histoy G-10 E

trade affairs which was prospering in the Indian
Ocean during his time, from the then king Elara
who had usurped the power in Anuradhapura
and uniting the country. The way that prince
Dutugemunu acted for that purpose according to
the advice and the plans of King Kavantissa, his
father, was a landmark in the political history of
this country. Prince Dutugemunu was the first to
provide leadership to the first organized fighting
movement in the history of this country. The
statement that he made about his fight against
King Elara, which he would do, not because that
he wanted to enjoy comforts and the facilities of a
king but because for the benefit of the Buddhism
clearly shows how the ruler entered to the
political process based on a common purpose on
behalf of the country. After the battle, the king
ordered his subjects to respect his defeated rival’s
tomb, which shows his statesmanship.

As we have explained in the part ‘growth of
kingship’ of this lesson, the most important
contribution that King Dutugemunu made to
the process of development of political power
in this country was managing to combine the
Parumakas who had possessed the decentralized
provincial power by then. At the end he
possessed a great power after being anointed as
the king (Maha Raja) of the country. Though he
was so powerful, his redressing attitudes towards
the people reflect that he could realize his prime
responsibility which was to work for the welfare
of the people. The best example for this is that
during the construction period of Ruwanweli
Stupa the king ordered to run alms halls (Dan
Sel) at the four gates of the Stupa and make
payments for everyone who had participated
in its construction works. King Dutugemunu
should be admired not merely for his service
to Buddhism of this country. Taking initiatives
to organize the decentralized political power in
Sri Lanka is also a prominent feature among his
tasks.

King Vasabha

King Vasabha, who was the first ruler of the lineage

(dynasty) of Lambhakarna, was a prominent

character among the rulers of this country. The

procedure that the king followed to regulate

and to organize the internal administration of

the country properly was exemplary. There are

a number of inscriptions that he has established

around the country. According to the information

in them, the king tried to divide the country

into provinces and regulate the administration.

And also, inscriptions say that the process of

collecting taxes of the state was made systematic

during the king’s time.

The details of the historical sources reveal that

King Vasabha pioneered in constructing large

scale tanks in this country for the first time. The

Wamsakatha (chronicles) say that the king had

constructed sixteen large scale tanks. The king

tended to execute such kind of construction as

there was a great demand for the grains produced

in this country in South India because there was

a dearth of food in the valley of Krishna river

in South India. The immediate decision king

Vasabha took to invest the public money on

constructing new reservoirs can be analyzed as a

far-sighted and a productive decision to address

an international and regional need emerged at

the time.

The way that king Vasabha acted to reconstruct

the Buddhist temples and Stupas in this country

is not second to any other ruler’s task. A number

of inscriptions mention the financial support the

king provided to reconstruct the decayed places

in Buddhist temples and to supply facilities to

the Bhikkus.

We should understand that the decisions that the

king made to make the lives of the people better

in the country by taking steps needed to increase

the local income and using the income earned

in that manner to develop the irrigation of the

country are exemplary.