No. 45. — 1894.] which gaja bahu visited india ? 145 



I. (which, according to the President, was not in Ceylon till 

 the fourth century A.D.), is supported by an earlier work y 

 the Pujdvaliya, which was composed by a monk called 

 Buddhaputra, Chief of Mayurapada Pirivena, about the year 

 1288 A.D. or, according to B. Gunasekara Mudaliyar, 1309 A.D. 

 The passage I refer to is as follows : — 



" His ( Yehep's) son Yaknehetissa ( Yankanasika Tissa) reigned three 

 years. His son King Gaja Bahu having heard that during his father's 

 reign men were sent to Kaveri for service, sent for his ministers, and 

 having inquired about it became indignant, and having taken the iron 

 mace which his father caused to be made for him, accompanied his 

 warriors, and having taken the mace, which was wont to be lifted up 

 by fifty men, in his right hand and circumambulated, struck the sea 

 with it, and by his merits divided the sea and went over to the Chola 

 country without wetting his feet ; and having exhibited his prowess, 

 and having captured twice as many as those who went to serve at 

 Kaveri, and enjoined that thenceforth none should go to work at 

 Kaveri, came back, and having kept guards round the shore, and 

 having published his victory by beat of tom-tom, and having done many 

 meritorious acts, reigned twenty-two years and went to heaven." 



Two other works of independent authority refer to the 

 same incidents in a fuller form, explaining the cause of the 

 invasion of Gaja Bahu I. The works I allude to are the 

 Mahd Rujdwaliya and Wanni Rdjdivaliya. 



The following passage I take over from Malid Rdjdwaliya 

 and translate thus : — 



His son Yannesi (Yankanasika) reigned three years. During his 

 reign the King of Chola having come to this Lanka with Tamils from 

 the Chola country, took away to the Chola country 12,000 prisoners of 

 war. During the reign of Gajaba, son of King Senanambapa, whilst 

 he was going about the city in the night he heard an old widow's 

 lamentations because her two sons were carried away by the Chola 

 king, and thinking that there must be some injustice in the city he 

 marked the door with lime and went to his palace. In the morning 

 the king sent for his ministers and inquired of them about the rights 

 and wrongs in the city. Then the ministers said, " It is like a wed- 

 ding house of Indra." Then the king's wrath was kindled against 

 the ministers, and he sent for the woman of the house whose door had 

 been marked with lime ; and she said, " When the Chola king carried 



