36 namely, he who filled the office of Antaranga and they twain who filled the offices of the two divisions (of the kingdom). And that he might make the soldiers dexterous in war he caused mock battles to be practised in the streets, and chose those who showed 37 themselves most skilful, and rewarded them highly; but those who were feeble and unable to fight he sent away, full of compassion and pity for them, saying, “Let them live in comfort by giving themselves up to husbandry and other labour." 38 Thus did the king, who knew how to command and how to make ready armour and weapons and valiant hosts, acquire great wealth with ease without oppressing the people. Thus endeth the sixty-ninth chapter, entitled " "Preparation for War," in the Mahávansa, composed equally for the delight and amazement of good men. CHAPTER LXX. 1 THE HEREAFTER he (Parakkama Báhu) beheld his great army and the extent of his wealth, and his grain, and other posses2 sions, as well as all his materiel of war; and he thought to himself: "Now is it not difficult for me to subdue even the continent of India, much less even the island of Síhala "; and so he began to 3 make ready the kingdom (for war). And by kindness he induced 4 Rakkha Dandanátha, the chief captain of king Gaja Báhu, who was in 5 charge of Yaṭṭhikandaka and Dumbara in the great Malaya country, 6 to come to him, and, after he had shown him great favour, the king treated with him for the surrender of the Malaya country which he then governed, a country that could be passed only by a footpath, and which, because of the mountain fastnesses and of the wild beasts which haunted it, was difficult to be reached, and was not resorted to by men of other districts. Moreover, it was made exceeding dangerous by the numerous streams that flowed through it, broad and 7 deep, swarming with crocodiles that feed on the flesh of man. Thereupon the people of that country, when they heard of these things, took counsel together, saying, "When Dandanátha comes back then shall 8 we kill him." And Dandanátha, also, when he had heard thereof, returned in haste and fought with the rebels and put them to flight, 9 and seized the country of Dumbara. And then he fought a battle at Yaṭṭhikanda, and drove away the enemy and cut off the head of the 10 chief of that district. At the village Tálakkhetta he gave battle to the 11 enemy in two places, and likewise also at Nágapabbata. In the villages Suvanṇadóni, Rámucchuvallika,3 and Demaṭṭhapádatthali he 12 fought battles, one at each place, and having driven them all from the 1 Bala-dhana-sangahó. Literally, "collection of men and money." places that they had held, this powerful chief captain of the army seized the country of Yaṭṭhikandaka also. And when he had placed 13 his younger brother there in charge of the army, he returned to the king (Parakkama Báhu) that he might learn what was meet to be done. And meanwhile the soldiers that his brother had led fought against the 14 enemy and took the country Nílagallaka. And when Dandanátha 15 returned he fought the enemy at Sayakhettaka, Rattabeduma, and likewise at Dhanuvillika, a battle at each place, and killed great 16 numbers of the enemy, and established himself firmly in the country of Nílagallaka, which he had taken. Thereafter he fought twice with the 17 powerful chief Otturámallaka, and with Dhanumaṇḍalanátha, and 18 when he had taken the country of Nissénikhettaka, which he freed from its enemies, he brought Otturámallaka and the others to submission. Thereupon the king sent for Rakkha Dandanáyaka, and bestowed 19 on him the rank of Késadhátu, together with much wealth and honour, and sent him to the king's country to take the district of 20 Majjhimavaggaka. Accordingly he went to Nílagiri; and when he 21 had added to his army there and waxed very powerful, he fought at Vápiváṭaka, and at Majjhimavagga also, and gained a victory. And when king Gaja Báhu heard of these things he sent a great army 22 to fight against the enemy; and Késadhátu, when he knew thereof, 23 made ready to meet it with a powerful army and equipage, and broke the enemy's forces and took the country of Majjhimavagga. Thereafter the two officers, who were like unto lions in courage, 24 named Lókajitvána and Rakkha Lankádhinayaka, raised an army and went and fought with Húkitti Lankánátha; and they slew him 25 and took possession of the country of Rérupallika. Then the king 26 (Parakkama Báhu) won over the chief Samantamalla of Kósakavagga by showing him kindness, and, having bestowed on him much wealth and honour, he sent him with a large army and materiel of war to take 27 the country of Kósakavagga. Whereupon Samaṇamallaka, Otturá- 28 mallaka, and the others fought with the enemy and made a great slaughter of them in battle; but at the place called Sísacchinnaka- 29 bódhi these powerful chiefs utterly defeated the enemy in a pitched battle and took the country of Kósakavagga. In this manner did he restore peace thoroughly in the Malaya country, 30 which was troubled by its own inhabitants, and dwelt in his own city, 31 passing the time in pleasure parties and sports on water, and in dancing and music, and other pleasures. And in order to restrain the rival chiefs and to keep down the robbers, 32 and also for the sake of exercise, it was his custom at that time to go out 1 Dunuvila. This rank appears to have been conferred on many distinguished captains of this period. Késadhátu means the hair-relic; and the rank probably consisted in the installation of the recipient to a certain Order of Knighthood, instituted at that time in connection with the hair-relic. 