chap11 chapter_10.html chapter_11.html chapter_12.html Tamil Nadu, The Land of the Vedas R. Nagaswamy 11. CHŌḺA ADMINISTRATION
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Among the dynasties that have ruled Tamiḻnāḍu, the imperial Cōḻas stand out as the most brilliant kings. They perfected both the internal security and external protection of their subjects through meticulous organization and drive. These aspects require an independent study. Here, only some aspects are touched upon, mainly from the point of view of this book. There are several thousand inscriptions and some royal charters available for this study, especially the copper plate records that detail the royal administration directly. These records describe their conquests in battles and how they secured their empire from powerful enemies. The inscriptions and royal grants are discussed in great detail by scholars like K.A. Nilakaṇṭa Śastri and others. The Cōḻas mainly used the warrior class, the upper-class Veḷḷāḷar, and some Brāhmins as their commanders to fight on the battlefront. Commanders who belonged to chieftains' families were conferred titles like Pallavaraiyaṉ, Pāṇḍyādhirjaṉ, Bānādhirājaṉ, etc. The Brāhmaṇa warriors were conferred the title Brahmādhirāyaṉ. The upper-class Veḷḷāḷars were conferred the title Mūvēntavēlāṉ. Similar titles were also conferred on other professionals, but these three stand out in most inscriptions. In this study, we examine some aspects of the Cōḻa rulers' internal administration. The most important records for this purpose are the Tiruttaṇi copper plates of Parāntaka Cōḻa I, the Madras Museum plates of Uttama Cōḻa, the Āṉaimaṅgalam plates of Rājarāja, the Puttūr plates of Rājēndra Cōḻa I, and the Tiruvindalūr plates of Rājēndra II. The Tiruttaṇi plates of Parāntaka refer to a gift of villages as Dēvatāna Brahmadēya and show the administrative setup as found in the records of the closing rules of the Pallava dynasty. Issued just 50 years after the Pallava plate, the Tiruttaṇi plate resembles that of Aparājita Pallava. The Uttama Cōḻa plates provide great insight into how temple administration and maintenance were conducted around 975 CE. They essentially outline the duties for the merchant community to carry out various temple services. We have seen the Āṉaimaṅgalam record for taxation, etc., with more precise organization and utilities beginning from the time of Rājarāja I, who was a unique administrator paying meticulous attention to every branch of administration. The Puttūr record, though issued by his son Rājēndra, is centered around Rājarāja’s village. We know that Rājarāja ordered a detailed survey of the whole country and was called “Ulakaḷanta Cōḻa”. The village was the basic unit, which was brought under a hierarchy of revenue divisions, like nāḍu, vaḷanāḍu, koṭṭam, and maṇḍalam. Rājarāja divided the largest unit as maṇḍalam, which were mainly the north, east, south, west, and central regions of his kingdom. There were some such maṇḍalams before his time, but after his survey, he called them after one of his titles but retained the old name as an alternate name to maintain the old identity in records so there could be no confusion. For example, the northern Tamiḻnāḍu was until then known as Toṇḍaimaṇḍalam but after this survey was renamed as “Jayamkoṇḍa Cōḻamaṇḍalam” after his title “Jayamkoṇḍa Cōḻa”. However, it was always written in royal records as “Toṇḍaimaṇḍalam alias Jayamkoṇḍa Cōḻamaṇḍalam”, so that the hundreds of earlier revenues could be properly identified for legal transactions. Thus, we had Cōḻamaṇḍalam, Pāṇḍimaṇḍalam, etc., during the reign of Cōḻas and Pāṇḍyās. Under these maṇḍalams, we see some divisions called koṭṭams or kūṟṟam.

