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 even professed to find in the "pavilions on the Outer Circular Road westward the remains of this district, for these buildings, though similar in character among themselves, are entirely different in construction from the ordinary type of monastery or vihara. This theory concerning them will be discussed more fully later on. Apart from this we can picture ancient Anuradhapura lying due north and south, equalling presentday London in extent, housing a huge population, and presenting evidence of a civilisation we are accustomed to consider exclusively our own. Major T. B. Skinner, who visited the place in 1832, says, "No one that I could ever hear of had 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.) terra incognita I took an unusual interest in exploring it." In this, however, he was not quite correct, for 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 especially noticed. Prices are fixed by government (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 open verandahs and deep eaves; it faces north, 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 is not difficult. The hotel trap can be hired very reasonably (a rupee first hour, half a rupee each 1 Fifty Years in Ceylon. hour after), and if it is already engaged, bullock hackries can be had at a 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 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 pillar. However, as she was of course exquisitely lovely, the pre-ordained prince soon made his way to her secretly, and she "carried on an intrigue 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 condition the expected child were slain if a boy. When the child was born, the mother (as in all fairy tales) conveniently substituted a peasant's daughter and handed over her son to be brought up by a peasant. When in course of time the bad uncles discovered how they had been tricked, 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 called, dived under water and slipped up inside a hollow tree, and so escaped. Once again he miraculously escaped a similar fate in later years. 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," or 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 fruit." Such a young man was naturally destined to go far. . . . 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 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 having been the settlement of Anuradho and because it was founded under the constellation Anuradho, it was called Anuradhapura." (Mahawansa.) 1 Major Forbes in his admirable book refers to this in a note, saying: "It is the general belief of uneducated natives that the name of the city is derived from Anurajah (ninety kings), but it was from the name of the constellation, Anuradha.” 1 Eleven Years in Ceylon. (Bentley. Second edition 1841.) |