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(23.) Under the last. Barata Utara Kasabaha pați ucaya. The dwelling (?) of the royal messenger Uttara

Kassapa.

(24.) On south side of north rock. Gapati Pusa..sa Tisasa lene.

The cave of the householder Pusa..sa Tissa. (25.) On east side of north rock. Dame davanipi gapati Visakaha line. The stone-cutter, evidently ignorant of Pali and therefore possibly a Dravidian, has omitted the lower parts of the letters da and pi, and made mistakes in the vowels.

The cave of the devout householder Visakha, beloved of the Gods.

(26.) On south-east side of north rock. Parumaka Asa Adeka Velasa jaya Tisaya leņe.

The cave (of) Tissayā, wife of the Chief Asa Adeka
Vēla.

(27.) At south-east end of north rock. Parumaka Nuguya Vela putana Sigara Malasava Nuguya Malasava lene.

The cave (of) Sigāla Malasava (and) Nuguya (Nudguhya) Malasava, sons (of) the Chief Nuguya Vēļa.

(28.) Under-side of east rock. Magasa lene. The cave of

Măgha.

(29.) Western cave on top of rock. Badira Mahatisa puta Maha Sumana lene.

(30.)

The cave (of) Mahā Sumana, son (of) Mahātissa the
Deaf.

West side of eastern cave. Citagutasa ca Baraniya

că leṇe.

The cave of Cittagutta and Bharaniya.

(31.) Southern cave.

Ramasi leņe.

The cave (of) Rāmāsi.

(32.) At the side of a flight of steps cut in the rock at the north end of the hill there is an inscription in one line which may be the first instance of what is known in Ceylon as Paeraeli Bāsa, or transposition of letters in written or spoken words.

In the facsimile I first give the inscription as it stands, and then a corrected copy, that is, one with the same letters turned round horizontally or vertically or both. It must be read from right to left, and only the consonants in the word savi require transposing, making this word Siva. When thus corrected the inscription is :—

Meka ni salaku savi tipaga pinuvada meda, or when transposed-Dame davanupi Gapati Siva kulasa

nikame.

The work of the family (of) the devout householder
Siva, beloved of the Gods.

Inscriptions at Erupotāna hill.

(33.) South-east cave on south side. Parumaka Ku (4 letters) Siva puta Abayasa lene sagasa niyate.

Trisula over circle.

The cave of Abhaya son (of) the Chief Ku . . . .
Siva is assigned to the Community.

(34.) South cave on south side.

Parumaka Nadika putasa Parumaka Mitasa lene agata anagata catu disa sagasa dine.

The cave of the Chief Mitta, of the son (of) the Chief Nandika; given to the Community of the four quarters, present or future.

(35.) North side of south cave, near the tank. Tisa teraha atevahika Sumana teraha leņe agata anagata catu

disa sagasa.

The cave of the thēra Sumana, pupil of the thēra Tissa; to the Community of the four quarters, present or future.

(36.) South side of south cave. Damagutaha leņe sagasa. The cave of Dhammagutta; to the Community. (37.) South-eastern cave, east side. Parumaka Hadaka bariya upasika Nagaya ca puta upasaka Tisaha

ca upasaka Deva ca leņe agata anagata catu disa sagasa niyate.

The cave (of) the female devotee Nāgayā, wife (of)

the Chief Saddhaka, and of the lay devotee Tissa (her) son, and (of) the lay devotee Dēva, is assigned

to the Community of the four quarters, present or

future.

(38.) Northern cave, containing a broken statue of Buddha. Fragments of bricks in the brick wall of this cave measure 3 inches, 2.30 inches, and 2 inches in thickness.

Parumaka Pita jaya Parumaka Satanasata jita Parumaka Lapusaya lene agata anagata catu sagasa. A symbol follows, apparently a flagstaff surrounded by a fence of four uprights and one cross bar at their top. Possibly it represents the Flag of Victory (of Buddhism), supported by the four great Truths.

The cave (of) the (female) Chief Alapusayā (?Alaņbushā), daughter (of) the Chief Santānasatta, wife (of) the Chief Pita; to the Community of the four (quarters), present or future.

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Tisaguta terasa sadi

Tisaya lena sidadisa sagasa neyate.

(39.) At south end of eastern rock. wiharaya barata Majima. sano agata anagata catu The cave Beautiful' (of) the royal messenger Majjhima. . . Tissaya, for the excellent wihāra of the thera Tissagutta, is assigned to the Community of the four quarters, present or future. Barata Tisaha lene.