11.1. Revenue Division

 The koṭṭam constituted a number of Vaḷanāḍu, and below that was Nāḍu. Nāḍu was mainly a cluster of agricultural villages. The Vaḷanāḍus were generally named after the titles of the king or queens. The villages, when big enough for comfortable administration, were called independent villages (taniyūr) or a cluster of villages. Many villages had hamlets attached to them and were occupied by a particular caste or class of people. The village units were called Ūr, Grāmam (Agaram), Nallūr, Nagaram, and Puram, forming the main divisions. There are other names depending on the location or profession of the occupants like Cēri, Kuḍi, Pādi, Pākkam, Kuṟicchi, and Tuṟai. The Tēvāram singers belonging to an earlier period mention rivers, banks, hills, etc., in their hymns. The copper plates refer to another mode of classification of villages as Nāḍu, Brahmadēyam, Dēvatānam, Paḷḷiccandam (Jain or Buddhist settlement), Kaṇimuṟṟūttu (the settlement of Astronomers), Vēṭṭaiperu (hunters’ colonies), and Sālaippuram, lands gifted for charity purposes like schools, feeding houses, for visitors, etc. The Puttūr record of Rājēndra Cōḻa mentions 52 adjacent villages spread over an area of 1500 vēlis of land which was brought together and gifted to 1080 Vedic Brāhmaṇas. Out of these 52 villages, forty were situated in the Vīra-Cōḻa Vaḷanāḍu and the rest 12 villages were in Veṇṇikkūṟṟam. These evidently were a bigger territorial unit than the Valanāḍu subdivision which itself included many villages. Out of the 40 villages, 17 were called Nallūr, which were agricultural villages. Among the other villages, there were three maṅgalams that were Brāhmin colonies and three more were kuḍis. These villages were given as service tenure Kuḍi. Similarly, the other twelve were in the subdivision Veṇṇikkūṟṟam. In all these villages, there were landowners with prior ownership rights. Only after excluding the owners and cultivators with prior rights were service holders evicted after terminating their services. Besides, there were several parcels of land that belonged to temples, charities, tanks, village communities, etc., which were also excluded while making gifts. There was a large tank in the village named “Tribhuvana-mahādevi pēr-ēri” after the queen of Rājarāja, who was also the mother of Rājēndra. As mentioned earlier, this village was given to 1080 Vedic Brāhmaṇas as a Brahmadēyam, also named Tribhuvana-Mahādevi-caturvedi-maṅgalam. It is possible that this arrangement was made most likely toward the end of Rājarāja’s life. Among the Nallūr villages, one village also bore the name Tribhuvana-Mahādevi-Nallūr in honor of Rājēndra’s mother.

11.2. The Grant

 This grant also minutely specifies the lands that were excluded from the gift, besides the earlier owners of lands. It provides such amazing details and reveals the great and accurate maintenance of records and registers, both at the government and village level. The following are the categories of exempted lands:
  • The tank
  • The banks owned by the Aṟaiyar,
  • Veṭṭappērus
  • Wetlands (nañcai)
  • Dry lands (puñcai )
  • The habitation area of the village, (ūr irukkai)
  • Sacred temples (śrī kōvil)
  • Their front yards (tirumuṟṟam)
  • Colonies of Craftsmen (kammanaccēri)
  • Colonies of Pariyahs (paraiccēris)
  • Burning ghats and Cemeteries (cuḍukāḍus called Rudra bhūmi as well)
  • Houses and their backyards. (manṉaiyum manaip padaippum)
  • Shops and shopper’s street (kaḍaiyum and kaḍaitteruvum)
  • Village assembly yards (manṟum)
  • Grazing grounds for cattle (kanṟumey pāḻ)
  • Tanks (kuḷam)
  • Village granaries (koṭṭagāram)
  • Warehouse (kidaṅgku)
  • Wells (kēṇi)
  • Anthills (puṟṟu)
  • Raised heaps
  • Forest (kāḍu)
  • Pit (kuḻi)
  • Saline grounds (uvar)
  • Water ways
  • Breeches
  • River (āru)
  • Riverbanks (paḍukkais)
  • Canals
  • Salt pans (upaḷams)
  • Backwaters (kāḻi)
  • Fishing Ponds (mīṉ padu paḷḷam)
  • Trees growing up
  • Drinking water wells
  • And all places where iguana crawls
 All these parts in villages were accurately measured and entered in the village register. This information was always available for verification of royal taxation and village taxation. It is immaculate data on rural village holdings.

