Imágenes de páginas
PDF
EPUB

66

king of Soly was struck with terror; the king of Ceylon mounted the throne; and as for the giant Nielaw, he killed the elephants of the city, by dashing one against another. The ministers of the king of Soly went and gave their master information of the devastation which was making in the country. The king of Soly thereupon asked the king of Ceylon, if he had come to ruin his country. The king of Ceylon answered, that he had brought no army to destroy the country, but only a little boy with him, and thereupon ordered the giant Nielaw to be brought, and accordingly he came, and stood before him. The king Soly Rata then asked the king of Ceylon how he could come without an army, and the king of Ceylon thereupon answered, "I have come in order to take back to their own country the twelve thousand families which thy father brought away from Ceylon in the time of my father." The king of Soly thereupon replied, We, whose king formerly vanquished the Asuras," (a sort of gods) "cannot think of giving thee back thy people which were brought away captive." The king of Ceylon thereupon became angry, and said that he would smite the city, and leave the same in ashes, and demanded that the king should instantly, instead of twelve thousand families which had been brought from Ceylon, return to him twenty-four thousand; and thereupon taking up a handful of sand, squeezed it, so that drops of water fell therefrom, and also taking his iron rod, he gave it a twist, so that water fell from it also. The king of Soly was thereupon struck with great terror, and granted his demand of twenty-four thousand families. The king of Ceylon also, upon that occasion, brought away the footornaments of Patini Dewi, and also the arms of the four gods, and also the Patra Dhatu of Buddha, which had been taken away in the time of the king, and admonishing the king never to be guilty of carrying away such spoil any more, departed for Ceylon. On his arrival, he restored all those who had been carried away captive to their ancient possessions, and the rest he desired to reside in the country then called Kuru Rata (that is, the country for taking elephants) and since that the said country bears the name of the Alut Kurcorle to this day; and this king, after a reign of twenty-four years died, and went to Dewa Loka (or heaven.)

His son, who was called Bhatia Tissa Rajah, was the next king. He caused the dawgob called Palupala Dawgob, to be built at the root of a tree called Kiry Palugaha, and made offerings to the same, and reigned as king for the

space of twenty-four years. His younger brother, who was called Cudana Rajah, was the next king, and he reigned twenty-two years. His son, who was called Wawa Tissa Rajah, was the next king, and he reigned twenty-two years. His son, who was called Ambagey Rajah, was the next king, and he reigned for two years. The son of the late king, Wawa Tissa Rajah, who was called Sutou Rajah, was the next king, and he likewise reigned for two years. His son, who was called Wija Lindu Rajah, was the next king, and he reigned for six years.

Sanga Tissa Rajah, who was of the blood royal called Lemini Wangsa, was the next king, and he reigned for four years. After him Sri Sanga Bo Rajah became king, and while he was governing in a proper manner there came a famine upon the land, and there was no rain, but through the king's virtue there came rain. At this time there lived a man in the province called Roonoo Rata, called Dala Raksha, who was a cannibal, and on whose account the country was in a state of distraction. The king vowed that he would not stir without seeing the man, and through the virtue of the king the said cannibal came of his own accord to the king, and thereupon the king asked him, what was the reason of his molesting his subjects? The cannibal promised to do so no more if the king would give him only one village to feast upon, but was refused; he asked the half thereof, and was refused; and some tell, he asked to have only one man more, and the king told him that he should not have one, but told him to take himself, if he pleased, and thereupon the cannibal answered, "Although there were a hundred like me, they could not take and eat so good a king as thou art." The king was pleased with the saying, and since he had refused to sacrifice human creatures to his ferocity, promised to make him an allowance in rice, and had the pleasure of seeing the cannibal's disposition changed to mildness.

While the king was thus governing according to wisdom, his brother, who was called Leenini Golu Ambau Rajah, came to pay him a visit, and took the kingdom from him. The king disguised himself as a priest, and came and resided in secret at the place where the dawgob of Attana Gala is now built, to the south-east of the temple of Calany. Golu Ambau Rajah caused proclamation to be made throughout his whole dominions, by the beat of tom-tom, that whosoever would bring the head of the king his brother, should receive a great reward. Many people cut off other

people's heads, and carried them to the said Golu Ambau Rajah, pretending that they had found his brother, and cut off his head, but he was not to be imposed upon by a counterfeit head. A poor woman, however, one day made ready a little rice, and some of the small fishes called Nitoly, but in the Cinghalese, Hawl messau, and giving the same to her husband, said unto him, "Husband, if thou shouldst bring the head of the king Sri Sanga Bo Rajah, we should be made rich;" and accordingly sent him away to bring the same. The said poor man entered into the jungle,

