavoured highly

'

with sweet condiments, he exclaimed,

This is
Such rice must I give unto the venerdelicious
able ones/ and then he caused rice to be prepared
!

and gave it to all the brethren."

At the end of the gallery an iron bridge, carried
round the cliff, supplies a missing part of the old
work, and from it we mount by a staircase to a
in this manner,

plateau, or lower level summit, projecting from

the north side.

gala and of the
To the west we
Rock," with its
"
"
Cistern

Rock

There

is a fine view of Piduramiles of jungle rolling around.

"
can look down on the
Pulpit
innumerable slots, and to the

near the foot of the ascent.

A PALACE ON A ROCK

163

There are grass-grown mounds and heaps of

red brick on the northern plateau, but all else is
minimised by the sight of the stupendous cliff
towering above, to be reached by a series of steps
or iron ladders through a great brick-work mass
"
at the foot. This is the famous
Lion Staircase
a
once
of
ruins
now restored.
but
mass
House,"
The only ancient parts remaining are the gigantic
claws, about four feet high, on each side, made
of brick partly plaster-covered.
These give a
measure for the original size of the beast, which
was discovered in 1898 (see illustration, p. 161).
At first this huge pile of debris, with no shape
or form, suggested nothing, but

when enormous

claws were excavated on each side, the clue was

"
Here then was a solution to the crux,
grasped.
which has exercised the surmises of writers, the
difficulty of reconciling the categorical statements
of the Mahawansa and the perpetration to the
present day of the name, Sinha-giri, with the
undeniable fact that no sculpture or paintings of
lions exist

the

on

Sigiri-gala.

That strange

conceit,

'

lion-staircase-house/ the quaint grandly

conceived break in the weary continuity of the

tortuous gallery ever ascending, backed by the

frowning rock, and crowning the highest terrace
above the tallest forest trees, worthily emanated
from the master-mind that designed that marvellous gallery and the complex citadel on Sigirigala."

the end of 1904 progress in the ascent had

been made possible, between 1905-7 reconstruction of all the high rising retaining walls which
line the passage-way, with stairs and landings up

By

SIGIRIYA

164

through the ruined Lion Staircase House to the

foot of the iron ladders, had been made good.
"

The curved and front line of wall represents

the position once held by the paws of the colossal
brick-work figure of the lion, whose plaster-coated
claws still rest on the bay, clutching as it were,
between them, the staircase, which mounted
between the beast's paws and up through his body
to the ladders."
(1909 Report.)
The remarkable
gineering feat

may

cleverness of the ancient enbe gauged by the fact that the

men

responsible for it actually gained the summit

in winding fashion at the only place where it

did not overhang, but left a possible entrance.

After the Lion Staircase House the steps change
to narrow iron ladders with wide treads, but quite
easy, and then the way turns north-east across the
face of the vast rock, by a series of foot-holes cut
almost horizontally, but with a slight ascent.
Elderly or timid people or those who cannot stand
heights might hesitate here, but the stout iron
rail continues all the way, and gives confidence to
those who attempt the feat. One last flight of
ladders is scaled before reaching the top. The
illustration (p. 160) is taken from the north and
shows the Lion Staircase House. It is a telephotograph of the Ceylon Archaeological Survey.
The whole summit is covered with ruins granite
steps and broken red brick walls marking terraces,
;

apartments. All are on different

levels, and the tall grass growing rankly, soon
covers up what has been excavated, and makes
any attempt to trace out the ground-plan difficult.

passages, or

A PALACE ON A ROCK
"

165

mere plan of the excavation on the summit

must entirely fail to bring out the
rise and fall of the several terraces, and particularly the strikingly sudden drop from the higher
level area on the west to the open courtyards, etc.
north and south of the central pokuna."
of Sigiri-gala

"
tiny sharp
spears," and it
best to wear boots while ploughing through it.

This grass
is

is full of

To

find the gal asanaya, the celebrated granite

throne, discovered in 1895, keep along the eastern

where it can easily be discovered facing full

towards the rising sun.
In my rambling round the top I was lucky enough

side,

come upon a gentleman of the country, lightly

clad, who was willing to stand and give scale to
to

"

"

the objects taken. My Madrassi

boy eagerly
"
volunteered the information,
He very respectable gentleman, in his own home he dress in many
I felt it
clothes, here he in his holiday clothes."
in my heart to envy him
The simplicity of the throne is very attractive
the pink granite is worked in strong plain outlines
!

without ornament of any kind, and its simple

grandeur suits the altitude and the far-reaching
sweep of the view before it.
From this point the limits of the outer city can
be traced on the ground-level far below, and the
tank or lake is well seen. The place is practically
dead, but we can picture in the bygone time the

busy hive of workers, the artificers, masons, carpenters, swarming up from their huts like ants
about their work, to the towering heights where
the king lived in that golcj-wrought, silk-clad

SIGIRIYA

166

luxury described in the Mahawansa. The comings

and goings of these men in obedience to the royal
orders and commands, the constant changing of
the soldiers and ministers, and the arrival of the
tax-collectors with their money, would make a
never-ceasing stream of ascents and descents along
the winding levels of the marvellous rock. There,
high above all, on his rose-coloured throne, sat
Kasyapa, administering justice while he carried the
black spot of death in his heart we cannot believe
his judgments erred on the side of mercy
Always, from the heights looking out over that
tangled sea, where the jungle-fowl call and the
"
"
of the woodpecker arose
incessant
poop, poop
then as now, the King would watch for the glitter
of spears and the crash of an oncoming army
;

breaking its way through all impediments to bring

down vengeance on his guilty head.
And it came Whether, weary of his stately
!

imprisonment, Kasyapa recklessly

descended from his fortress to meet his brother,
self-imposed

or whether, lulled by the security of his eighteen

years of power (just as long as his father had
reigned) he began to lose his fears, and was caught
,

the alert, we do not know. But the Mahawansa tells us that he did face his elder brother
Moggallana in the plains not far from Kurunegala,
"
where the two armies met like two seas that had
off

A fierce conflict ensued, and

saw
that he was getting the worst
when Kasyapa
of it he cut his throat, a not uncommon means by
which the vanquished escaped the indignity of

burst their bounds."

being

made

prisoner.
Moggallana therefore

became

king.

He

estab-

A PALACE ON A ROCK
lished himself at
It

into decay.

is

For

one king.

167

Anuradhapura, and Sigiriya fell

associated only with the reign of

delay in revenging his

was not a cold-blooded
he saw those who had
followed the slayer of his father, the sight drove
him into such a red rage that he gnashed his teeth
furiously, so that one hereafter protruded and
he acquired the name of Rakkhasa, meaning the
demon. There has been a great deal of discussion
over the interpretation of this passage
Mr.
it
to
be
allusion
to
an
the
Wijesinha supposes
curved teeth or tusks that demons are popularly
all

his

father's death, Moggallana

man ; it is said that when

supposed to possess,
Passing from the granite throne southward, we
come to the great tank on the summit, which supplied the water to the population living there
this is quite a fair-sized piece of water even now,
though choked up by reeds, and when kept clean
must have provided an abundant storage re;

plenished

by the

torrential

monsoon

rains.

We can wander round the whole summit,

noting
the backbone of passage in the centre, with byways
starting

from

it

on each side

like ribs.

When we
came

finally descend, by the same road we

up, we can visit below the flat rock called

the Audience Hall, near the Cistern Rock, and in

between the two, underneath the latter, see an

odd

little

The

cave-shrine.

a perfect fairyland
bushes with
and shoulder high complete
an illusion of bracken-covered ground, and amidst
them rise other bushes and shrubs completely
covered with small orange-coloured fruit (Limonia
place

is

fern-like fronds waist

SIGIRIYA

168

amid shining green

growing

alata)

laurel-like

there are great white trumpet-shaped

;
flowers (Datura fastuosa) and the Cassia fistula
leaves

yellow bunches like giant laburnum.

The ground is carpeted by a sensitive plant with
Huge lumps of rock are
tiny pink spiky flowers.
amid
green bowering foliage. Great
flung anyhow
trees have grown in some instances on the bare
summits, and encompassed the sides in a network
of scaly roots which stream downwards to seek
sustenance in the ground. As I stood drinking
in all the wonderful detail, a bird, like none that
I had ever seen before, sprang into sight, chasing a
it had a long forked tail,
brilliant-hued butterfly
and its radiance reminded me of the monk's
story in The Golden Legend.

with

its

"

And

lo

he heard

The sudden

singing of a bird,
snow-white bird, that from a cloud

Dropped down."

"

This species is called the Ceylon Bird of Paradise, but is really a kind of long-tailed flycatcher.
There is a similar bird, only terra-cotta in hue,

which
call

is

them

more common. The Cingalese

Redi-hora, meaning cloth-stealer, for as

rather

the tail is five times longer than the body, it looks

as if the bird were flying away with a long piece
of cloth."

It is a famous shooting country all round here,

bears and leopards, sambhur (elk) and many
other large animals range in the depths of the
jungle, but we shall hear more of these at Polon-

naruwa.
1

Eleven Years in Ceylon, by Major Forbes.

(Bentley.

1841).

A PALACE ON A ROCK

169

The dagaba at Sigiriya, not more than a hundred

yards from the driving road, and three-quarters of
a mile from the rock, was opened out and investigated in 1910, and in the treasure-chamber the
principal object found was a small Maha-meruor round pedestal of stone, i ft. 3 in. in
height, varying from 5j in. at the bottom to 5j
gala,

at the top in diameter.

around
figures.

it

and

The

is

It has three raised rings

completely carved with

human

chief interest lies in the fact that

the scenes depicted are village scenes showing

houses and family life.
The size of the bricks used in the dagaba carries
testimony that it was built several centuries before
the Polonnaruwa stupas.
Besides this there are, around in the jungle,
many evidences of that larger city which grew up
at the foot of the rock. There are an immense
number of caves in the gigantic boulders, and
"
there are the remains of five
moated islands "
lying to the west of this outer city. These may
have been pleasure houses, or pavilions, with the
earth dug out around them to make them into
artificial islands for the adornment of a great park
such as princes and people loved.

CHAPTER
POLONNARUWA

THERE

is

XII

THE JUNGLE CITY

great diversity of opinion as to the

respective charms of the two royal cities, Anuradhapura and Polonnaruwa. I n favour of the former
may be counted its much greater antiquity.
From 500 B.C. on to the middle of the ninth cen-

tury A.D. Anuradhapura held the proud position

of the capital, and even when, owing to the
incursions of the Tamils, the kings then removed
the seat of Government to Polonnaruwa, Anuradhapura never lost its glamour of peculiar sacredness.
Polonnaruwa remained the capital, with a slight
break, up to the end of the thirteenth century, or
only about a third as long as the sister city.
Anuradhapura can also boast a far greater
extent of ruins, and though excavations at Polonnaruwa are more recent, it is not at all probable
that it will ever be able to rival her in this respect.

For sheer beauty of landscape Anuradhapura

must be accorded the palm. In other respects
the claims balance equally
some people find the
access by railway and the comforts of the hotel
;

at the older city preferable, while to others the

remoteness and inaccessibility of Polonnaruwa,

and the simplicity of its rest-house, are additional
170

THE JUNGLE CITY

171

attractions, also it certainly can boast far greater

charm in its wealth of animal and bird life not yet

away by too much civilisation. Among

monuments also are one or two unique in themselves, and unlike anything dreamed of elsewhere
such are the Wata-dage, Floral Altar, and Lotus
frightened
its

Bath, which are worth coming across the seas to

visit on their own account.
Polonnaruwa is not the real name of the place,
which should be Topare, from the great sheet of
water, Topa-wewa, on whose shores

it

stands.

The present name is not very ancient, but has

somehow ousted the older ones. Major Forbes,
writing in 182830, calls the place Polonnaruwa,
and he is followed by Sir E. J. Tennent. Mr. Bell
"
characterises it as a word of doubtful Elu origin."

In the Mahawansa

it is

called Pulatthi, or Pulast-

ipura.

The road from Sigiriya to this place of many

names runs almost all the way (forty- three miles)
through forest glades, and is lined by jungle
In the early morning, while all is deliciand drenched by dew, every new vista
is a delight.
All forms of the Ficus, including the
mighty banyan, overshadow the way. The main
road to Trincomalee is rejoined some six miles
foliage.

ously fresh

which

is

and

left again at Habarane,

miles
from Polonnaruwa.
twenty-eight

after leaving Sigiriya,

About halfway between Habarane and Polonnaruwa a side road leads, at the distance of about
a mile, to one of the largest and most beautiful
tanks in the island, Minneri, where it is proposed
to make a sanctuary for the wild birds who haunt
the shores.

It is not only bird life in great variety

172

POLONNARUWA

which may be seen here, but wild animals of many

kinds steal down to drink in the shades of night
the marks of leopard, cheetah, bear, wild boar,
deer, and even wild buffalo and elephant, to say
nothing of smaller fry, may be picked up by those
;

"

accustomed to
The lake, though
tracking."
shrunk from its original size, still measures some
twenty miles in circumference. The shores are
broken and much wooded, so the whole expanse
cannot 'be seen at once. This splendid work was
"
done by Maha Sena (A.D. 275), the
apostate
King," who did not support the old-established
Buddhist monks in Anuradhapura, whereupon
they fled to Rohuna, and were in exile nine years.
It will be remembered he was the king who

began to build what is now called Abhayagiri

"
He thus performed
dagaba at Anuradhapura.
acts of both piety and impiety."
Minneriya may certainly be counted to him to
overbalance

many

of the latter sort, for its

beauty

and usefulness remain to-day, over 1,600 years

later, as fully evident as when it was formed. The
King bestowed it, and the ground which it waters,
on the monks of his new dagaba.
Regaining the main road, abundant evidence of
the wealth of animal life sustained by the fertilising

water of the lake can be seen.

covey

of jungle fowl, their golden plumage gleaming,

a shy jackal races ahead
scuttle into the bush
of the car, his brush wildly waving as he realises
;

that for once he has encountered something swifter

than himself
monkeys plunge and swing over;

head, and possibly a hare darts across the road.

Before reaching the rest-house at Polonnaruwa

THE JUNGLE CITY

173

the road runs by some of the finest of the ruins,

the great temple of Thuparama being especially
noticeable, standing high on its platform.
The rest-house is only about half a mile beyond,
and is built on a promontory stretching out into
"
the great tank," or lake, Topa-wewa, from which
the place derives its real name. Unfortunately
the Public Works Department, to whom the
building of the rest-house was entrusted, was for
once seized with a passion for artistic effect, and
planted the little building to face a superb view
without considering that it brought the front
verandah full face to the south. In such a climate
this is a fatal mistake, and under any sort of sun
the verandah is utterly intolerable to an ordinary
mortal.
Rest-house charges are very reasonable in
Ceylon, and the food, as a rule, is sufficient, though
in a place so out-of-the-way luxuries can hardly be

however, no baker living

"
make shift " with
here, and those who cannot
milk-biscuits had better bring their own bread or
a tin of rusks. Everything else is supplied at the
rate of six or seven rupees a day.
Any one wishing
to stay longer than three days must apply to the

expected.

There

is,

Government Agent at Anuradhapura. Accommodation is limited, and in an ordinary season motorcar parties are many, so it is well to engage rooms
beforehand. The road ends in the village, and
beyond is pure jungle. There is, however, a postoffice and a daily delivery of letters.
Besides the attraction of the ruins, many people
for the shooting, which is regulated by the
Government. There is a close season for deer

come

POLONNARUWA

174

Sambhur, Barking, Spotted, Red, and Paddy-field

also for grey partridge, painted partridge,
spurfowl and teal ; this is from June to

varieties

Ceylon
October inclusive.

The shooting

an elephant
costs a resident in the island 100 rupees and a
non-resident three times as much, but a licence to
of

"
"
shoot a recognised
rogue
may be obtained for
the asking any time. A buffalo costs respectively
fifteen and twenty rupees, and a game licence is
only five rupees to residents, but forty-five to nonresidents.

Stories of a rogue elephant which had troubled

the district for over a year, and seemed to bear a

charmed

life,

were afloat when

arrived at this

Mr. Livera, J.P., the Revenue

had
an
had
encounter with him. At the
officer,
Mr.
Livera
was
time,
suffering from fever, and was
getting along with difficulty near Polonnaruwa
assisted by two natives, when suddenly they

enchanting place.

"

"

in their own
elephant about here
deserted
him
and
tongue,
promptly. With great
in
a
weak
state, he managed to
difficulty, being
drag himself up into a small tree then one of the
men came back and told him that that tree was
covered with a creeper elephants particularly
Faint with
fancied, and he had better get down.
weakness he dragged himself to another tree, a
larger one, near, and had no sooner climbed it
than the elephant appeared, and sure enough went
straight to the little one he had abandoned and
began to pull down the creeper, which is of a

exclaimed

well-known species, called colloquially " elephantcreeper," from the partiality these animals show
for

it.