11.3. Cōḻa Administration at Village Level

 Each village maintained accurate registers of the area, ownership, common services, tax collections, exemptions, judicial records, etc. There are two kinds of registers at the village level: one relating to its function and the other retained in the royal palace. The second set of registers relates to local transactions. Separate registers were maintained for functions like taxation, commerce, judiciary, etc., with dedicated functionaries for each. The land registers contain details like the total area of land within the limits of the villages, its boundaries, temples, yards, canals, channels, grazing grounds, wetlands of owners, etc., all maintained accurately. The nature of the village included Nallūr, Ūrs, Brahmadēyas, Nagara, and Nāḍu, etc. When a village is to be gifted, the individual lands of the original owners should be exempted from taxation. Similarly, temples, temple yards, tanks, common lands, habitation areas of the villages, their backyards, grazing grounds, common paths, cemeteries, the passage for carrying dead bodies, etc., are to be exempted. A separate caste of villagers called Kaṇakku maintained these details. In some instances, we see an official called Mādhyastha in Sanskrit and naḍu irukkai in Tamiḻ holding this responsibility. Once the order came to the village, the boundaries of the land to be gifted were to be marked. Demarcating boundaries is dealt with in Dharma Śāstra. A scientific and symbolic method is prescribed, and this system is clearly verified and reported in all royal plates. The boundary selection and marking were done by government officials, representatives of the territorial assemblies (Nāṭṭārs), the respective representatives of the village assemblies (Sabhaiyārs), the registrars who maintained various records, and others who went around the village. They had to wear saffron-coloured garments. One mounted an elephant, held a flag, and went around the boundaries along with all the representatives. This was called "piḍi-cūḻtal" or "kari valam varutal". Their move in a circumambulatory path, carrying a flag, was called patākai-naḍattal, i.e., a flag march. The accountants and registrars pointed out the limits and pronounced natural boundary marks, like rivers, hillocks, big trees, rocks, anthills, and so on. The boundary was marked by planting a stone with a symbol marked on it. The symbol on the boundary stone depended upon the nature of the gift. For example, if the land gifted was for a Śiva temple, it had a triśūla mark inscribed on it. A Viṣṇu temple had a cakra, a Jain temple a triple umbrella, and so on. By the side, many thorny milk bushes were also planted. This process was called "kallum kaḷḷiyum nāṭṭal". When this process was completed, the central officers, local officers, revenue officers, and village assemblies all participating in it attested the record with their signatures and then the gift deed was drafted and handed over as being done "piḍi cūḻntu patākai nadantu kallum kaḷḷiyum nāṭṭi ara-ōlai vidut tom".

11.4. The Gift Deed is Drafted in a Set Format

 The deeds are bilingual; the first part is in Sanskrit and the second part is in Tamiḻ. The Sanskrit part usually begins with prayer songs, followed by the genealogy of the king, mentioning three generations, sometimes beginning with their mythical ancestors. The achievements and conquests are briefly listed in the gifts. The second part provides comprehensive details of the gift deed. The first part is helpful for reconstructing the history of the king while the second is important for details of cultural history. Such deeds were called Lekhya Pramāṇa, i.e., written documentary evidence. The Tamiḻ part provided details of the king’s conquests, etc., but in some instances, began with a phrase “Kōnēriṉmai-koṇḍāṉ”. The meaning of this phrase was twofold. The first one was that this king had none equal to him (in prowess and achievement). The second one represented a direct order from the king, and so the draft carried the direct address of the king. In other cases, the king’s significant title, his coronation name, regnal year, month, date, and sometimes the day, the star, and date were provided. This was followed by a statement indicating the location and time of the order issued. The officers who carried and committed the order to a detailed draft, the officers who verified the entries, etc., were also mentioned. The nature of the grant, like the gift to a temple, priest, Vedic Brahmaṇās, or any other type of grant, was also recorded. The deed also included at whose request the grant was made (vijñāpti) and who would be the executor (ānaṭṭi). The deed then gives the total area of the land, the land exempted from the grant which included the lands of individual owners (kuḍi nīkki), the exact area of the land gifted, and to whom it was gifted. The order then specifies two categories called permissions (vyavasthās) and exemptions (parihāras).

