Xo. "9.— i856-8,] IRRIGATION WORKS OF PARAKRAMA BAHU. 131 



" By rocks, and by many thick forests, by great marshes is the land 

 covered. 



" In such a country, let not even a small quantity of water obtained by 

 rain, go to the sea, without benefiting man. 



u Paddy fields should be formed in every place, excluding those only 

 that produce gems, gold, and other precious things. 



" It does not become persons in our situation to live enjoying our own 

 ease, and unmindful of the interests of the people. And ye all, be ye 

 not discouraged, when a necessary, but a dfficult work is on hand. 

 Regard it not indeed as a work of difficulty, but following my advice 

 accomplish it, without opposing my instructions." 



The highly renowned Monarch then ordered the construction of the 

 great embankment celebrated under the name of Kottha-haddha, which 

 had long been swept away by the action of the river, leaving behind 

 nothing but the name, and which indeed had baffled the attempts of 

 former Kings to keep in repair. 



Whereupon the ministers, one and all, represented in various ways the 

 extreme difficulty of the work, and the instability of it, even if it could be 

 accomplished. 



The King rejecting their counsels, remarked : — " What is there 

 that cannot be done in this world by men of perseverance ? Is not the 

 tradition still current that Rama built a bridge over the great ocean itself, 

 by means of monkeys ?° 



" If I am destined by fortune, to reduce this Island under one regal- 

 canopy, and to promote the welfare of the State and Religion, then, indeed, 

 will the commencement of the work see the accomplishment of it also." 



Thus did he of great courage inspire his ministers with courage. 



Before the construction of the embankment, however, the profoundly 

 wise ruler of the land made, from the mouth of the embankment, as far 

 as the country of EaithaJcara, a great canal of great breadth and strength, 

 and of many porisas j- in depth. 



The Protector of the land, having assembled a great many stonecutters, 

 workers in metal, iron-smiths and gold-smiths in the country, and having 



® In reference to the fable in the Ramayana, that Rama, the conqueror 

 of Rawana, in crossing over from India to Ceylon, caused a bridge to be 

 built over the sea, by his army of Wanaras or monkeys. The reef of 

 sunken rocks which extends across the Gulf of Mannar from Ramisseram 

 on the coast of Coromandel to Talaimannar on the coast of Ceylon, is 

 supposed to be the remains of this bridge. 



f " The measure of a man's reach Equal to the height, to which 



■ he reaches, when elevating both arms with fingers extended." (See Cole- 

 l - brook's Amarakosha, p. 160.) 



