No. 55. 
. — 1904.] ALAKESWARA : HIS LIFE AND TIMES. 
303 
Here Diogo de Couto refers to the coming of the Chinese in their 
junks, and after stating how they contributed to the formation of the 
name " Chingalla," and passing a few disagreeable animadversions on 
the character of the Sinhalese, he proceeds : — 
" And since the Chins continued trading with the Island and are evil 
men (as we have said), there arrived in that Island an armada (fleet) of 
theirs (while Dambadine Pandar was king, as stated above), and, the 
people of the country entertaining no suspicion of them, on the day 
which they fixed for their landing they took the king prisoner, sacked 
his city, and taking thence much heavy treasure they repaired to China 
and presented the captive king to their own. The latter was greatly 
grieved at the treachery which his vassals had exhibited towards a king 
who had welcomed them into his country ; and he forthwith bade them, 
on pain of death, to take him back to his own realm, for which he 
ordered an armada to be got together, whereon he embarked him. with 
much honour : and here we shall leave him until we hark back to 
him. 
" This captive king had a daughter, a widow, with two infant sons, 
whose fate willed it that they should escape the Chins on the day of the 
sacking, and she fled with them into the interior. After the departure 
of the Chins, there being no son to the king, a heathen named 
Alagaxerre (Alakeswara), to whom the king had entrusted the Grovern- 
ment of the kingdom, laid hands on the crown. This man, finding 
himself in that plight, being ambitious to reign in his own right, tried 
much to lay hands on the princess and the princes, in order to put them 
to death and make sure of the crown. This lady was warned of this, 
and, wishing to place her children in safety, fled with them in disguise 
to the regions of Ceitauaca (Sitawaka) so secretly that she trusted no 
man ; and there she remained, maintaining her children in poverty. 
The traitor, deeming the boys dead, crowned himself Emperor of the 
Island. It being more than two years since he usurped the throne, the 
armada from China which was bringing back his king arrived and 
anchored in the port of Colombo. The tyrant went out to receive him 
with deceptive pretences ; and taking him into the city that night he 
murdered him, so that he himself remained king and so lived ten 
years. 
" This tyrant left no sons, and the rule of the kingdom passed to one 
Chagatar (Sa^gha Eaja Tera, i.e., Widagama Maha Sami), a wise man 
and of virtuous morals. The first thing that the latter did was to 
institute a search for the princes, who wandered about homeless, now 
motherless ; and when they were brought before him he received them 
as his masters, immediately swearing in as Emperor the elder of them, 
who was called Maha Pracura Mabago (Maha Parakrama Bahu, i.e., Sri 
Parakrama Bahu YI.), who must then have been about sixteen years of 
age, and he married him to a daughter of the Lord of Candia (Kandy), 
his vassal and relative ; to the other brother, whose name was Madune 
M 66-04 
