and offered flowers and light to the Bo-tree plentifully, and from thence to the temple called Tupau Rama, and did the same, and then returned to his own house. The same day, however, that he offered flowers and lights, the Malabars broke and put out the same. The next morning Nandy Mittraya went and saw what they had done, and returned again to his house, vowing revenge against the Malabars; and accordingly went that very night to Anuradha Pura, and laying hold of the Malabars, pitched them over the bulwark: and thus he continued from night to night to kill the Malabars, and so their numbers became greatly reduced.

A Malabar adigar at last gave information of this matter to the king, and accordingly the king ordered that guard should be kept at night, to prevent this evil; accordingly guards having been placed, Nandy Mittraya was discovered, and the Malabars sought to take him, but he, killing several of the Malabars, returned to his home. He now thought within himself, that he could not by himself root out the Malabars, and therefore that it would be best for him to go to Roona Magana, and join himself to a virtuous prince, and with his assistance, purify the religion of Boodha, which was to endure for the space of five thousand years; and, accordingly, setting off in the morning, (notwithstanding the great distance) he reached the said city before the sun had reached to the middle of his journey, and presented himself to Kawan Tissa Rajah.

The king made large presents to Nandy Mittraya, and introduced him to the prince Gemunu Cumara. It was likewise discovered, that on account of his virtuous deeds done in the time of Coevasanda, the first Buddha, and in the time of Conagama, the second Buddha, Nandy Mittraya was now endued with miraculous power. The youngest prince, in the mean time, went to the place called Casaw Totta, drove away the Malabars he found there, and posted. his own forces to guard the same. The king, Kawan Tissa Rajah, gave orders that soldiers should be raised from all the casts, according to their families, for the service of the prince.

In the village called Godigamuwa, there were found seven vellalas of one family, one of which was selected for the service of the prince; the youngest of the seven was called Nermalaya, and he remained at home without any employment, on which account the other six brothers requested their father and mother to send their youngest brother, who remained thus at home idle without learning any trade, as a soldier to the prince. Notwithstanding the

services performed by the six elder brothers, their father and mother loved Nermalaya, the younger, still better than them. In the morning Nermalayau arose, and was fed, from the hand of his mother*, with rice which had been boiled the night before. He then took up his wallet, and taking a quarter of a measure of rice, took leave of his father and mother, and departed. His father and mother knew that Nermalaya was valiant, and now he began to show what he could do, by walking from Godigamuwa to Casaw Totta, being thirty leagues distant, the very same morning; for about seven o'clock in the morning, when the prince Diga Bala Cumara, having risen from his bed, and gone out, returned again to his room, and was eating rice, he presented himself to the prince. The prince asked him what time he' had left his home, and he answered, that very morning. Upon which the prince, doubting of the truth of what he had said, wrote a letter, which he dated eight o'clock, after eating rice, and gave the same to Nermalaya, saying, "Take this to my friend, a Brahman of the village Dewategama, which is thirty leagues distant; and having delivered this letter, bring the medicine which he will deliver to thee." Nermalaya accordingly set off, and before the sun reached the meridian he arrived at the Brahman's quarters, and delivered the letter. The Brahman having read the letter, asked if he had just then arrived, to which he answered in the affirmative; and added that he was warm, and wanted some water. The Brahman then told him to go to the lake called Tisaw Wewa, which was four leagues from the city called Anuradha Pura Nuwara, from which proceeded four streams, and there to bathe, and to bring from each of the streams a medicine to him, and that he would make ready rice and currie for him to eat on his return. Nermalaya accordingly set off, came to Tisaw Wewa, and bathed, pulled some of the tank flowers, and gathered the medicine from each of the streams, viewed the whole city, and returned to the Brahman at the time of eating rice, and delivered his medicines. The Brahman, seeing his valour, was much affected; and giving him a hundred gold massoo, wrote a letter to Diga Bala Cumara, telling him that this was a valiant man, and that it would be a very bad thing for him to fall into the hands of the Malabars; and begged that the prince might not keep him near his own person, but would send him directly to the king Kawan Tissa Rajah.

Nermalaya arrived with the letter in the evening, while it To be fed by a mother's hand is, among the Cinghalese, reckoned a great blessing.

was yet light, and delivered to the prince the medicine and the flowers. The prince having thus discovered what a powerful person this was, presented him with a thousand gold massoo, told him to go and inform his father and mother, and in order to go to Roona Magama, to return on the morrow. Nermalaya having returned home, and given the money he had received to his father and mother, his elder brothers came in; and not knowing what a powerful person he was, began to chide him, and said, that the child without going to Casaw Totta, had merely returned from the road. The next morning, his mother again fed him with currie and rice; and taking his leave, he repaired again to Casaw Totta; and there receiving a letter from Diga Bala Cumara, went and made his obedience, and delivered the same to Kawan Tissa Rajah: and the king, having read the letter, and learned the valour of Nermalaya, made him a present of a lack of gold massoo, and introduced him to his son, the prince Gemunu Cumara. In this manner eight giants more sprang up, and Kawan Tissa had now ten giants, whom he delivered to his son, the prince Gemunu Čumara, and also the Cadol elephant †.

