1862.] 
Ancient Javanese Remains. 
23 
called the Sat-mahal Prasada or Seven-storied House, which, in a 
rough way, is quite analogous to the Boro Bodor. 
But the structure nearest to it in general design, that I have seen 
or heard of, was one visited by Mr. Oldham and me in 1855, at Men- 
goon above Amarapoora. It was thus described from my journal. 
“ Further north there is an older pagoda of very peculiar character. 
The basement which formed the bulk of the structure consisted of 
seven concentric circular terraces, each with a parapet of a curious 
serpentine form. These parapets rose one above and within the other 
like the (seven) walls of Ecbatana described by Herodotus.In 
the parapet of every terrace were at intervals niches looking outwards, 
in which were figures of nats # and warders in white marble, of half 
life size. A great circular wall enclosed the whole at some distance 
from the base. It was difficult to ascertain the nature of the central 
structure, so shattered was it by the earthquake. The whole (though 
round instead of square in plan) had a great general resemblance 
to the large ancient pyramidal temple in Java called Boro Bodor, 
as described by Baffles and Crawfurd ; but this Mengoon structure 
was not, I think, very old, and I doubt if the resemblance was more 
than accidental. At the foot of the hills some hundred yards to the 
westward there was another pagoda of similar character which we 
did not visit. 
I retract the notion that the resemblance was purely accidental. 
It is one of many analogies between Burma and Java in architecture, 
arts, and manners, of which the history is unknown, though some of 
them doubtless came from India with the religion which was once 
common to both. One idea struck me after seeing the Burmese 
edifice which I will mention. This is, that both it and the Boro 
Bodor were meant in a way as symbols of the great world-system 
of the Buddhists, mount Maha Meru surrounded by its seven concen¬ 
tric ranges of mountains. Nor is this inconsistent with Mr. Fergus- 
son’s theory of Boro Bodor. There are seven stories both in the 
Burmese edifice and in that of Tennent’s Ceylon. At Boro Bodor 
there are but five galleries with parapets, but there are six terraces 
now visible, and the plates in Baffles show that there was a seventh 
and lower terrace which has not been uncovered. As to Boro Bodor 
* Burmese devtas or genii. 
t Mission to Ava in 1855, p. 172. 
