Cii.vr. XI.] THE REIGN OF PRAKRAMA BAIIU. 



407 



During the same troublous times, schisms and lieresy a.t>. 

 had combined to undermine the national behef, and ■^^^^• 

 hence one of the first cares of Prakrama Bahu was to 

 weed out the perverted sects, and estabhsh a council 

 for the settlement of the faith on debatable points.^ 

 Dagobas and statues of Buddha Avere multiplied with- 

 out end during his reign, and temples of every form were 

 erected both at Pollanarrua and throuo-hout the breadth 

 of the island. Halls for the reading of bana, image 

 rooms, residences for the priesthood, ambulance halls and 

 rest houses for their accommodation when on journeys, 

 were built in every district, and rocks were hollowed 

 into temples ; one of which, at Pollanarrua, remains to 

 the present day with its images of Buddha ; " one in 

 a sitting and another in a lying posture," almost as de- 

 scribed in the Mahawanso.^ 



In conformity with the spuit of toleration, which is one 

 of the characteristics of Buddhism, the king " erected a 

 house for the Brahmans of the capital to afford the com- 

 forts of reho'ion even to his Malabar enemies." And 



o 



mindfid of the divine injunctions engraven on the rock 

 by King Asoca, " he forbade the animals in the whole 

 of Lanka, both of the earth and the water, to be killed," ^ 

 and planted gardens, " resembhng the parachse of the 

 God-King Sakkraia, with trees of all sorts bearing fruits ' 

 and odorous flowers." 



For the people the king erected ahnonries at the four 

 gates of the capital, and hospitals, with slave boys and 



^ Mahawanso, ch. Ixxyii. 



^ 3Iahaicanso, cli. Ixxii. For a 

 description of this temple see tlie ac- 

 count of Pollanarrua in the present 

 work, Vol. II. Pt. X. ch. i. 



2 Mahawanso, ch. Ixxvii. Among 

 the religious edifices cousti-ucted by 

 I'rakrama Bahu in many parts of his 

 kingdom, the MahauKtnso, enumerates 

 tliree temples at Pollanarrua, besides 

 others at every two or three gows 

 distance ; 101 dagobas, 47G statues 



of Buddha, and 300 image rooms 

 built, besides 6100 repaired. He 

 built for the reception of priests from 

 a distance, '^ 230 lodging apartments, 

 50 halls for preaching, and 9 for 

 walking, 144 gates, and 192 rooms 

 for the purpose of ofl'ering flowers. 

 He built 12 apartments and 230 halls 

 for the use of strangers, and 31 rock 

 temples, with tanks, baths, and gar- 

 dens for the prie.sthood." 



D D 4 



