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



bath." According to the Kurunegala Vistaraya, it was 

 called Aushadha-pokuna, owing to the medicinal plants and 

 creepers growing in it. Alas now ! 



" Neglect and time 

 Have marr'd the work of artisan and mason, 

 And efts and croaking frogs, begot of slime, 

 Sprawl in the basin." 



The stream which flows out of this tank is wearing small 

 4< pot holes" below. 



The rock is also ascended from the back of the " elephant," 

 but the climb is at an angle of 29° to 30° in many places, and 

 only the venturesome try it. Campbell came down by this 

 way. His pithy description, " I took off shoes and stockings 

 and got down with whole bones," conveys some idea of the 

 precipitous scramble. 



A splendid bird's-eye view of the whole town and its 

 environs, with the tank in the middle distance choked and 

 smothered with a mass of floating vegetation, may be had 

 from the crown of the rock. A trignometrical station was 

 established here many years ago. 



Eta-gala is a popular resort of visitors to the town and of 

 picnicers, who delight in inscribing their names on its 

 summit. 



On the occasion of the celebration of the Queen's Jubilee 

 in Kurunegala in June, 1887, bonfires were lighted on this 

 rock, as well as on Yakdessagala, Handurukkanda, and 

 other eminences, which command a view of the town and 

 district. 



Etkanda Vihare is a temple on the Kandy road, about a 

 quarter of a mile from the town, and is built at the base of 

 " Elephant rock." There is nothing noteworthy in this 

 temple. The Buddhists worship here, and litigants who 

 challenge the oath of their adversaries in legal suits, generally 

 resort to this temple for the purpose. Great faith is placed 

 on the punishment visited in the next world on those who 

 swear falsely on the Jdtaka-pota. Instances where such 

 oaths were falsely taken, with disastrous results in this world,. 



