This book provides a view of hitherto hidden territory, the highways and by-ways of Sinhala poetry. It presents many facets of what Yeats termed “the craft of verse”, many moods and modes, from the amorous to animosity, the lyrical, comic, tender, cynical, satirical and melancholy, employed by kings or peasants, the erudite and the unlearned. The translator strives to remain faithful to the dynamics of each verse. It also includes a concise yet informative introduction to the belief, precepts, practices and background from which these
verses emerged.