No. 28.— 1884.] first fifty jAtakas. 



149 



he is said to have entered into conversation, without the aid 

 of an interpreter, with Devenipcetissa, and on the following 

 day he is said to have preached Buddhism to the people of 

 Ceylon . 



The Dharma thus brought from Northern India was 

 recorded in books during the reign of Wattagamini Abhaya. 



Wattagamini began his reign in B.C. 103. After a reign 

 of five months he was expelled by the Tamils, who usurped 

 the throne for fifteen years. He, in his turn, drove them 

 away and re-ascended the throne and reigned twelve years. 

 Now it would be interesting to know what was the language 

 of the Sinhalese about this period. 



Dr. E. Miiller, in his Ancient Inscriptions in Ceylon, 

 has given us the texts of many inscriptions of this period. 

 The dialect in which these inscriptions are worded is much 

 closer to Pali than to modern Sinhalese, and somewhat simi- 

 lar to the dialect of the Middle Indian Asoka inscriptions. 

 The characters in which they are engraved are also similar 

 to those of the Ujjeni inscriptions. The following is a 

 Ceylon inscription of the century under notice :— 



Parumaka abaya puta parumaka Tisaka wapi acagirika 

 Tisa pawatahi agata anagata catudisa sagasa dine. Dewa- 

 napi maharaja Gamini abaya niyate aca nagaraka ca tawiri- 

 kiya nagarakaca. Parumaka abaya puta parumaka Tisa 

 niyatapite rajaha agata anagata catudisa sagasa. 



The following is Dr. Muller's translation ; — 



" The tank of Parumaka Tisa, son of Parumaka Abhaya, 

 at the mountain of Acagarika Tisa is given to the priest- 

 hood of the four quarters, present and absent. The Great 

 King, beloved of the gods, Gamini Abhaya ordered Acana- 

 gara and Tawarikiyanagara, which have been established by 

 (my?) his father King Tisa, son of King Abhaya, to the 

 priesthood of the four quarters, present and absent." 



The following is a short inscription of Asoka, King of 

 Magadha, in India, the friend of Devenipcetissa and father 

 of Mahendra : — 



Lajina Piyadasina duva dasavasabhisitena iyam Nigoha 

 kubha dina adivikemhi. 



" By the King Piyadasi, in the 12th year of his inaugura- 

 tion, this cave of the Nigrodha tree has been given to the 

 mendicants." 



