histoy G-10 E

in Nikawella had come representing the council (Sabhawa)

to offer a plot of land called Kerelegama to the nunnery

called Mahindarama. It goes like this in the inscription,

“Sabhayen a meningamu udahi isa nikaweli senu isa”.

Here the word ‘Sabhawa’ means the judiciary existed

then. It is a legal act to bequeath land of the government

to another. Therefore, the participation of the officers,

representing the judiciary, in such occasions was essential.

On such occasions demarcating the borders of the given

land and documenting the conditions that should be

followed in enjoying the land must have been the duty of

the officers.

In the literary sources the word ‘Mahale’ has been used

in several places instead of the word ‘Sabhawa’. That was

how the old Sinhala word ‘Maha Lekhaka – great writer’

was written. It is similar to the meaning ‘Maha Lekam

• general secretary’. The duty of the secretaries of the
  government was to document all governmental affairs
  and take necessary steps to preserve them. An inscription
  found in Medirigiriya mentions about such a general
  secretary. The inscription says that a general secretary
  (Mahale Kasba) called Kashyapa had come to offer a land
  to a Padhanaghara called Eth Wehera in Medirigiriya and
  to do the legal affairs of it under the decree of King Sena II.

When Anuradhapura was the capital of the country, it was

the ruling centre too. The king ruled the country from the

capital. It is clear that as there were no transportation and

communication facilities like today, therefore handling

the administrative affairs of the remote areas from

Anuradhapura was difficult. There are facts that can be

seen in literary sources about separate administrative units

related to the government for provincial administration

because of the above reason. An example which can be

given for that is the golden plate - ‘Vallipuram’ written in

King Vasabha’s ruling period. It has been mentioned in

the document that a minister called Rishigiri, who ruled

Nagadeepa during king Vasabha’s ruling period, built a

Fig.4.1. Several symbols in an inscription written in the 9th century A.D. Here, the
mark ‘ Vatapatha (fan)’ indicates the sceptre which symbolizes royalty; the mark
‘Wela (creeper)’ indicates the swan. The swan symbolizes the purity of the given
allowance. The crescent mark at the top symbolizes that this allowance persists
until the sun and the moon exist. The marks of the dog and crow symbolize that
those who disturbed this allowance would be born as those animals in their next
birth.