620 



THE RUINED CITIES. 



[Part X. 



rous Elala, whose defeat by Dutugaimunu has been else- 

 where described.^ A soHtary column stands on the scene 

 of the conflict, a grassy mound covers the remnants of a 

 dagoba erected by the conqueror to commemorate his 

 victory, and in the shade of the adjoining forest is con- 

 cealed the tomb of the fallen chief, from respect for 

 whom it was the custom of the kings " on reaching this 

 quarter of the city to silence their musical bands ;" '^ and 

 so profound is the veneration of the Singhalese for the 

 memory of Elala, that even to the present day the place 

 is regarded with awe, and shown to strangers ^vith myste- 

 rious reluctance. 



Close by are the remains of one of the most ancient 

 dagobas, the Mirisiwettye, or as it is called in the Maha- 

 wanso, the '•'' Marichawatti^''' built by Dutugaimunu to 

 commemorate the recovery of his kingdom B.C. 161.^ It 

 is now a mere barrow of earth overrun mth jungle. 



Eeturning by the Brazen Palace, and passing along 

 the great northern street, the Euanwelle, the Dagoba 

 of the " Golden Dust," by far the most celebrated in 

 Ceylon, is descried above the trees to the left. This 

 enormous pile, the descriptions of which occupy so 

 large a space in the Mahawanso, was begun by Dutu- 

 gaimunu one hundred and sixty years before the Chris- 

 tian era, and completed by his successor, after having 

 occupied almost twenty years in its erection.* Its 

 original outhne was destroyed by the Malabars a.d. 

 1214^, but it is still a httle mountain of masonry, up- 

 wards of one hmidred and fifty feet liigh^, overgrown 

 with jungle and trees. The terrace which sustains it is 

 comparatively perfect, and from its sides protrude the 



' See ante, Vol. I. Pt. ni. cli. v. p. 

 353. 



2 Mahmcanso, oh. xxv. p. 1 55 ; see 

 also ante, Vol. I. Pt. iii. cli. v. p. 

 .353. 



^ Mahmcanso, cli. xxvi. p. 159 ; 

 Rajavali, p. 222. 



* Mahauianso, ch. xxxiii. p. 200. 



'"' Ihid. Ixxix. 



G In 1830 the height was 189 feet, 

 but it is now less than 150 feet. A 

 comparative view of tlie dimensions 

 of the principal dagobas at Anaraja- 

 poora, may be obtained from the fol- 

 lowing diagram : — 



