Page 20 - MDSL Final

MARITIME DOCTRINE OF SRI LANKA
themselves to India. A trade boom had begun with the stimulated trade
between West and India. Early in the 1st century BC, the great discovery
was made of the use of the monsoons to sail direct across the Indian
Ocean, and Greek and Roman ships visited South Indian harbours in
greater numbers. 4

With rapidly increasing commerce between the Arabs and Romans with
South India led to a struggle between the South Indians and the Sinhalese,
for the mastery of the South Indian seas for Ceylon’s rich export trade
following which the products of Ceylon had to be transported to South
Indian ports and sold to Westerners. However, about the year 125 AD,
Roman ships began to sail into Ceylon harbours and to deal directly with
the Sinhalese. Chinese ships were also trading direct with the Sinhalese
at this time and Ceylon became eventually a significant place for trade
in the Indian Ocean. 5

Another most significant evident is the stone inscription existing at the
Godawaya temple provides probably one of the oldest evidences on
customs duties in the entire world. Ancient internal port had functioned
from 2nd century AD to 12th century AD at Godawaya in Southern Sri
Lanka near the mouth of the Walawe River. This inscription had been
made by King Gajabahu I (114-136) and states that he had ordered the
donation of duties collected at the port to the Godawaya Temple for
its maintenance. Since then, maritime trade and commerce had been
there throughout the history and development of ports and harbours
had boost the economy of the country. 6

In 1164 or 1165, King Parakramabahu I carried out an invasion of
Burma. The building of the invasion fleet in the ports of Ceylon took
five months. The ships were abundantly provisioned and the health of
the troops amply taken care of. Physicians and nurses who accompanied
the fleet were provided with medicines of every kind preserved in cow
horns and special surgical instruments for extracting arrow heads. The
expedition set sail from the port of Palvakki on the Northeast coast. It
was commanded by the Damiladhikarin Adicca, his deputy being the
Nagaragiri Kitty. King Parakramabahu’s next military undertaking across
the seas was the invasion of the South Indian kingdom of Pandya. 7

2 To Nurture a Stable Environment at Sea