And the lord of the land took up his abode there, and began to reign 56 over the kingdom, and transgressed not the laws of Manu. And he 57 made offerings every day to the tooth-relic, and was diligent in gaining much merit. He ministered to the priesthood with robes and other 58 requisites; and when he had thus advanced the prosperity of the church and the kingdom he yielded to the power of death.

Then the prince Bhuvanéka Báhu, son of Bhuvanéka Báhu the lord 59 of the city of Subhácala,1 became king at Hatthisélapura. And this 60 chief of men who desired to gain merit and was devoted to works of charity and other good deeds, made provision for the supply of alms daily to one thousand priests. The king celebrated the feast of his 61 coronation every year in a manner worthy of the dignity of a king, and then held a festival of ordination in the month of Jeṭṭhamúla 62 (June-July) with great rejoicings, and thus shed light on the religion of the conqueror. And when he had performed these and many other 63 meritorious works of a like kind in divers ways, he yielded himself to the law of mutability in the second year of his reign.3

Thereupon his high-born son, Parakkama Báhu, a wise and mighty 64 prince, was crowned king in that noble city. And as he had a great 65 love for the three sacred objects, he assembled the priests together and caused the rite of ordination to be performed many times.

Afterwards the king caused a three-storied temple of the tooth-relic, 66 of great beauty, to be built within the courtyard of the king's palace, 67 with beautiful walls and pillars and paintings, surmounted with spires

1 I.e., Bhuvanéka Báhu the First who was the son of Parakkama Báhu the Second and the brother of Bódhisatta Vijaya Báhu (IV.), whom he succeeded. It was he who enlarged and adorned the city of Subhácala or Yápau. epithet.

2 Kurunegala.

66

Hence the

3 The editors of the revised text note that some books contain a different reading of verses 57–63, and give the passage (which is unfortunately imperfect) in a footnote. It runs thus :-" And it came to pass that the king (Parakkama Báhu III.) began to imagine constantly that the prince Bhuvanéka Báhu, son of Bhuvanéka Báhu the lord of Subhácala, would endeavour to take the kingdom. So, at one time, he commanded the king's barber to go with the king's servants and scoop out the eyes of that prince, albeit he was his own brother (cousin). Thereupon the barber went and on him." (Here follows a gap, and after that a portion of a word which reads kundará, followed by another gap.) The king celebrated the feast of his coronation in a manner worthy of the dignity of a king ; and after that he held a feast of ordination in the month of Jeṭṭhamúla (JuneJuly) with great rejoicings, and shed light on the religion of the conqueror. He gave the eight things that are needful to the monks, in great number, and kathina robes also to many priests." (Then follows verse 63 and the rest.) The editors have adopted the reading embodied in the text as the genuine one; and, indeed, they could not help doing so, as that narration is consecutive and unbroken. But there are, I think, strong grounds for suspicion that the broken narrative is the original, and that it has been tampered with subsequently with the object of suppressing the revelation of some disgraceful incident in the life of Parakkama III., the son of the pious and humane "Bósat Vijaya Báhu," who was the idol of his people. It would, however, be necessary to examine the palm leaf manuscripts before pronouncing a decided opinion.

68 of gold and adorned with door panels also of gold. And he covered the 69 ceiling thereof with cloths of silk and the like, of divers colours, which

was adorned with beautiful chains of gold and of silver and of pearls hung on every side. And when he had fixed a beautiful curtain-wall 70 of silk, he raised a splendid throne and overlaid it with exquisite 71 coverings. And this covering he adorned all round with rows of vases of 72 gold and silver, and rows of ornamented candlesticks of gold and silver. 73′ And then, with great reverence, he placed thereon the casket of the 74 tooth-relic and the casket of the bowl-relic, and commenced to hold 75 daily, in a worthy manner, great rejoicings in connection with the relic feast of the teacher. It was a feast that delighted the world,— smelling with the perfumes of divers flowers and the incense of smoking censers; served with all kinds of meat and drink; pleasing the ear with the joyous music played on the five kinds of instruments, and made pleasant by the songs and the dances of divers players.

76

And he made offerings to the tooth-relic of houses and lands, of men servants and maid servants, and of elephants, oxen, buffaloes, 77 and the like. And he thought within himself, saying, "Henceforth let the same ceremonies be observed daily, in regard to the tooth-relic, as were observed towards the supreme Buddha while he yet lived "; 78 and of his own free will he wrote a book in the Sinhalese language, 79 expounding the same, called "The Ceremonial of the Tooth-relic ";1 and he caused the rites to be performed to the relic daily according to the tenor thereof.

