446 



SCIENCES AND SOCIAL ARTS. 



[Part IV 



princes of Hindustan and the Dekkan were always of 

 tins precious but primitive character, the articles re- 

 ceived in return were less remarkable for the intrinsic 

 value of the material, than for the workmanship be- 

 stowed upon them. Devenipiatissa sent by his ambassa- 

 dors to Asoca, B. c. 306, " the eight varieties of pearls, 

 viz., hay a (the horse), gaja (the elephant), ratha (the 

 chariot wheel), maalaka (the nelU fruit), valaya (the 

 bracelet), anguliwelahka (the ring), kakudapliala (the 

 kabook fruit), and pakatika^ the ordinary description. 

 He sent sapphires, lapis lazuli \ and rubies, a right hand 

 chank ^, and three bamboos for cliariot poles, remarkable 

 because their natural marking resembled the carvings of 

 flowers and animals. 



The gifts sent by the king of Magadha in return, 

 indicate the advanced state of the arts in Bengal, even 

 at that early period : they were " a chowrie (the royal 

 fly flapper), a diadem, a sword of state, a royal parasol, 

 golden slippers, a crown, an anointing vase, asbestos 

 towels, to be cleansed by being passed through the fire, 

 a costly howdah, and sundry vessels of gold." Along 

 with these was sacred water from the Anotatto lake 

 and from the Ganges, aromatic and medicinal drugs, hill 

 paddi and sandal-wood ; and amongst the other items 

 " a virgin of royal birth and of great personal beauty." ^ 



Early Imports. — Down to a very late period, gems, 

 pearls, and chank shells continued to be the only 

 products taken away from Ceylon, and cinnamon is 

 nowhere mentioned in the Sacred Books as amongst 

 the exports of the island.^ In return for these exports, 



^ Lapis laziUi is not found in Cey- 

 lon, and must have been brought by 

 the caravans from Budakslian. It is 

 more than once mentioned in the 

 Mahawanso, ch. xi. p. 09 : ch. xxx. p. 

 186. 



* A variety of the TurhineUa rapa 

 with the whorls reversed, to which 



the natives attach a superstitious 

 value ; professing- that a shell so 

 formed is worth its weight in gold. 



3 3Iahawanso, ch. xi. pp. GO, 70. 



* For an account of the earliest 

 trade in cinnamon, see post Part v. 

 ch. ii. on the Ivnowledge of Ceylon 

 possessed by the Ai'abians. 



