TO THE COURT OF AYA. 
345 
one hundred and twenty in number, all repre¬ 
sent the same personage, and this seemed to me 
to be the Indian divinity Vishnu. On the head 
there is a royal crown, in the right hand an ex¬ 
panded lotus flower, and in the left a triangular 
javelin. These images are represented by the 
Bunnans as mere guardians of the temple. All 
the Hindoo deities, indeed, are represented by 
them, and, I believe, by other followers of Gau¬ 
tama, as no better than Nats, a species of beings 
of another but superior state of existence to 
ours, subject, nevertheless, to change, to cala¬ 
mity, and to death. Some are of a malignant, 
and some of a beneficent nature. It is to these 
that the protection of temples is entrusted. 
Sometimes they are represented in the form of 
human beings, and at others in that of beasts 
or birds. In a small temple on the eastern side 
of the great pagoda, there is a gilt statue of 
Gautama in sandstone, the only representation 
of him to be seen at the temple. 
The 44 slaves” of the Pagoda, who were our 
guides, gave the following as its dimensions. 
It is one hundred and one royal cubits high,* 
or one hundred and sixty feet nine inches ; and 
six hundred cubits, or about three hundred and 
* A royal cubit measures exactly 19 inches and 1-tenth, 
English. 
