ROYAL ASIATIC SOCIETY. 



161 



appears cut in the rock at Belligam, is no other than Kakuthsa 

 the great progenitor of Rama. 



The union of Hindoo observances with Budhism, the 

 notion of tutelary deities, and even the countenance of demon 

 offerings, is common among the Singhalese ; and this not it 

 would seem, in anywise by conquest or compulsion, but 

 throughout the whole period of the Singhalese history of their 

 own choice and consent.* How is this ? Is it that the Sing- 

 halese came off from a Hindu stock, before religious intolerance 

 had yet manifested itself in India ? — and that still finding in 

 our common nature a want which philosophy cannot supply, 

 they became, like the men of Athens of old, superstitious in 

 all things, and seek methods of atonement and propitiation 

 from the poor yakhos, in spite of Budhu and all his priests. 

 An investigation into the character of the Singhalese invasions, 

 and connected with that, an enquiry into the religion and 

 philosophy of the different states and tribes of Hindustan at 

 the time, are desiderata. [But see Col. Syke's Notes Journal 

 Asiatic Society, Vol. 6. p., 248 seq.] 



The emblems to the figures on the coins are not clear ; 

 and the characters inscribed on the reverse differ on different 

 specimens. The annexed are examples of the different 

 reverses f with one in which Hanuman appears in his usual 



* Among the gifts reciprocally given and interchanged as pledges 

 of mutual friendship and alliance between Devananpiatisso, an early 

 king of Ceylon of the Wijeyan dynasty and the famous Dhamasoko 

 of India, both of them Budhists, though the father of the latter was of 

 the Brahmauical faith (Mahawanso cliap.5) we find from theMahawanso 

 chap. 11. there was "a right hand chank" — which is Vishnu's shell 

 in the Ramayanna, and in the MahawansO chap, 30 & 31, the shell of 

 of Sakko lord of devos. 



f See as respects these inscriptions, Journal of the Bengal Asia- 

 tic Society for 1837, p. 298 seq. 



