No. 36.— 1888.] 



MEDAMAH ANUWARA. 



313 



whom and Sri Vikrama Raja Sinha, the last king of Kandy, 

 there were two reigns, and that it fell into ruin about the 

 year A.D. 1820. It thus appears probable that the palace was 

 built about A.D. 1740 by Sri Vijaya Raja Sinha, who was 

 .also known as "Hanguranketa," from the palace built by him 

 .at that place. There is however a vague tradition connecting 

 Medamahanuwara with Sri Vira Parakrama Narendra Sinha, 

 better known as " Kundasale," the king who preceded Sri 

 Viyaya Raja Siyha, and reigned from A.D. 1706 to 1739. As 

 Kundasale is known to have built a palace at the place from 

 which he derived his eponym, and also the Nata Dewale at 

 Kandy, it is not improbable that the Maligawa of Medamaha- 

 nuwara should also be added to the list of his works. 

 Whether it was built in the reign of Hanguranketa or Kunda- 

 sale thus appears doubtful, but it is at least certain that it 

 was built in the reign of either one or the other, subsequently 

 to A.D. 1706 and prior to A.D. 1747. 



The palace was used as a halting-place on the royal journeys 

 between Kandy and Bintenna, and for brief occasional visits 

 extending over one or, at the most, two weeks. Except for 

 the few months that the Dutch occupied Kandy in the reign 

 of Kirti Sri Raja Sinha, it does not appear to have ever served 

 as a permanent residence, but the visits were probably 

 frequent, as, besides being on the route to Alutnuwara and 

 Bintenna, it was also on the way to the gahaddgam, or royal 

 villages, of Hanwella and Mahawela. 



With regard to the interior of the Maligawa I have not been 

 able to gather any information, beyond the fact that there 

 were no windows — a negative feature common to native 

 houses in general. 



It has been mentioned that the Maligawa was built on 

 ground sloping towards the bed of the Guru-oya. Hence it 

 will be understood that on the southern and western sides 

 the open compound was on a slightly lower level than the 

 palace proper, and the huts of the guards were on a still 

 lower level than the compound. Hence also the necessity 

 for the nights of steps on the south. On these sides (the 



