battle-chamber of nature, stamped with the records of
a long unceasing strife, the soul of the spectator shrinks
into itself, finding no vent in the commonplace.
There is a legend attached to the great rock that
is not unworthy of its tragic grandeur and beauty.
It is a tale of the first king and queen of Sampenago,
G R EA T C L IF F IN TH E SECOND D E F IL E
who were driven in a far-away day from their kingdom
by Kuttha, the king’s brother. The king, with true
Buddhist philosophy, when he heard of his brother’s
advance, forbade any resistance. To take life would
be wrong and the issue must turn on the extent of
his accumulated merit through all past existences. If
this were great, the threatened evil could not befall
him ; were it small, it could not be averted. So while
