No. 39.-1889.] notes on ritigala. 



13 



As I said at the beginning that Ritigala was one of the 

 principal seats of the aborigines previous to the arrival of 

 Wijeyo, I cite the following passage from the " Samantakuta 

 Varnana," which describes some places (amongst them 

 Ritigala) where the original inhabitants, called Yakhus, 

 resided at the time of the first visit of Gautama Buddha to 

 Ceylon in the ninth year after his attainment of Buddhahood 

 [circa 569 B.C.]. 



C55S)353£S3^ cS<S"C^S33 S8S3S33 ZZlQl'O 

 €33^280323 s8dS33 «6<S)^c)o3S5>S)3. 



Ramme tada Ratanadipa waramhi Lanka 

 Lokabhidhana Harikhandaka Yakkha dase 

 Odumbare Sumanakutaka Tanduleyye 

 Selesu Maragiri Missaka Rittha name 



Yermepisanti girayo wanarama neyya 

 Ganga Nadi giriguha Sikata talaca 

 Tattha wasanti rabhasa pharusa-tirudda 

 Panatipata nirata sathakuta yakkha. 



At that time the Yakkiis, who were wicked, abusive, very cruel, and 

 cunning, and who were continually engaged in taking away animal life, 

 haunted the mountains Lanka [Lag-gala], Loka [Log-gala], Harikha- 

 ndaka [Hirikada], Yakkhadase [Yakdessa], Odumbare [Dimbula], 

 Sumana-kuta [Samanalakanda] , Tanduleyya, Maragiri [Maragala], 

 Missaka, Arittha-sela [Riti-gala], and such other rocks which grace 

 the woods ; and [they also haunted] rivers and streams, caves and 

 sandy plains, of the delightful Island»of Gems [Ceylon]. 



Besides these notices of the antiquity, the mineral and 

 botanical wealth, and the situation of Ritigala, we have 

 in the " Mahawansa " (chapter X.) a graphic description of a 

 battle which took place on it between Pandukabhaya and 

 his, uncles about 437 B.C. The following is Tumour's 

 translation of the passage referred to : — 



