The Sidath Sangarawa

James de Alwis's Introduction to his English Translation of the Sidatsangarava incorporates a valuable and erudite survey of Sinhala Literature covering the Anuradhapura, Polonnaruva, Dambadeniya, Kotte and Kandy Periods.

This edition of the Sidatsangarava was published in 1851 and it is, at present, one of the rarest books, which is in very high demand. In view of this demand the Department of National Museums has taken the opportunity to produce a lithograph edition of the Introduction for which the Department's acknowledgement is due to the Government Printer. I may mention here that some of Mr. de Alwis's views on Sinhalese Literature are yet of interest and the results of his researches can still throw fresh light on many fields of Sinha.a Culture.

This publication is of unique significance in the literary history of Ceylon because of the impetus it gave to oriental learning, quite accidentally, through its comments of Mihiripenne's criticism of Gangarohana Varnanava. Mihiripenne had pointed out certain metrical blemishes occurring in the line සසර සරණ සව් සත් දම් " in the opening stanzas of the Gangarohana Kavya of Muhandiram Thomas Dissanayake of Matara. In a most convincing manner, as evinced from his arguments recorded in this Introduction, Mr. deAlwis refuted Mihiripenne's criticism as unjustifiable and unwarranted. And it was this bold challenge of Mr. de Alwis that brought about the famous literary controversy, popularly known as the "Savsatdam Vadaya which originated in 1853. The Savsatdam Vadaya has been acknowledged as the greatest literary controversy that occurred in this country, and eventually it led to a renaissance of Sinhala literature and oriental learning in the late nineteenth century, besides contributing immensely to the development of the flexible prose style in modern Sinhala.