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JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). [Vol. VIII. 



the ground covered their arms and hands ; hence the name of 

 the place was called Tambapanni (copper-palmed). Tambapanni 

 was the first town in the most excellent Lamkadipa ; there 



Vijaya resided and governed his kingdom Many people, 



crowds of men and women, came together, (hence each) prince 

 founded a town in the different parts. The town of Tambapanni 

 surrounded by suburbs, was built by Vijaya in the south on the 



most lovely bank of the river The king called Vijaya 



by name was the first ruler who reigned in Tambapanni over 

 the delightful island of Lamka. When seven years (of his 

 reign) had passed the land was crowded with people." (Dip., 

 p. 162.) 



The remark in this extract that Wijaya and his followers 

 were " driven away by the violence of the wind" can only 

 indicate a belief, at the time when the Atthakatha was 

 composed, that they came to Ceylon during the north-east 

 monsoon. Sailing from the east coast of India — whether 

 in the south or as far as north as the Ganges — no other 

 wind could drive them to Ceylon. If this were the case, 

 it is improbable that they would attempt to land on the 

 east coast of Ceylon in such rough weather, exposed to the 

 heavy seas from the Bay of Bengal. Rounding the south- 

 east corner of the Island, the neighbourhood of Kirinde 

 would be one of the first places where they would have an 

 opportunity of coming safely on shore. The sentence 

 above quoted may thus be taken as a proof that at least 

 74 years before Christ Tambapanni Nuwara, of the exact 

 site of which the compilers of the Atthakatha must have 

 been aware, was known to be near the southern or 

 south-eastern coast, as in fact is explicitly stated later 

 on in the same extract, if we adopt Dr. Oldenberg's 

 reading. 



The next piece of evidence is contained in the Rajawalliya 

 (Upham's ed., p. 168), which describes Wijaya's arrival as 

 follows : — 



i( And when the said ship was sailing towards the 



country, Runa-Rata, in the midst of the sea, they perceived the 

 large rock called Samanakuta Parwata or Adam's Peak, in 

 Ceylon, and there they concluded amongst themselves that it was 

 a good country for them to reside in ; and so they landed at the 

 place called Tammannatota in Ceylon." 