THE JUNGLE CITY

175

The elephant went off after a while, but presently returned and walked round and round
beneath him, looking up at him viciously, and
Mr. Livera had with him
trying to reach him.
only a shot gun, but with this he fired several
times, and at last frightened the elephant away.
A considerable time passed before he heard his
men calling him cautiously " with monkey noises "
he replied,
so as not to attract the beast back
and finding all apparently safe, descended but no
sooner had he done so, than the elephant suddenly
appeared again, and he had only just time to get
back to the tree. After this he and the men, who
were not far off, shouted as loud as ever they could
to attract the attention of the villagers, for all this
had happened within a mile of the village. Presently they managed to make themselves heard,
and a number of men came out with one or two
firearms, and drove the beast off, so as to free the
victims, but they did not kill him.
Shortly after a man was cycling along the only
road carrying a bag full of money to pay coolies,
when an elephant, probably the same, burst out
on him. He ran the cycle into the jungle and
"
"
upset it the rogue made for him, and, dashing
over him, tore off the sole of his boot with its foot
in passing.
He looked up to see its hindquarters
Otherwise, by a
disappearing in the forest
he
was
not
much
the
worse.
miracle,
;

While I was at Anuradhapura, having gone

on from Polonnaruwa, I heard the end of the
The elephant began to make himself more
story.
and more of a nuisance, appearing on the public
road, and actually killing a boy there. But his

POLONNARUWA

176

time had come, and he was killed by a lucky shot

from the forest officer, who happened to be in the
district.

The excitement

episodes does not,

Mr. Jayasekera,
however, end with elephants
of the Archaeological Survey, recently shot a large
fat leopard within half a mile of the rest-house.
The skin measured eight feet from nose to tip of tail,
the tail being three feet. The illustration shows him
with his trophy, and behind him his tracker with
a canoe-paddle, on the verandah of the rest-house.
It was due to Mr. Jayasekera that I was enabled
of big

game

to see a family of wild buffalo at large.

He took
in a dug-out canoe, with outrigger, across

me

Topa Wewa one day, and we were lucky enough

to see at fairly close quarters a remarkably fine
saw only the cow
group of wild buffalo.

We

standing on a bluff, then made out a darkcoloured calf beside her. We manoeuvred the
canoe so as to run into a creek as near as possible
compatible with safety, and just as we had landed
a magnificent bull rose up from the high sedge,
where he had been lying at the side of his mate.
He was a splendid creature with spreading horns,
entirely different in his fine proportions from the
I deeply regretted
pig-like domestic water buffalo.
not having brought my camera, especially as a
further turn revealed a very young mouse-coloured
calf lying beside the other.
We walked to within
the
then deemed it wiser
of
and
fifty yards
group,
to go on, as we were not out after big game that

first,

day.

The

usually spangled by white birds and

a flight of pelicans is not unusual. Cormorants sit

lake

is

DWARF-STONE AT VIJAYARAMA.

SKIN OF LEOPARD SHOT NEAR THE REST- HOUSE,

POLONNARUWA.

p.

138

THE ROYAL PALACE, POLONNARUWA.

P.

199

THE JUNGLE CITY

177

day in the outlying rocks, and the water

abounds in crocodiles. There are plenty of lulla in
the lake, a fish with firm flesh which makes good
eating, also many other species, some quite large.
The wet season at Polonnaruwa is usually from
October to the end of December, and at this season
all

sportsmen to find deer to shoot, but

the roads are also often rendered impassable at
the same time, and inquiry must be made beforehand as to whether they can be traversed at all.
The popularity of Polonnaruwa increases yearly,
and only the difficulty of reaching it without
a motor-car prevents its being inundated with
visitors.
The beauty of its scenery, the chances
it is

easier for

of sport,

and the fascination of its amazing antiqui-

present a variety of attractions difficult to

resist, and sufficient to ensure great efforts being
made to overcome the obstacles to their attainties

ment.

CHAPTER

XIII

THE EPIC OF PARAKRAMA

POLONNARUWA

from the older city in that

its extent is accurately known, the line of its walls
has been traced, and even in some places the
differs

themselves laid bare. More interesting

the building, considered now, without much
doubt, to have been the chief or central royal
walls

still,

is still

standing.
lie almost in one straight line
ruins
city
running north and south, and are reached either
from the road, which passes beside them, or by
palace,

The

means of excellent little paths, cut and kept in

order by the Archaeological Survey. The authorities are not here hampered by the dilatoriness and
slackness of the Buddhists, as none of the sacred
sites are in their hands, but all under government
supervision and control. Their preservation can
therefore be carried out in the best possible
without obstacles.

way

At the south end of the ruins is the Potgul

monastery and the great rock-cut statue popuParakrama, and at
larly known as that of
the other the latest recovered temple, that of
Demala-maha-seya. The rest-house itself and
some of the ruins near it lie a little outward to
the west, as do also the remains dug out of the bed
178

THE EPIC OF PARAKRAMA

179

tank itself, and others on its shores supposed to have been a summer palace of the kings.
But all the chief buildings are very much in a line
and easy to find, though the outlying ones exact
a good deal of walking.
of the

"

The city rampart runs on the north for over

1,000 yards, to the east 1,800, to south nearly
On the west side the bund of Topa Wewa
1,000.
served as the city's protection for some distance,
the wall being carried on it along the former
contour of the bank for 1,100 yards or so. Including a cross-ramp of 500 yards and the citadel
confines, the city ramparts (exclusive of the unwalled tank bund to the west) covered a circuit
of about 6,850 yards or little short of four miles."
(1906 Report.)

One

the kings called Aggabodhi III (A.D.

Polonnaruwa and was here
smitten with incurable sickness and died. It was
not till the time of Aggabodhi VII (A.D. 781) that
it really became the capital.
Succeeding kings
lived and died here, building tanks and hospitals.
Then the Tamils conquered Polonnaruwa and
established themselves there until the reign of
Wijaya Bahu (A.D. 1065), who reconquered the
island for his race and again established the Cingalese line there.
"It was he who re-built the city
to a large extent, including a most beautiful
vihara and fine rows of dwellings and a sanctuary
for the Tooth-relic
he also made the fortifications
secure in fact, it is said he built the wall surrounding the city" (see p. 29).
But there had evidently been a wall there before,
of

623), built a palace at

POLONNARUWA

180

because, in his assaults on the city when it was

held by the Tamils, we are expressly told that the
Tamils had retreated into the city on the approach
of the king's troops, and, having shut the gates,
climbed on the walls and towers to continue their

was over six weeks before the

Cingalese prevailed, and when the news of the
Cingalese success reached the King of the Cholyans
in India, and he heard how his generals and the
governor had been beaten, he made no more
resistance.

It

attempt to reconquer the island.

Wijaya Bahu celebrated his coronation in
Anuradhapura, which shows that the peculiar
sacredness of that city was still reckoned above
that of the newer capital. The king had to
contend with rebellions among his mercenaries,
and he built many viharas, and new tanks, and
He gave
repaired Minneriya, which had run dry.
also to the

monks numerous

benefactions, causing

them to be supplied in the winter " with cloaks

and fire-pans and divers drugs in abundance."

He

"

bulls for the use of cripples"

also presented
"
and
rice for ravens, dogs and other beasts."

Truly the record lacks nothing in living detail

This wonderful king was also a poet, and his
poems were quoted from tongue to tongue by his
But on his death his youngest brother
subjects.
!

attempted to seize the inheritance, joining forces

with his nephew, the eldest son of the late king's
sister, and these two tried to keep out Wikrama
Bahu, the rightful heir according to our notions,

who

had ruled the province

of Rohuna.
But Wikrama Bahu was too strong
Unfortunfor them, and recovered the capital.
in his father's lifetime

THE EPIC OF PARAKRAMA

181

"
bad " king, who brought dissenately he was a
sion and distress upon the country, because he
seized the gems and gold and lands belonging to

the temples, and so disgusted his subjects that a

whole body of the monks contrived together to
escape to Rohuna, carrying the priceless Tooth

and Alm's-bowl relics with them.

Meantime the king's three cousins, the sons of
his aunt, and their ally his uncle, continued to
give him great trouble, but were unable to prevail
It was from the eldest of these
against him.
brothers, Manabharana, who had married a
daugher of Wijaya Bahu, that there sprang the
great branch of Parakrama, whose name is to
Polonnaruwa what those of Tissa or Dutugemunu
are to Anuradhapura.

During Wikrama Bahu's reign, these princes

kept up the show of a royal house, and bided their
time in the outlaw country of Rohuna. Manabharana had been long without a son, though he
had two daughters. At last by signs and omens
he gathered that a mighty son was to be born to
him, which prophecy was duly fulfilled, and the
welcome child was called Parakrama. He was
more than half a Tamil owing to the intermarriages of his forbears, and it was perhaps
from this strain that he derived the vigour and
Far from resenting
resisting power in his blood.
the advent of his young cousin, the old king,
Wikrama Bahu, welcomed one of whom such
In those ungreat things had been foretold.
settled days, when personal might was necessary to
a successful holding of the kingdom against the
forces both from within and without which threat-

182

POLONNARUWA

ened to tear it asunder, any scion of the royal

house whose personal qualities were above the
average was likely to be chosen king over the
heads of those nearer in actual relationship.

Wikrama Bahu knew

well that his own elder

"
lacked
the
to acquire
son, Gaja Bahu,
qualities
that which he hath not got or to retain that which
he hath got." His other son was born of a mother
of inferior rank.
So he began to look on the son
of his cousin Manabharana as his successor.
Of the wonderful career of the boy Parakrama
the chronicles can hardly say enough. His life is

an epic. He went from triumph to triumph,

and no feat was beyond him. No less than
twenty-nine chapters of the Mahawansa are
devoted to his prowess and his deeds, though
sometimes elsewhere numbers of kings' reigns are

like

disposed of in one chapter. From his earliest

days he felt himself marked out to reunite the
kingdom instead of allowing it to be split as it

was into many

districts,

the royal house, and

under many scions of

when he should have reunited

he hoped to rid it of the foreign invaders and

re-establish the ancient glory of Lanka.
He saw how his uncles had been content to hold
it

small fragments of the land under their authority

"
"
like village landlords
instead of desiring the
whole. They had fought indeed, but feebly and
spasmodically and without result.
To fit himself for the great achievement he had
set before him, the boy began at a very early age
to study all that was known of arts, science,
religion, and anything else that could possibly

come in usefully.

His brilliance of mind and body

THE EPIC OF PARAKRAMA

183

was readily acknowledged by his own uncles, his

father's brothers, who seem to have been quite
willing to look on him as the future ruler of the
land, though one of them had himself a son,
another Mahabharana.
Meantime Wikrama Bahu died, and his rather
weak-natured son Gaja Bahu succeeded him.
This man was not so readily inclined to give up
his inheritance as his father had supposed, and he
made ready to defend himself against his cousins.
By this time Parakrama's father was dead also,
but his two uncles thought the time favourable
for another bid for the capital, and attacked Gaja
Bahu. However, they were ignominiously defeated.
But this did not daunt Parakrama, who was growing
up, and made no secret of his intention to secure
the capital, and rule as sole king in the land so
soon as he should be strong enough. After his
father's death he had lived with his elder uncle,
who had no son, and treated him with great
affection.
He loved him so much " he oft times
It is little touches
kissed the crown of his head."
like these that bridge the centuries and make
the story alive for us to-day.
While still a youth Parakrama determined to set

by himself to visit his kinsman Gaja Bahu

at Polonnaruwa, in order to find out how matters
But he knew that his devoted fosterlay there.

forth

and uncle would not give him leave to go

harm might happen to him, so he
slipped away secretly, telling a band of comrades
to meet him at a pre-ordained place.
Most of
these youths were faint-hearted and tried to dissuade him, but he went on until he arrived at a

father

for fear that

POLONNARUWA

184

which was in charge of a trusted general

village,

"

"

his uncle.
This general came
king
and did obeisance and then, very naturally, sent
a secret message to the king that the prince was
there.
And when Parakrama heard of it he was
very angry, and caused the unfortunate general

of the

to be killed

by

his followers.

Then, with a very natural touch, he felt bound

to remain where he was to take his uncle's anger
"
standing up," lest his uncle should think he had
fled from the fear of it, so he waited a few days.
But eventually, because his presence led to riots
and to the wildest rumours, he went on.

very curious situation arose, for his uncle,

though not altogether angry with him for his misdeeds, desired to have him brought back, and in
a mixture of anxiety and annoyance sent armed
men to capture him. The reckless boy, who had
by this time gathered armed followers himself,
met and defeated these forces, and passed out of
the borders of his own country into that belonging
to King Gaja Bahu. The account of his adventures
is very minute.
In one place we are told he
"
"
fastened his hair-knot firmly
before springing
forth to join in a fray, which shows that fashions
in hair-dressing were the same in his race then

as

now

Gaja Bahu was of a timid disposition, and

judged it best to receive his young warrior-kinsman in a friendly manner. Thus the lad first
entered the great city with which his name was to
be for ever associated.
Alas, Parakrama, who entered the city on the
king's own elephant, and stayed for a considerable

THE EPIC OF PARAKRAMA

185

period as an honoured guest in the palace, employed the time in a most thorough system of

Tamils and Cingalese were alike to him,

he employed any agents he could trust as instruments in this work, sending them forth as snakecharmers, dancers, pedlars, and even as hermits
spying.

or ascetics, to gauge the feeling of the country,

and prepare the way for the ultimate conquest

on which he had set his heart.

Parakrama's elder sister was already married
to his first cousin Mahabharana, but he sent to his
own country for his second sister and had her

Bahu so as to lull completely

that
monarch
any suspicions
might have enterMeantime the
as
his
intentions.
tained
to
own
prince was not even above doing spy work himself.
married to King Gaja

He pretended to be chased by an elephant, and ran

into lowly huts so that he might converse with
the people
he went deer hunting in the country
round so that he might mark the best approaches
;

an army

hardly wonderful that, in spite

Gaja Bahu began to be suspicious
Numberless tales are told of the prowess of the
prince while he stayed in Polonnaruwa. Once he
"
with eyes
frightened away an enraged buffalo
"
red and glaring in their sockets
by merely
its
in
he
face
killed
a
fierce
she-bear
shouting
with cubs, and a wild boar.
At last, however, his near relatives could do
without him no longer, and his own mother came
to fetch him home.
He went with her, for he felt
the time was not yet ripe for his great coup.
He had no sooner returned to his own country
for

it is

of his bride,

than his adopted father died, rejoicing in having

POLONNARUWA

i86

seen the beloved youth once more. Parakrama

took up the reins of government in the district,
and proved himself an able administrator. It
was his ideal, "Let there not be left anywhere in
my kingdom a piece of land, even though it were
the least of the yards of a house, which does not
So he built tanks and
yield any benefit to man."
irrigation

And he
ment

works and saw to planting and sowing.

turned himself to the thorough develop-

of his

army

into

an

efficient fighting force.

When

he considered he was sufficiently

equipped, he began by seducing the generals of
King Gaja Bahu and getting them to deliver up
to him the outlying territories over which they
held command. Some came over to him, and
those who would not he attacked in their strongholds.
It is

amusing to

hear that on one occasion

men

skilled in house-breaking and armed with

"
"
were sent forth to
sharp-edged deers' horns

break down the walls of a

fortress.

Gaja Bahu

naturally began to take measures to

defend himself; he tried to suborn one of Parakrama' s generals with rich presents of " jewels and
ornaments of great value and divers garments of
silk and linen," but the man ruthlessly disfigured

the envoys arid passed the bribes on to his

master.

Everywhere Parakrama' s arms were

though there were

many sharp

battles.

own

victorious,

At length

Anuradhapura was taken by him and he turned

his attention to

He had

Polonnaruwa.

established himself in a great fortress

at Nalanda,

and began operations from

there.

THE EPIC OF PARAKRAMA

187

It is interesting to read of his preparations for

"
Rice mixed with acids,
victualling his troops.

plantains, rice roasted and beaten into cakes,

and divers things to eat in great plenty. He also

bamboos, each formed

into one long channel replenished with water and
pierced with holes and stopped at both ends, so
that many persons could drink thereof at one
and the same time." Manabharana, his cousin,
had up to this time sided with King Gaja Bahu,
but now seeing which force was likely to be victorious, he changed over.
Gaja Bahu sallied forth from the capital to meet
his foe's advancing army, but was worsted and
And when the
retreated again behind the walls.
were
the
promptly
enemy appeared outside,
gates
opened to them by Parakrama's spies. The
armed men rushed in and seized the king, and
sent word to their ruler that he was a prisoner.
Parakrama had the grace to order that he should
be well treated. However, the soldiers got out of
sent

many thousands

of

hand and did a vast deal of looting, and the town

was thrown into great confusion. In the words
"
of the old scribe it was
like unto the ocean that
is disturbed by the tempest at the end of the
world."

