304 night at that place. And when the skilful ruler heard the tidings 305 thereof, he went to the village Mihirana Bibbila; and called unto him

Kadakkúḍa Lankápura, an officer of exceeding great might, and the 306 two chief captains who were brethren, and spake unto them, saying 307 "The king Máṇábharana, whose heart is bowed down with great fear, will of a certainty flee from hence this night. Do ye, therefore, go before him and hinder him by stopping the road by which he would escape." The discerning king spake thus unto them and sent them 308 on this errand. But as they went, while the clouds yet poured down 309 torrents of rain and ceased not, and in the thick darkness of the black night, they were not able to overtake the king Mánábharana, who fled from them with great fear.

310 For on that day did the king Mánábharana think thus within 311 himself: "This day there is heard in the camp of the enemy's hosts a great and terrible uproar, like unto the rolling of the great sea. It seemeth therefore to me that the king, mine enemy, hath come into 312 the camp. Of a certainty, then, shall I fall into his hands, who have never before submitted to any man, if I tarry here at night and escape 313 not forthwith. It is well, therefore, that I should depart hence and

let none of my followers know aught thereof." And as he was bowed 314 down by fear, he resolved in this wise; and, leaving his children behind him, while the rain fell fast and the darkness around him grew thick 315 and heavy, he departed, falling ofttimes into deep pits hither and

thither, and starting with fear while his feet stumbled over the thickets 316 of the forest. And, with a mind sore troubled with fear, he came at 317 last to the banks of the Maháváluka river. And here he thought thus within himself: "If, peradventure, I cross by a ford that is well known to the enemy and make my escape thence, then shall he pursue 318 after me and take me alive." So thinking, he crossed the river with much difficulty by an unknown ford, and was forthwith relieved of 319 the anxiety of his mind; but as he trusted not even the people that dwelt in the country, he fled in fear and disguise from village to village, until he entered undisguised into his own country.

320

Thereupon the mighty men of king Parakkama, who were set in divers places, heard of Mánábharana's flight and rejoiced greatly. 321 They waved their garments aloft in thousands, and lighted hundreds 322 of thousands of torches around, and put many thousands of the strong men of the enemy to death. They clapped their hands, and shouted 323 and leaped about for joy. And then they all entered at once from every side into the fortress that the king Mánábharana had held, and 324 took the prince Sirivallabha who had been left there, and many other 325 great officers also, alive. They seized much treasure also that belonged

to the king, their enemy, that was scattered in divers places, and took 326 many elephants and horses and armour and weapons; and after that

they had set guards over such of them as required to be watched, they 327 all pursued after the king Máṇábharana. And when they arrived at 328 the river Maháváluka, they forthwith slew the hosts of the enemy that

they found there also in confusion, and made a river of flesh and blood 329 out of the army of the enemy. Then they resolved firmly, saying, "Even unto the sea shall we proceed to seize the king Máṇábharaṇa, and cease not otherwise." But while they set off, Parakkama Báhu, 330 whose arm was proud and mighty, and whose commands none dared to transgress, sent messengers unto them that they should not cross over to the other side of the river, and thereby stopped them from pursuing any further. Thereafter, Parakkama Báhu, who vanquishes 331 all kings that oppose him, arrayed himself with all the ornaments of the kingly office, and surrounded by his army, and followed by the 332 prince Sirivallabha, entered the beautiful city of Pulatthi, filling the 333 whole heaven with shouts of victory, like unto the victorious king of the gods as he entered his abode in the heavens after his battle with the spirits of evil.

And after this the king Máṇábharana approached the end of his days 334 by reason of a disease that had come upon him through fear of the king Parakkama Báhu. And as he lay on his deathbed in great pain, 335 amidst the women of his household who bewailed him with uplifted hands, he called the prince Kittisirimégha and his ministers also into 336 his presence, and spake these words unto them, saying: "Many 337 treasures that the faithful had offered up to the holy tooth-relic and the sacred alms-bowl of Buddha have I taken, and divers villages also 338 that belonged to the Order have I destroyed, because that the lust of dominion had overpowered me. But now I have laid me down on a 339 bed from the which I shall not rise up again. And even after that I am dead and have departed from this world, whither indeed can I look for salvation? Do not, therefore, bring yourselves to ruin 340 as I have done; but go up to the king Parakkama and do as he shall bid you, and live in obedience to his commands." And when he had 341 spoken these words he wept bitterly, and, as if it moved him to go 342 unto the place whither the good soldiers of the great king Parakkama would not desire to follow him, he set out for the fortress of the ruler of hell.

