214 H. M. Vidyabhushan — Study of Sanskrit in Ceylon. [No. 3, 
sorrow and consternation know no bounds. He ordered a grand funeral 
in honour of the renowned poet. When the pile was lighted, the 
generous-hearted monarch, overwhelmed with sorrow, sprang into the 
fire and was soon consumed by the flames together with his brother 
bard. Five queens of the king instantly followed his example. 
According to the Singhalese custom, seven monuments were erected, 
and seven bo-trees planted on the spot of the cremation. This sad event 
appears to have happened at Matara (or Maliatirtha), where the king 
is said to have resided at the time. 
Within the town there is a place by the name of “ Hat Bodiwata” 
( — the garden of seven bo-trees), which tradition points out as 
the scene of this tragedy. 
In India a similar tradition prevails regarding Kalidasa, who is said 
to have written the following verse : — 
si | 
*fT# rrq g’sthwt# II 
i. e., “ It is a mere hearsay statement, that flower begets flower, but 
no one has realized (the truth of it) by actually seeing it. O Maiden, 
how is it that I see two lilies on your lotus-face ? ” 
It is curious that the traditions that prevailed in both countries 
should be substantially the same, though expressed in different words. 
Of the two, the Indian sloka is decidedly the better. 
Some Oriental scholars have conjectured the date of Kalidasa to be 
in the 6th century. That Kumaradasa was a king of Ceylon in the 
6th century is a historical fact, as can be gathered from the Mahava- 
msa, therefore it is not improbable that the great Indian poet Kalidasa 
was a contemporary of Kumaradasa. 
It is to be regretted that the original works of Kumaradasa should 
have been lost. But quotations from his Janaki-harana are to be 
found in Pataiijali’s Mahabhashya, in Rajasekhara’s work, in Ujjala- 
datta’s UnadiVritti, and also in Kshemendra’s Auchityalahkara. Prof. 
Peterson, in his paper “ On the Auchityalahkara of Kshemendra, with 
a note on the date of Patanjali,” made the following remarks : — 
FE|3T | 
• Ok 
( Kshemendra’s Auchityalahkara.) 
i. e., “ By Kumaradasa — 
O, give up the firm (warm) embrace and leave the lover who is 
