622 



MEDLEVAL HISTOKY. 



[PART V. 



and medical drugs, and on three successive occasions 

 during the earlier part of the Yuen dynasty, envoys were 

 empowered to negotiate the purchase of the sacred alms- 

 dish of Buddha. 1 



The beginning of the fifteenth century was, however, 

 signalised by an occurrence, the details of which throw 

 light over the internal condition of the island, at a 

 period regarding which the native histories are more 

 than usually obscure. At this time the glory of Bud- 

 dhism had declined, and the political ascendancy of 

 the Tamils had enabled the Brahmans to taint the 

 national worship by an infusion of Hindu observances. 

 The Se-yih-ke foo-choo, or "Description of Western 

 Countries," says that in 1405 A.D. the reigning king, 

 A-lee-koo-nae-urh (Wejaya-bahu VI.), a native of Chola, 

 and "an adherent of the heterodox faith, so far from 

 honouring Buddha, tyrannised over his followers." 2 

 He maltreated strangers resorting to the island, and 

 plundered their vessels, " so that the envoys from 

 other lands, in passing to and fro, were much annoyed 

 by him." 3 



In that year a mission from China, sent with incense 



1 " In front of the image of Buddha 

 there is a sacred bowl which is neither 

 made of jade, nor copper, nor iron ; 

 it is of a purple colour and glossy, 

 and when struck it sounds like glass. 

 At the commencement of the Yuen 

 dynasty, three separate envoys were 

 sent to obtain it." Taou-e che-ted, 

 "Account of Island Foreigners," A.D. 

 1350, quoted in the "Foreign Geogra- 

 phy" b. xviii. p. 15. This statement of 

 the Chinese authorities corroborates 

 the story told by MARCO POLO, pos- 

 sibly from personal knowledge, that 

 " the Grand Khan Kublai sent am- 

 bassadors to Ceylon with a request 

 that the king would yield to him pos- 

 session of "the great ruby" in return 

 for the "value of a city/' ( Travels, 

 ch. xix.) The MS. of MARCO POLO, 

 which contains the Latin version of 

 his Travels, is deposited in the Im- 



perial Library of Paris, and it is 

 remarkable that a passage in it, which 

 seems to be wanting in the Italian 

 and other MSS., confirms this ac- 

 count of the Chinese annalists, and 

 states that the alms-dish of Buddha 

 was at length yielded by the King of 

 Ceylon as a gift to Kublai Khan, and 

 carried with signal honour to China. 

 MARCO POLO describes the scene aa 

 something within his own know- 

 ledge : " Quando autem magnus 

 Kaan scivit quod isti ambaxiatores 

 redibant cum reliquis istis, et erant 

 prope ten-am ubi ipse tune erat, scili- 

 cet in Cambalu (Pekin), fecit mitti 

 bandum quod omnes de terra obvia- 

 rent reliquis istis (quia credebat quod 

 essent reliquiae de Adam) et istud 

 fuit A.D. 1284." 



a B. xviii. p. 15. 



3 Minff-she, b. cccxxvi. p. 7. 



