rs" in case of danger and emergency[1]; a Singhalese, rather than
put a Cobra de Capello to death, encloses the reptile in a wicker cage,
and sets it adrift on the nearest stream; and in the island of
Nainativoe, to the south-west of Jaffa, there was till recently a little
temple, dedicated to the goddess Naga Tambiran, in which consecrated
serpents were tenderly reared by the Pandarams, and daily fed at the
expense of the worshippers.[2]

[Footnote 1: For an account of Demon worship as it still exists in
Ceylon, see Sir J. EMERSON TENNANT'S _History of Christianity in
Ceylon,_ ch. v. p. 236.]

[Footnote 2: CASIE CHITTY'S _Gazetteer, &c.,_ p. 169.]

CHAP. VIII

EXTINCTION OF THE "GREAT DYNASTY."

[Sidenote: B.C. 104.]

From the death of Dutugaimunu to the exhaustion of the superior dynasty
on the death of Malta-Sen, A.D. 301, there are few demonstrations of
pious munificence to signalise the policy of the intervening sovereigns.
The king whom, next to Devenipiatissa and Dutugaimunu, the Buddhist
historians rejoice to exalt as one of the champions of the faith, was
Walagam-bahu I.[1], whose reign, though marked by vicissitudes, was
productive of lasting benefit to the national faith. Walagam-bahu
ascended the throne B.C. 104., but was almost immediately forced to
abdicate by an incursion of the Malabars; who, concerting a simultaneous
landing at several parts of the island, combined their movements so
successfully that they seized on Anarajapoora, and drove the king into
concealment in the mountains near Adam's Peak; and whilst one portion of
the invaders returned laden with plunder to the Dekkan, their companions
remained behind and held undisputed possession of the northern parts of
Ceylon for nearly fifteen years.

[Footnote 1: Called in the _Mahawanso_, "Wata-gamini".]

[Sidenote: B.C. 104.]

In this and the frequent incursions which followed, the Malabar leaders
were attracted by the wealth of the country to the north of the
Mahawelli-ganga; the southern portion of the island being either too
wild and unproductive to present a temptation to conquest, or too steep
and inaccessible to afford facilities for invasion. Besides, the
highlanders who inhabit the lofty ranges that lie around Adam's Peak; (a
district known as Malaya, "the region of mountains and torrents,")[1]
then and at all times exhibited their superiority over the lowlanders in
vigour, courage, and endurance. Hence the petty kingdoms of