( 10 ) 



was also Dissave of Sabaragamuwa. Having disobeyed an order to 

 proceed to Kandy his family was imprisoned by order of the king, 

 and subsequently his children were beheaded in front of the Maha 

 Vishnu Dewale at Kandy and his wife was drowned in the tank at 

 Bogambra, near Kandy. This incident is known as the Ehelapola 

 Tragedy, and constitutes a favourite theme on the modern 

 Sinhalese stage. 



On the lowest shelf of this case there are some more ivory 

 statuettes of Buddha, ivory flutes, and a richly carved rattle 

 mounted on a lacquered stick. 



There is also a handsome ivory Udakiya (without skins) lent by 

 P. E. Pieris, Esq., CCS., and an antique ivory cigar mouthpiece 

 with receptacle for an extra cigar, presented by Mr. E. R. Gooue- 

 ratne, Gate Mudaliyar. 



The quaintly-shaped and lacquered pill boxes and the ola book 

 covers with the signs of the zodiac deserve notice. 



The ivory dagabas are reliquaries or karanduwas, the dome being 

 screwed upon the base so that it can be removed and a cavity 

 disclosed in which any small object of veneration or votive offering 

 can be deposited. 



CASE X. 

 Besides the numerous examples of Kandyan embossed metal 

 work which are exhibited in this case, the most striking object 

 is a silver model of the shrine containing the Dalada or Tooth of 

 Buddha, the reputed original of which is preserved in the Dalada 

 Maligawa at Kandy. This famous Tooth Relic has played an 

 important part in the political history of Ceylon. It is esteemed 

 bj' Buddhists as the palladium of the country and symbolizes the 

 inviolability of the Buddhist religion. It is related that the sacred 

 relic was originally rescued by the sage Khema from the great 

 teacher's funeral pyre at Kusinagara and given by him to Brahma- 

 datta, King of Kalinga, about 2,500 years ago. It was eventually 

 brought to Ceylon from Southern India by a Brahman Princess 

 of Kalinga, concealed in the folds of her hair, about the years 

 310-313 A.D., during the reign of Sri Megahavarna at Anuradha- 

 pura, where it was wont to be publicly exposed on sacred days 

 with gorgeous ceremonies. When the relic was first brought 

 to Ceylon its adventures were recorded in a work called the 

 Dhatuwansa or Chronicle of the Tooth, written in Elu, the classical 

 language of the Sinhalese. The tooth is said to represent the left 

 upper canine or eye-tooth. The legend runs that after all at- 

 tempts which have been made to destroy the sacred emblem, it 

 has reappeared resting upon a lotus flower, where it now reposes. 

 Parakramu Bahu I., surnamed the Great, built a temple for it at 