The king conferred on Tissa Čumara the country called Diga Madulla and Oewa; and now thinking within himself, that should his two sons at any time fall out the one with the other, through desire of reigning, and the said ten giants take part with the one against the other, the one would certainly be killed, he called the said ten giants, and made them swear by the religion of Buddha, that they would never take part with one of the said princes against the other, which the said ten giants accordingly did.

The

Gemunu Cumara now repaired to Casaw Totta with forces, and while there sent to his father, requesting permission to cross the river called Ma-willa Ganga. The father, fearing that his son would be killed, wrote a letter advising him, by all means, not to go; and informed him that the Malabar army consisted of one million and eighty thousand men, and twenty powerful giants, and that the territory on this side the river was quite sufficient. son, however, till three times, repeated his request to cross the river; and the father, out of love to his son, and regard for his safety, till three times refused his consent, and advised him to abide on this side the river. The prince, dissatisfied with being thus restrained from giving reins to the ardour of The word yodayau, which is translated giant, does not signify so much a man of great stature, as a man of great valour.

† A flying elephant.

his soul the fourth time, sent a present of women's jewels, saying, "The king, my father, is a woman, and no man!" The father hereupon was grieved and enraged, and said that if the prince did go he would surely die; and lest that should happen, he would put the prince in confinement; but the prince hearing this resolution, fled to the place called Gilumala; and having hidden himself there for several days, fled to Cotmala.

The king, Kawan Tissa Rajah, having worn the crown, and reigned for the space of sixty years, died, and went to Tositapura (that is, glory.)

After the king's death, the younger son, namely, Tissa Cumara, returned to his home; and pretending that his father had conferred upon him the Cadol elephant, took the same with his mother, and repaired to the place called Diga Madulla.

The elder son, namely, Gemunu Cumara, having heard of his father's death, returned from Cotmala to Malgam Nuwara; and wrote a letter to his brother, Tissa Cumara, desiring him to send back his mother, and the elephant which had been brought forth on the same day that himself was born; but Tissa Cumara refused to comply with the said request. The demand was repeated three times, and still refused; in consequence of which, the two brothers took the field against each other. The battle having closed, thirty thousand of Gemunu Cumara's army were cut down; and having lost the field, he rushed forward in a rage to revenge himself on his brother. Tissa Cumara fled, and Gemunu Čumara pursued, which pursuit was broken off by a party of priests, who came between, and would not suffer the two brothers to come together; but Tissa Cumara having returned to Diga Madulla, raised a fresh army, and again went forth to war.

Gemunu Cumara, in the mean time, thought with himself that to be at war thus with his brother, and losing so many men, would make it impossible in future to go to war against the Malabars, and so wrote a letter to his brother, desiring that the armies might be set aside, and challenging him to come out in person, saying, that whoever should gain the day should reign; and, accordingly, Tissa Cumara, mounted upon the Cadol elephant, went forth to meet his brother. Gemunu Cumara went out to meet his brother on horseback, and having met on the field of battle, he made the horse spring up on the back of his brother's elephant; and having thus got his brother in his power, began to strike at him with the back of his sword, to show that he did not want to kill him; whereupon the Cadol elephant became angry, and

as if he would have said, "I have got a woman upon my back, while the horse has got a man upon his," brought Tissa Cumara to the ground. Tissa Cumara took to flight, and Gemunu Cumara pursued; and lest he should again muster an army, and come against him, determined to seize and put him in prison; but Tissa Cumara took refuge in a temple among the priests, and Gemunu Cumara, in his pursuit, approached the said temple; and when the priests saw him enter, all that were sitting stood up, and all that were standing sat down; and when Gemunu Cumara asked where was Tissa Cumara, who had just entered, the priests who were then sitting answered, that they had not seen him since they sat down, and those that were then standing, that they had not seen him since they stood up.

The priests afterwards wrapped Tissa Cumara in priest's clothes, and as if he had been a dead priest, carried him out to bury him, which Gemunu Cumara having perceived, said, "There goes Tissa Cumara, whose life is uncertain, upon the shoulders of the priests *!" And leaving him in the hands of the priests, he took the Cadol elephant and his mother, and repaired to the city of Magam Nuwara.

Tissa Cumara requested the priests to go to his brother, and sue for peace; and the priests having, accordingly, come to Magam Nuwara, and fulfilled their commission, brought and delivered Tissa Cumara to his brother. Gemunu Cumara remonstrated, and asked what was the reason of this disturbance? "I am the lawful king, the fault was none of mine, the fault was entirely in Tissa Cumara, and through his fault thousands of lives have been destroyed;" and having so said, the priests made their obeisance, and he permitted them to depart. The next day the palace was made clean from the filth which had been occasioned by the death of their father, and ornamented; the two brothers embraced and wept over each other, and being agreed together, ceased to mourn for their father.

Gemunu Rajah now repaired to the temple, paid his obeisance to the priests, and expressed his desire of crossing the river Ma-willa Ganga, obtained their permission to do so, and having called his younger brother, embraced him with the tenderest affection, and said to him, "I am going to war with the Malabars, do thou stay at home, and apply thyself to the cultivation of the land." The king now mustered his four kinds of soldiers, viz. riders on elephants, his riders in chariots, his riders on horses, and his infantry, and went

To allow of any service being done, and especially to admit of being carried, by the priests of Buddha, is reckoned a heinous sin.