tations of the "devil dancers" in case of danger and B.C. emergency1; a Singhalese, rather than put a Cobra de 104. Capello to death, encloses the reptile in a wicker cage, and sets it adrift on the nearest stream; and in the island of Nainativoe, to the south-west of Jaffa, there was till recently a little temple, dedicated to the goddess Naga Tambiran, in which consecrated serpents were tenderly reared by the Pandarams, and daily fed at the expense of the worshippers.2 1 For an account of Demon worship as it still exists in Ceylon, see Sir J. EMERSON TENNENT'S History of Christianity in Ceylon, ch. v. p. 236. p. 169. 104. CHAP. VIII. 66 B.C. FROM the death of Dutugaimunu to the exhaustion of the superior dynasty on the death of Maha-Sen, A.D. 301, there are few demonstrations of pious munificence to signalise the policy of the intervening sovereigns. The king whom, next to Devenipiatissa and Dutugai munu, the Buddhist historians rejoice to exalt as one of the champions of the faith, was Walagam-bahu I.1, whose reign, though marked by vicissitudes, was productive of lasting benefit to the national faith. Walagam-bahu ascended the throne B.c. 104. but was almost immediately forced to abdicate by an incursion of the Malabars; who, concerting a simultaneous landing at several parts of the island, combined their movements so successfully that they seized on Anarajapoora, and drove the king into concealment in the mountains near Adam's Peak; and whilst one portion of the invaders returned laden with plunder to the Dekkan, their com panions remained behind and held undisputed possession of the northern parts of Ceylon for nearly fifteen years. In this and the frequent incursions which followed, the Malabar leaders were attracted by the wealth of the country to the north of the Mahawelli-ganga, the southern portion of the island being either too wild and unproductive to present a temptation to conquest, or too steep and inaccessible to afford facilities for invasion. Besides, the highlanders who inhabit the lofty ranges that lie around Adam's Peak; (a district known 1 Called in the Mahawanso, "Wata-gamini." as Malaya, "the region of mountains and torrents,")" then and at all times exhibited their superiority over 104. the lowlanders in vigour, courage, and endurance. Hence the petty kingdoms of Maya and Rohuna afforded on every occasion a refuge to the royal family when driven from the northern capital, and furnished a force to assist in their return and restoration. Walagam-bahu, after many years' concealment there, was at last enabled to resume the offensive, and succeeded in driving out the infidels, and recovering possession of the sacred city, an event which he commemorated in the usual manner by the erection of dagobas, tanks, and wiharas. But the achievement by which most of all he entitled himself to the gratitude of the Singhalese annalists, was the reduction to writing of the doctrines and discourses of Buddha, which had been orally delivered by Mahindo, and previously preserved by tradition alone. These sacred volumes, which may be termed the Buddhist 1 Mahawanso, ch. vii. 89. B.C. Scriptures, contain the Pittakataya, and its commentaries the Atthakatha, and were compiled by a company of priests in a cave to the north of Matelle, known as the Aloo-wihara.1 This, and other caverns in which the king had sought concealment during his adversity, he caused to be converted into rock temples after his restoration to power. Amongst the rest, Dambool, which is the most remarkable of the cave temples of Ceylon from its vastness, its elaborate ornaments, and the romantic beauty of its situation and the scenery surrounding it. B.C. 62. The The history of the Buddhist religion in Ceylon is not, however, a tale of uniform prosperity. first of its domestic enemies was Naga, the grandson of the pious Walagam-bahu, whom the native historians stigmatise by the prefix of "chora" or the "marauder." His story is thus briefly but emphatically told in the Mahawanso: "During the reign of his father Mahachula, Chora Naga wandered through the island leading the life of a robber; returning on the demise of the king he assumed the monarchy; and in the places which had denied him an asylum during his marauding career, he impiously destroyed the wiharas.2 50. After a reign of twelve years he was poisoned by his queen Anula, and regenerated in the Lokantariko hell."3 B.C. B.C. 47. His son, King Kuda Tissa, was also poisoned by his mother, in order to clear her own way to the throne. The Singhalese annals thus exhibit the unusual incident of a queen enrolled amongst the monarchs of the great dynasty--a precedent which was followed in after times; B.C. Queen Siwalli having reigned in the succeeding century, A.D. 37, Queen Lila-wati, in A.D. 1197, and Queen 47. Kalyana-wati in A.D. 1202. From the excessive vileness of her character, the first of these Singhalese women who attained to the honours of sovereignty is denounced in the Mahawanso as "the infamous Anula." In the enormity of her crimes and debauchery she was the Messalina of Ceylon ;-she raised to the throne a porter of the palace with whom she cohabited, descending herself to the subordinate rank of Queen Consort, and poisoned him to promote a carpenter in his stead. A carrier of firewood, a Brahman, and numerous other paramours followed in rapid succession, and shared a similar fate, till the kingdom was at last relieved from the opprobrium by a son of Prince Tissa, who put the murderess to death, and restored the royal line in his own person. His successors for more than two centuries were a race of pious fainéants, undistinguished by any qualities, and remembered only by their fanatical subserviency to the priesthood. B.C. 41. Buddhism, relieved from the fury of impiety, was next imperilled by the danger of schism. Even before the funeral obsequies of Buddha, schism had displayed itself in Maghadha, and two centuries had not elapsed from his death till it had manifested itself on no less than seventeen occasions, and in each instance it was with difficulty checked by councils in which the priesthood settled the faith in relation to the points. which gave rise to dispute; but not before the actual occurrence of secessions from the orthodox church.1 The earliest differences were on questions of discipline A.D. amongst the colleges and fraternities at Anarajapoora ; 209. but in the reign of Wairatissa, A.D. 209, a formidable controversy arose, impugning the doctrines of Buddhism, and threatening for a time to rend in sunder the sacred unity of the church.2 1 Mahawanso, ch. v. p. 21. 2 Ibid., ch. xxxiii. |