11.5. Vyavasthās

 Vyavasthās or permissions relate to building houses with storied structures with burnt bricks, growing trees in the backyards, coconut, mango, jack trees, plantain and other fruit-bearing trees and plants and creepers, grow flowers like mallikā, iruvātci, damanakam, etc., (obviously not for commercial but for domestic use):
  • To dig domestic and irrigation wells
  • To dig irrigation canals and channels for exclusive domestic use
  • Outsider prohibited from drawing water from the canals and wells
  • Toddy tappers prohibited from toddy tapping
  • There were exemptions for paying a specified or all the taxes to the royal government but to be paid to the inhabitants who would distribute the same among the shareholders.
  • Such share owners were called śāsana-baddhas bound by the grant deeds.
Then we find the signatures of the complete list of officers who were responsible for the issue of the orders with their names, native place, official post, etc.

11.6. Closing Part of Copper Plates

 The copper plate grants of the kings do not stop with the gift to Brāhmaṇas alone. There were others whose services were essential for the lifestyle of all, like potters, washermen, blacksmiths, carpenters including masons, barbers, fishermen, gardeners, drummers (pariahs), medical practitioners, and others. One of the important services in rural areas was the fear of poisonous bites. There was a separate service called Viṣahara-bhōga, i.e., endowments for treating snake or insect bites. All these required services were given shares, in most cases equal to the Vedic Brāhmins and in some cases more than that of Brāhmins. The superiority of caste was not in consideration, but the nature of service was the main criterion for providing the shares. Then we find the king making a prayer. He prays that this gift must be protected by all, especially the future kings. The king ends by saying, “With folded hands on my head, I request you to please protect this gift I have made.” It is in all humility and respect that the king prays, hoping that the future generation would respect the sentiments and would not destroy it in any manner. Then the poet who composed this draft is mentioned. At the end, the craftsman who wrote and inscribed the deed is mentioned. It is an amazing thoroughness with which the administration was made orderly, organized, and executed, and summing up with a sense of humility and sincerity, the king ends his order. There is no sense of arrogance or power exhibited throughout. A very highly civilized rule and society is what we glean from the administrative efficiency of the Tamiḻ kings, which was at its height, especially under the Cōḻas. There is one thing of historical importance that requires particular mention. When we analyze the names and castes of the government officers, we find nearly 70% of the officers carry the title “Mūvēndavēlāṉ”, which means they were of the agriculturist caste, that is, Śūdras. About 15% belonged to the chieftain family, that is, Kṣatriya castes, and about 14% were Brāhmins (Brahmādhirājas or Bhaṭṭar). In the official system, we find all these high officers were equal; we do not find Brāhmin given a higher status. The internal protection of the society under the Cōḻas was clearly under the agricultural sector, and the kings depended on the Mūvēndavēlāṉs (Veḷḷāḷar). The theory of the Brāhmins suppressing all other castes is a myth.

