ANURADHAPURA, the second and most famous capital of the ancient Sinhalese kings. It is to-day the administrative capital of the North Central province, and is the resort of large numbers of Buddhist pilgrims. It was established in the 5th century B.C., and was the seat of government at the time of the conversion of its king and his people to Buddhism by Mahinda, a son of Asoka. It suffered much during the earlier Tamil invasions, and was evacuated by the Sinhalese in A.D. 760 in favour of Polonnaruwa. It is situated in the close neighbourhood of the two huge artificial reservoirs of Tissa Wewa and Nuwara Wewa. Of its archaeological remains the most remarkable are its huge pyramidal dagobas, constructed of small sun-dried bricks; its pokunas, or bathing-pools; and the foundations of monastic buildings and palaces. The city contains the famous Bo-tree, believed to be originally a branch of the very tree under the shade of which Gautama attained to Buddhahood, miraculously transported from India in 245 B.C. It is the oldest tree in exist ence of which we have any historical record. The city was completely abandoned to the jungle until it was rediscovered and opened up by the British Government in the middle of the 19th century. It is on the main line of railway from Polghawela to Mannar, Jaffna and Trincomalee. Population (Census 1921), town, 7,781; province, 96,525.