Fig. 6.2. This is known as the Elephant and Swastika coin. This coin too was used in ancient Sri Lanka.- Aricanuts and betel should only be sold by
keeping them in the huts made for them.
- An oil tax should be charged from those who
were engaged in trading during poya days.
By examining the rules and regulations in the
Sorabora Wewa inscription, we can understand
the nature of the civil laws which were relevant
to the internal trading of this country during the
time in which the above mentioned inscription
was made.
For the first time a law which said “no animal
should be killed” was imposed by King
Amandagamini Abhaya (19-29 A.D.). It was
known as ‘Maghatha Law’. The Mihinthala
inscription , made by King Mihindu IV (956 -972
A.D), mentions that a law was imposed to give
the death sentence to those who kill buffalos, ox
and cows, and goats. King Nissankamalla (1187-
1196 A.D) imposed a law stating that the birds
living in reservoirs should not be killed.
Our kings were very strict regarding the criminal
law. The Wewalkaetiya inscription, made by
king Mihindu IV (956-972 A.D.), provides
us with descriptions on this. It describes the
punishments that should be given for the crimes
such as stealing and murders. Death sentence by
hanging is the punishment for murder. It further
says that when cattle thieves are caught, the cattle
should be given back to the owner and the seal
on the skin of the cattle should be marked on the
foreheads of the thieves with a heated iron. The
responsibility of catching the hiding criminals
were given to the villagers who lived in the same
villages in which the criminals too lived. The
villagers had to pay a tax to the government until
they caught the hiding criminals. It was known
as ‘Gruhadanda’.Criminals were punished as an example to
the people of the society to emphasize that
they should not commit crimes. That was the
foundation of our law. At present Roman –Dutch