152 SPOLIA ZEYLANICA. 
The stone bench or gal-bankuwa, which I have set out to describe 
in the hope that it may be considered worthy of the attention of 
ethnologists, is called in colloquial Sinhalese cbba-bankuwa, because 
it bears upon its surface the symbol of an ibba or land tortoise.* 
In the learned tongue of Ceylon it is known by the Sanskrit 
name Kurmasana. The sign which it bears is called in astrological 
language the Kurma-chakra,;+ and this is supposed to possess the 
virtues of a yantra; in other words its meaning is that-of a yantra.t 
According to my informant, who was a professional Kattadiya 
or Kattadirala, a dealer in mantras, the Vedarala or native her- 
balist, surrounded by his utensils and medicaments, would seat 
himself upon the tortoise bench, repeat Sanskrit verses, and then 
begin to prepare the medicine, having previously ascertained an 
auspicious day. The Kurma-chakra is said to be very useful both to 
man and animals in promoting their recovery from sickness ; instruc- 
tions regarding it are contained in an ola (palm leaf) manuscript 
entitled ‘‘ Maha-narayana-pota,” from which the Kattadiya read an 
extract in which the chakra (symbol) was mentioned. On another 
occasion he brought a manuscript called ‘‘ Merutantra”’ which con- 
tained preliminary instructions for the use of yantras and mantras 
proceeding from Kurma-chakra. At least 108 yantras and mantras 
are said to belong to this series ; each sickness has an appropriate 
yantra, and all the yantras which proceed from this chakra are included 
under the collective term Kurma-sastra. The yantras are applied 
through the medium of the mantras, and I should say that the chakra 
may be regarded as the vehicle of the yantras. So far as I can 
gather, the Kurma-chakra is the fountain of all astrological lore 
in this Island ; all important operations must be performed through 
it, and an astrologer who does not know it is not a learned man. 
With regard to the actual Kurmasana, I have no means of knowing 
to what extent it was formerly used by Vedaralas in Ceylon. It 
appears not to be a common object of the country side. If it had 
been commonly employed, some mention of it would have been 
expected in the pages (246-251) devoted to Astrology and Medicine 
in Dr. John Davy’s “*.Account of the Interior of Ceylon ” (London, 
1821), but there is none. 
The material of which the seat is composed is a kind of compact 

* The marine turtle is called kesbewa. At Kurunegala there is a rock called 
lbba-gala (see F. H. Modder. The Animal-shaped Rocks of IXurunegala., 
Journ. R. A. 8. Ceylon, vol. XI., 1890, p. 377). 
ov 
+ In the Sanskrit Dictionary (Monier-Williams, 1872), Kurma-cakra is 
defined simply as ‘‘ an astrological diagram.” Besides its simple meaning 
( tortoise, turtle) the word kurma also signifies ‘‘ the earth considered as a 
tortoise swimming on the waters.” 
+ Compare the Melanesian conception of mana. (Rev. R. H. Codrington. 
The Melanesians; studies in their Anthropology and Folklore. Oxford 
Clarendon Press, 1891, pp. 118-119.) 
