634 NOTE TO CIIAPTEE II. 



A.D. 414. Fa Hian, the Chinese traveller, saw the Bo-tree at 

 Anarajapoora, and calls it " I'arbre Pet-to." His 

 narrative leaves little doubt as to its being iden- 

 tical wdth the tree whose planting is commemo- 

 rated in the Mahatvanso. Fa Hian describes its 

 inclination to one side, and the erection of pillars 

 to support its branches : — " Les anciens rois de 

 ce pays envoyerent dans ' le royaume du Milieu ' 

 chercher des graines de I'arbre Pei-to. On les 

 planta a cote de la salle de Foe. Quand I'arbre 

 fut haut d'environ vingt tchang, il pencha du cote 

 du sud-est. Le roi craignant qu'il ne tombat, le 

 fit etayer par liuit ou neuf piliers qui formerent 

 une enceinte en le soutenant. L'arbre au milieu 

 de la place oii il s'ajjpuyait, poussa une branche 

 qui perpa un pilier, descendit a terre et prit ra- 

 cine. Sa grandeur est environ de quatre lueL 

 Ces piliers, quoiqu'ils soient fendus par le milieu, 

 et tout dejectes, ne sont cependant pas enleves par 

 les hommes. Au-dessous de I'arbre on a eleve 

 une chapelle dans laquelle est une statue assise. 

 Les religieux de la Eaison ont I'habitude de I'ho- 

 norer sans relache.'' — (Fa Hian, Foe koue ki, 

 cxxxviii. p. 332.) 



A.D. 459. The King Dhaatu Sena, " employing his army therein, 

 restored the Maha-wihara as well as the edifice of 

 the Bo-tree." {Mahawanso, ch. xxxviii. p. 256.) 

 "He celebrated a festival for the pm-pose of 

 watering the supreme Bo-tree : from the period 

 the tree had been planted, the rulers in Lanka 

 had held such a festival every twelfth year." 

 (Ihicl, p. 257.) 



A.D. 459 Mahanamo, the author of this portion of the Maha- 

 —478. ivanso, who wrote between the years 459 a.d. 



and 478 a.d., says, after describing the ceremony 

 of planting it : *' Thus this monarch of the forest 

 endowed with miraculous powers has stood for 

 ages in the delightful Mahamego garden in 

 Lanka, promoting the spiritual welfare of the 

 inhabitants, and the propagation of true religion." 

 {Mahawanso, ch. xix. p. 121.) 



A.D. 534. Silaakaali Eaja " made daily offerings to the Bo-tree, 



