18 
JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). [VoL. XXII. 
called after her the Sunetra Devi Pirivena.^ It was beauti- 
fully painted and had an arama or grove attached to it, the 
whole being surrounded by a high stone wall with carved 
gateways. Numerous fields and villages were dedicated to it, 
and for three days the priests who had assembled for the 
dedication from the three kingdoms of the Island were lavishly 
treated. Here, by royal command, the Buddhist Canon, the 
Tripitaka, with the Atthakatha, its " commentary," and tika, 
" gloss," was inscribed, and lands were allotted to the main- 
tenance of the scribes who were daily engaged in the task. It 
was an age of great literary activity and educational progress. 
Ecclesiastical colleges or pirivenas flourished throughout the 
country and were presided over by abbots, distinguished alike 
for their knowledge of theology, as for their piety and devotion 
to the faith : the great Padmavati Pirivena at Keragala, 
under the presidency of the Rajaguru Vanaratana Sangha- 
raja, the Aranyaka ("the woodland cloister ") at Palabatgala 
under the rule of the scholarly Sri Dharmakirti Sangharaja, 
the Vijaya Bahu Pirivena at Totagamuva under the control 
of §ri Rahula Sangharaja, the Sri Ganananda Pirivena at 
Rayigama under the warden of the Maha Netra temple, the 
High-Priest Maittreya Maha Stavira, and the Sunetra Maha 
Devi Pirivena at Pepiliyana under the direction of Tipitaka 
Mangala Sangharaja, the Master of the Tripitaka. These 
abbots were great scholars, skilled in all the arts, sciences, 
and secular learning of the time. The range of their 
scholarship and the reason of the renown they enjoyed may 
be judged by a study of their works which have descended to 
us. Their influence is still felt, for the greatest scholars in 
1 Within the delightful golden temple (vihara) , which our noble king 
had built for dedication to the triple gem in memory of the saintly- 
queen -mother, who like Aditi to the Solar race the mother of the sun, 
lived in the hearts of the people, Friend, joyfiilly enter the image-house 
of the Sage so that you may hereafter attain divine salvation (moksha), 
and with the contemplation of the famed virtues of the Sage lay aside 
sloth, springing from the boundless ocean of transmigration (*.e., being 
mortal in the toils of earthly existence it costs an effort to take to 
religious services), and repeating the virtues of the Sage, worship the 
images and the paintings, and carry the merit to your heart. — Gird 
Sandesa, v. 63. 
