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H. M. Vidyabhusli an — Study of Sanskrit in Ceylon. [No. 3, 
over the sea and reached the island of Ceylon. Having resided there 
for some time they crossed the sea again and reached their native town ; 
and after bowing before their Lord they gave him an account of her 
(i. e., the princess’) behaviour and handed over her letter to Him.” 
Mr. James D’Alwis, in his preface to the descriptive catalogue of 
Sanskrit, Pali, and Singhalese literary works, observes “ If the Orient 
pearls for which Ceylon has been famed from all antiquity, are still 
highly prized amongst the nations of the world, the intellectual pearls 
which Oriental scholars of many nations will be enabled to gather from 
Lanka’s store-house of Literature, will not be esteemed as less precious 
or valuable.” This remarkable passage struck me very much when 
I glanced over the pages of his catalogue. Being a Brahman, I did 
not attach much value to the numerous Pali and Singhalese Buddhist 
works which have been enumerated in it, nor did I wonder at the 
mineral wealth and pearls which Ceylon possessed in olden times. 
What struck me most was the account of the study of Sanskrit which 
prevailed in Ceylon during the early centuries of the Christian era. 
So early as the fifth century the study of Sanskrit was considered 
essential for all those who passed for literati in Ceylon, and Sanskrit 
scholars were respected side by side with the professors of Pali, the sacred 
language of the Buddhists. We are told in the Mahavamsa that Brahma- 
nism flourished in Ceylon for about ten centuries, till 1000 A. D. This 
statement is borne out by facts and also by the Sanskrit works which 
were written by Singhalese authors. It is also very interesting to note 
that while the nine gems, called nava ratna, adorned the court of Vikra- 
maditya during the 6th century A. D., the Augustan age of India, 
there should have been a king on the throne of Ceylon, who in 
scholarship in Sanskrit and in versification was not less gifted than the 
son of Sarasvati — the immortal Kalidasa. 
The fame of Kumaradasa as a poet had spread far and wide, and 
Kalidasa who had read one of his productions — the “ Janaki-harana” 
was so much struck with the true poetic genius of the Royal Poet of 
Lanka that he was induced to make a journey to Ceylon to meet him. 
Oriental scholars have not yet been able to gather sufficient chro- 
nological information about the age of Kalidasa to enable us to enter 
into a discussion on the subject. There are so many conflicting state- 
ments as to his date, that one is apt to be bewildered by them. There 
is a tradition in Bengal that he died in the house of a courtezan. 
This statement, whether true or false, is borne out by a tradition which 
can be gathered from Singhalese works. The learned Bhikshu Dhar- 
marama, in the preface (o his edition of the “Janaki-harana,” gives promi- 
nence to this account. It is said that Kalidasa struck with the wonder- 
