Mediaeval Sinhalese Art c34.4.1

c34.4.1

P. 10. *They rest not a minute in one place.* Compare the *Secretum Secretorum* (translation, J.R.A.S., 1908): ‘He who makes many movements is vainglorious and deceitful, and whoever is quiet in his demeanour . . . is perfect of understanding and thoughtful in mind.’ P. 12. Some particulars of the life of Veḷiviṭa Piṇḍapātika Saraṇaṅkara, the Saṅgha Rāja, are given on pp. XXI. and 109 of Wickremasinghe’s ‘Catalogue of Sinhalese mss. in the British Museum.’ See also Mahāvaṃsa, Ch. XVII., vv. 50-62. P. 13. *Rajakāriya.* Knox describes the immoderate demands made upon the people at a previous period, the reign of Rāja Simha II. But Bennett confesses that prior to 1832, under British rule also, “the people had grounds for discontent, from the incessant calls for their services and labour (occasionally exceeding the duties which they had formerly been liable to under the Malabar dynasty), and which had been enforced regardless of the ancient customs of the country, or the claims and conditions of individuals” (‘Ceylon and its Capabilities,’ p. 423). See also the ‘Manual of the North Central Province,’ p. 140: “although we continued the Rājakāriya we omitted to have it applied to agriculture. . . . A more unfortunate system could hardly be devised for agriculture, as it allowed the works to fall into ruin and discouraged cultivation.” Rājakāriya is often described as forced labour, and regarded as having been an intolerable tyranny;