The King, moreover, having made a collection of water in the middle of the river Jajjara (Dęduru-oya ?) and having formed paddy fields, collected vast quantities of grain.

Moreover, having made Panda-wapi, which was formerly very small indeed, (into one) containing a body of water, great and exceedingly lofty, having outlets for the water, and an embankment of greatly increased height, length, breadth and strength, he gave it the name of the "Sea of Parákrama."

In an island situated in the middle of it, on the summit of a rock* the King built a Dhatu-gabbho (Dágaba) resembling the peak of Mount Kaílúsa.

In the middle also of the tank, he built a Royal Palace three stories high, and of superlative beauty: a palace indeed for the collected joys of the world.

The following, and many other ruined tanks and mountain streams did this benevolent monarch repair, in various parts of his dominions, viz., the tank of Mahagalla,† the tank of Sethi, likewise that of Chhattunnata the tank of Tamba, and the tank of Ambawala, the tank of Giribá, the tank of Patala, the tank of Mandika, the tank of Mórawápi, and the tanks of Sadiyaggama and Tilagulla, also the tank of Malawalli, the tank of Kálikittakaṇḍaka, the tank of Kanikaragalla, and the mountain stream Buddhagama, the tank of Súkaragama, ('the village of hogs,') the tank of Maha-kirala, the tank of Giri, aud those of Rakkhamana, Ambála, and Katunnaru, the tanks of Jallibawa and Utiarála, and that of Tintinigama, ('the tamarind village,') the tank of Dhawalawitthi, Kira-wapi, and Nalannaru, the tank of Karawiṭṭhawilatta, likewise that of Dumbaragama. The tanks of Munaru, and Salakas, and also the tanks of Mulawári, Girisigama, Polonnarutala and Wisiratthala.

Draining up great marshes, in the country of Panchayojana (Pasyódun, or Pasdun-kóralé,) he formed paddy fields, and collected paddy.

Allotting lands for paddy cultivation in the jungles there, and in many other places, calling together the village chiefs, he caused the inhabitants to engage themselves in the cultivation of paddy.

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* I am informed by Mr. Braybrooke, who has visited Padavil-kulam that there is a rock in the embankment, called by the natives occaciast Deviyanné-kanda, "God's Hill," or King's Hill," which they believe is haunted by the spirit of King Mahasen, to whom tradition ascribes the construction of the tank.

I have no means of ascertaining the Sinhalese names of these tanks. If we had a list of them in Sinhalese, we might probably identify most of them.

In this manner, having augmented nine-fold the revenues of the State from what they were, the wise King caused the country to be so prosperous as never to know the calamities of famine.

He, who was so skilled in the maxims of Government, wishing that there should not be even a small spot of land within his dominions inhabited by men, which should be left unbenefited, formed many pleasant and delightful gardens and groves, full of fruit-bearing and flower-bearing trees and creepers of every variety, fit for the use of man.

Thus did this sagacious Ruler of the land, cause his small kingdom, which had attained prosperity, by the superiority of his wisdom, to surpass other great kingdoms in affluence.

The 98th chapter of the Mahawanso, entitled "the Advancement of the Prosperity of the Kingdom," composed both to comfort and to afflict righteous men.

Extract from CHAPTER LXXIX.

This supreme of men, for the purpose of averting the calamities of famine, constructed many tanks and canals in various parts of the Island. Having turned the course of the river Kara-ganga* by means of a great stone embankment, and having by means of a great canal, called A'kásaganga, 'Celestial river,' conducted its broad stream to the Royal Palace, which was a noble one, resplendent like the sun,† he constructed the King of Tanks," (Wapi-rája) celebrated under the name of the "Sea of Parákrama," which was like unto a second ocean, and which contained a perpetual supply of water.

He likewise built the great tank known by the name of the "Lake of Parakrama," having an inaccessible stone aqueduct of 100 cubits. Also the tanks of Mahinda, Ekáha-wapi, (literally) "the Tank

Major Forbes states that the river Amban-ganga is joined "by a considerable stream," called Kalu-ganga. Might not this be the Karaganga alluded to here? The Páli form of Kalu-ganga would be Kala-ganga, the only difference between it and Kára-ganga being the substitution of the letter for r.

Instead of, "which was a noble one, resplendent like the sun," ("Dovydeu.") some MSS. have " අකාභාසුර දීපකං," which may be translated "making a shining or splendid Island."

of one day," the Ságara ('Sea') of Parákrama," and the waterfall of Kotthabaddha.

In many places, the chief of men, built minor tanks in number, one thousand four hundred and seventy-one. The Ruler of the land constructed conduits, and channels of stone, in no less than 300 tanks which had been in ruins.

