No. 34. — 1887.] JOTTINGS FROM A jungle diary. 



11 



known as "the Seven Pagodas" (so called on the lucus a non 

 lucendo principle, because they are nine in number), which 

 are of unknown antiquity, present so many strong points of 

 resemblance to the sculptures of Anuradhapura that I am 

 surprised they have not been more dwelt upon. There are 

 to be seen the same stairways, with highly mythical animals 

 forming the balustrades; the same "door-guardians," in the 

 same saltatory attitude ; there is the familiar flute-player of 

 Isurumuniya (an incarnation of the Hindu Mercury), and 

 the squat, obese figures with a half-fractious expression, 

 looking like Falstaff after he had swallowed his halfpenny 

 worth of bread. There is a roof precisely the same as that of 

 the newly-discovered stone canopy ; a stone bull, which is 

 own brother to the Anuradhapura bull with the prolific 

 reputation ; a wall with a bold frieze of elephants and lions, 

 closely resembling the elephant wall that surrounds the 

 Ruwanweliseya ; and many other minor likenesses too 

 numerous to detail. If my previous arguments are of any 

 value, they go to prove that Anuradhapura and Polonnaruwa 

 are more or less replicas of "the Seven Pagodas" and similar 

 Indian shrines. 



My Paper has already run to such a length that I must 

 reserve for a future occasion several subjects that I meant to 

 touch upon. But I should like to add a word of admiration 

 for the monolithic statue of Buddha at Sasseruwa, which I 

 visited on my last circuit. It is a thousand pities that it is not 

 in a more accessible situation, for it is difficult to conceive 

 a more impressive image. Mr. Wrightson succeeded in 

 measuring it, and found it to be of exactly the same height 

 as the Aukana Buddha, viz., 39 ft. 6 in., but the rock from 

 which it is carved is of far more imposing dimensions, and 

 the position of the statue is much more cunningly chosen. 

 There are some very curious artificial caves in its immediate 

 vicinity, surmounted by inscriptions which I presume have 

 been already deciphered, though I have failed to find any 

 record of the fact. 



Time will not permit me to dwell on the interesting folklore 



