notice board announces in Cingalese, for the benefit of pilgrims, that this is the way to the 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 II feet 6 inches in height, and looks much taller than this, as it is cut clear out of the rock-face, with no roof to dwarf it.

Mr. Bell says:

"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.)

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 old age. A true touch of naturalism is further 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 about 200 yards, is the Potgul Vehera, placed directly in the line of vision. Through the centuries the guru has stared fixedly at the library, from which possibly he borrowed the sacred book he is represented as holding.

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.

It 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 extraordinarily thick, nearly 15 feet at the ground, that it obviously must have been designed to support some great weight such as a dome. The building was completely gutted and ransacked in search of treasures in the 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 'Potgul-Vehera' from the Mahawansa record, it may not improbably have been that delightful circular house,' which, as the chronicle relates, Parakrama Bahu the Great (A.D. 1164-1197) had constructed 'wherein he might listen to the Jatakas of the Great Sage, read by the learned priest who dwelt there.'"

From an inscribed door-jamb of the mandapaya the following inscription has been recovered and translated:

"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 viharé to be built. The Queen of that wise King Parakrama Bahu, having been installed in the kingdom, caused the viharé 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.)