80 JOURNAL R. A. S. (CEYLON). [Vol. VII., Pt. II. 



(vi.) It is also desirable to note the tradition that the " great 

 tower 40 chang* high" (? the Brazen Palace) was built over a 

 footstep of Buddha. 



(vii.) The visit of the King to the Treasury of the Priesthood 

 where the coveted " Mo~ni " ( ? ruby) was kept, will be found 

 described in the Sinhalese chronicles, which, if my memory can be 

 trusted, say the treasure chamber was under a Dagoba to which they 

 had access by a secret passage. 



(viii.) Fa-Hian describes the Dajada temple at Anuriidhapura in 

 A. D. 410, as decorated " with the seven precious things." It may 

 not be out of place to draw attention to the Chinese interpretation 

 of these. (See Fa-Hian, Laidlay's edition, chapter xiii, and note 

 (4) by Klaproth.) 



Two series are here given from the Chinese Buddhist writings, but 

 I think they are scarcely in each case rightly translated, and propose 

 the following corrections : — 



First series. 



1. — Sou-fa-lo — (suvarna)=gold. 



2. — A-lou-pa — (rupiya)=silver. 



3. — Lieou-li — in the Kouan-king-son called Fe'i-lieou-li-ye which 

 signifies " not far." This is explained as identical with Va'idurya 

 (Sanscrit) — the mountain Vidura on which Va'idurya was found 

 being " not far" (t. e., " Vidura") from Benares. Burnouf translated 

 Va'idurya as "lapis lazuli." This I think is wrong. The hardness, 

 the colour (green or blue), and the locality, all point to Oriental 

 turquoise as the mineral here denoted, and there can be little doubt 

 Lieou-li must be read "turquoise" and not " lapis lazuli." I doubt 

 the identification with Va'idurya, which I have always elsewhere 

 construed as corundum or sapphire. 



4. — Pho-li, or Se-pho-ti-kia (sphatika)=rock crystal. 



5. — Meou-pho-lo-kie-la-pho. This is star sapphire or asteria, not 

 fossil, ammonite as somewhat wildly conjectured ; the rays of the 



* " A chang is a measure of 10 Chinese feet, and the Chinese foot is 8 

 lines shorter than ours." 