80

Moreover, the king appointed to the office of king's teacher a certain 81 great elder from the Cólian country, who was a self-denying man, and conversant with many languages, and skilled in the science of reasoning and religion. And he read all the Játakas with him, and constantly heard them expounded, and learnt them all, keeping in 82 mind their signification also. Thereafter he translated in due order 83 all those beautiful Játakas, five hundred and fifty in number, from 84 the Páli language into the Sinhalese tongue. And he caused them to be read in the midst of an assembly of great elders who were conversant with the Three Piṭakas; and when he had purged them of faults and caused them to be transcribed, he spread them abroad throughout the whole of Lanká.

85

And afterwards he invited a certain elder of great learning named 86 Médhankara, and gave the charge to him of these Játakas, so that they might be preserved in the line of succession of his pupils. And he 87 built a parivéna also for him after his (the king's) name, and caused the four villages Puránagáma, Sanníraséla, Labujamaṇḍaka, and Moravanka to be given to him.

88

At Titthagáma vihára,2 where the great Vijaya Báhu built a temple, 89 five and forty cubits long, which had gone altogether to decay, this 90 king, Parakkama Báhu, built a fine two-storied temple, thirty cubits

1 Dáthádhátu Caritta.

2 Totagamuwa vihára.

long, with tall spires, and then gave that building, as it shone with divers paintings, to the great and venerable elder Káyasatthi, who 91 dwelt in the parivéna called Vijaya Báhu. He also gave, for the 92 benefit of that parivéṇa, a village named Sálaggáma, near the bank of the river Gimha: land in that delightful village of Titthagáma he 93 formed a grove with five thousand coconut trees.

Then at Dévapura2 he caused a long two-storied image-house to be 94 built with two exquisite doors, containing a sleeping image (of Buddha), and caused the surrounding grove and the village Ganthimána3 to be 95 dedicated to Buddha.

At Valliggáma vihára he caused a two-storied temple to be built, 96 which was named Parakkama Báhu, after his own name; and the lord 97 of the land made it the common property of the great priesthood, and dedicated thereto a large village called Sáligiri5 for its maintenance. Nigh to the town of Rájaggáma, in the fine village of Viddumagáma, 98 he built the excellent vihára, Sirighanánanda, consisting of a parivéņa, a bódhi, and an image-house, and gave it to his teacher, the great elder 99 who came from the Cólian country.

6

Afterwards in that pleasant country called Máyádhanu,' he built a 100 new city with fine walls and gates, and erected a beautiful déválaya 101 there. It had a tall spire and two stories, and was surrounded by a wall with gates. Therein he placed an image of the lotus-coloured 102 king of the gods, and made great offerings thereto. And when he 103 had thus done much good to the kingdom and the church, and had performed many deeds of merit, he yielded himself up to the power of death.

He who had the power of merit that was heaped up in former births, 104 devoted himself to that which tended to his own good and the good of others, and cast off the love of uncertain riches, and thus did all things that were meritorious. O ye good men, who value faith, think of that which tends to your own welfare; think of the mutability of all things, and lay up for yourselves treasures by doing good, the chief of which is charity and piety.9

After his death there was a king named Vanni Bhuvanéka Báhu, 105 and after him Jaya Báhu, a very powerful king. And after the death

• This seems to be the proper conclusion of the chapter, ending as it does, like all the preceding chapters, with a hortatory verse composed in a different metre to the Anustup, the metre employed in the composition of the narrative itself. The remaining five verses must have been added by some subsequent writer who, from lack of material or noteworthy incident, merely made a record of the names of the three kings who followed Parakkama Báhu IV. The occurrence of three errors in the space of five verses strengthens our supposition that they were added at a later period, when literature was in a state of decay and literary composition became faulty and imperfect, as will be seen on reference to the remaining chapters of the Mahávansa. See supra chap. XCIX., vv. 77–82 and note thereon.

106 of these two kings there reigned a fourth ruler of men bearing the name 107 of Bhuvanéka Bahu, who was a man of great wisdom and faith, and

a mine of excellent virtues; and he dwelt in the delightful city of 108 Gangásiripura,1 near the Maháváluká river. He who attends to the order of succession should note that in the fourth year of this king's 109 reign there passed one thousand eight hundred and ninety-four years from the Nibbána of the sage.