11.7. Temple Administration

 An inscription dated in the time of Kulōttuṅga Cōḻa I, 1106 CE, mentions that a royal order was issued regarding a land grant which was received by the administrators of the Chidambaram temple. The recipients consisted of three high officials, namely representatives of different shrines within the temple complex (tiru malikai kūru ceyvār), the superintendents of the temple (kōyil nāyakam ceyvār), and religious heads (samudāyam ceyvār), who were mentioned specifically as administrators of the temple. This was set up in the middle of the 12th century. It was during this period when the four gōpuras, the cloistered enclosure, the 100-pillared hall, the 1000-pillared halls, the stone pavement around the enclosure, etc., were built. All of them were built by the Cōḻa kings and their commanders, and not one structure was built or supervised by the priests Dīkṣitas. In the beginning and later half of the 13th century, the records give the full group of administrative committees which included three officers: the administrators (Śrī Kāryam), superintendents of the temple (kōyil nāyakam ceyvārs) in charge of religious functions (samudāya ceyvār), treasurers, the registrars of temple treasury records (bhandāra pottakam udaiyār) different from the priests, temple registrars, accountants, temple gardeners, temple watch and wards. In the latter half of the 13th century, the Cōḻa rule was overthrown and was taken over by the later Pāṇḍya rulers under whom the same type of administrative committee continued. Similarly, during the same period, Chidambaram was brought under a local chieftain named Kōpperuñciṅga as the ruler. In most of his inscriptions, this same administrative committee is mentioned, including a representative of the dancing women. Over 20 inscriptions of this ruler are in the temple, ranging from his early rule to the 36th year. In every one of his records, the Chidambaram temple administration is mentioned to be under the same Committee (ref. South Indian inscriptions, volumes V, VI, VII, XII, etc., published by the Govt. of India). In none of these medieval records are the Dīkṣitars mentioned by designation or name as the owners or administrators of the temple. We have another illustrious instance of Śrīraṅgam temple administration coming under a group of temple administrators called Kottus. In the middle of the 13th century, Sundara Pāṇḍya, who was ruling this region, gifted an enormous amount of gold jewels, carried out extensive renovation, and covered the main tower with gold. He found that the temple was under the management of ten persons who belonged to one group. With the wealth and property increasing several folds, the king thought it was not proper to leave the administration under one group and reduced the number of administrators from ten to two. In addition, he included representatives of all other services, bringing the total to ten. It is an important record in the 13th century, which indicates power was given to all important sections of the temple services.

11.8. The Cōḻas Ruled Inland Administration with Veḷḷāḷars

 The Cōḻa administration was organized meticulously and enforced scrupulously. There was one group of officers who were looking after the various departments at the Royal palaces. One of the most important departments was revenue, collecting taxes to be paid to the royal treasury called Tiṇaikkalam. There were several grades of officers for this purpose, who drafted, verified, and got the draft written down, on copper plates and palm leaf ledgers called Ōlai in Tamiḻ and Patram in Sanskrit. These drafts were verified at different levels for accuracy of data, like measurement of yield, grade of fertility, irrigation, rights and privileges, exemptions, and prohibitions. This list of officers invariably provides details about the name of the office, the name of the officer, his nativity, caste, etc., which is interesting for examining and calculating the proportionate representation of castes in royal service. For example, more than 70% of the officers of this department were Veḷḷāḷar from the cultivator’s family, and who were conferred the high-ranking title of Mūvēndavēlārs. They obviously belonged to the upper caste Veḷḷāḷar. A small percentage, about 15%, belonged to the chieftain’s family who had the titles suited to their chiefdom like Pallavarāiyaṉ, Pāṇḍyā ādhirājaṉ, Bāṇādhirājaṉ, Gaṅgadhiyaraiyaṉ, Ayōddhirājaṉ, Chēdirājaṉ, Kāliṅgarayaṉ, Keralarāyaṉ and so on. They were regional chiefs whose ancestry is indicated by these titles. The total percentage of Brāhmaṇas in such service was about 14% who were conferred the titles Brahmādhirāyaṉ. The Brāhmins had served along with Mūvēndavēlārs as seen in the copper plates of the Cōḻa emperors like Rājarāja, Rājēndra, and others with no special privilege based on the caste system. Statistical analysis does show the Cōḻas depended mainly on cultivators with titles Mūvēndavēlārs for their inland protection and rule. The projection of some modern historians that Brāhmaṇas suppressed all other castes is a myth and is not free from prejudices.
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