And when the king Parakkama Báhu, who had joined to himself a 343 number of goodly followers, heard of the death of king Mánábharaṇa, he commanded that Kittisirimégha should be brought from thence. 344 Then the great ministers assembled themselves together, and made 345 great obeisance unto the noble-minded king, and prayed that it might please the king to appoint a day for the feast of the coronation. And 346 the king, being now freed from his enemies, held the great feast 347 of the coronation under a good star and a prosperous hour. And on that day the deafening sound of divers drums was terrible, even as the rolling of the ocean when it is shaken to and fro by the tempest at the end of the world. And the elephants, decked with coverings of 348 gold, made the street before the palace to look as if clouds had descended thereon with flashes of lightning; and with the prancing of 349 the steeds of war the whole city on that day seemed to wave even like 350

the sea. And the sky was wholly shut out of sight with rows of um351 brellas of divers colours and with lines of flags of gold. And there was the waving of garments and the clapping of hands. And the inhabi352 tants of the city shouted saying "Live! O live! Great King!" And

there was feasting over the whole land, which was filled with arches of plantains intermingled with rows of flower-pots; and hundreds of 353 minstrels chanted songs of praise, and the air was filled with the smoke of sweet incense. Many persons also arrayed themselves in cloths of divers colours and decked in ornaments of divers kinds; 354 and the great soldiers who were practised in war, mighty men, armed with divers kinds of weapons, and with the countenance of graceful heroes, moved about hither and thither like unto elephants that had broken asunder their bonds.

355 By reason of the many archers also, who walked about with their bows in their hands, it seemed as if an army of gods had visited the 356 land; and the city with its multitude of palaces, gorgeously decorated with gold and gems and pearls, seemed like unto the firmament that is studded with stars.

357

And this mighty king, with eyes that were long like the lily, caused many wonderful and marvellous things to be displayed, and adorned 358 himself with divers ornaments, and ascended a golden stage supported on the backs of two elephants that were covered with cloth of gold. 359 And he bore on his head a crown that shone with the rays of gems, 360 like as the eastern mountain beareth the glorious and rising sun. And

casting into the shade the beauty of spring by the strength of his own beauty, he drew tears of joy from the eyes of the beautiful women of 361 the city. And he marched round the city, beaming with the signs of happiness, and, like unto the god with the thousand eyes, entered the beauteous palace of the king.

362

Thus did this ruler of the world of men make every quarter and every point thereof one scene of feasting; and this king Parakkama Báhu, whose dominion now was supreme, held the ceremony of his second inauguration in the second year (after that he had held the first).

Thus endeth the seventy-second chapter, entitled "The Festival of the Coronation," in the Mahávansa, composed equally for the delight and amazement of good men.

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2

CHAPTER LXXIII.

AFTERWARDS the king Parakkama who had been duly anointed

king, being endued with much wisdom and become eminent

3 among those who understood what was good for the people, thus thought within himself: "In times past were these people much oppressed by kings of old, in that they placed a heavy yoke on them by unjust taxes that they levied on them and by other similar

