I
Fig 6.1 One of the oldest coins used in Sri Lanka. They were known as Hasebu coins. They were produced in India. Those
coins were brought to this country by Indian merchants.
The Kondawattawan inscription, which
belonged to the 9th century A.D., mentions a law
of charging a fine of five Kalan from those who
did not plough their lands at the proper time.
This law was imposed because when a land is
ploughed in the rainy season, soil erosion occurs.
The rulers had imposed various types of laws
in order to protect the policies regarding
maintaining agricultural activities properly. A
law regarding this could be seen in an inscription
in Wessagiriya. It says that the grains, except
Sihineti paddy, green gram (Mun) should not
be sown in the paddy fields. This inscription
belonged to king Mahinda IV.
Trading was one of the important professions in
the ancient society. Our intelligent kings took
steps to impose the laws which were necessary
to run the trade inside the country properly.
The Badulla inscription is a source which helps
us to understand the nature of those laws that
existed in the 9th century A.D. in this country.
This is known as the Sorabora Wewa inscription.
It was made by king Udya III (946 -954 A.D.).
This inscription describes the laws which were
imposed by the king preventing some frauds
afoot in a government market situated in a
place called Hopitigamuwa. The king stepped
into the market while he was on his way to the
Mahiyanganaya temple. Given below are some of
the laws in the above mentioned inscription;- Taxes should be charged from those who are
engaged in business in the Hopitigama trade area;
taxes should not be charged from the passers-by. - Twice the amount of taxes should be charged
from those who do their business without
showing to the officers. - The unstandardized Madatiya weighing units
should not be used in scaling goods in business.