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JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). [VOL. X. 



his hut, with a man and woman standing before him, and a monkey 

 seated on the ground, who is energetically addressing the sage. * 



(7.) — Latuwa Jdtahan. — The " Latuwa-bird-birth." — This legend ap- 

 parently refers to some story of a bird and an elephant, of which I 

 heard a curious version in Kashmir in 1839. In the bas-relief there is 

 a bee stinging the eye and a bird pecking the head of an elephant, with 

 a frog croaking close by, while the elephant is treading on a nest of 

 young birds. To the right the same (or a similar) bird is sitting on 

 the branch of a tree over an elephant who is running away with his 

 tail between his legs. Near the top the hind half of an elephant is 

 seen rushing down some rocks. In my Kashmiri version an elephant 

 while feeding throws down a nest of young birds into a stream, where 

 they are all drowned. The parent bird seeks the aid of the bees and 

 mosquitoes, who attack the elephant with their stings, and having half 

 blinded him he rushes off towards the stream, and plunging headlong 

 down the rocks is drowned. The fable seems intended to show the 

 power of combination. There can be no doubt that the two legends 

 are substantially the same ; and it seems probable that we may find 

 other Buddhist Jdtakas still preserved in modern legeuds after the lapse 

 of more than 2,000 years. Perhaps this particular legend may be 

 found in the Pancha Tantra. 



(8.) — Vitura punahaya Jdtahan. — I know nothing of this story. 

 Vitura may perhaps be a mistake for Vithurd, " a thief." 



Of illustrations of the life of Buddha during his last appearance 

 there are some good examples. The earliest of these is a medallion 

 containing Maya's dream of the white elephant, which is superscribed 

 Bhagavatd Uhdanti. A second scene belongs to the reign of Ajdta 

 Satru, king of Magadha, in the eighth year of whose reign Buddha 

 attained Nirvana. This is labelled Ajdtasata Bhagavatd vandate. 



Some of the well known assemblies of the Buddhists would also 

 appear to be represented, of which one is called the Jatila Sahha, 

 of which I know nothing. A second belongs, I think, to a later 

 period of Buddhist history, about midway between the death of 



* BJiisa liananiya Jataka. The name of this Jataka is not found 

 amongst the 550 Jatakas of Ceylon, and I feel doubtful as to its meaning. 

 There are five actors in the scene: a Rishi, or male ascetic, a female ascetic, 

 a layman, an elephant, and a monkey. The Rishi and the monkey are both 

 seated and are both speaking. The female ascetic, whose right shoulder 

 is bare, is addressing the Rishi, and the layman is making an offering of 

 lotus stalks ; behind the Rishi is his hut. It seems probable that the 

 presentation of our lotus stalks has been the origin of the tale of the 

 Jataka, as bhisa is one of the:names for " lotus," and haraniya means either 

 " bringing," or ' ; seizing," or " stealing." The meaning of the name may, 

 therefore, be simply the "Lotus Offering Jataka." — L. de Z. 



