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JOURNALj R.A.S. (CEYLON). [Vol. VIII. 



from these bonds ; let me bathe my head (give me a thorough bath), 

 give me new clothes to put on, perfumes to anoint myself, and 

 flowers to deck me, and so leave me." The robbers, on hearing 

 what he said, did so. The Brahmin, having observed the con- 

 junction of the heavenly bodies, recited the charm, and looked up 

 to the sky. Immediately jewels fell from the sky. The robbers 

 collected the treasure, tied it up in their clothes, and departed.* 

 The Brahmin followed them. Presently these robbers were 

 caught by another five hundred robbers. " What are you 

 seizing us for ?" they said ; and the reply was, " For treasure." 

 If you want treasure, seize that Brahmin ; he looks upf to the 

 sky and brings down a rain of treasure ; "he is the man who gave 

 us this," they said. The robbers let the robbers go, and seized 

 the Brahmin, saying " Give us treasure, too !" The Brahmin 

 said : " I should be glad enough to give you treasure, but the 

 conjunction-of-the-heavenly-bodies-for-bringing-down-a -rain-of- 

 treasure will be at the end of a year from this ; if you want 

 treasure, wait patiently, and at that time I will bring you down 

 a treasure-shower." (Same word as before.) The robbers were 

 furious. " You rascal of a Brahmin, you gave others a treasure- 

 shower now, and you tell us to wait another year !" So saying, 

 with a sharp sword they cleft the Brahmin in two and flung him 

 in the road, and then ran off in pursuit of the other robbers, 

 fought with them, killed them all, and took the treasure. Then 

 they formed two bands and fought with one another, and two 

 hundred and fifty men got killed, and so they went on killing one 

 another till only two were left. Thus these thousand men came 

 to destruction. The two contrived to carry the treasure, and 

 buried it in a woody place near a village, and one sat with a 

 sword guarding it, while the other went into the village to get 

 rice and have food cooked. Covetousness is indeed the root of 

 destruction.^ The man who was sitting by the treasure thought: 

 " When he comes this treasure will be divided into two parts : 

 suppose I strike him with the sword just as he comes and kill 

 him ?" and he drew the sword and sat watching for his arrival. 

 And the other thought : " That treasure will have to be divided 

 into two parts : suppose I put poison in the food and give it to 



* Payimsu. Read paldyimsu. So B. in spite of Pdydsi below. 



t Vassdpesi. B. would read vassdpeti. The emphasis of the sentence requires it. 



% -evd" ti dhanasantike, frc. Read -evd" ti. Dhanasantike, fyc. The words 

 Lobho ca, #•<?., are a moral reflection on the historian's part. B. insists on this 

 way of dividing it. No doubt it is the native way ; but it may be more correct 

 to treat the words as one sentence, and translate : " Then, as if to illustrate the 

 maxim, ' Covetousness is the root of destruction' the man, &c." 



