ROYAL ASIATIC SOCIETY. 



115 



A Royal Grant Engraved on a Copper Plate, Literally trans* 

 late'd from the Singhalese. ' Communicated by Simon 

 Casie Chitty, Esq., c. M. r. a. S,-~f Read 6th Novem- 

 ber, 1847J 



PKO SPE&IT Y! 



This resplendent JSannas (1) was granted in tne Year of 

 Saha 1467 (2), on Wednesday in the month of Esala (3). 

 When Suriya Hetti (4), who disembarked from the Coast, was 

 residing at Manaar, the Maharaja sent to him an order; he 

 came and staid at Puruduwela (5). Afterwards having sent 

 another order and caused Suriya Hetti to come (to Madampe), 

 appointed him Mohandiram (6) to collect the tax on milk (7) 



(1) Sannas— the same as Sasana in Sanskrit, a written grant 



bestowed by a King upon a subject. 



(2) A. D. 1545. 



(3) Esala — the fourth month of the Singhalese, answering to 



part of July and part of August. 



(4) Hetti— the same as Cketty in Tamil, one of the mercantile 



tribe. 



{5) Puruduwela — & village on the Peninsula of Calpentyn, 

 about 5 miles south-west of Putlam, now called Puludi- 

 itiaiyel. 



{6) Mohandiram^ — an honorific title peculiar to the Singhalese. 

 It is also employed to designate a revenue officer next in 

 rank to a Modeliar. 



(7) This was a local tax paid by the owners of cattle to the 

 CroWn, consisting of a certain quantity of milk per annum 

 for every milk cow or buffalo possessed by them. The 

 Dutch commuted it into a tax on ghee, which was continued 

 to be levied as long as they were masters of Ceylon, 

 and likewise during the early part of the possession of the 

 Island by the British. I have now before me an adver- 

 tisement, published by Governor North in 1800, suspend- 

 ing for that year the payment of the tax levied on ghee 

 within the districts of Manaar and Putlam, in considera- 

 tion of the ravages committed among the cattle by the 

 murrain. 



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