A Burmese wonderland; a tale of travel in Lower and ... - Khamkoo

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144 A BURMESE WONDERLAND.
great beauty. The face oi a cave called Taimg-ziiilikmiit-ta
{Seven Ranges) is richly carved with coluums
of fohage representing mountains, with seas or rivers
between. The whole frescoe is meant to illustrate Mt.
Meru, the Buddhist Paradise.
The human figures which stand beside the doors of
the various caves are
often dressed in beautiful Burmese
costmnes. Many of these " dooi -keepers ". however, are
Nats or Bilus of unusual design. Some have horns.
(Others are covered with scales. These grotesque
sculptiu:es are urdike anytliiug known elsewhere, and
may possibly be Pyu yats. Amongst other figures,
occurs one of the Powin Taung Nat, the Goddess of
the
Hill, riding a tiger : and
elsewhere a bullock, also a
Xat, to which visitors make ofierings of grass and leavers
The great leogriff at the entrance of the Ko-sintaing
is inscribed on the breast with the date 1298 A.D.
This is the only ancient inscription known to exist, and
the history of these caves is therefore a matter oi
conjecture. There is a tradition that the earliest caves
were made by the Pyu, and though there is no direct
evidence to support this, the legend caimot be entirely
ignored.
From the style of the sculptures M. Duroiselle
believes the oldest caves may be 9th or 10th century.
4: 4i * * 4>
About 12 miles north of
Yinmabin there are some
curious depressions or
'"
craters ' near the villages
of Leshd and Twin, which are popularly supposed
to be volcanic but which were most likely formed