(40.) Copied by Mr. Fowler.

The cave of the royal messenger Tissa.

At Vedikkināri Malei, a hill some miles to the north, near Ariyamaḍu.

(41.) North cave. Parumaka Pusamita puta Majima)ha

leņe agata anāgata cudi sagaha.

The cave of Majjhima, son (of) the Chief Pusamitta; of the Community (of the four quarters), present or future.

(42.) South cave (a). Maha Samuda puta Gutasa leņe

sagasa. Parumaka

Gutahe 1(ene).

Bamaheta putaha Maha

The cave of Gutta, son (of) Mahā Samudda; to the Community. The cave of Mahā Gutta, son (of) the Chief Brahmahatta.

(43) South cave (b). This is another example of ' Paeraeli Bāsa.' When the letters are correctly arranged it

becomes Nele hasati dicu taba. It is read from right to left. The Cave of the workman Cudi Tissa. At Kaccatkoḍi, a mile and a half south of Erupotāna. (44.) (1) Senapati puta Parumaka Nadika puta Pama

tisaha; three dots in a vertical line, forming a full stop. Parumaka Naṭaha upasaka, (2) upasaka Anediya, upasaka Buti Sumanaha (see Fig. No. 152).

(The cave) of Pamätissa, son (of) the Chief Nandika

son (of) Senapati. Of the Chief Nața, the lay devotee; (of) the lay devotee Anediya; of the lay devotee Bhuti Sumana.

(45.) Another example of 'Paeraeli Bāsa.' Hagasa ṇale (Na)la Bati gaba. The inscription is read from the middle outwards, first to the right and then to the left. The room of Nāla Bhatiya, a cave of the Community.

(46.)

Asadama Gutaha lene sagasa.

The cave of Asadhamma Gutta; to the Community. Some of these inscriptions, especially those at Nāval Nirāvi Malei, may be as old as the last quarter of the third century B.C., while the rest with a very few exceptions belong to the second century and the first half of the first century B.C.

The most interesting inscription after those of the king and queen is No. 34. Strange to say, apparently the same chief caused a similar one to be cut, letter for letter identical throughout the first portion, at the eastern side of a rock termed Kuḍimbigala, near Haelawa, in the extreme south-east of Ceylon. It runs as follows:(47.)

Parumaka Nadika putasa 2 Parumaka Mitasa lene
Maha Sudasana sagasa diņa.3

1 The cave over which it is cut was occupied by a bear at the time of my visit.

It is a distinctive feature of this and No. 34 that this word is in the genitive case.

3 Most probably the right cut at the top of the n was accidental;

The cave' Great Beautiful' of the Chief Mitta, of the son (of) the Chief Nandika; a gift to the Community.

(48.) Another on the west side of the same rock is-
Bata Pusagutasa leņe Ma(ha Su)dasana leņe
sagasa dine.

The cave of the workman Pusagutta, the 'Great
Beautiful' cave; given to the Community.

The bricks in a wall at this cave average 17.20 inches in length, 8.90 inches in breadth, and 3-16 inches in thickness; Bt. is 28.1 and the contents 484 inches. The size indicates the second, or early in the first century B.C. as the time when they were burnt.

The inscriptions numbered 34 and 47 are in the earliest characters and appear to date from some time prior to 100 B.C. The most probable explanation of their authorship is that the person who caused them to be cut may be one of the chiefs who accompanied King Duṭṭha-Gāmiņi from southern Ceylon during his war against the Tamils of northern Ceylon. The name of the chief's father renders it extremely likely, or perhaps certain, that the inscription may be attributed to the famous Nandi-Mitta, or Nandika Mitta, the first of the ten celebrated champions or chieftains of King Duṭṭha-Gāmiņi. If so, this would provide a satisfactory 'explanation of his leaving two inscriptions at places so widely separated.

The fanciful derivations in the histories, out of which some of the champions' names have been evolved, are of course ridiculous. In the case of another of them, Gōṭhayimbara, who is said to have been so called because he was short and was strong enough to uproot' imbara' trees, the writer ignores the fact that Ayimbara was a personal name of the time. An inscription of perhaps 100 B.C. at Nayindanāwa wihāra in the North-western Province runs :

(49.)

Parumaka Mahatisa puta Cuḍa Ayimaraha lene
Ayimare pavatahi.

the interpretation would then become the usual formula 'given to the Community.'

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