Now Manabharana

thought he would take a

hand on his own account, and knowing that

Parakrama had not yet arrived at Polonnaruwa,
he appeared there with his small band of followers
and assumed authority, seizing King Gaja Bahu
and treating him cruelly by " depriving him of
food and rest." So the captive sent a despairing
"
I have no
message to his first captor, saying,

i88

POLONNARUWA

other refuge but in thee." It is a proof of the

great personal charm of Parakrama that in spite
of his treachery this cousin of his seemed to bear
no ill-will toward him, but almost to admire him

And he
for his strength and large-mindedness.
was justified, for Parakrama, on receiving the
"

message, thought Verily hath he suffered all this

grievous pain because of me," and went at once
to his rescue.

When Parakrama

entered the city, the

monks

joined together and besought his mercy, telling

him that the king was old and had no son to
succeed him, and beseeching him to let him finish
the short remainder of his life in peace, and Parakrama, who for all his scheming had a good heart,
was prevailed upon, and returned to his own
country for a while. Before he went the wretch
Manabharana was gathering together his men to
"
not so much
attack him, but Parakrama cared
all

as a blade of grass for him."

And Manabharana was utterly defeated, and as
all the main fords of the river were held by Parakrama' s men, he had to cross secretly by means of

a little known ford. He rallied his forces, and for

a while had some success, but was pursued relent-

by his terrible foe and at length again fled

"
a
secret
ford, and died
by
by reason of a disease
him
that had come upon
through fear of the King
lessly

Parakrama."
Gaja Bahu had also died, after
having reigned two-and-twenty years.
Parakrama was crowned A.D. 1164 (according
to Don M. de Z. Wickremasinghe, 1153), and on
that day the deafening sound of divers drums was

But before

this

THE EPIC OF PARAKRAMA

terrible

189

and the elephants, decked with coverings

made

the street before the palace to look

clouds had descended thereon with flashes of
lightning, and with the prancing of the steeds of
war the whole city seemed on that day to wave
even like the sea. And the sky was wholly shut
out of sight with the rows of umbrellas of divers
of gold,

as

if

and with lines of flags of gold.

Parakrama is described as " Lotus-faced " and

colours,

"

with
eyes that were long like the lily," which
more
of an Egyptian than a Cingalese type.
sounds
He then set himself to develop his country. He
built a great chain of ramparts round Polonnaruwa,
and a palace called the Vejanta. He built houses
for each separate religious sect, and he had a
theatre

made

for singing

and dancing, and a great

"

Likewise
assembly with a throne in it.
also a charming palace, supported on one column
which seemed to have sprung up, as it were, by
hall of

the bursting of the earth. Its floor of gold was

He built a
lighted only by one chandelier."
it shone
great temple for the famous Tooth Relic
with roofs of gold and had in the upper storey a
great white room.
"And the great and wise king caused divers
roads to be made in that beautiful city and many
thousands of mansions of two and three storeys
high and the like were built on the borders thereof.
They abounded on all sides with shops filled with
;

goods of all kinds. Elephants, horses, and carriages passed without ceasing along the roads, which
were crowded every day with people who continuThe city had
ally took part in great feasts."
fourteen gates.

POLONNARUWA

igo

Then the wise ruler started repairing Anuradhapura, which was in a terrible state.
Mahabharana's mother, Sugala, had joined herself with the rebels, and gave them the ToothRelic and Bowl-Relic. This distressed the king
greatly, and he sent a host of men to recover them
before they could be carried to India. They were
retrieved and received back with great joy, and
the king made a road leading to the Temple of the
"
Tooth as smooth as the palm of his hand," and
planted trees along each side of it. But there
was still a great deal of fighting to do against both
rebels and Tamils before the kingdom was finally
in his grip.

And even

then some of the petty potentates

he sent

of India insulted his messengers, so that

out an army against them, first having a fleet of

"
all the country round the
ships built so that
coast seemed like one great workshop busied with
the constant building of ships," and among the
stores put aboard were quantities of coats made of
iron and skins of deer for resisting the arrows, and

medicines carried in bullocks' horns to salve the

wounds made by the poisoned arrows, and pincers

to pull out the tips of the arrows when buried in
the flesh and broken off.
So the next few chapters are full of accounts of
fighting, in which we are told that the arms of
Parakrama had great success, subduing the country
of the

Pandyans, the ancient enemies of his house.

The king tried to unite the Abhayagiri fraternity

and the Maha vihara, but he found the Jetawanarama set of monks utterly worthless and degraded
them.

THE EPIC OF PARAKRAMA

191

The three great thupas at Anuradhapura were

"
wherein lurked tigers and
covered with thickets
bears," but Parakrama had them cleared and
rebuilt, and he caused the Brazen Palace to be
reset, with its 1,600 pillars, and he made tanks
"
and buildings without end and bodhi groves."
Parakrama reigned for thirty-three years. He
had several wives the chief of them was Lilavati,
"
and one of the best-loved was Rupavati who
"
and
drew upon her the eyes of the world
;

"

among the many hundreds

of

women who were

inner chambers of the Palace, she was

"
save her own husband,
beloved the most," and,
she regarded not, as much even as a blade of grass,
any other person."

in the

She was loving, skilled in dancing and music,

and had a keen intelligent mind she was chaste
and wise and pious and beautiful.
;

We wish that we could identify among those

"
the exquisite King's
fourteen gates of the city
the
the broad
Lion's
delightful
gate,
gate,
Elephant's gate, the lofty Serpent's gate, or the
sparkling Water-gate," but it is to be feared they
can never now be traced.
Parakrama was succeeded by his sister's son,
Wijaya Bahu. The glory of Lanka departed in
the reigns of weak succeeding kings.
Major Forbes thus sums them up
l

"

Of the six kings who followed Parakrama

Bahu, four were murdered, one died a natural
death, and the sixth, Chondakanga, was deposed
and had his eyes put out, by order of the minister
1

Eleven Years in Ceylon.

(Bentley, 1841.)

POLONNARUWA

IQ2

Kirti, who had married Leelawatee, and now raised

her to the throne, while he exercised the supreme
authority under sanction of her name. These
six reigns only occupied ten years."

Parakrama

and three times

she was on the throne for short periods, and three
times was she deposed.
The invaders from India were getting more
Lilivati survived

and determined they came again and

and proved themselves more than a match

ruthless
again,

for the islanders.

Once again the

priests fled to the mountains

with their treasures before invading hosts. But

under Parakrama Bahu

little

came

II the city

of its ancient splendour,

to it walls were split

recovered a

though when he

and reeling, and

had rooted themselves in sacred places.
Its prosperity was short-lived, and the Cingalese
kings were driven to carry on what semblance of
royalty was left them elsewhere. At one time
their capital was even as far south as Cotta, near
Colombo. The most celebrated of these shortlived capitals, on account of its ruins, is Yapahuwa, not very far from Anuradhapura, of which
the history is given elsewhere (see p. 245)
At any
rate, after the reign of Parakrama Bahu III
(A.D. 1288), Polonnaruwa was no longer the
trees

capital city.

CHAPTER XIV
POLONNARUWA

THE

THE CITADEL

rest-house stands on ground that

was once

part of an extensive and beautiful garden or park

As he
laid out by King Parakrama the Great.

began to reign in 1164 (or 1153) and reigned

thirty-three years, he was contemporary with our
English King Henry II. This great park was
"
Park of Heaven," and as it
called Nandana, the
the advantages of the fine climate of
Ceylon, it must have been charming indeed. It
was filled with flowers, and flower and fruitbearing trees. Swarms of bees were attracted
by the smell of the jasmine and other scented
blossoms peacocks spread their gorgeous tails
and screamed as they strutted about the grass
and the Indian cuckoo made his voice heard.
The area was broken up by artificial pieces of
water, on which grew the lotus, and any one who
has seen the red and white lotus growing together
will understand the richness of that scene
The
park was enclosed by railings decorated with
rows of images carved in ivory.
And actually
some of the buildings set in it and minutely
described in the Mahawansa are to be seen to this
very day.
Turning out of the rest-house we
to
the left under the shade of a great bopass

enjoyed

all

14

*93

POLONNARUWA

I 94

and follow a roadway parallel with the tank

Below this, on the right, are various ruins
side.
the remains of the sluice from the lake, and of
baths and pokuna. A little further, on the lefthand side, are some ruins showing not much more
than the outlines of the basement of a large buildHere can be traced an octagonal hall with
ing.
sides fourteen feet in length. This opened into a
rectangular hall, which in its turn communicated
with a square water-tower by means of a fanshaped drain on raised brick-work. The floor of
the hall was laid in concrete, and sockets cut to
receive wooden posts show that it was sixteen
On one side were seats. The whole is
pillared.
obviously a bathing-house of a special kind, and
the water for use therein must have been raised
by artificial means to the top of the tower in order
that it might spray forth with force. Now what
This garden of Paradoes the Mahawansa say ?
"
krama's was ornamented with a bathing-hall that
dazzled the eyes of the beholder, from which issued
forth sprays of water that was conducted through
pipes by means of machines, making the place to

tree,

look as

if

the clouds poured

down

rain without

a bathing-hall, large and splendid, and

bearing, as it were, a likeness to the knot of
braided hair that adorned the head of the beautiful
park-nymph. It also glittered with a mansion of
great splendour and brightness such as was not
to be compared, and displayed the beauty of
many pillars of sandalwood, carved gracefully,
and was like an ornament on the face of the earth.
A hall shaped like an octagon, and a beautiful and
pleasant hall, formed after the fashion of the

ceasing

BATHING-HOUSES

195

beautiful coils of the king of serpents, adorned this

"
park.
Notice the meticulous accuracy of the description so faithfully corroborated by these remains.
"
"

An

and

another hall

the pillars
of wood
and the arrangement for spraying the
water. The fanciful comparison likening the
octagon hall to the knot of hair worn at the back
of the head is not nearly so far-fetched as are many.
The description of the pleasure garden goes on
to include a summer pavilion, which was built
on a place like an island, where the water flowed
on two sides, and there not so far in front of

octagon

hall,

us we have it. The ruins of a pavilion stand on

a boss or mound with a deep depression all round.
"
"
This building was a
snow-white
house, and to
"
it was attached a hall
for displaying divers
branches of knowledge and the arts," a museum
in fact
Near it was a " swinging hall " in which
was a swing hung with tinkling bells of gold.
In this same park was a bath overlaid " with
stones coloured like unto the body of the serpent
Ananta " and another with " paintings of divers
colours."
No doubt these had their position
among that group of baths now in ruin close
to the rest-house.
The coloured stones have all
!

gone.

"

Before proceeding to the

pavilion of the
"
there are other ruins which must be
island
The first of these stands right in front
passed.
of us, a curious little isolated block, which, owing
to the fact that it had neither door nor window,
is

supposed to have been a Mausoleum. Very

known about it, though some of the sky-

little is

POLONNARUWA

196

blue paint edged with terra cotta still adheres to

its panels, showing that when freshly painted it
must have been a striking object.
The first large building on the right after this,
just beyond the bungalow of the Archaeological
Survey, is the Audience Hall, and close beside it,
but with it's axis at right angles to it, is the Council
Chamber built by King Nissanka Malla (1198), if
the inscription found in it is to be trusted. The
pillars in this are unusually thick, and a small stone
lion is perched on a pedestal at the main or northern
entrance. It was near here that the mighty stone
lion, which once supported the throne of the
Nissanka Malla was of Kalinga
king, was found.
lineage, and came third in succession after Parakrama the Great. Parakrama's immediate successor

was

his

nephew Wijaya Bahu

II.,

who was

dethroned and killed by a man of the Kalinga race

the usurper was able to call himself king for five
days only, before a stronger than he, of his own
people, put him to death and reigned in his stead.
Nissanka had been sub-king under Wijaya, and
there is nothing to show that he was not loyal to
;

his sovereign, lie reigned for only nine years when

his turn came, but he managed to impress his own

name on almost every bit

monument in Polonnaruwa.

of stone building or

He

certainly did a
account, includ-

good deal of building on his own

ing a temple for the Tooth Relic, and several
brance

his chief claim to rememthe mighty Lion-Throne, which he

This huge beast, six feet high from the

But perhaps

viharas.
is

designed.

sole of its foot to its crown, and of stupendous girth,

is in its style distinctly reminiscent of Assyrian

COUNCIL-CHAMBER

197

It is suggestive that the only other building

at Polonnaruwa possibly showing traces of Assyrian

work.

the Sat-Mahal-Prasada, also the work

What connection had this king with
of Nissanka.
?
Assyria
The lion statue was discovered in 1820, completely covered with debris, some distance from
the Hall, where it is conjectured it must have
been flung when hurled down by Indian invaders.
When it stood at the south end of the hall, and the
influence

is

glory of silk attire was raised upon it

to receive his ministers in conclave, it must have

king in

all his

looked truly royal. Some fifty years after the

discovery of the great beast it was removed to
Colombo Museum, where it still remains. This is
one of the instances where the authorities might
"
"
well restore the
to its original place.
As
spoil
every one knows, in the case of delicate objects
which cannot be properly protected in outlying
districts,

there

is

much

to

be said for their

preservation in museums. In cases also where

treasures of sculpture or architecture are so far

removed from the beaten track as to be practically

lost to view to all but the few, the argument for
transferring them to the nation's storehouses,
where they may serve to educate and enlighten
thousands of people,

is

a strong one.

Neither

argument holds good in this particular case, the

Lion of Nissanka is no puny beast, and the monuments at Polonnaruwa are well looked after.
Here, at the very door of the Survey bungalow,,
no harm could come to him, and the many visitors
who yearly are drawn to the ancient city from
the quarters of the earth would fully appreciate

POLONNARUWA

198

the spectacle of the grand beast placed where he

originally stood.
The task of restoration

would no doubt be
was a
The first dray on which he

difficult, for the transference of the lion

terrific

undertaking.

was placed dropped to pieces beneath his weight,

and where he fell there he lay for a considerable
time.
When once more the Herculean task was
renewed and he was carted off by elephants,
bridges broke beneath him, and in order to
extricate him a tunnel or cutting had to be made
down the steep banks of the river which held him
as in a trap.
Finally he reached Matale and was transferred
to the railway.
His journey by road had been
made the occasion of a festival, and a procession
had rolled up from the villages through which he

Garlands were flung liberally around

unwieldy neck, and flowers were strewn before
him. As far as transport is concerned the nearest
rail-head is still Matale, but motor traction would
passed.
his

solve the problem for the remaining part of the

way, if he were to retraverse the ground.
is not much else to see in this direction,
the
ruins of the king's summer quarters,
though
"
the
Palace of Coolness," can be made out at the
end of the lake a good distance away.
Returning to the rest-house we can go forward
to see the rest of the ruins by the road on which we
arrived.
This quickly curves into the main road,

There

going (left) back to Habarane, and (right) to

the village, just round the corner, where it ends.
Immediately opposite, across this road, is a steep
bank with a path rising up it. This leads directly

THE ROYAL PALACE

199

to one of the most interesting sights in Polonnaruwa. By mounting the bank we pass into the
citadel,

some twenty-five acres

in

extent,

the

kernel of the city. Facing us are the imposing

ruins of a huge mass of brick- work, rising from an
innumerable congeries of smaller buildings. This
It was
is quite unlike anything yet encountered.
once supposed to have been the prison or fort of

the city, but is now considered without doubt to

have been the king's own residence, the Royal
Palace.
A long time may be occupied in tracing out the
labyrinth of rooms remaining. Five months in
1911-12 were devoted by the Survey authorities
to clearing out the mass of growth and debris

under which this magnificent historical relic was

almost buried.
Passing at once to the centre of the main block
we see two large apartments with a passage
between. The room on the south was walled in
from this passage, but that on the north was open

The

rooms are over ten feet

Both on the inside and the outside
will be noticed large niches or slots, which evidently once held gigantic beams of wood. These
supported the upper floors, and outside held up a
verandah or projecting balcony running all round
the first floor. The rooms above occupying the
similar space may have been cut up into smaller
sections or not, we have no means of knowing,
but they were well lighted by large windows, for
the hollows left by these are quite obvious even to
the amateur eye. The palace was evidently threestoried, and Mr. Bell conjectures that the upperto

it.

walls of these

in thickness.

