|
|
 |
 |
| Sunday, 13 October 2002 |
 |
|
 |
Features |  |
| News Business Features Editorial
|
Sel Lipi : SANDS OF TIME Swasthi Shree! Thus says his sacred Majesty, the gracious Great King, glorious Chakravarthi, King of the Kings of Maya, Pihiti and Ruhuna, Mahoora of the Vanniala-aeththo and ruler of all lands from Yapapatuna to Sampanthota: For many years now, the people living on the sea coast in the Pas Yodun Rata and Ruhuna have been mining the coral reefs, the rocks of which they burn to make lime for facing the walls of buildings. This has caused the wrath of Manimekhala, the goddess of the sea, to be kindled against the perpetrators. Over the years, she has sent the waves of the sea dashing through the gaps in the reefs to harry the coastline. This has led to the gradual washing away of the seashore, to the detriment of the very people who mine the coral. In times of yore, people could walk from Seenigama to the shrine of the stone of the god Devol, but the path is now inundated by the waves and the shrine is now an island. Similarly, the beds of the rivers of this resplendent isle have been mined for sand for purposes of building. The results have been similar: the vengeful anger of the devatas of the rivers has caused the dissolution of the very banks of the waterways. However, these are merely incidents of the merchants breaking the laws of the devatas of our natural surroundings. It has come to the notice of the Maha Vasala that the greed of the merchants of Ruhuna has been such that they have now broken the rules, not merely of the gods and godlets, or of mere human beings, but of reason and logic. The mighty river, the Gin ganga, which flows from the mountains of the Sinharaja to the sea at Gintota, used regularly to flood its banks. The plain in the area around Baddegama and Gonapinuwala used regularly to be inundated by the waters of this abode of crocodiles. Therefore, the Nilames of this sublime realm sought the aid of the Son of Heaven, who ruled in the distant but friendly empire of Cheena. The Nilames of that empire sent to Ruhuna skilled craftsmen and engineers, who had much experience of the inundation of the Middle Kingdom by the waters of the Yangtse and Hwang Ho rivers (which flow from the milky way itself), as well as yantras and sootras of construction. The engineers and craftsmen of Cheena built along the bank of the mighty Gin ganga a large bund of sand. This prevented the annual flooding of the plain below the Sinharaja fastness. It has now come to the notice of the Maha Vasala that the merchants of sand have been using rathas and yanthras, like the magical 'Backo' to remove the sand from the very bund that has been built to prevent the plain from getting flooded. It is said that about 9,000 cubic riyans of sand are removed every day. It appears likely that the bund will burst open very soon, once more bringing the flood waters onto the plain. The Maha Vasala can appreciate that greed may drive people to mine the coral or the sand of the rivers or of the sea. But it cannot comprehend how it is that the merchants are allowed to dig away a structure built by humans for their own protection. This is most surely the Kaliyugaya, in which humans are robbed of their senses, and the sands of time are surely running out for us. Swasthi Shree! This rock edict is made on this day of Ravi of the month of Wap of the Year of the Saka Era 1929. - Gotabhaya. |
|
News | Business | Features
| Editorial | Security Produced by Lake House |
