116 



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



Alagiyavanna was also author of the following works -.—Seoul Asna 

 alias Kukkuta Sandesaya (cock's message), Subhdshita (moral maxims), 

 NiUsdraya (moral laws), Mahahatana (on the wars between the Portu- 

 guese and the Sinhalese), Parangihatana (on the wars between the 

 Dutch and Sinhalese), Dahamsonda Jdtaka (a poetical version of a 

 Buddhist birth story), Munigunaratnamdlaya (or Buddha's virtues), 

 Dussilawata (on misconduct of Buddhist monks). 



He is said to have repeated a stanza offhand while on his deathbed, 

 in which he threatened the angel of death that if he should at any 

 time succeed to his post, he (the poet) would make the angel and his 

 wife dance on the outer verandah of their house, meaning that he 

 would bring them to the situation in which he then was. This stanza 

 is cited on page viii (sup?*a). The dates of his birth and death are not 

 known. This poem under consideration, according to its concluding 

 stanza, was composed in the year 1532 of the Saka era, which corres- 

 ponds with 1610 a.d. 



This poem, according to its 19th stanza, was written at the request 

 of a pious and learned lady named Menik Sami, wife of Attandyaka, 

 a minister of Rajasinha I. (1581-1592 a.d.), who made Sitawaka his 

 seat of Government. 



Mr. Gunasekara has not given his authorities for the few 



details he records of the poet's career, but they are, I believe, 



taken from Mr. John Perera's Heladiv-rajaniya (p. 231) ; 



and, with regard to two of his statements, I think I can 



show that he is in error. I refer to the assertions that 



Alagiyavanna held the office of registrar " under the Dutch 



Government," and that he " received his appointment from 



King Rajasinha (1634-1684) at the instance of the Dutch 



Government." 



In vol. III. of the Orientalist were printed, under the 

 heading " Donatie die gedaen heef t den Coningh van Ceylon 

 Dom Joan Pereapander," * a number of Dutch documents 



* To this heading the editor of the Orientalist appended the following 

 footnote :— " A Dutch translation, discovered by Mr. F. H. de Vos, of the 

 deed of gift of the Island of Ceylon to the Portuguese, of which a transla- 

 tion from the original Portuguese by Mr. Donald Ferguson appeared on 

 page 28 supra." This is a very misleading note, as only the first document 

 is a Dutch translation of the deed of gift, the others being translations 

 of Portuguese documents connected therewith, or relative thereto, of such 

 importance that an English translation should have been given. Mr. de 

 Vos ought also to have stated where he discovered these documents. — 

 D.W.F. 