POLONNARUWA

200

most storey was built in corbelled vaulting and

flat-topped, and that it had probably a central
tower, after the pattern of Thuparama Temple
a little to the north. The large rooms in the
middle are flanked to east and west by halls, that

on the east being by

by 42.

fact 102 feet

far the larger, measuring in

It had thirty-six columns

to support the roof, without counting those

the main building.

on

Outside it is a range of small rooms or cells,

which is continued right round the main building
in four sides of a square. The double walls between

which these rooms lie are 9 feet 3 inches apart,

and this gives a uniform width to all, but they are
cut up into different lengths or sizes for no apparent
architectural cause, some being as much as 13 feet
6 inches in length, and others as little as 4 feet 6
inches mere cells. But every one of them,
except those at the corners, had at least one
window.
Another very interesting feature of this stately
ruin

is

the staircase leading to the upper floors

this is broad, easy,

and in good preservation.

Out-

side, around, and scattered at irregular distances,

are the remains of other buildings, the use of which
can only be conjectured. From what we can see
the ideas on the subject of housing royalty in the

twelfth century in Ceylon were very much in

advance of those in England at the same period.
The spaciousness of the central rooms, probably
occupied by the king and queens, is much beyond
the usual living-room accommodation assigned
in

Norman

or castles.

or Early English examples of towers

And the indications of privies, water-

THE ROYAL PALACE

201

supply, and so on indicate very advanced civilisawhile we know that bathing occupied a
tion
prominent place in the daily routine and diversion
;

of daily life with the Cingalese long before baths

were ever considered to be necessary in England.

Climate of course had a good deal to do with the

last item.

description of the Royal Palace and

adjacent buildings see the 1911-12 Report
of the Ceylon Archaeological Survey, which also
contains a capital ground plan.
If this is the palace originally built by Para-

For a

full

its

krama (and

by Nissanka), we are
had seven storeys and one thousand
chambers supported by many hundreds of beautitold that

it

We

ful pillars.

seriously.

possibly altered

need not take these figures too

Number as well as size denoted grandeur

and the " thousand " is

obviously merely a symbol to denote a vast
number. The palace was surmounted by pinnacles,
and its gates and doors and windows were made of
In the king's bedroom there was always a
gold.
perfume of flowers, and this hardy warrior went to
bed by the light of golden lamps from which were
to the Cingalese mind,

suspended strings of

pearls.
It is difficult to recall the

mind from the contemplation of so much luxury and splendour to

the scarred ruin standing in the citadel. But
though

all

the brick,

trace of decoration has vanished from

we can still see something of a con-

temporary artist's work not far away. By going

forward a little we catch sight of a perfect gem of
a

little

east

of

Council Chamber or pavilion, lying to the

the palace.
I prefer to call this the

POLONNARUWA

202

"

Elephant Pavilion,"

for its wonderfully life-like

elephants in panels are the feature that remains

The pavilion rises in three stages,
in the mind.
or platforms, each a little smaller than the one
below. The sides of these are broken into panels
and carved. The lowest with the largest panels
is devoted to elephants, the next above shows conventional lions with upraised paw, and the one
above that merry little dwarfs. There is a moonstone at the remaining entrance
lions rest at the
head of the steps, and the pillars on the platform
are richly carved, not alone as to capitals but on
the sides. At a little distance the whole looks as
;

if

cut in a peculiarly soft yellow sandstone, but

it

is all of granite, which, owing to the red quality

of the surrounding soil, tends to weather to this

unlikely hue.
It is to the elephants we return after looking
at the rest. They are all about the height of
a man's knee, and are designed by a master
mind. They are still or slowly moving or gallop-

and each single one is a perfect model

of his action. Trunks and tails express that action
as well as the body and legs. The man who did
them had studied elephants in every pose and
The building was excagloried in his details.
vated in 1905, and is, on a much smaller scale,
after the pattern of the Council Chamber on the
ing forward,

promontory. A path to the south-east of this

pavilion winds through a hedge, once the boundary
wall of the citadel on this side

it

passes through a

probably representing an ancient postern gate,

and drops to a sunken paved space outside. This

hole,
is

the

Kumara Pokuna,

or Prince's Bathing-place,

THE CITADEL
with a small vihara beside it.
conveyed into the bath through
crocodiles, fashioned as spouts,
remains. Three lions, modelled
position, standing on their hind

203

The water was

the mouths of

which one
an upright
legs, lie on the
spaces on the tops of
of

in

The flat
show that they once supported somewhat was it ? Possibly the round stool or

ground neglected.
their heads

thing

now lies beside them. This

has been referred to as the pedestal of a statue if
so, it seems strangely out of place here. Is it not
possible to picture instead the prince of the time
seated on it, while his attendants poured water
over him, after the Ceylon fashion of bathing to
seat of stone which

this

day

The

shrine close to the bath displays no feature

of special interest.

The path leading onward to the rest of the Polonnaruwa ruins goes northward between the Palace
and the Elephant Pavilion. It is one of the neat
well-cut paths

made by the Survey

for the use of

The undergrowth has all been cleared

out on each side, leaving visible the stems of the
larger trees, from the branches of which come the
visitors.

songs of innumerable birds. The ceaseless shrilling of crickets is an undercurrent of sound always
present in this Eastern world, and it so repeats
itself in the ear that the silence of northern lands
at first strikes one as unpleasantly still.

At a

little

distance the trees resemble

many

which we are familiar in England

there is the Ceylon oak, with its tufts of red leaves,
These sprays
closely resembling an English oak.
of those with

of

young growth are very noticeable in this country

204

POLONNARUWA

where nature ceaselessly renews her efforts. There

is another tree remarkably like an ash with pinnate
leaves, the fashion of which is very common with
trees in Ceylon, and there are many dark glossy,
thick-leaved species. In Parakrama's park were
planted
jasmine,

coconut, mango,
plantain,

and

jak,

many

areca,

palmyra,

another,

whose

descendants flourish still in the same neighbourhood.

Beneath the trees the ground is covered with the
feathery leaf of a little plant like our wood anemone, and here and there appears the familiar
twinkle of a mauve periwinkle, and so we pass
to the limits of the citadel-enclosure on the north.

CHAPTER XV
A NECKLET OF ARCHITECTURE

ON

emerging from the citadel boundary the

splendid group of buildings which lies in the very
heart of the city is seen ahead, standing up on a
raised platform, but before reaching any of them
attention

is

arrested

by a comparatively humble

temple, in Hindu style, of one storey only.

This is so satisfactory to the eye in its proportions

little

and general outlines that it seems natural to sit

down and study it carefully. Popularly known
as the Dalada Maligawa, the Tooth Temple, this
little

gem

of architecture is officially called Siva

DevaU, No. i, being undoubtedly Hindu in its

origin, though it may possibly for a while have
Devote
given shelter to the much-revered Tooth.
means a temple in which devils or demons are
worshipped.

At Polonnaruwa the constantly growing ascendancy of the Hindu religion over the purer Buddhist
belief is noticeable everywhere.
As the swarms
of invaders from South India grew greater, and
as each receding tide left behind individuals
settled down and brought their own beliefs

who

and
habits to influence the dwellers in the land, Buddhism lost some of its distinctive peculiarities and
205

POLONNARUWA

206

the gods of the Hindus were more and more worshipped in its temples.
"

The

architecture of this

handsome ruin

markedly Dravidian (Southern Indian)

is

not a finer

exists in Ceylon.
did a shrine so manifestly self-declared
a temple of uncompromising Hindu design and
worship that moreover of its most antagonistic

example
"

How

cult

Saivism

ever acquire

Dalada Maligawa ?
"
Can the demit

the

appellation

of

have been for a season

allowed to receive and shelter the sacred tooth
pending its permanent lodgment in a Buddhist
shrine worthy of its sanctity ? If so the hypothesis is just possible, but assuredly not more
the tradition may have clung to the structure and
been handed on down to the present day unAnd at that we may leave it."
questioned.
.

(1907 Report.)

There is a strong barbed- wire fence around the

this is to keep
area in which the temple stands
who
of
the
have done as
wild
beasts
out the
forest,
much damage to some of these beautiful shrines
;

as ever the rank growth of vegetation has. The

precaution is not unnecessary even now, though the
increased number of visitors is driving the wild
things ever further and further afield.

When Major

Forbes visited
that
he
discovered
1828,
"

Polonnaruwa in

bears in numbers find shelter amongst these

and this sanctuary [Siva Devale] had only
been vacated by some of them on hearing the noise
The guides, although armed with
of our approach.

ruins,

A NECKLET OF ARCHITECTURE

207

advanced to the entrance often looked

uneasily around, and requested that our guns
might be kept in readiness. Before entering the
building, the guide, standing on one side of the
doorway, put forward his head and gave a loud
call
after a sufficient pause to admit of any
brother bruin, who might be within, to answer
the summons, or appear in person, we were permitted to enter."
axes, as they

The

style of the temple can better be gathered

illustration (p. 192) than from any de-

from the

The innermost

scription.

shrine

is

roofed,

and the

carved capitals of the pillars in the outer one are

worth noting.
On the exterior south wall is a
tiny panel showing a learned guru, or teacher,
distinguished by his high cap, seated in conference
with a pupil.
At this temple in 1907 some bronze images of
great beauty were unearthed the finest is of Siva
"
as the
Cosmic dancer " dancing in a ray of fire.
This is about three feet high and of most beautiful
it can be seen, with the rest, in
workmanship
the Colombo museum. It is the opinion of an
expert, Mr. Ananda Coomaraswamy, D.Sc., that
these bronzes may have been cast in Ceylon, but
belong to the South Indian school.
Reluctantly leaving behind this singularly
;

attractive little temple we pass on to a group of

buildings so original, differing so much from one

another, and showing so much imagination in

design, that it is safe to say there is nothing like

them elsewhere in the world.

The wall which upholds and bounds the
1

Description of the Bronzes of Ceylon.

plat-

POLONNARUWA

208

form on which they stand has been repaired we

mount it by a flight of steps, near a deep well.
High above rises the magnificent temple Thupa;

rama, of the twelfth century, completely Hindu

in design.
This, before it was taken in hand by
the Survey authorities, was in a lamentable state,
and it was doubtful whether it could be saved
but difficulties have been overcome, and it now
stands proudly, with vaulted roof, tower, and walls
;

For Hindu architecture it is singularly simple, and lacks the superfluity of ornament
which so often spoils such work. In this the
Buddhist influence may be traced. The exterior
is decorated by pilasters forming panels in which
are raised in relief models of Hindu temple
entrances
these, with plain mouldings and a
string course and lion frieze, are almost all the
ornament. The walls are of immense thickness,
and on going inside the comparative smallness of

complete.

the interior

is

instantly

noticed.

The outer

from it an interior stairway

to
the
ascends
parapet and the roof of the inner
shrine.
In this shrine are several images of
Buddha. There is very little to note, and perhaps
the greatest interest lies in the superb view from
the summit, whence can be seen the rest of the

chamber

is

roofless

buildings in this strange group, including that

unique monument the Wata-dage.
"
Circular Relic-house," and
This name means
is
that
this was the real Dalada
it
quite probable

Maligawa
"

built

by Parakrama the Great

A round temple of the

of stone

tooth-relic, built

and adorned with beautiful

wholly

pillars, stair-

SAT-MAHAI.-PRASADA.

p.

212

JETAWANARAMA TEMPLE.

p.

219

THE WATA-DAG&
cases, walls, and such-like, and
figures of the lion, the Kumara

209

ornamented with
(horse-man-demi-

and the Hansa (goose), and covered with

many terraces and surrounded by divers kinds of

god),

lattice

The

work."

formed by successive terraces, or

platforms, circular, one rising from the other.
The first and outer wall is about shoulder-high,
with a plain coping and only one entrance on
the north. A wide terrace, or platform, is left
between it and the next circular wall, which is
most highly decorated. It has four entrances
at the cardinal points, with guard-stones, moonstones, makara-scroll, and decorated risers of the
stairs, but all differing from one another in detail.
Of the beauty of some of this work it is impossible
to speak too highly.
The entrance on the east is
perhaps the finest. The wall running between
these entrances is in four courses and highly
carved with lions and dwarfs. The top course is
building

is

divided into panels with a unique design of floral

This pattern at two of the entrances is
pattern.
"
latticepierced here without doubt we have the
"
work
of the Mahawansa.
At each end of the
panels rise graceful pillars with carved capitals.
Inside these, and separated from them by a short
interval, is the last wall, which is of red brick
and rises to a considerable height. The entrances
pass through it, and reveal the platform within,
where there was once a central dagaba, now a
Around it, with their faces to
shapeless heap.
the entrances, are four seated Buddhas, three
complete and one broken. The difficulty of
;

15

POLONNARUWA

210

monument to something
can
like its pristine beauty
hardly be understood
have
not
at
least pictures of it as
those
who
seen
by
it was, with the stones scattered and split asunder
by trees, the images broken and buried beneath
debris, the columns and their capitals disintegrated
and far apart. The work done in this and other

restoring this wonderful

by the Archaeological Survey at Polonworthy of all praise. It is real restoraneeding infinite care and patience, and the

instances

naruwa
tion,

is

complete subordination of preconceived ideas.

The Wata-dage is carried out in granite with
the exception of the inner brick wall and dagaba.
No conception of the colouring can be formed
seen.
The granite, here as elsewhere in
weathered
in places to a rich yellow,
has
Ceylon,
while the handsomely carved dragon-entrances
retain much of their cold grey-green inside rises
the dull red of the weathered brick.
A similar building, still in utter ruin, can be
seen near to the northern limits of the city (see
p. 233), and there is another at Medigiriya, twenty
until

it is

"

circular-relicPerhaps these
away.
"
were a conception emanating from the
houses

miles

mind of Parakrama Bahu himself.

A word now as to the moonstones of Polonnaruwa. The peculiarly beautiful specimen on the
north side of the platform may well serve as the
It will be seen to have first, outside, a ring
text.
of floral design, then a row of small sacred geese,
next a most spirited row of elephants following
each other trunk to tail. These again are succeeded by a semi-circle of galloping horses with
tasselled

collars

and unduly depressed

bodies.

A NECKLET OF ARCHITECTURE

211

rest on a further scroll, this time very broad,

which encloses the lotus centre. Thus the details
differ very considerably from the fashion at Anuradhapura. The rings of animals are of one sort only,
and bulls or lions do not appear. Perhaps the
Anuradhapura style was considered out of date, or
the meaning of the mystic combination of the four
animals had been lost whatever the reason, it is
strange to find that the moonstones at Polonnaruwa conform in broad lines always to these new
rules.
The animals are not mixed in kind, and

They

though the relative positions of the semi-circles

of elephants and horses may be reversed with one
exception, it is they and not the lions and bulls
that appear.
Yet the peculiarly grotesque type
of lion, beloved by the Cingalese, appears abundantly at Polonnaruwa on balustrades and friezes,
which shows it was not because of his abnormality
he had been abandoned!
;

Just to the north of the Wata-dage is the Ata"

House of Eight Relics," which is
(or Hata-) dage,
much in ruin, with a broken figure of Buddha at
the north end of the central aisle and a bit of
frieze showing dancing girls at both the exterior
ends of the south wall.
Lying to the east of this is a massive block of
stone which cannot be passed by. This is the
It is in the shape of a
Gal-pota, or Stone Book.
or
book
such as the priests
gigantic ola,
palm-leaf
use.
But its dimensions are extraordinary, for it
measures nearly 27 feet in length, by 4 feet 7 inches
in breath, and it varies in width from i foot
It carries an inscrip4 inches to 2 feet 2 inches.
1

Fine Art in Ceylon by V. A. Smith.

,

POLONNARUWA

212

King Nissanka Malla (1198), recording his

and good deeds and general pre-eminence.
At each end is a small relief showing Sri (the
goddess of good fortune) and two elephants. On
tion of

virtues

itself we are told that this mighty block,

which weighs at least twenty-five tons, was brought
from Mihintale, about sixty miles. When the
difficulty of transporting the stone lion from the

the stone

Council Chamber in modern times is considered,

the magnitude of the feat is apparent.
The inscriptions of Nissanka Malla are to be
found everywhere at Polonnaruwa. If they are
to be believed, this king alone was responsible
for every bit of architecture now remaining, but
it is much more probable that he, coming to the
throne after the great buildings of the mighty

Parakrama had partly fallen or been ill-treated

and devastated, rebuilt or restored many of them
and vaingloriously recorded them as his own
achievements. He may even in some instances
have claimed what already stood intact even so
did the kings of Egypt efface with their own
cartouches those of their predecessors whenever
they could safely do so.
;

On

the other side of the Gal-pota

is

one of the

At
standing.
six storeys high, but was once seven,

most curious buildings

still

left

present it is
It reas the name Sat-mahal-prasada signifies.
sembles nothing so much as a child's house of
bricks, with each ascending storey less in area
than that below. What use it can have been
remains a mystery, for though it looks fairly
spacious outside, it is almost completely filled up
the passage which seems to run round it

inside

THE FLORAL HALL

213

being stopped up with masonry. It seems that it

could only have been habited by snakes, and as
I peered into one of the entrances, the very first
object I saw was a cast snake skin, giving form
The outside staircase rose
to the vague idea.
only to the first storey. The style is Kambodian,
and it shows a marked resemblance to some of
the temples of Kambodia.
It has also been
"
compared with the
seven-storeyed temples of
*

Assyria."

