136 JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). [VOL. XII. 



animals ; for instance, the possession of a piece of the root 

 of the Ndga-darana (Martynia diandra) is said to protect a 

 man from snake bite, and that of a fern growing in the 

 Vanni is said to be similarly used as a protection from bears. 



V.— Plants in Poetry. 



The Sinhalese poets appear to be especially fond of drawing 

 their descriptions from the vegetable world. Perhaps this 

 is in a great measure due to the large number of species 

 of trees found in the Island. They have drawn upon the 

 members of the vegetable world, not only in making their 

 comparisons, but in describing the virtues and personal 

 charms of men and women. I quote instances of this 

 practice from a few standard Sinhalese poems. 



The world is compared to a tree and a town to its flowers 

 in the following verse from the Selalihini Sandesa of Sri 

 Rahula of Totagamuwa : — 



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Pav rada kanda nalo mul digatu bara 

 Lev turu susedu yasa mini mutu mal patara 

 Sav siri piri sura purawan Kelani pura 

 Dev mehesun Vibisana surinduta pawara. 



Give this message to the exalted god Yibhishana at Kelaniya-pura, 

 "which is filled with all prosperity like unto the city of Devas, and in 

 which are the full-blown flowers of renown freely hanging on the tree of 

 the world that has for its root the Nagaloka, for its stem the Mahameru, 

 and for its branches the points of the compass. 



In the same book the poet sings of the sky and the sun : — 

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Wadi min'savasa nala hesirena digatu wala 

 Sobaman sunil mini nil nubaturu vipula 

 Patasan awaragiranetiyen wetenakala 

 Wilikun surat pala weni we rivimadala. 



