No. 35.— 1887.] tirukk£ti'svakam. 



109 



It must have continued in existence after the Sinhalese 

 invasion ; for some of the remains are Buddhistic, and it is 

 quite possible — and some of the glass and other things which 

 have been found lend colour to the supposition — that it was 

 included for some centuries in the ancient Kalah, which Mr. 

 Nevill speaks of as under the sway of the Rajahs of Zabedj.*" 



However this may be, there is nothing to show whether it 

 was submerged, gradually decayed, or sacked and razed by 

 some conqueror. There is a tradition of an Arab invasion 

 and of a great massacre ; and the baobab tree, it is said, was 

 introduced by Arabs as fodder for their camels. 



The legend referred to in Hardy's " Sacred Books of the Bud- 

 dhists" of the submergence of the city of Rawana must, I think, 

 refer to a time antecedent to the building of Tirukesvaram, 

 though I am inclined for geological reasons not to reject the 

 legend as altogether untrue. The city must have disappeared 

 .at any rate before the sixteenth century ; for, so far as I know, 

 it is not mentioned by the Portuguese, who, however, made 

 use of the ruins of it in laying the foundations of the Fort of 

 Mannar, and of the numerous churches which they built on 

 the mainland and on the island. There is scarcely a village in 

 the district where stones are not to be found which have 

 been removed from this city of the " Three-eyed one." 



Inscriptions have been found on some of these stones, of 

 which rubbings were furnished to the Society by Mr. E. M. 

 Byrde, but they have been found so imperfect that it has not 

 been possible to decipher them ; and as they all appear to be 

 in modern Sinhalese character, I do not suppose that much 

 would be learnt from them were it possible to do so. 



Induced by the discovery of a few coins and other remains 

 to believe that other objects of archaeological interest might 

 be found by excavation, I applied to the Society and 

 obtained a small grant, and will now proceed to detail the 

 result of a few days' work. I have not had time yet to do 

 more, but hope to resume excavation before long. 



* C. A. S. Journ. Vol. VII., No. 24, 1881. 



B 2 