The

originator

one
may have been
"

Parakrama, spoken of as

of

of the queens
Chandra vati," who

also built the Potgul vehera (see p. 242), as

an

inscription there relates.

Passing back again between the Wata-dag6 and

Ata-dage, note beyond the latter the ruined building with a gracefully carved column still standing.
This is a good example of a very popular design.
A gana, or dwarf, supports a full round pot from
which springs a creeper, flowing alternately to
right and left to the limits of the stone, so as to
form with its stalk great semi-circles enclosing
foliage.

Then we
this

see perhaps the finest of all the gems in

mysterious necklet of architecture which

decorates the terrace. This is the Nissanka-lata"

Kail of the
mandapaya, the Floral Altar or
Flower-Trail."
A space of some 34 feet by 28
feet is enclosed by an artistically designed post
and rail fence of stone. But this is no sample of
"
"
a
Buddhist
railing, for it lacks the essential
of
that
points
style. It runs round a stone platform
1

History of Indian Architecture,

gess.

(Murray, 1910 edition.)

by

J.

Fergusson and

J.

Bur-

214

POLONNARUWA

from which rise most curiously designed pillars.

In the centre of the platform or altar slab is
a small dagaba. The outer railing is entered by
a porch with stone posts and roof-slab. Words
fail altogether to give an idea of the daintiness and
originality of the details which mark this architectural monument.
The idea of the lotus flower
runs through it all. The cone-shaped heads of the
posts are the exact shape of those unopened buds,
which, to this day, are offered for sale in piles
outside every shrine. The head of each pillar

standing on the inner platform originally showed

carving representing an opening lotus. Some of
these still remain.
It may be remarked as
strange that countries so widely different in
climate and conditions as Ceylon and Egypt, the
one so richly moist and the other so curiously
dry, each relied so much on the same flower,
the lotus, for their conventional ornament in
architecture (see p. 224).
Here we may trace the lotus everywhere, in
copings, on the heart of moonstones, on pillars and

In Egypt more than half the capitals

panels.
of the mighty columns show symbolic representations of this flower.
It seems possible that the vainglorious Nissanka
was really the originator of this famous altar with
which his name is for ever associated, for inscriptions on the coping and pillar fragments

definitely proclaim it to be so.

The resetting of the posts and pillars, the refitting of the broken fragments so as once again to

reveal this flower -shrine as it was, has been a

labour requiring infinite patience, but the result

A NECKLET OF ARCHITECTURE
is

well worth

it.

It is safe to say that

even

215
if all

other of the Polonnaruwa monuments eventually

fade from the memory of those who have seen
them, the Floral Altar and Wata-dage can never

be forgotten.

CHAPTER XVI
i

SACRED SHRINES

To

continue from the

Thuparama group

to the

buildings lying further northward at Polonnaruwa

involves a certain amount of walking. Before we

pass outside the city limits there are various

scattered objects worth seeing. The path made

due north from

the Sat-mahal-prasada, and from it on the right
at intervals run several other small paths. One
of these leads to a ruined dagaba
Pabulu Vehera,
the third in size at Polonnaruwa. North-east of
it another Hindu temple, Siva Devatt, No. 2,
on the same model as No. i. By good judges it
is considered an even more perfect specimen
of the type.
In 1909 the roofless vestibule was
rebuilt and the dome reset.
Few go out of their
to
find
and
what
it,
way
chiefly impressed me was

by the Survey

authorities runs

spider's web, like a

the mud nest of a bird
under the eaves was within reach even of a boy's
hand and the slough of a snake lay on the thres-

its air of

utter solitude.

cable, barred the entrance

hold.

The track

leading back from it into the main

path runs parallel with the city wall, through a
gap in which once the north gate we pass.
216

SACRED SHRINES
In section here the thickness of the ancient
oft-times so hotly defended, can be seen.

217
wall,

a comparatively long interval

devoid of important ruins, where the smaller
growth of wood is still uncleared and huge creepers,
like great hawsers, twisted and looped and coiled,
In among them are grey
link the trees together.
this
and
that, the same colour
way
pillars, leaning
as the trunks of the trees, and hardly to be distinguished from them. Monkeys abound, both
the large grey-faced wanderoo and the pert little
rilawa peering and peeping and vanishing like
After this there

is

shadows at every step. Leopards are sometimes

seen sitting for a second to view the intruder and
then stealthily departing
porcupines abound,
their quills can be picked up frequently, but being
night feeders they are very rarely apparent.
the larger sorts,
Snakes are not very frequent
such as cobras and pythons, are met with in the
outer jungle, but have withdrawn before the
presence of man. Hares occasionally dash across
the path, and deer may venture as near to the
arch-enemy as this, but mostly they are not to be
met with for some miles further on.
At last we break out into the open and see to
the left the first of the two great dagabas of Polonnaruwa. This is Rankot dagaba, and it appears
small after the larger specimens at Anuradhapura,
though actually ranks not behind, but amongst
them, being fourth in size of those that are known,
;

coming after Abhayagiri, Jetawanarama,and RuanAnother name for it

weli, but before Mirisaweti.
"
"
was Ruanwelle-saye, the Place of Golden Dust
(Tennent), which links it up as identical with

POLONNARUWA

218

Ruanweli.

It

was

by Parakrama's second
It is men(see p. 243).

built

queen between 1154-86

"

"

because it
the great golden stupa
was topped by a golden " umbrella." The circumference at the base is 555 feet
the original
height was 180 feet. In 1885 the first effort was
made to clear out the trees which were tearing to
pieces the brickwork, and in 1905-6 the effort
tioned as

was repeated and carried further. The work of

eradication proved very heavy, and was attended
with no little risk. Some of the roots were as
thick as a man's thigh, while the high walls of
brickwork outlining some of the shrines or chapels
were too insecure to permit of strong blows with
full-sized axes.

The pinnacle on

its

square base

at the top has been preserved, and shows up

above the jungle from miles off, appearing from
the far end of the great tank in surprising fashion.

Vegetation has now once again clothed the

dagaba, but will not be allowed to attain dangerous dimensions.
To the north lies an immense field or open space
showing the former extent of the attached monastery, and at the end towers the imposing mass of
the ruined temple of Jetawanarama. The princi"
House of the
pal ruin, Baddha-sima-prasada, the
Elder," is a fine building with four stair-entrances
furnished with moonstones, the design of which
runs mainly on the same lines as that described
at the Wata-dage
but there is an exception,
for on that at the southern entrance is an addi;

belt,
representing lions, which appears
within the line of geese, or hansas. This seems
to be the only exception to the recognised fashion

tional

JETAWANARAMA

219

The

building itself rose from a

basement of unusual size, and the outer walls were

in Polonnaruwa.

pierced by lancet-shaped windows.

remaining are plain. The interior

The
walls

pillars

show

been coloured in panels. At the

north-east corner of the terrace were three splendid
wells, or cisterns, affording a capital water storage.
signs of having

"

He [Parakrama Bahu] caused a stately house

of three storeys to be built for the Elder there, with
halls of exceeding great beauty and many rooms
of great splendour, and adorned with a roof of
pinnacles."

Even

in its ruin

it still

retains the quality of

The imposing red mass of Jetawanastateliness.

rama overlooks this great space of ruins which
suggests a battlefield. The temple is 170 feet long,
and, seen from the east, where the whole length of
the aisle, up to the stupendous headless figure of

Buddha at the end, can be seen in a vista, it suggests

one of the venerable roofless abbeys of England.
Jetawanarama seems to have been a generic

name for monasteries, and it is odd that it should

here and there, as in this case and at Anuradhapura, have become attached to one particular
An inscription on a slab at the front
building.
"
entrance calls it
Lanka-tilaka," which brings
to memory the lines in the Mahawansa:
"He
[Parakrama] made there the standing image of
of the full size, which was delightsome

Buddha

to behold,

and called

it

Lanka-tilaka."

The Mahawansa also records: "_He

built the great

vihara called Jetavana as if he displayed before
men's eyes the magnificence of Jetavana [Buddha's

220

POLONNARUWA
The temple was thoroughly
by Wijaya Bahu IV (A.D. 1275). It is

chief residence]."

restored

supposed to have been built originally on the

model of that designed by Buddha himself at
Kapilavastu, hence the reference above. The
main entrance is reached by broad sets of steps,
of three each, separated from each other by an
intervening space. Each set has its own guardian
The risers of the steps are carved with
stones.
ganas, but the guard-stones themselves show
warders with only seven hoods, which seem to
have been the height of fashion here, while at
Anuradhapura nothing short of a nine-hooded
guardian would be considered dignified in so
important a position.

Peculiarly interesting are

the outer faces of the balustrades, with the huge
form of the grotesque lion and the figure of a
guard beside him (see p. 224).
When this important ruin was first tackled by
the Survey authorities it was in a terrible state,
and the interior was filled almost to the tops of
the walls with the rubbish which had fallen and
the vegetation which had sprung from it. Small
wonder that the harassed commissioner in his
"
"
the debris seems illimitable
diary records
The mighty statue of Buddha which occupies
the west wall of the shrine, including its pedestal,
once reached 44 feet 10 inches, being thereby the
!

It is now headless,
tallest statue in Ceylon.
the illustrations in Major Forbes' s book (1828)

but

and
Sir E. J. Tennent's Ceylon (1860) show a head
and face. The feet and ankles were also broken,
but have been repaired. The tall octagonal
towers which flank the entrance are imposing

SACRED SHRINES
even in their

ruin.

On

the southern one

to be seen a vivacious figure in

larger than

221

relief,

is still

considerably

life.

Of the three similar temples at Polonnaruwa,

Thuparama, and Demala, this is the largest.
Just opposite the entrance is a particularly
attractive little pavilion, or Mandapaya, in the
shape of a raised platform adorned with many
"
It stands for one of the most perfect
pillars.
of
pieces
open lithic structure, extant in Ceylon,
so far as regards moulded stereobate and surface-

carved columns."

North

Jetawanarama and close to it is Kiri

dagaba, the sister dagaba to Rankot, though
of

much smaller, indeed about half the size in circumference. Kiri means milk-white and the name
was given because at one time the whole surface
was covered with chunam, which gleamed like
marble. Kiri dagaba follows the same lines as
Rankot, having altars at the four cardinal points
and being surmounted by the same kind of superstructure, though in this case the pinnacle is
truncated, being broken at the top. A path
trending north and a little west from Kiri dagaba
leads to one of the most remarkable sights in
Polonnaruwa. This is the Gal-vihara, with its
rock-cut statues, famous throughout the Buddhist
world.
"

This rock-hewn shrine, strictly, Kalugal Vi~

hara or the Black Rock (granite) temple, stands
unrivalled as in its special features the most impressive antiquity par excellence to be seen in the
island of Ceylon, and possibly not rivalled throughout the continent of India."
(1907 Report.)

POLONNARUWA

222

We come

suddenly out in full face of these dark

silent figures, so still and yet so strong in their
forceful impression, that they tend to startle by
the repressed vitality they contain. A gently
sloping bulge or outcrop of rock, similar to that
from which they are hewn, rises opposite to
them mounting this we have an extended view.
There is the colossal figure of Buddha himself,
lying prone, the smaller but upright figure of
;

his disciple at his head, and further to

the left, beneath the overhanging roof of its rockcut shrine, the seated figure of Buddha on a
pedestal or throne. It is the two first that compel
attention and impress no less by their solemnity

Ananda

size.
The prostrate Buddha measures
over 44 feet. This is large for Ceylon, but a mere
nothing compared with the gigantic figures of
Burma, the largest of which attain to over 100 feet.
The wonder is rather why the Cingalese should
have so rarely made a statue of Buddha in this
attitude, and have contented themselves within
such narrow limits. Possibly questions of cost

than their

had something
Sir

to do with

George Scott says

it.

l
:

"

The popular division of the gautamas is into

the classes of standing, sitting and lying. This is
somewhat crude, but it is perpetuated by a
curious notion that though a man may present
all three kinds of images, he must do so in a
the standing first, then the sitting
special order
and last the lying down."
;

His remarks of course refer to the custom in

1

The Burntan

millan, 1896.)

His Life and Notions, by Shway Yoc.

(Mac-

GAL-VIHARA

223

Burma, but the Buddhism of Ceylon is the Buddhism of Burma with small local differences. Like
the prone statues, this one represents Buddha
when he had attained Nirvana, and it follows the
conventional rules for such work. Buddha lies

all

on

his right side,

cushion, and rests

arm

and his head is raised on a

on the right hand. The left

extended full length along the top of the

body. The countenance is calm but inexpressive.
The Nirvana of the Buddhists can be expressed
in words with difficulty it seems to have been
nothing else but a final loss of individuality, which,
as has been already stated, was, in Gautama's
is

He himself
vision, the origin and source of pain.
"
had actually attained Nirvana " when he received
the vision, but preferred to remain on earth to
pass on the revelation to those who would hear.
The favourite simile of this state is the slipping
back of the drop of water into the ocean from which
it came, for though Buddhists deny a soul, Nirvana
not death. Their belief is so much mingled
with other creeds, and contained even from its
foundation so much which belonged originally to
Hinduism, that it need scarcely surprise us to find
that with this grand, if somewhat cold, view of
the final goal, most Buddhists cherish also ideas

is

of

heaven and

and

hell,

and countless Buddhist boys

stand pierced with a kind of delightbeneath the extraordinarily gruesome

"
and materialistic paintings of
tortures of the
damned " in the verandah at Kandy temple. We
have seen too that the Buddhist cosmogony
allows for heavens and hells in any number that
might be wanted (see p. 121).
girls
ful horror

POLONNARUWA

24

Yet standing here in front

of this calm,

still

figure these notions slip away and the pure idea

of a dreamless sleep is perforce predominant in
recall Ananda's
the mind of the gazer.

We

"

anguished cry

The Lord

is

dead

"

and the

reassurance of another disciple standing by

"
He is not dead, he has reached the stage of
complete unconsciousness."
Separated from the Buddha by only a few
feet, reared against the rock from which he was
hewn, is the beloved disciple Ananda, who was to
the master what St. John was to our Saviour.
In the seventy-eighth chapter of the Mahawansa
we read that Parakrama " caused cunning workmen to make three caves in the rock namely, the
cave of the spirits of knowledge, the cave of the
sitting image, and the cave of the sleeping image,"
but no mention is made of the upright statue,
:

which was, when first rediscovered, supposed to

be that of Buddha himself. The lying Buddha
"
is certainly not in a
cave," but the pillars still
he
show
that
and Ananda were both
standing
once enclosed in shrines, and they were covered
with gaudy paint in the same manner as other
cave-images. Greatly do they gain by having had
the meaningless partition which once separated
them broken down, and by being exposed to the
free canopy of heaven, and still more by being
left

The

in all the dignity of the bare stone.

massive figures explain themselves. Ananda, who

stands twenty-three feet high, is in an attitude of
profound sorrow. His woebegone face, stained and
streaked as it is by the monsoon rains, expresses this
as clearly as cunning craftsmanship can do it the
;

A BALUSTRADE AT POLONNARUWA.

THE FLORAL ALTAR.

p.

230

p. 2I 4

GAL-VIHARA

225

drawn with grief, and the eyes half

The crossed arms denote the deferential
closed.
attitude of a disciple, and the figure, a little
" hunched " or
swung to one side, with the left
features are

shoulder higher than the other, speaks dejection

Human emotion of a poignant

in every line.

kind has been wrought into stone.

