No. 27. — 1884.] TISSAMAHARAMA ARCHEOLOGY. 



95 



B.C.). The Mahavamsa says of him (p. 128) that he administered 

 justice with impartiality ; and that 'although this king was ignor- 

 ant of the 6i ratanattaya," as well as of its inestimable importance 

 and immutable virtues, protecting the institutions of the land, he 

 repaired to the Cetiya mountain, and offered his protection to the 

 priesthood.' The anecdote which then follows shows that he paid 

 the highest possible respect to Buddhism. Such a monarch, in his 

 desire to conciliate the Simhalese, would be not unlikely to place 

 their sacred symbol on an equality with the symbol of his own 

 religion ; but no valid reason can be assigned for an early Simha- 

 lese king's acting thus. The javelins grasped by the king indi- 

 cate that he was a warrior, but there are many others who might 

 claim this character. On the whole, probability points to Elara 

 as the king who issued these plaques, whether coins or not ; but 

 of course we cannot go beyond mere conjecture at present. 



Note 6. 



The following is the extract from the Dhatuvaihsa regard- 

 ing Mahanaga's constructions in Magama, from the manuscript 

 at the Hambantota pansala (leaf 21) 



E' Mahanaga nam raja dhatunwahanseta pujakeremin Magam 

 nuwarama wisuyeya. 



E' raj ahu wisin karawu wihara mese datayutu : — Yatthala 

 wiharaya Sandagiri wiharaya Kodorapawu wiharaya Nuwaragunu 

 wiharaya Senanala wiharaya Wselipiti wiharaya. Yanadiwu 

 wihara siyayak karawa Tripitaka Maha Arishta nam terun- 

 wahanseta hastodaka kota piliganwa mese e raja jivitantaya 

 dakwa dhatu pariharanaya kota antima kalayehi marana man- 

 cakayehi otte tamange putanuwan Yatthala Tissa kumarayan 

 langata kaendawa " puta Tissa kumarayeni api pariharanaya 

 karana dhatunwahanseta puja karawa" yi dhatu piliwela kiya 

 putanuwanda anusosana kota kala kriya wage kelawara dewlowa 

 upanneya. 



" That king Mahanaga, continuing to pay homage to the relics, 

 resided in the city of Magama. 



" The wiharas constructed by that king are as follows : — 

 Yatthala wihara, Sandagiri wihara, Kodorapawu wihara, Nuwa- 

 ragunu wihara, Senanala wihara, Waslipiti (now Waslipatanwila) 

 wihara. Having caused to be built one hundred other similar 

 wiharas, and poured the water of donation, he caused the Thera 

 Maha Arishta, learned in the Tripitaka, to accept them. 



" Thus that king, having afforded protection to the relics up 

 to the end of his life, having in his last moments, on his death- 

 bed, summoned to his side his only son, prince Yatthala Tissa, 



