No. 40.— 1890.] KURUNEGALA ROCKS. 



389 



ere he could gain the summit, he was precipitated headlong 

 down the hill and killed. Another account states that a 

 dais of plantain trunks covered over with cloth was erected 

 at the preaching hall on a slope of the rock, and no sooner 

 had the royal guest taken his seat than the fragile structure 

 gave way, and he fell over the precipice. It is also related 

 that the spirit of the king forthwith assumed the form of a 

 demon, and killed about sixty of the treacherous courtiers 

 on the spot by striking their heads together, two at a time. 

 The spot where the corpse was found — at the foot of the 

 rock — was consecrated by the erection of the present shrine. 



It is believed to the present day that an apparition of a 

 man dressed in white, riding a gray horse, is occasionally seen 

 at the dead of night in the vicinity of the fatal rock, and is 

 identified as the ghost of Yastuhimi. 



To resume. The ministers then having caparisoned the 

 state elephant, let it go blindfold to find the lawful heir to the 

 throne, following the animal in its search, with the insignia 

 of royalty. 



The prince having been engaged in ploughing the field, 

 which he had undertaken to cultivate for his landlord in 

 anda, had adjourned for breakfast. His wife had brought 

 the repast to the field. Having partaken of the meal, and 

 finding the midday sun too powerful to work in, he laid his 

 head on his wife's lap and dozed off. Suddenly awaking from 

 his nap, he told his wife that he had dreamt that a colony 

 of "bumble bees" (bambaru) had built a hive on the handle 

 of his plough. The interpretation of such a dream is that the 

 dreamer will become a king. The very thought of it, 

 however, was absurd, and the cultivator's wife laughed 

 outright, observing in jest : " What crowns are there for 

 you and me ? " Scarcely had the laughter subsided, when 

 the royal elephant was seen coming in the direction of the 

 couple, with a multitude following it. No sooner had they 

 perceived the grand procession than they concealed them- 

 selves in a bush behind a rock, apprehending that the usurper 

 was in quest of the prince ; but the sagacious elephant 