110

The kings of old who lived at a time when Buddha's religion flourished, which is a time that is hard to be met with, were constantly diligent in the exercise of every virtue, such as charity and the like. Remembering this, do ye also perform meritorious deeds in a worthy manner.

Thus endeth the ninetieth chapter, entitled "The Narrative of Eight Kings commencing from Vijaya Báhu," in the Mahávansa, composed equally for the delight and amazement of good men.

1

1A

CHAPTER XCI.

ND after the death of (Bhuvanéka Báhu IV.) there reigned two kings in that self-same city (Gangásiripura), namely, Parakkama Báhu (V.) and the wise Vikkama Báhu (III.).

2 Now, in the time of the king Vikkama Báhu there was a mighty 3 prince of great wisdom, Alagakkónára by name; and he dwelt in the 4 beautiful and famous city of Perádóni, which is on the banks of the river Mahóru-gangá.3 And he was endued with majesty and faith and such like virtues, and desired greatly to promote the welfare of the church and the kingdom.

5

It was told by them of old time, saying "There is a city, Kalyáṇi by name, that shineth with its temples and bódhis and excellent walks; its ramparts, walls, image-houses, and cétiyas, its fine market 6 places, and its superior gates and arches." And the great sage

moreover, visited this city of Kalyani that was so greatly praised. On the southern side thereof, and nigh unto the village Dárúrugáma, 7 which contained a large pond, and was a goodly place, wherein dwelt men of great wisdom and virtue, he built the famous city of Jayavaddhanakóṭṭa, and adorned it with rows of great ramparts and gates and towers.

8

9

And this great man dwelt in that city; and being desirous of acquiring merit, he did much good, such as the advancement of religion and the like,

And this man became king in that city by the name of Bhuvanéka 10 Báhu V. And as he was full of faith, he made offerings always to Buddha and the other sacred objects with great devotion, and gave alms daily, and other gifts in abundance to the priesthood. And

that he might advance the welfare of the church, he assembled the priests together, and after that he had made inquisition he caused the 11 robes to be taken off from them that were wicked, and showed favour unto them that behaved themselves well, and gave them courage; and thus did he make the religion of the conqueror to shine brightly. And he caused a casket to be made of seven thousand pieces of silver, 12 and placed the tooth-relic therein, and made offerings thereto with great devotion. And when he had reigned twenty years his days were 13 numbered, and his own mother's son, Víra Báhu by name, succeeded to the throne; and he also, in like manner, did all that tended to the 14 welfare and prosperity of religion, and yielded himself up to the king of death.

Thereafter, in the one thousand nine hundred and fifty-third year 15 after the Parinibbáņa of the blessed Buddha, the king Parakkama 16 Báhu (VI.), who was indeed a temple of wisdom and courage, and born of the race of the sun, came to govern the great and glorious kingdom in the lovely city of Jayavaddhana, and began devoutly to make offerings to the Three Gems. This lord of the land built for the 17 tooth-relic of the great sage a beautiful three-storied temple, delightful to behold. And he made a casket of gold, inlaid with the nine precious 18 gems,1 and covered it with another casket of gold inlaid with precious stones shining with divers rays; and this also he enclosed in another golden casket that he had made. Moreover, he made a great and 19 excellent casket gilt with gold of the first and most beautiful kind; and as the king was desirous of being happy as long as life lasted, and even after it had ceased, he deposited the tooth within the four caskets. And when he remembered all the great feasts celebrated in Lanká by 20 the kings who were devoted in truth to the noble religion of the supreme Buddha, he bethought him, saying, “I also shall not be slow to make offerings, but will do so, in like manner, from the profits of this kingdom." And when he had reflected in this wise he made offerings 21 to the relics, in the fullness of faith, by every means in his power. And he caused alms to be given daily unto the priesthood together with the eight things necessary for monks, and celebrated a feast every month. To the priests of the three countries3 he caused the gift to be 22 given of the kathina robe yearly, and a great almsgiving and robes 23 to be given every year. Thus did this king of great renown and virtue heap up merit.

And at the village Pappaṭakánana1 the wise king built, for the benefit 24 of his mother, the Sunettá parivéņa and called it after her name; and he also made an áráma for the priesthood, and dedicated much 25

1 I.e., pearl, ruby, topaz, diamond, emerald, lapis-lazuli, coral, sapphire, and góméda, which last is supposed to be a variety of agate.

2 I.e., during the course of transmigration and in Nirvána.

Ruhuņu, Pihiți, and Máyá.

• Pepiliyána.

Better known by the name of Sunetrádévi parivéņa.

2 M

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