trees of this species throw up fresh shoots from the roots near the parent stem.  The sculptures at Sanchi represent a branch of a sacred tree being carried in procession, though no inscription attests its destination, and Fa-Hsien says that he saw the tree.[34] The author of the first part of the Mahavamsa clearly regards it as already ancient, and throughout the history of Ceylon there are references to the construction of railings and terraces to protect it.

Devanampiya Tissa probably died in 207 B.C.  In 177 the kingdom passed into the hands of Tamil monarchs who were not Buddhists, although the chroniclers praise their justice and the respect which they showed to the Church.  The most important of them, Elara, reigned for forty-four years and was dethroned by a descendant of Tissa, called Dutthagamani.[35]

The exploits of this prince are recorded at such length in the Mahavamsa (XXII.-XXXII.) as to suggest that they formed the subject of a separate popular epic, in which he figured as the champion of Sinhalese against the Tamils, and therefore as a devout Buddhist.  On ascending the throne he felt, like Asoka, remorse for the bloodshed which had attended his early life and strove to atone for it by good works, especially the construction of sacred edifices.  The most important of these were the Lohapasada or Copper Palace and the Mahathupa or Ruwanweli Dagoba.  The former[36] was a monastery roofed or covered with copper plates.  Its numerous rooms were richly decorated and it consisted of nine storeys, of which the four uppermost were set apart for Arhats, and the lower assigned to the inferior grades of monks.  Perhaps the nine storeys are an exaggeration:  at any rate the building suffered from fire and underwent numerous reconstructions and modifications.  King Mahasena (301 A.D.) destroyed it and then repenting of his errors rebuilt it, but the ruins now representing it at Anuradhapura, which consist of stone pillars only, date from the reign of Parakrama Bahu I (about A.D. 1150).  The immense pile known as the Ruwanweli Dagoba, though often injured by invaders in search of treasure, still exists.  The somewhat dilapidated exterior is merely an outer shell, enclosing a smaller dagoba.[37] This is possibly the structure erected by Dutthagamani, though tradition says that there is a still smaller edifice inside.  The foundation and building of the original structure are related at great length.[38] Crowds of distinguished monks came to see the first stone laid, even from Kashmir and Alasanda.  Some have identified the latter name with Alexandria in Egypt, but it probably denotes a Greek city on the Indus.[39] But in any case tradition represents Buddhists from all parts of India as taking part in the ceremony and thus recognizing the unity of Indian and Sinhalese Buddhism.