Mediaeval Sinhalese Art c13.17

c13.17

∗ The practical Indian ideal of almsgiving, e.g., Mahānirvāṇa-tantra, VIII., 63: “The householder should dig tanks, plant trees, and erect rest-houses on the roads, and make bridges over rivers, by such great works he can conquer the three worlds.” Cf. also p. 48 above. The rest-house is a very ancient institution in the East. There is a rest-house episode (meeting of two kings’ sons on their travels) in the Sutasoma Jataka, illustrated at Degaldoruva. For reference to decorated ambalams see Chapter IX. For some account of rest-houses, and of storehouses, both public and private in ancient India, see Fleet, J.R.A.S., 1907, pp. 523—525.