In the ancient time Sri Lankans were very attentive
to their food. It seems that they had paid much
attention to food and health because they had to
be healthy and strong in activities of agriculture
and animal husbandry. They never consumed
artificial food. They used to consume natural
things by preparing them without harming their
nutritional value. It is a good example for us who
live at present.
6.6 Protecting the Environment
If the members in any society need to maintain
their society in a desirable manner they should
protect their environment. We have to face
numerous adversaries if the environment is
destroyed. There is the danger of getting shortage
of water due to cutting trees. Crops may be less
productive due to infertility of soil as a result
of soil erosion. All these bad results have to be
borne up by ourselves.
Our ancient rulers who were constantly conscious
of the importance of protecting the environment,
acted to impose laws on that. In the Anuradhapura
plate inscription, made by king Mihindu IV, an
order had been given forbidding clearing forests
on high lands. There is a possibility of eroding
soil and land slides due to clearing the forest on
high lands. On the other hand it is a direct cause
for drying water sources. There is an inscription,
made by king Udaya III (935 – 938 A.D.), at a
place called Buddhannehela in Anuradhapura.
In that inscription there is a note as “Wal Wala
Dandupath Nokapanu Isa”. Its meaning is that
trees in the forests should not be cut. According
to the rules in the Kondawattawan inscription,
made by king Kashyapa V, government officers
had been ordered to act according to the rules
and regulations imposed by the government in
managing trees and woods.Rules and regulations regarding things such as
protecting wild animals and soil protection can
be seen in our ancient inscriptions. When we
review all these facts, it is obvious that we had an
organized procedure to protect the environment
in ancient time.What you should realize from the facts that
we have discussed so far in this lesson, is that
respectable citizens had lived in our country
in the past. You should take as an example the
way they, who had been settling in this country
continuously for thousands years, applied their
knowledge which was gathered through their
life experiences and lived without being second
to any nation in the world.