Lieut. Fagan, the first European who rediscovered these ruins, burst through the jungle in
1820, and with a shock found this upstanding
colossal figure regarding him from the surrounding
"
I cannot describe what I felt at the
foliage.
moment," he wrote afterwards.
Not less impressive was the sight to me when,
breaking out into the open in the dewy morning, nearly one hundred years later, I first saw the
fashioned stone full of tense suggestiveness. A
low wave of sound greeted my ears, rising and
falling like a litany, and drawing near I saw a row
of white-clad figures ranged in line before the
At
prostrate image, chanting their invocations.

the head of the line was a handsome grey-bearded

man swinging a brass pot, next to him his son, a
fine stripling, and then came the women-folk,
a singularly good-looking, middle-aged woman, a

wizen shaven-headed nun, and two little girls

about eight and nine with long black tresses

of

flowing loose down their backs. The patriarch

from time to time advanced a few steps, and with
a dexterous swing of his lota, or brass pot, poured
water in a stream over the head and face of

Buddha.

That Ananda's

feet

had been

similarly

anointed the wet stains showed.

For untold
the
carved
stone
resisted
the
has
generations
16

POLONNARUWA

226

sluicing of the monsoon rains, and the oblation

can in no way injure it. In low tones, so as not to

disturb the religious ceremony, my guide, himself

a Buddhist, explained that these people were
pilgrims they lived in Colombo, and had gone by
rail to Anuradhapura, and thence walked the
sixty-five miles in order to visit the sacred shrines
of Polonnaruwa.
They will not travel in a bulit
would
be loss of merit so to use
for
lock-cart,
animal labour
they had even refused his own
offer to send their bundles back by cart ; they
would spare themselves no whit of the toil. The
Gal Vihara is frequently visited by such pilgrims,
but the majority come in April or May, and many
wealthy people use their own cars, thus solving
the problem of transit to the satisfaction of their
;

consciences.

This family used no such subterfuges. As

they turned away, having completed their service,
I met them, and was struck by the dignified bearing and fine face of the leader, who might have
stood for the reincarnation of some Druid priest.
Having made their simple breakfast in the cave
shrine, they passed on to other sacred places in
the city, and slept that night in the open, by which
"

merit," for
they must have acquired abundant
the weather was uncertain, and it rained all night.
Yet when I saw them again next morning, as they
were just starting on their sixty-five-mile walk,
they were as clean and neat as on the preceding

day.
figure of Ananda and the cavea large sloping piece of rock, smoothed
and inscribed in order that the duties of monks

Between the

shrine

is

GAL-VIHARA

227

and the rules prescribed for their conduct might be

The present little cave-shrine is
fully set forth.
a
of
remnant
what once was a large monasonly
tery, the ruins of which may be traced far to the
front.
In the corners of the shrine a little of the

old fresco painting can still be seen preserved by

The central figure is itself enclosed
wire-netting.
"
"
in a sort of
meat-safe
of similar netting to save
it from the well-meant but destructive attentions
of pilgrims, who like to attach their little wax
candles to it by their own grease. Something of
"
"
the
meat-safe
resemblance must have been on
the mind of the American visitor, who observed
on seeing it, "I've read a good deal about the

your mosquitoes in this country, but

imagined. If you have to protect
stone
your
images against them with wire curtains,
"
they must be the very dickens
The Buddha is backed and surrounded by

fierceness of

that beats

all I

carvings of figures of singular richness, and it is

not difficult to believe this was intended to repre"
sent
the cave of the spirits of knowledge." The
further sedent Buddha on the rock westward does
not usually impress visitors as being very interesting, but it is well worth while to examine the carving around it. It rests in a recess of the rock from
which it has been cut, so that the rock-face projects
like a screen on each side, somewhat after the
manner of the rock-cut figures at Abu-Simbel,
Egypt, though of course on a tiny scale in com-

The Egyptians allowed their grand

parison.
to
face full daylight, open to the infinite
figures
of
heaven, while these figures of Ceylon,
canopy

now uncovered, were once shut

in

by

shrines,

228

POLONNARUWA

which must have much detracted from their dignity.

is in the style common in Ceylon, with
the hands within one another on the lap, palms
upward. The throne, or pedestal, is carved. The

The image

figure itself is about fifteen feet high, and the

features are rather unlike most of the Buddha

images in expression, being more harsh and severe

than those usually represented.

CHAPTER XVII
A FLOWER IN STONE
IT was only a comparatively few years ago that
a member of the Archaeological Society, working
in the jungle, came upon a number of curved
hewn stones. Investigation showed others buried

and debris, and when they were uncovered

the most curious and perfect bath was revealed.
It was formed of rings of curved stone, one within

in soil

the other, descending to the bath in the centre.

Among the meritorious works of Parakrama the

Great it is mentioned in the Mahawansa that

"
he made many baths for the monks so that they
might bathe themselves freely in water during the
time of great drought." Among these was the
Lotus Bath. There can be little doubt that this
"
lotusnewly discovered specimen was of the
"
bath
pattern, and once more the truth and

accuracy of the chronicles was proved. It is not

easy to get at this curious architectural feat, for it
lies in the jungle four miles from the rest-house,
and eight miles' walking is not to be lightly undertaken in that climate. Moreover, the greater part
of the way is over paths, or tracks, not easy to find,
and not even a bullock-cart is procurable in this
back-of-beyond.
I

had determined not

229

to leave

Polonnaruwa

A FLOWER IN STONE

230

without seeing the Lotus Bath, and if possible

getting a photograph of it, for it is hardly ever
seen reproduced. Luck was against me. The
October monsoon had not fulfilled expectations,
and at the break of the year was making up for
Persistent importunity procured a walking
bullock-cart from somewhere, and it was to be

it.

ready at 6 a.m. on the last morning of my stay.

All that night the rain came down in waterspouts,
nor did it cease with daylight it poured down in
solid chunks till midday. Then it paused sullenly,
as if ready to start again at any moment, and
though midday is not the hour one would select
for an expedition in Ceylon, I determined to seize
the chance, as the greyness of the day made it
;

feasible.

The

carts of Ceylon are on a different model

those of India. The palm-leaf thatch,

from
which covers the tilt, extends outwards at an
angle back and front, so as to form a very effective
screen over the driver's head and the interior of
the cart.

It renders it impossible,

however, for
any one sitting inside to see any view except
A mattress
directly backwards and forwards.
had been put in the floor of the cart for my accom-

modation, and on this I reclined as gracefully as

circumstances permitted. It seemed to me the
bullock required more physical energy on the part
of the driver to make it move at all than would
have sufficed to pull the cart.
We soon left the road and followed a path
where the low boughs swept across the palm-leaf
tilt with a noise
like thunder, making speech
impossible.

THE LOTUS BATH

231

The native

tracker stalked ahead, a magnificent

figure of a man, with fine carriage and alert head,
and bare brown shoulders gleaming with moisture.

To complete the weird unreality of the whole thing

he carried a gun under one arm and an umbrella
under the other
The gun was a necessary pre!

caution, for there are wild elephants in this district

and it might be needful to scare them away.

There were pools of water lying in the squashy

the track, and the knotted roots of the
innumerable species of ficus made humps and
soil of

tendons, that it was a work of difficulty to surmount with the clumsy wheels, and the most reluctant bullock grew even more reluctant as his

home was

left

further behind.

At length he came

to a

dead

stop,

and no

make him alter his mind.

out and walk. The tracker led

persuasion sufficed to

We

had to get
the way, and pointed with pride to the plentiful
signs that a large herd of elephants must have
passed very shortly before. After following the
cut path for some way, he swerved aside on to a
tiny foot-track wavering through the thickly
growing bushes. Boughs switched in my face as
I followed, and large
spiders' webs made themselves felt unpleasantly.
There was something
mysterious in the air, as if we were bound to

preserve complete silence in this descent or suffer

some hideous penalty.

Quite suddenly, lying in a green basin, cut out

of the solid jungle growth, I saw IT
wonder in stone, a flower petrified and pre!

served for immortality

The

rain

had ceased, the sky was

sullen, the

A FLOWER IN STONE

232

shadow

of the surrounding vegetation fell heavily

but at that moment a pale gleam of
;

in the glen

sunlight glanced

upon the stone like a phosand brought out the warmth

phorescent finger,
that lay in those shapely granite blocks. It is a
strange feature of Cingalese stone-work that it
The workmen had some
always seems alive.
curious power of vitalising that which their hands
wrought. In contrast with the awesome but stern
dead temples and statues of Egypt, the temples and
And that
statues of Ceylon seem radiantly alive.

unexpected pencil of light brought out this quality

in the granite flower. The stone-work measures
24 feet 9 inches across the top, and drops to a

depth of 4 feet 6 inches, in diminishing rings, each

forming a step, until it reaches the heart the
bath proper 5 feet 4 inches across. At the
time I saw it this was filled with weed.
In that confined space it is difficult to get a
photograph, and, owing to the dip in the middle
of the bath, one should be above and a little
away from it. The trees around, luckily, afforded
foothold, and by the aid of one of them the desire
of my heart was achieved (see p. 240).
Mr. Bell says
"

The

conception of this beautiful

all
of
worthy
Imagine a gigantic
praise.
lotus-flower of granite, full-blown, 24 feet 9 inches
in diameter, with five concentric lamina of eight
Then
petals, gradually diminishing to a stamen.
decide to reverse nature's order, and instead of a
convex shape depress the petal rings into a conand we have the granite bath as it exists
cavity.
in all its shapeliness to this day."
(i 909 Report.)

bath

artistic

is

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POLONNARUWA
By permission of the
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Survey.

THE LOTUS BATH

233

Personally I cannot see it as a lotus, though no

it is the nearest that could be made to such
"
Tudor
a flower. To me it appears exactly like a
"
rose
in stone.
The Lotus Bath is not at the extreme end of
the discoveries in this direction.
Returning from
the dell where it lies, we penetrated farther northward along the made path. A strong warm smell,
"
wild beast," set us sniffing until
unmistakably
the tiny hoof-marks of some deer showed up in
the soft mud of the footway and explained it.
They had passed that way between our coming
and going, not five minutes' interval.
Soon we came out into a raw new clearing
decorated by stubs of destroyed trees. At the
south end is a circular brick building with trees
clutching at the life of it. This is another Watedage, and is a fine object lesson in the work to
be overcome by the Survey authorities. Not so
very unlike this must the glorious recovered Watedage near Thuparama have looked before restora-

doubt

tion

At the

end of the clearing stands Demalaon the same plan as Jetawanarama and Thuparama. There is something imfar

maha-seya, built

pressive in the fact of these three great temples

standing at equal distances in a north and south
line,

and a study

of their similarities

and

differ-

ences would be instructive.

Demala is larger
than the last named, being more nearly the size of
Jetawanarama, which it resembles also in its
interior arrangements.
The entrance is very
perfect and almost the same in construction.
Inside, at the west end of the shrine, is also a huge

DEMALA MAHA SEYA

234

upright statue of Buddha.

When undamaged this

must have been forty-one feet high. The top of the

head was at some time wantonly broken, the rest
fell in a monsoon rain, and one crystal eye was
found, minus its pupil, in the rubbish below.
But the chief glory of Demala once lay in its fresco
paintings, with which the walls were literally
"
covered.
All else was
by the latest architect
subordinated to providing the fullest wall-space
for the display of paintings intended to cover
every inch of surface, perhaps to the very soffit

In 1885 Mr. Burrows unearthed the vestibule and found some of these
Those farther inside were laid bare in
paintings.
These
1909.
paintings represent stories from the
Jataka tales of the Bodhisavata and legends of
of the vaulted roof."

Buddha's temple in Ceylon

"

was a greater wealth of exquiscenes from the Buddhist legend

painted
sitely
ever presented than at this mediaeval vihare of
Polonnaruwa
here set down in coloured
fresco with a naturalness, spirit and technique
that tell the story with unerring fidelity. There
Never

still left at Demala-maha-seya which

of the best in the cave temples at

are paintings
rival

some
"

Ajanta

(1909 Report.)

The

general tints, as is usual, are orange and

but
here and there these are supplemented by
red,
a pale greenish-blue, which tint is used, as at
Sigiriya, to represent darker people, such as
attendants.

judging from

The

Cingalese,

like

the Burmese,

their paintings, picture themselves

DEMALA MAHA SEYA

as a light-skinned race, though not with so
reason.

Of

all

Buddha

235

much

the stories, that of the hare (the coming

probably most familiar

to Europeans. The hare having nought else to
give to the hungry wayfarer, offered her own body,
and to glorify the feat the figure of the hare " appears in the moon's disc in the sky as a reflected
The repreimage shines in a silver mirror."
sentation of this tale is on the south wall.
A full account of the frescoes, with the stories
they tell, is to be found in the 1909 Report.
This temple is not mentioned in the Mahawansa. Experts think that the original construction may be assigned to Wijaya Bahu I (A.D.
1065), grandfather of Parakrama I, but this is
merely judging from the style of ornamentation
of the outer walls.
These are as rich in ornament
as those of Jetawanarama, and contrast with the
in that form)

is

comparative simplicity of Thuparama. Though

of Hindu design, the temple was Buddhist, as is

shown by the statue and fresco decoration.

Not very far to the south of the Lotus Bath, and
east of the path, is a huge, shapeless mass, once a
this is called to-day Unagala Vehera,
dagaba
but Mr. Bell says that this is the true Demala;

"
the largest dagaba of all,
1,300
cubits round about," a Ceylon builder's cubit
being equal to 2 feet. This dagaba was built by
Parakrama ; the name Damilo corrupted to
Demala embodies the fact that Tamils who had

maha-seya,

been taken prisoners were employed upon

its

construction.

These three great

fanes,

Thuparama, Jetawan-

236

HINDU TEMPLES

arama, and Demala, though Hindu in architecture,

are thus Buddhist shrines, but there are numerous
smaller temples at Polonnaruwa which are Hindu
both in architecture and reality. Of these we
have already seen Siva Deval6 Nos. i and 2.
But away out on a promontory projecting into
Topa Wewa, not far from the main road, are many

more or less in a state of ruin. They lie

between the groups containing Jetawanarama
and Thuparama, and, being so accessible, can be
visited any time.
Some of them are erected to
the honour of Vishnu, and stand side by side with

others,

those to Siva.
A full account of these small
and
the
work
done on them will be found
temples
the
in
1908 Report,

CHAPTER

XVIII

THE BEAUTY OF THE BUND

WHATEVER penalty there may be to suffer in the

way of heat, it is certain that sometimes those
who sit in the rest-house verandah at Polonnaruwa
must condone the sins of the P.W.D., for the
is worth much suffering.
The length of the
silver-blue lake stretches out toward the central
hills, sometimes cobalt in colouring, but in uncertain weather deep indigo and smoke-grey.
On
one side the flat green pastures show up the
feeding herds, and on the other the thick jungle
growth is the home of innumerable happy wild
creatures.
Between the verandah and the water
the ground breaks away sharply, dropping to
broken rocks and a tangle of huge stones and
view

bushes.

The interval is the theatre for a surprising

amount

of

life.

There are small chaffinch-like

birds with crested heads,

who

live in the eaves,

and when they fly expand their tails into white

fans, while an unexpected flash of red springs out
from under their wings. In the fine whip-like
bushes on the very edge of the verandah are tiny
no bigger than wrens, but with fine
heads
and long beaks, so delicately made
pointed
they look as if they would easily slip through a
They are not nearly so large as the
finger-ring.
little birds,

237

238

THE BEAUTY OF THE BUND

great velvet-winged butterflies, black, white, and

red, with huge bodies, which are seen in myriads,
or the

still

larger

and much

less

common

fellow,

pure black and white, with an undulating flight

The long-tailed
easily to be mistaken for a bird.
"
Bird of Paradise," of the terrafly-catcher, or
is fairly common, and his hue is
matched almost exactly in the under-wing of a
grass-green bird about the size of a starling, which
appears in flocks. To relieve the greens and reds
there are numbers of the kingfisher and the

cotta variety,

laughing jackass species, showing marvellous hues

of iridescent blue.
So tiny are some of the kingfishers,

that the sparkling speck of blue appearing

illusion, while others

and disappearing seems an

are large with orange waistcoats. Looking down

sternly on this revel of the fairies may be a hawk
or kite, with sober brown coat and white shirtfront, as rigid as the dead bough on which he sits,

with only his brilliant staring eyes ever turning

like wheels in his motionless head as he glances
this way and that. But these are only a few species
that strike the eye of the least observant ; doubtless many other varieties could be added by any
one accustomed to watch bird-life, and having
some knowledge of the ornithology of Ceylon.
Staring idly at the kaleidoscopic changes of
colour one day, I caught sight of something like
big lizards chasing each other over the bare rocks
near the water, just about the place which the
population of Polonnaruwa chooses for its Sunday
"
"
said an
afternoon ablutions.
Baby crocs
"
The tank swarms with
inhabitant beside me.
the brutes. No, they're not big enough to be really
!