33 hunting. And one day the king went with his chief queen and his 34 officers and followers for a hunt, and seeing a certain wood in which there were signs of the presence of deer, the king caused the queen to sit 35 down on one side, and the whole forest to be surrounded with nets and hunters armed with javelins, and caused them to shout on every side. 36 Thereupon a stag, of the size of a young elephant, being exceeding frightened by the terrible noise, broke cover and, looking wildly around 37 him, fled down the precipices, leaping over the mountain streams, and 38 breaking through the branches of the trees, burst asunder the network of creepers, trod down the brushwood, and rending and tearing up the 39 nets to pieces, and terrifying and driving away every man that came in his way, fled with the speed of the wind in the face of the queen. 40 And when all the people saw the deer fleeing so wildly they were struck with fear, and fled on all sides, leaving the king and his queen alone. 41 But the king, being a man of great courage, saw the fierce deer that had burst out of the wood, and ran up against it and smote it with his spear. 42 And the beast, being now wounded, bent down its head to attack, and lo! at that moment his antlers dropped and fell at the feet of the 43 king. And when the cries of the deer that had been wounded were heard by the officers, the hunters, the servants in livery, and the barbers and the other followers of the king, they turned back and 44 came together from all sides. And when they reached the spot they saw the king standing bravely like a lion, and the antlers of the deer (on the ground beside him.) 45 And when they saw this they were astonished, and being exceeding glad and merry thereat, they made the whole forest to resound with 46 their shouts. And when they had many times praised the king for his great good fortune and courage and valour, they took up the antlers, 47 and, surrounding the king, went into the city, which was ornamented 48 like unto the city of the gods. And after they had told the chief ministers of this marvellous thing, they displayed the antlers before all 49 of them. And when they had heard the wonderful story they were greatly astonished, and showed forth their admiration in these words: Oh that this man of great might and power had been born on the continent of India, for then would he have become a monarch with supreme power and dominion over all things (Chakkavatti rájá)!” 51 Thus did they sound forth the praise of the brave king, whose valour 52 it was difficult to surpass. And after they had caused letters to be engraven on the antlers, they placed them in the king's treasury, where they remain until this day. 50 53 Now, at that time, it came to the ears of the king that king Gaja 54 Báhu had brought hither royal princes, believers of false creeds, from strange countries, and thereby filled the king's country with enemies as with a bed of thorns. And he was greatly displeased therewith, and thought thus within himself: "And yet hath he done this, when men like unto me, of great skill and good fortune, of rare gifts and exceeding courage, are still to be found here." So he commanded his generals to seize the king's country also. And as he had diligently studied the 55 books that related to the business of war-to wit, the Kocallasattha, the Yuddhaṇṇáva, and other books--and had used his own judgment in those matters, he knew well how to carry on the war according to the 56 times and places, and wrote down the plan of carrying on the war, and 57 caused it to be delivered to the chief officers that were in command of districts, and enjoined them strictly not to turn aside from his com- 58 mands, even unto a hair's breadth. And they all received the king's 59 command with great submission, and began the attack in great force (on all points). Now there was in the service of king Gaja Báhu a chief officer of the 60 king's canopy bearers,1 Kombá by name. And he was much skilled in war, and had an abundance of men and materials. And he had 61 built himself a very strong fortress at the village Mallaválána, that so he might hinder his enemies from invading the country, and was for a long time in possession thereof. (And when the war was begun) 62 Malaya Ráyar, who was placed in the stronghold at Válikákhetta, fought with him, and drove him away, and took his fortress. And the 63 valiant