Among the deities of the inhabitants of Ceylon, we find also _Gannèsha_; but he is represented here with goat’s feet; whereas the other Indians represent him under the human form, except the addition of an elephant’s trunk. The principal deity, however, worshipped in this island, is _Budha_, or _Godama_, a son of Maia and Mercury, or Hermes, to whom they have dedicated not only a great number of trees, but also Adam’s Peak, called in the Samscred language _Salmala_, which is the highest mountain in the island, and from which _Budha_ is said to have ascended to heaven after he had transformed himself into 999 different shapes. The worship of this deity was introduced into Ceylon about forty years after the birth of Christ; and about the same time a violent dispute took place between the Brahmans and the Budhists, the result of which was, that the latter, because they would not acknowledge _Vishnu_ and _Shiva_ as gods, were expelled from India by their opponents. The Budhists were originally Pagan monks of the feet of _Sanyasi_, who led a life of contemplation; renounced all property; took an oath of chastity and poverty, and lived together in common. They are descended from the ancient _Samanæi_, who are exceedingly well characterised in the writings of Strabo, Porphyrius, Arrian, and Clemens of Alexandria. They never marry, and support themselves by begging. By these Budhists the religion of the Indians was transplanted to Pegu, Siam, and China, as the Peguans and the Chinese themselves acknowledge. In Pegu, _Budha_ is worshipped in the same manner as in Ceylon; and the Talapoins, his priests, are real descendants from the Budhists of Ceylon. The inhabitants of Pegu call _Budha_ sometimes _Gaudama_, and sometimes _Samonacodam_. _Soma_ signifies the moon, and _Codam_ a god. By this appellation, therefore, they give to understand, that they consider _Budha_ as a deity created by the moon; for the nymph _Rohini_ was the favourite of the lunar god, and from these two _Budha_ derived his existence.