66

[ocr errors]

and wandered till he came to Attana Gala, and there he found out a flat stone and the place of the king's residence, and went to talk to the king, but in the mean time did not know that it was the king. The king asked from whence he came, and he told him that he was in search of the king Sri Sango Bo Rajah, for sake of whose head many people had been put to death. The king was sorry to hear the news, and resolved that the poor man should obtain the reward, and thereupon said unto him, " Come, let us eat that rice which thou hast brought." The basket with the rice was opened, and the two sat down to eat. The rice was divided into two shares; and thereupon the king thought within himself, If ever I am to be a Buddha let these fish swim in the water, and let this rice made of the grain called mawee grow;" and thereupon throwing the said fish, which were not only dead and boiled, but also pounded in a mortar into one consistency, into a pellucid pool, they began to swim in the water, and in the mean time the boiled rice began to grow, and thereby he knew that he would one day become Buddha; and so having eaten his rice, he told the poor man that he was the king, and to cut off his head, upon which the poor man became terrified, and ran away. The king called out to him to stop and take his head, saying, If any man dispute thy word, and say that thou hast not brought the head of Sri Sanga Bo Rajah, do thou take sandal wood and sweet smelling liquid, and offer the same to the head, after laying the head on a chair covered with white cloth, and then, by the power of the gods, my head itself will bear witness;" and thereupon he himself, tying the end of a cloth to a tree, and the other end about his neck, twisted off his head, and gave it to the poor man. The poor man took and presented the head to Golu Ambau Rajah, who, however, said that it was a counterfeit head, but the poor man having done as he had been directed, the head sprang up three times through the power of the gods, and said, “ I

[ocr errors]

am the head of Sri Sanga Bo Rajah," and thereupon the king gave to the poor man a great reward, and reigned as king for twenty-two years. The king Golu Ambau Rajah, in his life-time, visited Attana Gala, where his brother's body lay, and built a house round the dawgob, and made large offerings, and dying, went to the world called Paralow.

His son, who was called Calakin Deta Tissa Rajah, was the next king. He apprehended and put to death the eight persons, Cala Wessa, which his father had never been able to do-made four stories to Lowa Maha Pawya, which his father had not been able to finish-raised a steeple on the same, and made large offerings for the same-dug six lakes-made the dawgob of Pelan Sri Gala, of Montaroo, and of Elugol; and making large offerings, reigned as king for ten years.

His younger brother, who was called Mahasen Rajah, was the next king. He causing the devils to work, made the late lake called Minnery Wewa, dammed up the river called Cara Ganga, which used to run to the said place Minnery; at a signal given him by the gods, dammed up the brook called Tala Wattuya, and with the water of the same cultivated twenty thousand fields, and prepared the same for sowing. As there was a want of dhatu or bones, &c. of Buddha, he told the priests to make figures of gold; and, moreover, he caused to be made the lake of Muagamua, the lake of Suralacaora, the lake of Didora, the lake of Maha Minia, the lake of Poknawa, the lake of Poos Coomboora, the lake of Patcalumalua, the lake of Sulugumalua, the lake of Calawana, the lake of Kimboolwat, the lake of Wadunnawa, the lake of Surualarantia, the lake of Minihiria, altogether seventeen lakes; and all this service he caused to be performed by the devils; and as there was no dhatu of Buddha, and as he knew by hearing that the girdle of Buddha was in heaven, he looked up to heaven, and the gods seeing that he gave himself so much trouble, consented to let down the wonderful girdle of Buddha. The king stretched out his hand to receive the girdle, and thereupon the gods pulled it higher up, and the king stretching himself to get hold of it, the gods pulled it up higher still, and the king still eager to lay hold of the girdle, stretched himself still more to get hold of the same, but still the same was drawn up out of his reach. The king, after all his anxiety being so much disappointed, began to grow angry, and taking his sword, sprang up eighty cubits towards heaven, and cut a piece of the girdle, which piece he kept, but the rest thereof the gods pulled again up to heaven. The king made great

offerings to this piece of Buddha's girdle; he also made a noble dawgob for it forty cubits in height; and having reigned as king for the space of twenty-four years, he died, and went to heaven. And thus from the king Wijaya Rajah to the king Mahasen Rajah, there were sixty-three kings, all of untainted royal blood; and at this time Buddha had been dead eight hundred and forty-four years, nine months, and twentyfive days; but know this, that with Mahasen Rajah ended the unadulterated royal blood.

The kings who followed were descended of parents, one of whom was of the Suria Wansa,* or descended from the sun, and the other of the Sri Bodee Wansa, descended from the bringer of the Bo-tree, or of the Delada Wansa, descended from the bringer of the Dhatu, and thus of mixed blood; and on that account, and because there were no longer to be found the Rahatoonancies who could fly to heaven when they pleased, and because the god Sakra Dewa-indra left off to regard Ceylon, and because piety had disappeared, and because the city of Anuradha Pura was left in ruins, and because the fertility of the land was decreased, the kings who followed were no longer of such consequence as before. The king called Kirti Sri Mewan Rajah was the next king after the said Mahasen who ascended the throne, and he was of the said adulterated blood. In the ninth year of his reign, the king called Guwaseenam Rajah was king of the country called Calingu Rata, and this king of Calingu Rata had in his possession the tooth of Buddha, called Dakumi Delada Samy, and the king worshipped and made offerings to the same. But now the king of the city called Sawat Nuwara declared war against the said king of Calingu Rata, in order to make himself master of the said tooth. The king of Calingu Rata thereupon called his daughter, whose name was Ranewalenam Cumara, and her husband called Dantanam Cumaraya, and addressed himself to them, saying, "The king of Ceylon, Kirti Sri Mawan Rajah is my good friend; I am now going forth to battle; if it happen that I lose the day, I will hoist a red flag, and do you thereupon, without allowing Delada Samy (the tooth) to be taken by the enemy, disguise yourselves as pilgrims, and carry the same to Ceylon, and deliver it there to the king, my friend. The king of Calingu Rata accordingly went forth to meet his foe, and when he found that the battle was going against him, he hoisted a red flag, and having so done, fell by the hand of

* Surya Vansa. S. lineage of the sun.

« AnteriorContinuar »