MONKEYS

239

dangerous, but you will notice the natives do

"
their bathing on shore
From the rest-house southward along the bund
of the tank the way leads to the remaining sights
It is a fascinating walk, made
of Polonnaruwa.
joyous by the hum and chatter of the happy wild
things who live by the way. The old circuithouse is passed, covered with a mass of pink
antigonon, showing up against the dark striped
orange and maroon leaves of the crotons, growing
the size of trees beside it. In the narrow track
it is necessary to step carefully in order not to
stumble over the dull-coloured tortoises, as large
as footballs, that are feeding in the grass. Sometimes, but not frequently, a perfect little specimen
of a marked tortoise, his quaint shell a beautiful
!

and

intricate pattern of

gamboge and

sepia,

may

be noticed.

The boughs

ahead are convulsed at our approach, and an avalanche of

monkeys, who have been feeding on the thickly
of the large trees

growing yellow seeds of a large banyan, precipitate

themselves one by one across an aerial gulf,
landing in a mass of swaying twigs. They live
in a Paradise of long, swinging lianas and twisted,
natural ropes and abundant food and good
company, unharmed by man. In some of the far
outlying districts monkeys are eaten still, but
only by people who are very poor. Mr. Perera
reports one of such monkey-eating tribes at
he came
Ataragallewa in a miserable condition
;

them in the course of circuit exploration

"
1912, and describes them as
haggardly-

across
in

looking creatures."

TOPA

240

WEWA

In the days of the city's prime there were

buildings even in the area of Topa Wewa itself.
Some of these have been excavated. One of
them was a dagaba which had been rifled by the
Tamils, who, as usual, had done their work thor-

part of a brick Yantra-gala was discovered; this was one of the twenty-five hole
variety, and some of its compartments contained
antiques in bronze in the form of gods and animals.
Beneath, further investigation revealed a copper
coin (date circ. A.D. 1200) and a few other trifles.
The most important find, however, was a dwarf
obelisk, i foot 8 inches in full height, with seven
It was
projecting horizontal ribs on its sides.
painted in colour, and was surmounted by a small
dagaba of thin beaten gold, made hollow. This
was obviously a relic-casket, for it contained a
There were
gold coin and seventeen gems.
various other small finds, such as bronze gods,
oughly.

cobras, insignia,
of little value.

and

utensils,

but

all intrinsically

Other dagabas and viharas have been excavated

one mound disclosed a
in the bed of the lake
which
may probably have been a royal
building
palace, for it was evident there were several such
;

subsidiary residences, occupied according to the

changes of the seasons.
After about a mile the bund crosses the ancient
spill-water of the lake, which now might almost
be mistaken for natural rock, so broken and

tumbled are the mighty blocks of stone.

A little way further the path bifurcates, the
straight branch going on to the next village, and
that on the left turning away from the lake. A

THE LOTUS BATH.

p.

232

Ceylon Archaeological Survey Photo.

ROCK-CUT FIGURE, POPULARLY CALLED " PARAKRAMA THE GREAT."

"STATUE OF PARAKRAMA"
notice

board announces in Cingalese,

benefit of pilgrims, that this

is

the

241

the
to the

for

way

Potgul Monastery.

Up and down goes the track, giving a glimpse

of lovely glades, before it leads to an open space
with a huge mass of rock on the left. Turning
sharply, we come face to face with a tall and imposing rock-cut statue quite unlike anything else
yet seen. This is commonly called the Statue of

Parakrama, but without reason,

for

though of

his date, obvious evidence proclaims it not to be

a king, but a " holy man." The figure is
feet
6 inches in height, and looks much taller than

as it is cut clear out of the rock-face, with

no roof to dwarf it.
Mr. Bell says

this,

"

Of neither King, nor Buddhist abbot is the

rock-cut figure, the lithic representation. Clearly
it is the presentment in granite, perhaps exactly
twice life-size, of some once famous Hindu guru.
Clad only in a loin cloth and tall head-dress, barebodied, save for the upavita or Brahmin cord,
wearing no ornaments, heavy in build and features,
with beard long and grizzled, the statue possesses
no single trait of that divinity which doth hedge
a King. Moreover the palm-leaf roll of the veda
held in both hands as though being studied, and
the whole appearance and pose of the figure, stamp
it unmistakably as a rock-hewn portrait of a
revered religious teacher from the Indian continent."
He adds in a note " Perhaps the statue
represents that
Kapila the ascetic for whom
:

'

Parakrama Bahu

'

built

an eagle-shaped building

adorned with divers works of art, and ornamented

with peaks and the like." (1906 Report)
17

THE BEAUTY OF THE BUND

242

He

says also

"

As a silhouette the elderly guru is seen not to

hold himself fully erect, and to have developed
the common tendency to obesity due to creeping
A true touch of naturalism is further
old age.
quaintly brought out by the paunch being made
to protrude beyond the tightly tied loin-cloth and
belt."

The curious fez-like cap rises above the rest of

the rock, being cut out of a little boss or hummock
which has been thus utilised. The long drooping
moustache, full lips, and rather heavy dignified
expression give the figure great character. It is
obviously a portrait in stone and not merely a
conventional type. It is human all through.
The statue is not mentioned by either Major
Forbes or Sir E. Tennent.
On its left is a dagaba, from the summit of which
a wide view of the rolling miles of jungle can be
seen, and if a visit be made at sunset when the red
light illumines the trees, and the weird cries of
the myriad creatures, who have their being therein,
begin to make themselves heard, it is a most impressive experience.
Straight ahead of the statue, at a distance of

the Potgul Vehera, placed

of vision.
Through the
directly in the
centuries the guru has stared fixedly at the library,
from which possibly he borrowed the sacred book
he is represented as holding.

about 200 yards,

is

line

The most

interesting feature of this building is

its circular room, reaching 20 feet 6 inches at its

widest,

and showing

traces of decorative paint.

POTGUL VEHERA

243

was not until 1904 that the jungle was cut

down and these buildings were uncovered, though
their existence had been known some time before.
The wall of the circular building is so extraIt

ordinarily thick, nearly 15 feet at the ground, that

obviously must have been designed to support
some great weight such as a dome. The building

it

was completely gutted and ransacked in search

form of sacred books some
time in the eighties. There was a tradition that
it contained valuable writings, and this probably
"
led to its name, which means
Library Dagaba."
Its real name is unknown.
"If we may hope to identify the so-called
from the Mahawansa record,
Potgul-Vehera
it may not improbably have been that
delightful
of treasures in the

'

'

'

which, as the chronicle relates,

Parakrama Bahu the Great (A.D. 1164-1197) had
wherein he might listen to the
constructed
of
the
Great Sage, read by the learned
Jatakas
priest who dwelt there/
From an inscribed door-jamb of the mandapaya
the following inscription has been recovered and
translated
circular house/
'

"

That most masterful and sapient King of

Lanka [Parakrama Bahu] purified the law of the
Omniscient [Buddha]. It was he who first caused
the entire vihare to be built. The Queen of that
wise King Parakrama Bahu, having been installed
in the kingdom, caused the vihare to be wholly
rebuilt. This Mandapaya was caused to be erected
by that noble queen, Chandravati by name, who
had become secondly Chief Queen to the King."
(1906 Report.)

244

THE BEAUTY OF THE BUND

"

Mr. Bell identifies this queen with

Rupavati,"
fairest of beings, who, like the Moon (Chandraand drew upon her the eyes of
lekha), rose
"
Vehera " are four
the world." Around the
small dagabas and around the platform the ruins
.

of

monks'

cells or piriven,

symmetrically arranged.
Mr. Bell discovers marked points of difference
in the architecture of this monastery from others
He points out points of simiat Polunnaruwa.

between it and Mi-Baume in Siamese Kambodia as described by Monsieur Tissandier, and

"
adds that lithic records point to the Kambodian
quarter" of the old city probably lying to the
This is the farthest building south yet
south.
larity

discovered.

We

have now traversed Polunnaruwa from end

to end, from Demala-maha-seya to the Potgul
vehera, and it is probably safe to say that nowhere
within a similar small area are to be found so

many buildings showing such striking originality

in their architectural treatment. From the graceful Floral Altar to the

ruined bathing-house on the

promontory, each has its story to tell, and tells it

in a way which may prove interesting to others
than those who are fortunate enough to visit these
royal cities so long lost in the jungle.

CHAPTER XIX
YAPAHUWA

A FOURTEENTH-CENTURY FORTRESS

THOUGH Anuradhapura and Polonnaruwa

are

by

far the grandest of the ancient Cingalese cities,

the one having been the capital for about twelve

centuries

are yet

and the other

many

for half a dozen, there

other ruins scattered over the Central

Provinces which would prove a fascinating study

to those who have time to visit them. Chief of
these is Yapahuwa, which was the capital for a
short time in the thirteenth century. It is most
easily reached from Anuradhapura, for the nearest
station is Maho, on the line to and from Polgahawela Junction.
From the train, in passing,
can be noted a great rock, not unlike Sigiriya,
standing up abruptly to the east, about three miles
away. There is no rest-house at the station, and
if a conveyance is needed, a bullock-cart must be
ordered in advance. By road it is forty-four miles
from Anuradhapura forty-one to Maho, and three
:

The

beyond.

retreat in the

when

first

reference

Mahawansa

is

to

this

fortress

in the thirteenth cen-

"

on the top of Subhaa

mountain difficult
pabbata [Yapahu-Kanda],
of access to the enemy."
tury,

a city was built

"

The names Subha-pabbata, Subha-chala, Subha-giri, Yahapav (by Metathesis Yapav), Yapahuwa, all mean the excellent
1

'

mountain.'

"

245

YAPAHUWA

246

This was rendered necessary by the repeated

inroads of the Southern Indians, mainly Pandyans, and the place became a stronghold to which
the Cingalese could retreat in times of stress.
"

Afterwards he [Wijaya Bahu IV] enclosed

that city also with a high wall and a moat, and
built there and finished a palace of exceeding
great beauty, and made provision for the support
of the great priesthood that dwelt in that city."

In the reign of Wijaya's successor, Bhuwaneka

Bahu (A.D. 1277), after some uncertainty, Yapahuwa definitely became the capital of the kingdom.
The king reigned here for eleven years. After

on the
weaker race: there was a disastrous famine, and
further fierce invasions of the Pandyans from India,
when the Cingalese were more than ever unable
to cope with them. The stronghold itself was
stormed and taken, and the Tooth-relic carried
off to India, whence it was recovered later by
Parakrama Bahu III (A.D. 1288).

his death misfortunes

fell

thick

Yapahuwa never regained

and

its

fast

position after

this smashing blow, so its duration of

importance

was

was

less

than twenty years.

But

it

finally

ruined, so far as architectural buildings go, by a

visit from the Portuguese in the sixteenth century.

In 1886

it

was repaired

to

some extent by Mr.

A. E. Williams, Assistant Engineer in the Public

Works Department.
The rock, which resembles
way, but
is

differs

from

it

Sigiriya in a general

in important particulars,
ramp or bund

partly enclosed by a double

A FOURTEENTH-CENTURY FORTRESS

247

surrounding a space at the foot. Within this

three flights of stairs mount to three terraces, one
above the other. On the topmost of these is the
entrance porch to what is supposed to have been
the royal palace.
Mr. Williams repaired the highest, or third
staircase, which is by far the most elaborately
ornamented. He reset the stones, raised and replaced the grotesque stone lions which had fallen
and were broken. He 'did some repairs to the
palace entrance, but could do little more for want
of time or of funds.
It was not until 1910-11 that the Survey authoriThe first
ties were able to take up the work.
the
was
to
clear
out
object
jungle growth to the
The remains
east of the rock on ground-level.
here were of little importance, with the exception
of the Dalada Maligawa, theTooth Temple designed
to receive that sacred relic when brought here by
King Bhuwaneka Bahu. It may be noted that this

Tooth Relic was an adjunct of supreme power,

and when the king moved his seat of authority,
it went with him.
The loss of it entailed great
diminution of prestige. The style of this temple
is Hindu, and it is made of granite.
There is not
much to remark upon beyond the tor ana, or
canopy of a door, carved handsomely from a single
stone and enclosing an image of the seated Buddha
in high relief. This still remains, but is on the
ground.

The

chief sights of

found here, but in the

porch on the cliff-side.

ways within the ramp

Yapahuwa
fine stairs

The

are not to be
and the palace

first of

consists of

these stair-

twenty-three

YAPAHUWA

248

steps broken by a landing. It leads to a broad

terrace from which springs a second flight.
This
in
until
ruins
when
it
was
taken
in
hand
lay
1911,

by the Survey and rebuilt for the convenience of

who had previously had to struggle over

visitors,

a heap of sliding stone to gain the upper buildings.

Almost immediately above it the third stairway
of thirty-five steps, the one repaired first by Mr.
Williams, continues the ascent. Here again the
steps are broken by an intermediate landing. Of
the rich, flamboyant carving it is possible to
Out of all the
give an idea only by detail.
"
"
beasts
the
lions
Ceylon
quaint semi-mythical
"
their
stand out boldly, and
weird
condespite
ventionality, the attitude of the enraged animals,
half -rising for attack, is admirably expressed."
Mr. Bell says, however :

"

The sculptures which delight the eye and

instinctively command special need of admiration
for their marvellous symmetry and grace, are not
the boldly executed animal warders of the staircase (lions, etc.) which add much to the general
splendour of the whole scheme, but the more
delicate efforts of the stone-masons as displayed
in the chaste conception and artistic finish of the
carved members of the Porch the spirited frieze,
or dado, of its vestibule's stereobate, the windows
in its fasade, with their elaborately embellished
pediments, and, finally, the rich complex columns
which sustained the roof." (1910-11 Report.)
There

is

an account of

all this in

Once a Week,

1864, by a Mr. J. Bailey of the C.C.S., who had

visited it in the midst of the jungle when all un-

A FOURTEENTH-CENTURY FORTRESS

249

tended and unnoticed, but this account, though

correct enough in its description of things actually
seen, is not to be relied upon in matters of history or
deduction. One of the features of the carving is

and musicians with very spirited

veritable
figures
cinematograph in granite of
the most vivid and entrancing character."
a dado

of dancers

"a

To

describe the staircase in untechnical lan-

it consists of two flights one above the

broken
other,
by a small landing, and flanked by
heavy walls, or wings, not in the least like anything
to which Western eyes are accustomed. These
walls rise in a series of vertical panels facing
downwards. The panels are capped by canopies
which thus rise one above the other, giving an

guage,

The lowest of
divided into two storeys, or two panels, the
uppermost of which is the smaller, and is decorated by a gracefully carved figure of a female,
holding a bowl of flowers, a very curious change
from the ordinary guard-stone, unless, indeed,
we are to accept as its representative the tiny fat
dwarf on the ground on each side at the very foot
of the stairs. There are other decorative figures
to be noticed higher up, and about half way,
resting on one of the facing walls, are the boldly
sculptured lions with their grinning faces turned a
little inward toward each other.
The whole staircase, with the broken effect of
"
the stepped " walls or vertical panels, whichever
effect of extraordinary richness.
all is

we

them, the delicately carved figures,

grimacing lions, forms an extraordinary
jumble of rich detail.
At the top is the splendid arch leading to the
the

like to call

YAPAHUWA

250

palace precincts flanked by two stone windows

under heavily carved tor anas. These two windows

were once filled with pierced stone-work of a most

When Mr. Bailey visited the place,

curious kind.
the
western, was still here, but the eastern
one,
was broken to pieces, except for a few scraps.
perfect window has since been removed to
the Colombo Museum. It seems a pity that it

The

cannot be replaced. It is one huge slab of stone,

7 inches thick and 4 feet 7 inches by 3 feet 3 inches
It is cut into forty-five rings, or circles,
in each circle is a figure either human or

in size.

and

animal, with that individual difference which is

such a charm in artistic work. From the row of
sacred geese in the top row to the large paunched
dwarfs at the bottom row the work is perfect and
complete. For this alone Yapahuwa should be

remembered.

Once through the porch, which is finely built

and proportioned, we face desolation. High on
a tangled
mass of stones and shrubs. There is nothing left
which can conjure up the palace once standing
here, except its magnificently planned approach,
In fact, the palace was never completed. The
time of Bhuwaneka's troubled rule was not long
enough. His conception was certainly royal, if we
may judge from what was done, but by the time
the staircases and facade had been made, gloom
and famine had descended on the land; neither
funds nor labour permitted of its being continued.
It is possible to continue to the summit of the
rock by a rough track, helped out by a few steps
here and there, but there is little more to see.

one side rises the bare cliff

face, in front is

A FOURTEENTH-CENTURY FORTRESS
few caves, a few stone

ruins,

251

a pokuna about half

an acre

in extent, these alone remain to tell of

the presence of bygone life.

