A sourced illustration has not yet been added. This gap is included in the coverage record.

Overview

A Rākshasa has consumed the people of a city, leaving a girl in his house. She tells a visiting prince that the man-eater cries out at twelve, eight and four miles on his approach. The prince scatters dried coconuts and menēri seed over the open ground, waits with his sword and strikes when the Rākshasa arrives. A Rākshasī previously spared by the prince answers his call for help and kills the attacker by driving a thorn into the crown of his head. His body is buried; no external soul, revival or biological relationship to the helper is stated in this North-western Province telling.

Man-eater whose approach is marked by successive criesVersion-specific collected narrative
01

Origins & earliest records

Sri Lankan narratives collected and translated by H. Parker

02

Records & interpretation

Complete tale and all its printed variants/comparative notes read; relevant introduction passages on collection and translation directly read.

Selected bibliography

Documented works and useful reading. This is not a list of every appearance.

  1. 01

    Village Folk-Tales of Ceylon, Volume I

    H. Parker (collector and translator) · 1910

    No. 20, The Prince who did not go to School, pp. 160–165; comparative notes pp. 165–168

Family & connections

A source-supported family tree or inspiration record has not yet been compiled for this profile. Related reading below indicates a connection in subject matter, not a proven lineage or creative influence.

Primary records and illustrations

Direct primary record

Village Folk-Tales of Ceylon, Volume I

Volume I. No. 20, The Prince who did not go to School, pp. 160–165; comparative notes pp. 165–168

Complete No.20 and all comparative notes read. Life indicators distinguished from sword containing life, giants’ affectionate elder-brother address from genealogy, and Parker’s borrowing theories from direct tale evidence.

Inspect the digitized plate · Source collection manifest

References

Sources supporting this profile. Linked pages have their own scope and editorial standards.

  1. Historical collected oral narrative translationParker, Village Folk-Tales of Ceylon I — No. 20, The Prince who did not go to School, pp. 160–165; comparative notes pp. 165–168Research access: 2026-10-05

Image credits

A sourced illustration has not yet been added. This gap is included in the coverage record.

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