Mediaeval Sinhalese Art c19.67

c19.67

“And when the morning was come all the people arrayed themselves in their best garments, and, being exceeding desirous of gaining merit, went up with flowers of the jasmine and champac and ironwood, and other kinds of flowers of divers hues mixed with flowers of gold (leaf) and the like, and devoutly made their offerings to the Tooth-relic and the Bowl-relic. And they made offerings also of many heaps of sweet white rice that looked like heaps of the glory that had long gathered around the great king, and of divers kinds of fruit, such as plantains, jak, mango, and the like fruits that were exceeding ripe, sweet, and luscious. Then the king himself, in like manner, made offerings of divers kinds to those two noble relics; and then he who was expert in all courtesy ministered unto the Order and carefully provided them with food and drink,—food hard and soft, and drink that could be sucked, and drink that could be swallowed. And the lord of the land, who was exceeding delighted on that occasion, bestowed on several hundreds of priests the eight things that were needful for monks. Afterwards, throughout the three watches of the night, he illuminated the vihāra all round with lacs and crores of lighted lamps fed with perfumed oil, and with garlands of divers lamps perfumed with camphor oil, so that the whole face of the land looked like the firmament that was studded with stars. And the lord of the land held a feast in honour of Buddha, to which all men were drawn by the sweet songs of singers and the dances of many dancers as they danced in divers characters on the excellent stages that were raised here and there,—a feast the tumult whereof was greatly increased by the sound of the five musical instruments which, like a blast proceeding from the sea of his merits, sufficed to drown the roar of the ocean and to put to shame the thunder of the clouds,—whereat also the voice of religion was heard from pulpits reverently set up by the faithful at divers places, whereon sat preachers of the sacred Law, who, with beautiful fans in their hands, proclaimed the good Law that convinced the hearts of the hearers thereof,—a feast which also was made pleasant by the shouts of the four classes of Buddha’s disciples,[*] who went hither and thither viewing all things with admiration and congratulating each other as they praised the virtues of the three sacred gems, exclaiming, “Oh, the Buddha! Oh, the Dhamma! Oh, the Saṅgha!”—whose praises also were sung in strains like those of the Nandis[†] by the masters of the ceremonies as they stood in crowds on every side invoking the blessings of Buddha.