The
an

vision

we

away from Yapahuwa is of

If only the Pandyans
home another twenty years we
carry

unfulfilled conception.

had stayed

at

might have had a specimen

of

a fourteenth-

century palace of unrivalled splendour standing

on its isolated terrace beneath the steep rock.

So
book

far as concerns the object

written the tale is done.

is

with which this

We have traced

the capitals of the kings of Ceylon from their

foundation in the sacred city of Anuradhapura, through the brief interlude of Sigiri, and
on to the scarcely less interesting city of Polonnaruwa. We have seen the attempt made to
retrieve the glory of the kings by these buildings
on Yapahuwa and its frustration. Of the other
earliest

royalty
they can hardly be called
where the dispossessed kings ruled from
capitals
time to time until they could recover their ground,
there is little to see. These range from Dambadeniya in the thirteenth century, Kurunegala in the
seats

of

Gampola also fourteenth, Cotta in

the fifteenth. Then we come to Kandy, which
was the capital from 1592-1798. But Kandy
fourteenth,

has been written about in a score of guide-books,

and of it there is nothing new to tell.
Earlier even than Anuradhapura is the very
ancient capital Magama (Tissamaharama), but
this is in the extreme south of the island.
It is
visited by pilgrims, but not many Europeans will
go so far out of the beaten track. Those who wish
"
for
more," had better rather go afield to such.

^252

YAPAHUWA

places as Nalanda, half-way between Matale*

and

Dambulla, which, though never a capital, was the

headquarters of Parakrama the Great when he

made war on
Polonnaruwa.

King Gaja Bahu, in

Here the mighty warrior built a

his uncle,

and here there is a ruined shrine called

Gedi-ge, dating from the eleventh century, which
possesses some features of interest and is described
in the 1910-11 Report. Or to Medigiriya, with
its Wata-dag6 adorned with many pillars and a
"
"
Buddhist -railing
wall, and nine Buddhas of
fortress,

different sizes.

Even then the chance

visitor to

Ceylon

will

have gained but a very small idea of the vast

number

of ruins scattered over the northern part

of the island, and of the incredible patience and

pertinacity of the Survey Authorities in hunting

them

unearthing them, and making them

The circuit sections of the reports
mention
the days of soaking rain, the
hardly
in
nights spent
leaking huts, the difficulties of

out,
accessible.

crossing unbridged rivers and tearing or cutting

through jungle thorns, to say nothing of plagues
of insects, chances of fever, and dangers from wild
animals, but to those who know Ceylon these are
"
taken as read." Of the work accomplished,
the innumerable inscriptions unearthed and deciphered, the splendid carvings saved and replaced, the contribution to and illustration of

the ancient history of the island, no praise can be

too high. Thus, and only thus, have we been
enabled to visit these old Cingalese sovereigns in
their royalty, to see visions of the fair towns with
broad streets, of the images of silver and gold, of

A FOURTEENTH-CENTURY FORTRESS

253.

the brick and granite palaces in their prosperity,

to gain ideas of their constant fighting and strange
methods of warfare and provisioning their armies,
of their personalities and characteristics from the
days of Dutugemunu B.C. to the days of his great
successor Parakrama, who, in many respects,

resembled him in history and prowess, in the

twelfth century A.D.
With Parakrama the Cingalese reached their last high-water mark
from
thence they waned, and the days of the Kandyan
kings mark the low- water mark of depravity and.
;

cruelty so far as royalty

was concerned.

TABLE OF DISTANCES
ones

INDEX
Abhayagiriya, 27, 65, 96, in
Bridge, 63
Peak, 8, 14
Aggabodhi III, King, 179
VI, King, 86
VII, King, 179
Alms-halls, 88, 149

Arripu Road, 127, 128

Ata-dage, 211

Adam's

Alu Vihara, 41
Ananda, 224
Anuradhapura,

chap,

Abhayagiriya,
alms-hall, 88

Kulam,
60

117

76,

Attakatha, 42

Audience Hall (Polonnaruwa), 196

et

iii

27, 65,
area, 77

Atamasthana, see Eight Sacred Sites

Ataragallewa, 239

seq.

in

96,

Basawak

bathing-ponds,

bazaar, 59 ; bo-tree, i, 54 et
seq., 65 ; Brazen Palace, 61, 65,
69 brick pits, no, 143 ; Buddha,
Buddha, statues
images of, 128
;

Buddhist rail107
Burrows' Brick Building,
ing, 114
cobra
Burrows' Canopy, 95
134
collarand mongoose fight, 80
86
bone relic, 84,
Dutugemunu's
Tomb, 95 Eight Sacred Sites, 58,
EleElala's Tomb, 123
65, 91
Elephant
phant Pokuna, 95 ;
Gal-g6,
Stables, 96 Founder, 15
93
guard- stones, 96, 102, in
Hindu ruins, 109
hospital, 87
Inner Circular
hotel, 50, 116;
Jetawanarama,
Road, 70, 87, 89
Kuttam
et
seq.
65, 96, 105
Pokuna, 108 Lankarama dagaba,
Mahamego garden, 53, 57,
66, 90
79 Mahapali, see alms-hall medicine boat, 88
Mirisavetiya, 116
moonstones, 70, 103 ; mutra-gala,
Nandana garden, 53, 79
87, 130
natives of, 75 ; Outer Circular
Road, 49, 93, 94, 95i 102, 107, no,
in, 127, 128 ; palace, ancient,
pavilions,
134 ; Pankuliya, no
141, chap, vii ; Peacock Palace,
<k> ;
pleasure gardens, 53, 78
pokunas, 60, 95, 108, 119 ; Queen's
Ransimalakaya, 61 ;
Palace, 95
Ruanweli,
xelics, sacred, 68, 84
Sacred Road, 64
64 et seq.
Selchai87
Tomb,
Sanghamitta's
statues of Buddha, 101,
tiya, 89
stone
stone boats, 88
107
of, 55, 66, 101,

Baddha-sima-prasada, 218
Basawak Kulam, 76, 117
Bazaars, 41, 59
Bhatikabhaya, King, 67, 70, 147, 151
Bhuwaneka Bahu, King, 246, 247,
250
Bird of Paradise, 168, 238
Bo-tree, i, 54 et seq., 65
Brazen Palace, 61, 65, 69
Brick pits (Anuradhapura), no, 143
Bronzes, 139, 207, 240

Buddha,

life

and

doctrines, 6 et seq.,

223
statues

of,

55, 66, 101, 107, 208,

209, 211, 220, 222, 234

Buddhist cosmogony, 120
railing, 114
Bullock hackries, 59
Burrows' Brick Building, 134
Canopy, 95

Chandravati, Queen, 213

Cholyans, 19, 20, 180
4, 5, 6, 19, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28,
35, 42, 54, 63, 75, 81, 82, in, 112,
145, 156, 180, 185, 189, 192, 201,

Cingalese,

222, 234
Citadel (Polonnaruwa), 199
Collar-bone relic, 84, 86
Colliwilla, 34
Conjivaram, 20
Council Chamber (Polonnaruwa), 196
Cotta, 251

carving, 80, 119, 122 ; Tooth-relic,

81 ; Tooth Temple, 81 ; Tammettan
Pokuna, 95 ; Thuparama, 27, 65,
84 ; Tissa Wewa, 118 ; Vessagiriya,
walls, 78, 79 ;
123
yantra gala, 75, 113
;

Road, 90

Ambastale dagaba (Mihintale), 152

ArchcPological Survey Offices (Anur-

Dagabas, 65, and see various names

Dalada Maligawa, see Tooth Temple
Dambadeniya, 251
Dambulla, 24, 36, 42
Dappula V, King, 144
Demala-maha-seya, 233
Dewanampiatissa, 6, 19, 53, 86, 146,
153

Dhammaruci

87, 95,

n6, 135

Dwarpal, see Guard-stone

Eight Sacred
Elala, 20, 23
Elala's

adhapura), 6 r

brethren, 154, 155

Dhatu Sena, King, 25, 46, 107

Dutch, the, 30
Dutugemunu, King, 21, 61, 66, 67,

Sites, the, 58, 65, 91

Tomb, 123

Elaro, see Elala

Polonnaruwa, 196

254

INDEX
Elder, House of the (Polonnaruwa),

218
Elephant Pavilion (Polonnaruwa) ,202
Pokuna, 95
Stables, 96

Et Vehera Kan da,

Fa Hien,

152

98
Floral Altar, 213
73,

255

Lohopasada, see Brazen Palace

Lotus Bath, 229, 231

McBride's Folly, 144

Magama, 251
Mahabharana, 181, 185, 187
Maha Dhammakathi, 117
Mahapali, see Alms-hall

Maha

Sena, King, 25, 62, 106, 113,

172

Maha

Gaja Bahu

I, King, 106
II, King, 29, 182 et seq.
Gal-ge, 93
Gal-ppta, 211
Gal-vihara, 221 et seq.
Game shooting, 173

Gamini or Gemunu, see Dutugemunu

Gampolla, 251
Gautama, see Buddha
Gedi-ge, 252

Giribandha (Mihintale), 149

Government Experimental Gardens,
145

Green Path Road (Anuradhapura),

137
Guard-stones, 96, 102, in, 220, 249

Vihara, 25, 62, 106, 190

Mahawansa, 2, 24
Mahawelliganga, River, 20, 39
Mahelo, 23
Mahinda, 53, 57, 146, 153
II, King, 97, 107
IV, King, 88, 97, 98
V, King, 28
Maho, 245
Makara, 74
Malu Tissa, see Kanittha Tissa
Malwat Oya, 33
Map of the world, 120
Matale, 41, 198
Medicine boats, 88, 148
Medigiriya, 210, 252
Mihintale, 53, chap, x
alms-hall,
Ambastale dagaba, 152 ;
149
Anai-kutti-kanda, 156 caves, 154 ;
;

Habarane, 171
Kansas, see Sacred Geese
Hindu temples, 109, 236
Hospitals, 87, 148

Et

Vehera Kanda, 152

Giribandha, 149
Halfway House,
149
Kaludiya Pokuna, 156 ;
Lion Bath, 149
Maha Seya
Dagaba, 154 Mahinda's Bed, 155 ;
Mahinda' s tomb, 153
medicine
boat, 148
Naga Pokuna, 151
;

Indu Katu vihara, 155

Isurumuniya, 121

Jatakas,

u, 234

Jetawanarama (Anuradhapura),

65,

96, 105 et seq.

(Polonnaruwa), 219

Kala-Wewa,

26, 46
Kalinga race, 82
Pokuna,
156
Kaludiya
Kandy, 38, 82, 251
Kandyan Kings, 30
Kanishka, 84
Kanittha Tissa, King, 97
Kasyapa, I, King, 26, 160
IV, King, 87, 117
Kekirawa, 46

Kelani, 14
King's Palace (Anuradhapura), 102
Kiri dagaba (Polonnaruwa), 221
Kiribat dagaba (Anuradhapura), 138
Kirti Sri, King, 14
Kitsiri Maiwan, King, 24
Knox, Robert, 30

rest155 ;
Raja-girilena-kanda,
house, 148 ; stairways, 148, 151 ;
stone canoes, 149
Minneriya, 171
Mirisavetiya, 116
Mitta Sena, King, 25

Moggallana, 25, 166

Monsoon, 37, 177, 230
Moonstones, 4, 70, 103, 210, 218
Motors, 38
Mullegalla, 141
Mutra-gala, 87, 130

Naga Pokuna (Mihintale), 151

Nakha Vehera, no

Kuttam Pokuna, 108

Nalanda, 186, 252

Nandana (Anuradhapura), 53, 79
(Polonnaruwa), 193
Nirvana, 10, rr, 223
Nissanka-lata-mandapaya, 2 13
Nissanka Mai la, King, 43, 136, 196,
212, 214
Nuwara-wewa, 147

Lajji Tissa, King, 89

Lanka, 5
Lankarama, 66, 90
Lilavati, Queen, 191, 192
Lion Bath (Mihintale), 149
Lion Staircase House (Sigiri), 163

Pitakatha, 42
Pabulu Vehera, 216
Pandukabhaya, King, 51, 109
Pandyans, 19, 27, 190, 246, 251
Pankuliya, no
Pansukulika Brethren. 122

Kurunegala, 38, 251

INDEX

256
Parakrama Bahu

(the Great), King,

29, 63, 181, chap, ziii, 219, 224, 251

King, 192
Ill, King, 192, 246
(so-called) statue of, 241
Pavilions (Anuradhapura), 141, chap.
II.

vii

Peacock Palace, 60
Perahera, 82
Piduragala (Sigiriya), 161

Pilame Talaw6, 24
Pilgrims, 225
Piprava, 84

Pokunas, 60, see also under names

Polgahawela, 36
Polonnaruwa, Ata-dage, 211 ; Audience Hall, 196
Baddha-simabathing-halls, 194
prasada, 218
bronzes, 207, 240
Buddha, statues
citadel,
of, 208, 209, 2ii, 220, 222
Council Chamber,
196
199 ;
Demala-maha-seya, 233 ; Floral
;

213;

Sigiriya, 27, chap, xi

ascent, 159 ;
;
caves, 169 ;
Cistern Rock, 162, 167
dagaba,
169 ; frescoes, 161 ; galleries, 160 ;
granite throne, 165 ; Lion Staircase House, 163 ; Outer City, 165,
169 :
Piduragala, 161 ;
Pulpit
Rock, 162 ; rest-house, 158 ; tank,
;

Audience Hall, 167

167
Silameghavnna, King, 88
Siva Devale, No. i, 205
No. 2, 216
Sri Wickrema Singha, King, 30
Stone boats, 88, 95, 149
Stone Book, 211
Sulawansa, 24

Altar,

Sena IV, King, 86

234,
Gal-vihara,

frescoes,

236;

221 ;
Gal-pota, 2U ;
guard-stones, 220 Hindu temples,
205, 236;
Jetawanarama, 219;
Lotus Bath,
Lion Throne, 196
;

229 et seq. ; Mandapaya, 221 ;

Mausoleum, 195 moonstones, 210,
218 Pabulu Vehera, 216 Palace,
;

Royal, 199
Potgul
parks, 193
Prince's Bathing
Vehera, 242
Rankot dagaba, 217
Place, 202
rest-house,
173; Royal Palace,
199 Sat-mahal-prasada, 213 ; Siva
Deval6, No. i, 205 ; Siva Devale,
No. 2, 216; Statue of Parakrama
Thuparama, 208
(so-called), 241
Tooth Temple, 205 Topa Wewa,
240 Unagala Vehera, 235 walls,
;

Talipot palm, 40
Tamils, 19, 24, 27, 28, 47, 48, 86, 179,
180, 190, 192, 235

Tammettan Pokuna,

95

Tanks, 19
Taxila, 83

Thuparama (Anuradhapura),

27, 65,

84
(Polonnaruwa), 208
Tissa, see Dewanampiatissa
Tissa II, King, 24, 69, 88
bund, 118

Tissamaharama,

251

Tooth-relic, 81, 190

Tooth Temple (Anuradhapura), 81

(Polonnaruwa), 205
(Vessagiriya), 124

(Yapahuwa), 247

14,

Wewa, 118

Tissa

Toluwila, 147

Topa-Wewa,

171, 176,

240

Trichinopoly, 20

216; Wata-dag6, 208

Portuguese, the, 30
Potgul Vehera, 242
Pulastipura, see Polonnaruwa
Pulatthi, see Polonnaruwa
Puliyankulam, 143

Udaya, King, 86
Unagala Vehera, 235
Uraiyur, 20

Queen's Palace (Anuradhapura), 95

Vessagiriya, 123

Raja-girilena-kanda, 155

Vijitapura, 47

Uttiya, King, 53

Vijayarama, 137

Rankot dagaba, 217

Walagam Bahu

I, King, 24, 43, 106

Wata-dage (Polonnaruwa), 208
see
Walagam Bahu
Watagemunu,

Ransimalakaya, 61
Rest-houses, 42, 148, 158, 173

Roads, 38
Rohuna, 21, 28, 39, 180
Ruanweli, 64 et seq., 218
Rupavati, Queen, 244

Wet

HauU,

Wat ton

I, King, 5, 28, 179, 235

II, King, 191
22
(see also Vijitapura)
Wijito,
Wikrama Bahu I, King, 29, 180, 183

Bahu,

Sacred geese, 74
Sacred Road (Anuradhapura), 64
Sanghamitta, Princess, 56, 87
Sat-mahal-prasada, 212
Selchaitiya, 89
Sena II, King, 28
Printed by

season, 37, 177, 230

Wijaya

&

Yakkhas, 6
Yaiitra gala, 75, 113, 240

Yapahuwa, 245

Yoda

Ela, 47, 118

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