﻿OF THE PEOPLE OF CEYLON'. 413 



Brahma in the space of two Kalpes and a half; 

 the present was servant to Gauteme, and held the 

 parasol over his head; Sakreia is nearly of the same 

 kind of gods as the 7?r<7i^wze^, hut he is superior to 

 JVIaha Bkahma. There have been many Sakreias, 

 though never more than one at a time ; his residence 

 is on the central stone of our system of worlds, Maha 

 JNIeuu Pakgwette; he is always occupied in doing 

 good : the books are filled with accounts of his 

 functions. When a man, perfectly virtuous, is af- 

 flicted with physical or moral pain, this good king 

 knows of it by a shock which he feels on his throne ; 

 he instantly approaches the unfortunate person, who 

 is relieved on the spot, without seeing his benefac- 

 tor. Four gods watch round his pargivette inces- 

 santly, each of whom has an army of beings subor- 

 dinate to them, though not constantly with their 

 masters. The first, Virupakshe, who commands 

 an army of snakes ; the second, Derteratchtre, 

 the chief of a whole race of Goiu^oulas, who are se- 

 veral hundred yodiins in height, aiul inhabit, as we 

 have said before, Issedare Pargwette. The third, 

 Faifrevenne, wlio conmiands the devils; the 

 fourth, VivuDE, chief of the gigantic spirits, called 

 RumbandL Under the stone of Sakreia lives a 

 devil, called Assure, who M^atclies the moment when 

 the posts are not guarded, to attack Sakreia. But 

 the four Gods are immediately informed of it by 

 means of their divine science, and the devil is in- 

 stantly hurled back into his dungeon. 



But to return to Gauteme Boudhou ; he is ge- 

 nerally called Saman Gauteme. Boudhou Va- 

 hanse; the Lord Saint Gauteme Boudhou. It 

 has been justly observed, that tiie Samonocodum of 

 the people of Sunn is the same as the Boudhou of 

 the Singalese. But I do not know that the analogy 

 in the nauies has as yet been observed. Wc seeno\\^ 

 that Samono and Samax resemble each other; and 

 that C'oDOM can be easily taken for Gauteme. 

 4 Boudhou, 



