r ■ OR CUTTACK„ ■ 263 



Nirmal Deo, * - - - k.-.j*. * '- * ' - - - 45 

 Bhima Deo, - - ; - - ^ " - - - - - - 37 



In the time of Subhan Deo the next in the series of kings, who succeed' 

 ed to the Raj A. D. 318, relation is given of an extraordinary and incom- 

 prehensible occurrence, of which i am quite unable to offer any explanation. 

 It has obviously been strangely distorted by popular tradition, though in all 



probability possessing a foundation in fact. 



The following is an outline of the story alluded to. A Yavana, or fo~ 

 reigner, named Rakta Balm, (the Red-Armed,) having assembled a large 

 army with the intention of invading Orissa, embarked his troops on vessels 

 with numerous horses and elephants, and having made the coast, anchored 

 at a distance from the khetr of Jagannath, hoping to take Puri by sur- 

 prise. The dung, straw, &c. of the horses and elephants, happening however 

 to float ashore in quantities, attracted the notice of some of the people of 

 the town. They immediately reported the unusual appearance to the Raja, 

 who guessed that some powerful enemy was coming to attack him. Seized 

 with a panic he took the image of Sri Jeo or Jagannath out of the tem- 

 ple, lodged it in a covered cart with all its jewels and utensils, and fled 

 away to Sonepur Gopalli, the most remote town on his western frontier. 

 The Yavanas landed, and not finding the prince, plundered the town and 

 temple and committed great excesses every where. The Raja's alarms 

 increased on receiving intelligence of the proceedings of the invaders ; 

 he now buried the image under the ground, planted a her tree over- 

 it, and himself fled farther into the jungles. The Yavanas, unable to 

 understand how he had escaped them, began to institute enquiries on the 

 subject, when some of the low people of the coast informed them of the 

 way in which their approach had been discovered. Enraged with the 

 ocean for disclosing his secret, Rakta Balm drew out his armies to chastise 

 its waters. The sea, on observing such formidable preparations, retreated 

 for nearly a cos — the infatuated Yavanas rushed on — when the tide sud- 



