THE RTTINS OF BORO BUDUR IN JAVA. 209 



an exhaustive account of all that can be known with certainty 

 o£ the extinct civilization of pre-Moharnmedan Java. 



There has been a great difference of opinion, among those who 

 have investigated the subject, as to both the date of the sacred 

 edifice of Boro Budur and its religious character. Crawfurd was 

 disposed to fix its date as late as 1311 A.D., while Dr. Leemans 

 considers that the 9th or even the 8th century of our era is more pro- 

 bable. The religious character of the building, and indeed the whole 

 question of the nature of the religion professed by the Javanese 

 before their conversion to Mahommedanism, has been much dis- 

 puted. Crawfurd originally considered that the religion of Java 

 was a Sivaistic form of Brahmanism much modified by a reforming 

 Buddhism. (See " History of the Indian Archipelago," Book VI., 

 Chap. I.) But in his * : Dictionary of the Indian Islands," which was 

 published thirty years after the History, and contained his more 

 matured opinions, he says that he had then come to the conclusion 

 that the ancient religion of the country was really the worship of 

 Jain, and that his friend Colonel Colin Mackenzie, who was well 

 acquainted with the temples of Jain in southern India, had held 

 the same opinion so long ago as 1811. 



The Javanese themselves, though the name of Buddha does 

 not appear in any of their writings, say that their religion before 

 their conversion was " Agama Buddha " or Buda. But the local 

 traditions seem to be singularly worthless. As an instance of this, 

 I may quote a story which M. Brumund tells. The modern 

 Javanese who live in the neighbourhood of Boro Budur when ques- 

 tioned as to their knowledge of the origin and purpose of the 

 temple relate the following tradition : — - 



" A certain prince, of the name of Dewa Kasuma, son of a 

 priest of importance, and a person of some considerable power 

 among the princes of Java, had given grave offence to one of the 

 members of his court. This latter being of an unforgiving dispo- 

 sition, and devoured by rancour, thought of nothing else but how 

 he might revenge himself and inflict upon the prince the most 

 cruel blow he could imagine. The prince had an only child, a 

 little daughter of two years old, the joy and happiness of his life. 

 The disaffected courtier resolved to kidnap this child, and succeeded 

 in executing his dastardly purpose. One day the little girl dis- 