captain led a large army in ships by the sea to the pearl banks,2 and fought a great naval battle with Dandanátha, who was stationed 64 there, in which the mighty captain (Malaya Ráyar) routed the hosts of the enemy. In a second great battle also, which he fought there, 65 he put many thousands of the enemy to death. And the host (of 66 Parakkama), under the captain Nambá Késadhátu and other chiefs, destroyed the enemy at Málavalliya; and Nílagalla, the captain of the 67 borders at Móravápi, went up at the same time to Katiyágáma and killed a great number of the enemy. Now in the village Kálavápi there lived a celebrated captain of 68 Gaja Báhu, by name Gókannaka Nagaragiri. He was a true and 69 brave officer, endued with great qualities, and had under his command chariots and men and materials, and was able therewith to withstand the attacks of the enemy. But Rakkha Divána (one of Parakkama's 70 captains) gave him battle at the place Gónagámuka, and defeated him. And being greatly shamed by the defeat, the chief Gókannaka increased 71 and strengthened his army, and gave battle in the following places: at the stronghold Pilaviṭṭhi, at the stronghold called Sállaka, at the 72 stronghold Taṭavápi, at Jambukóla, at Vajiravápi, at Nandivápi, at Pallikávápi, and at Kalalahallika. And when he had given battle in 73 each of these places, and had been defeated on all sides, he thought within himself: "This army of mine, which had aforetime gained the 74 victory even when fighting with the king himself, though now double in 75 number, hath met with defeat, and its officers have been slain in the divers battles which it hath fought with two or three of Parakkama Báhu's commanders of the borders. It seemeth clear, therefore, that the 76 war cannot now be carried on any longer." So he sent messengers to 1 Chatta-gáhaka Náyaka. S 2 Muttákara, lit. "the pearl mine." 77 Gaja Báhu, informing him of all that had happened. And the king Gaja Báhu, having heard all these things, called his ministers together 78 and spake these words unto them: "We have heard not, at any time, of any defeat that hath happened to us before; wherefore it is a sore 79 disgrace to us that we have now been discomfited. The mightiest and most powerful of my generals hath fought more than once, and hath 80 been defeated. It would not be well, therefore, for me if any further disaster should overtake him." And when he had thus delivered himself, and taken counsel with his ministers, he sent much treasure 81 to his captain, and men also, and officers, and weapons of war, and 82 armour that could not be pierced through. Then the officer Gókanna, having made haste and armed the hosts that the king had sent, and his 83 own men also, that consisted mostly of the country people, went up again to Nílagala and fought a great battle with Máyágéha, the chief 84 captain (of Parakkama). And a great number of Gókanna's men fell in that battle, and some threw down their weapons, and others fled into 85 the forest. And the slaughter was so great that the people spoke thereof as if none had escaped. And he himself fled into the forest, 86 leaving behind his chariot and umbrella; and henceforth he abandoned all thought of giving battle, and kept himself within the fortress at Kálavápi, after he had strengthened it. 87 888 After that the officers who were kept in the Súra-ambavana district invaded Janapada, and slaughtered the host of the enemy. And the leaders of the hosts that were kept at Bódhigáma attacked Lankagiri, and destroyed the enemy there. 89 And Parakkama Báhu sent Mahinda, Nagaragiri, and other officers 90 under them to fight again in the Mallaválána country. And these mighty men went thither, and drove the enemy before them, and 91 entered and took that country and fortified it strongly. And from 92 thence they departed by the sea in many hundred ships, and attacked the country of pearls and took the chief captain in charge thereof with his army, and sent the pearls to their lord (the king). 93 94 Thereupon the king caused a fortress to be built at a place called Pilavasu, wherein he kept his strong and mighty men and officers. And king Gaja Báhu, when he had heard of these things, consulted 95 his ministers and began to send an army. And Parakkama Báhu, knowing how to manage (under difficulties), sent his general (Rakkha) 96 Lankánátha to the Janapada country. And when king Gaja Báhu heard thereof he gathered together his army, and dividing it into two, 97 sent them with arms and weapons by two ways,-the one towards the place called Janapada, and the other towards the fortress at Pilavasu. 98 And Rakkha Lankádhinátha also, in order that he might wholly destroy the host of the enemy, advanced at the head of his great army 99 and proceeded to Ambavana, and gave battle to the enemy in the village Bubbula, where he destroyed a great number of them and put 100 the remainder to flight. Thereupon the people who dwelt in the country stopped the highways with trees which they had cut down, and |