WEST AMD SOUTH COASTS OF CEYLOK. 449 



woo(3en table, on which oblations are made at noon. 

 Thefe ufually confift of flowers, fruits, or money; 

 no animals being here facrificed. The lotos, from 

 furrounding reprefentations of devotees, appears to 

 be the favourite flower of the god, and I alio ob- 

 Cerved the Keyora 3.nd Gool-acheen, two of the moft 

 fragrant (lowers in India. Images of Boodh, and other 

 figures, among which Honeeman, Bkama, and Vishn u 

 were pointed out to me, are painted on the wa,lls and 

 roof of this temple, but chiefly Buodh, in different 

 poftures, fitting or fleeping, and his devotees bearinsj 

 each a Nagifur flower; with fixteen reprefentations of 

 Daghopes (hereafter mentioned) which are laid to repre- 

 fent the fixteen temples or rather monuments of this de- 

 fcription on the ifland of Ceylon. The idol temple I am 

 now defcribing is called a Veehar (or college), and con- 

 lifts of one fmall apartment, of an oblong fquare, com- 

 pofed of common brick and inortar materials with a tiled 

 roof. It is laid to have been built time out of mind, 

 but from its ftrufture cannot be ancient. I faw nothing 

 peculiar in its exterior, and have nothing further to re- 

 mark on its interior, but that it contained a lamp faid. 

 to be kept always burning, and a curtain occafionally 

 drawn acrofs the middle of the apartment to keep the 

 fan6tum from the eyes of the prophane. On each fide of 

 the door way, enclofed in recelfes cut into the wall, are 

 too large figures, the janitors of the god, and others are 

 fculptured round bearing a club, and covered with a 

 high tiara. In the paflage which leads from the firft 

 temple (above defcribed) to a fecond of the fame con- 

 itrudion are two other large figures cut in alto relief, 

 reprefenting two attendants on the local deity. The 

 fecond temple contains a (ingle figure of Boodh, re- 

 fembling the figures in the other temple with the diffe- 

 rences already noticed, and fomewhat larger, being \ 

 fuppofe fix feet high in the fitting pollure, whereas the 

 firft could not be above five feet; or perhaps four and. 

 five feet may be nearer the exa6t height of the two. A 

 large elephant's tooth, given by the king of Candia. is 

 tixed in the ground near this image, and a fmall ele- 

 Vol. VJ. G g phant 