The King also repaired many ancient tanks, such as the great tank of Manihira (Minnéry,) the tank of Mahádáragalla, the tank of Suwannatissa, Dúratissa, and those named Kála-wápi (Kaláwęwa,) and Bráhmaṇagama. The tanks called Nálikératthamba, and Rehéra, likewise the tanks of Giritalia, and Kumbhíla Sobbha. The tanks of Kana-wápi, Pádi and Katigama, the tank of Pattapásána, the tank of Mahanna, the tank of Mahanamamattaka, the tank of Waddhana, and the tank of Mahadanta, the tank of Kanagama, and the tanks of Wira, and Walahassa, and that called Suramána, the tanks of Pásánagama, Kálawalli, and Káhalli, and those named Angagama, Hillapattakkanda, and Madagu. These tanks which had been in ruins, did the King restore to their former condition, as well as others of less note, in number 467.

In about one thousand three hundred and ninety-five tanks, did the king, who was a proficient in matters of State, effect repairs and improvements.

[For the remainder of this Chapter, see Ceylon Almanac, 1834.]

This is either a clerical mistake, or there were more than one "Sea of Parákrama." While on this subject, I may here notice a very curious passage in the Rája Ratnákara, which speaks of the construction by Parakrama Bahu, of three great tanks known by the names" Mahá Samudraya," "Bana Samudraya," and "Mati" or "Mani Ságara."

This passage is translated by Upham as follows:-"The said king of Ceylon also rendered his fame great by causing to be made in Ceylon three great lakes, the first of which was called Mahá Samudra (i. e. allied to the sea,) and the third was called Meda Sagaraya (i. e. the middling sea.)"

It is however, right to add, that this passage is not fouud in the Saddharma Ratnákara, from which the author of Rája Ratnákara, has copied, almost verbatim, the events of this reign. Nor indeed is such a passage found in any other work on Ceylon, which I have seen.

TOPOGRAPHICAL AND STATISTICAL ACCOUNT OF THE DISTRICT OF NUWARAKALÁWIYA.

BY A. OSWALD BRODIE, ESQ.

THE district of Nuwarakaláwiya may be described as that portion of Ceylon which is included in the following lines:I. One running from a point one mile north of Dambulla to another about five and twenty miles west of Trincomalie. II. A second from the last mentioned spot to the ninetyfifth mile post south of Jaffna.

III. A third running thence to within six miles of Arippu. IV. A fourth proceeding thence south-south-east to a place about twelve miles west of Pomparrippu.

V. A fifth joining this last mentioned point with that near Dambulla.

The area of the district is about 2,900 square miles.

According to the last census returns (1852) the population is only 32,103, but this is manifestly erroneous, as there are 10,910 persons liable to the road tax, and the number of able bodied persons cannot well be more than one-fifth of the community. As all these returns are more or less erroneous, (giving the numbers too small, as the headmen persist in omitting numbers of women and children,) we may safely reckon the population at about fifty-five or sixty thousand.

The number of houses appear to be 9,804, which would give 3th persons to each house, but it must be observed, that headmen frequently apply the term "house" to a range of ntiguous dwellings.

The district on the whole is flat, not, indeed, flat in the same sense as the land near Mannár, Jaffna, &c., is flat, but it is not in any sense mountainous; the general surface consists of gentle undulations, and here and there isolated peaks or short ranges of hills appear. These are most common in lines northeast and south-west of Dambulla, and within twenty or thirty miles of that place, elsewhere they are of rarer occurrence and of less elevation. To the north, south, and south-west, of the station, hills entirely disappear. The southern part of the district forms in fact the extreme northern verge of the great central mountain mass of Ceylon, and the isolated hills are outliers thereof.

The whole face of the country, except where occupied by fields or tanks, is clothed by dense forest; and a large tract lying to the south, south-east, and south-west, of the station is almost uninhabited. This arises in part from a want of water, and in part, as has been remarked, from the policy of the ancient rulers of the Island, who interposed this barrier between themselves and the marauders who were wont to infest the maritime districts. There is yet another circumstance which probably has not been without its influence: I refer to the intense dislike which the villagers have, to contact with strangers. So strongly does this feeling still exist, that we have even now to take the greatest care not to bring roads too near to villages, as in this case the people invariably abandon their dwellings, and migrate to some neighbouring, but more secluded, spot.

The prevalent rock is gneiss, the colour and structure of which vary considerably in different localities. It is frequently traversed by veins of quartz and felspar; but no circumstance of interest connected with these has attracted my notice. This gneiss here, as elsewhere, has a tendency to exfoliate in layerg concentric to the present surfaces, the plates which thus scale off are of all thicknesses, from two feet downwards. peculiarity renders it a matter of ease to split off tolerably regular pillars and slabs, and there can be no doubt that this circumstance has had a very considerable influence on the character of the national or adopted architecture.

This