burdens, from which arose great grievances. And they were led astray (from the path of duty) by love and hate, and fear and ignorance, and sought not to govern for the good and the advancement of the church and the kingdom, albeit that subjects should be so governed that their happiness may thereby be increased. And the religion of 4 the great sage has now for a long time past been shaken to its foun- 5 dations with hundreds of heresies, and broken up by reason of the 6 disputes of the three fraternities, and ministered to by crowds of monks who know not any shame, but whose object it is to fill their bellies, so that it hath come to pass that the religion of Buddha hath fallen to decay before even the five thousand years have passed for which, according to his prophecy, it was to endure. But these things must be so ordained that the religion shall endure for a long time. Again also, there are men of great families who have been utterly 7 ruined and are scattered everywhere, who should be restored to their positions and defended according to the custom. And more also, 8 there are the poor whom I should feed by giving alms unto them, as the cloud that is gathered from the four corners of the heavens poureth down the shower of rain that ceaseth not. All these things had I 9 meditated as the fruit of my labours when I strove with great difficulty to establish the kingdom. Now, therefore, is the time to order these 10 things according to my desire." And when he had resolved thus, he commenced the work by bestowing offices on them that were deserving of them. And then he caused the poor to assemble by beat of drums, 11 and gave unto them a feast of alms for which he expended precious things equal to his weight in the balance; and this feast he caused to be observed every year. Thereafter the king assembled a great body 12 of the monks that belonged to the three fraternities, that so he might order their affairs to advance the welfare of the Church. Likewise 13 also, he assembled many great doctors, learned in the ways of searching into the guilt or innocence of persons who had committed crimes and offences. And as he was himself the foremost among them that were 14 learned in the laws of the Church, and was able to distinguish between the true and false views of things, he made inquiry concerning such as were pure and such as were impure among the recluses. And as 15 he took not part with the one side or the other, and was moved neither by love nor by hatred, but was diligent and constant in duty both by day and night, the wise king, in that he was able to discern the fitness 16 of things, like unto a skilful physician or surgeon who carefully considereth the diseases that could be healed and such as could not, restored such as he could unto the Order, and sent them away whose 17 diseases could not be cured. And this union of the three brother- 18 hoods who had set their faces against each other and stirred up divers 22 disputes, was not wholly effected, even though many kings had tried to do so from the time of Vaṭṭagámaní Abhaya up to this day. But this wise king, whose mind was set against injustice, in that he acted according to the manner laid down in the Vinaya, and in former births

23

had held fast to the hope of purging the religion, endured two-fold more hardship than he did while he established the kingdom, and brought about a union whereby the religion of the conqueror might continue for five thousand years in a state of purity, like unto the water of the milky ocean.1

Afterwards this chief of men erected in the middle of the city a square 24 hall facing the four quarters, with divers rooms of great size, and established a charity with all the things that were needful thereunto. 25 so that many hundreds of pious monks might be fed there daily; and this ruler of men, who was well pleased with them, failed not yearly to give unto them garments and robes according to their standing in 26 the Order. Then, in the four quarters of the city he built four almshalls, duly defined and separated from each other, and furnished with 27 many vessels made of metal, and pillows and cushions, and mats, 28 coverlets, and beds; and for the use of those halls he gave thousands 29 of cows that yielded good milk. Then he planted gardens near them of exceeding beauty, delightful like those of heaven, with fountains of pure water, and ornamented with rows of trees bearing divers 30 flowers and fruits. He built also many storehouses near them, filled with much grain, and supplied with candied sugar, treacle, honey, 31 and all things of that kind; and this wise and firm and spirited king 32 stinted not, but, with a heart full of joy, caused a great distribution of 33 alms to be made daily to many thousands of pious and devout monks who came from the four quarters of the land, and to Brahmans, and 34 to begging minstrels, and to very many other poor beggars. And this ruler of men built further a large hall that could contain many hundreds of sick persons, and provided it also with all things that were needful, 35 as stated underneath. To every sick person he allowed a male and a 36 female servant, that they might minister to him by day and by night,

and furnish him with the physic that was necessary, and with divers 37 kinds of food. And many storehouses also did he build therein, filled with grain and other things, and with all things that were needful for 38 medicine. And he also made provision for the maintenance of wise 39 and learned physicians who were versed in all knowledge and skilled in searching out the nature of diseases. And he took care to discern the different wants of the sick, and caused the physicians to minister 40 to them, as seemed necessary, both by day and night. And it was his custom, on the four sabbaths (upósatha days) of every month, 41 to cast off his king's robes and, after that he had solemnly undertaken to observe the precepts, to purify himself and put him on a clean 42 garment, and visit that hall together with his ministers. And, being endued with a heart full of kindness, he would look at the sick with an eye of pity, and, being eminent in wisdom and skilled in the art of 43 healing, he would call before him the physicians that were employed 44 there and inquire fully of the manner of their treatment. And if so

This subject is more fully detailed in chap. LXXVIII., vv. 1—27.