NOTES. 291 



In submitting these notes 1 venture to offer my theory for 

 criticism as to the origin or purpose of these cup holes ; that appear, 

 so far, not to have been thoroughly investigated in connection with 

 stone quarries of ancient times. 



25. The Mathematical Boy, Arumuyam. — This remarkable boy 

 was born at Sirivilliputturu, a village not far from Madura. His 

 parents were very poor, and belong to the Weaver caste. At the age 

 of eight his father died, and the boj^ was left in great poverty. He 

 had absolutely no form of education, and to the present moment 

 appears to be uncomfortable in the clothes that have been given 

 to him. 



At about the age of eight or nine he went to the temple of Supera- 

 muniam Swamy, in the village of Tiruparankundan near Madura, 

 probably to beg. There was a festival on at the time, which lasted 

 to about 1 o'clock in the morning. When the festival was over he 

 fell asleep, and while sleeping he dreamed that a "Pandaran " came 

 and touched his tongue with his finger. This awoke him, but 

 finding nobody he went to sleep again till 9 o'clock in the morning. 

 When he awoke he felt that he had received some form of enlighten- 

 ment, as up to that moment he could hardly count up to 10. Find- 

 ing some people disputing over a calculation, he gave the result that 

 they had failed to solve. This appears to have been the point at 

 which his previous state of mental power deviated from the present. 

 Up to then his intelligence, as regards calculating power, appears, 

 if anything, to have been below the average. He admits that when 

 entrusted wdth a few coppers to buy petty articles of food for his 

 mother, he brought the things and whatever change was given to him 

 without being able to estimate what the requisite change should be. 



From this time onwards the power of calculation appears to have 

 become spontaneous, so much so that he is unable to explain his 

 process of solving problems except by a method something akin to 

 a ratio. 



2 Q 6(7)12 



