temple called Piyangukatissa there. This clearly
shows the manner in which the officers of the
central government had been appointed to rule
the outer areas.
Apart from these, there were independent
councils, which were at lower levels to administer
each area. In the inscriptions, those independent
councils, which existed in 9th century A.D., have
been introduced as ‘Dasagam Ettan’. The heads
of them had participated in the administrative
affairs at a minor scale, representing ten villages.
An inscription situated in an old temple called
Kaludiya Pokuna in Matale district says that if
there was a problem regarding offering alms to
the temple, Dasagam Ettan should gather and
solve the problem.
In administration, the rulers of the country
acted for the welfare of the people. They not only
offered grants to the temples, but also acted for
the betterment of the countrymen. Especially,
the rulers frequently paid their attention to uplift
the health facilities of the general public, which
was essential to them. The word ‘Vejjasala’ has
been used in ancient literary sources. That word
means ‘hospitals’. The inscriptions made in the
2 nd century B.C. mention about doctors who
were called ‘Veja’.
King Buddhadasa (340 – 368 A.D) was a ruler
who made a great effort to build hospitals. King
Mahinda V (982 – 1029 A.D) acted to provide
everything required to the hospitals in various
provinces in the country then. During the reign
of king Kashyapa IV (898 -914 A.D) a dangerous
fever spread in and around Anuradhapura.
Historical sources say that the king who realized
that those patients could not be treated under the
facilities available in the hospital existed then,
built a special hospital for that. For that the word
‘Upasaggaroganasa’ was used in the sources.
King Upatissa I (365-406 A.D.) built maternal
hospitals for the needs of the pregnant women.
Those hospitals were named as ‘Paswantinama
Sala’. That word means ‘the halls built for the
delivery’. In the inscriptions those buildings were
named as ‘Thimbirige’. From an ancient time,
there was the tradition of building maternal
hospitals in this country. There was a type of halls
called ‘Sottisala’ during king Pandukabhaya’s
reign. The annotative texts describe that the
name ‘Sottisala’ was used by Brahmins for the
places where religious activities were performed
and to name the maternity hospitals.The intelligent kings, who ruled our country
maintained mutual relations with their
neighbouring countries as well as with distant
countries. The countries with which relations
were maintained, changed from time to time.
Relations were maintained with Asian countries
including India and Araby since a very long time
and with some European countries since several
centuries from the recent past. Inscriptions in
the South India mention that King Gajabahu I
(114-136 A.D.), who was a reputed ruler from
the ‘Lambhakarna’ lineage had arrived in ‘Chera’
state in South India to participate in a ceremony
where a ‘Pattini’ Devala was declared open.Perhaps the purpose of this journey might have
been to strengthen the mutuality of statesmanship
between two countries.Mahawamsa mentions that king Bhatikabhaya
(23B.C-7A.D.) had sent ambassadors to
‘Romanuka Desha’. Here ‘Romanuka Desha’
means Rome. The purpose of this mission was
to fetch glass pebbles for a Pooja performed at
Ruwanweli Seya.In the 8th and 9th centuries A. D. the rulers of this
country built a close relation with China. During
that time ambassadors from this country went to
China. In the ruling period of king Aggabodhi
VI these relations were very strong. During that
time twenty foreign missions went to China.
The success in trading was the basic background
of the relations built with China and it made a
cultural influence too.