C H A P T E R O N E
In the course of writing history an increasing emphasis
on micro-studies has come into existence because of a
distinct set of characteristics found in certain regions or
aspects in the process of history. It is a fact that these
types of regional studies are essential and useful for
macro-study. Until recently, the area from the the r~verine
basin of North Pennar to Cape Comorin called Tamilakam had
not been intensively researched area-wise. This region had
an extensive coastal front for maritime activities and the
research scholars have started paying due attention to this
area of study. Tamil speaking part of this eastern coast
of India attracted the attention of the Roman traders in the
first century B.C. and the findings of the excava~ions
suggest that commerce flourished at various centres on the 1
coast like Arikamedu in the vicinity of modern Pondichorry, 2 3
Karaikadu near Cuddalore, Vasavasamudram situated at the
mouth of river Palar about ten kilometres south of 4
Uahabalipuram, Vellaiyanirruppu located close to
Kaveripoompattinam. Other Rollan trading marts such as
Vellallur, Karukkakurichi, Alagankulam and Soraiyapattu-
madurakottam near Tirukoyilur in the hinterland were famous 6
for trade and commerce . Kaveripoompattinam was the
dominant port of trade and it possessed large quantities of
merchandise in big warehouses marked with tiger emblem of 6
the ancient Chola king . As a result of this Roman trade
the native Indian merchants were driven to Southeast Asian
countries for the procurement of the required volume of
spices in order to supply them to the Roman traders.
Further, the involvement of the Tamil merchants in the field
of maritime activities on the eastern coast of India with
Southeast Asia during these days could be corroborated by
the Anthologies of early Tamil poems, collectively known as 7
G&km literature . The commercial relations thus st.arted
by them did not disappear even after the withdrawal of the
Roman traders from the eastern coast of .the subcontinent and
the decline of the Roman commerce in the third century A . D .
Coins issued by the Satavahanas and Ishvakus containing the
motif of a two-masted ship speak of the uninterrupted 8
maritime activities of the region . The first appearance of
the Indian settlements in Borneo during the fifth century is
mentioned in the inscription of Koetei. It quotes the texts 9
of thhbhmh . Mil lnd~ Eanha and the accounts of ~-'rsing
relate that the sea-faring merchants from Tamil country
crossed the high seas by sailing from Nagapattinam tc Kedah 10
reaching within thirty days during the sixth century and
continued to trade in the later centuries too.
Tamil coast had generally remained in obscurity in the
historical soholarship on maritime trade during the ancient
period. It particularly escaped the notice of historians in
the medieval ages because of their increased concentration
on dynastic history. The rule of Pallavas on the Tamil
speaking area of the east coast encouraged cultural contacts
with Southeast Asia. Mahabalipuram expanded from a small
coastal village called Talacayanam where a fortified citadel 11
was constructed on a hill overlooking the port . A
contemporary manuscript Perivatirumadal of Tirumangai Alvar
noted that Mahabalipuram looked prosperous with many ships 12
laden with gems, elephants and other luxury oommodities .
The Buddhist Monastic Chronicle, the recordv that
the fleets of Naraaimha Pallava sailed from Mahabalipuram to 13
Ceylon . The trading corporations of the Tamil merchants
like Guild at Takuapa, Tlsei Ayirattu Binnurruvar
Guild at Loboe Toewa near Pansur in northern Sumatra and
Nansdarl Guild at Pagan suggest, that Tamil merchants
visited South Bast Asia quite frequently from the period of
the Pallava kina Nandivarman I11 in the nineth century
14 conducting maritime trade . In the agrarian socj.et~ of
Tsmilakam trade arose naturally as a result of the products
of the land and within this society trade flourished both in
ports and hinterland markets.
The coast of the Chola country forming a small part on
the eastern ooast of India assumed much importance In the,
Asian world through economic expansion during the tenth and 15
eleventh centuries . King Rajaraja, the Great (A.D. 985-
1014) brought the port of Hahabalipuram under his control
and it became a secondary port of the Chola empire, when he 16
shited the status of official port to Nagapattinam . The
fact of the endowment of land to construct a Buddhist Yihnra
by the Chola ruler shows that merchants were attracted to
trade with Nagapattinam. The Srivijaya ruler financed the
construction of this Buddhist W, and it is presumed
that it was chiefly used by South East Asian merchants who 17
visited Nagapattinam . An inscription from Chidambaram
makes reference to gifts received by t,he Chola King.
Rajendra I (A.D. 1812-1044) from the Khmer kina of 18
Cambodia . Kulottunga Chola's contact with Burma is clear 19
from an epigraph . Taoist monastry temple inscription at 20
Canton in China also names Chola King , and four
ambassadorial missions were sent to China by these rulers,
which advertised various commodities produced and exported
from Coromandel and many goods that were imported thereto.
It showed the very essence of emporia trade in Chola times
where variety of goods were made continuously available for 2 1
buyers and brought by a host of sellers . The quantum of
revenue brought by sea faring merchants through the various
luxury goods in to the Coromandel coast under the Cholas 2 2
increased the royal interest in promoting this trade
The Arabs who travelled connecting eastern and uestern
Asia in the medieval period realised Coromandel as the
linchpin of international commerce, and it is said in the
Arab navigational treatises that Chola charts were used in 23
sailing . Further, the letters describe that Arab
merchants conducted voyages to South East Asia embarking
from the Ports of Coromandel. It is found both in the
sources of China and the West that this coast participated
in maritime trade by exporting pearls, corals, arecsnuts, 2 4
cardamom, silk and cotton products . A special impetus to
the Tamil speaking traders was provided when Arab merchants
began to use the ports of Coromandel as base for trade with
South East Asia. It is a curious gap In our historical
writing that no intensive study on the hiatory of Coromandel
or the Chola coast from the thirteenth to the sixteenth
centuries has yet been written. The subject is, of course,
dealt in a passing manner in medieval South India and
scholars seldom took steps to expand the study.
Nationalistic and communalistic historical writings on
Vijayanagara by the scholars isolated the Coromandel region
from international forces in medieval period.
Chinese sources of medieval period like Chu-fan-Chi and
the T'unn-K'.o mention Coromandel coast and its flourishing
trade till 1350 AD. Later works of the fifteenth century
(A.D. 1416-1438) such as Ma Huan'a Ungyai Shnghn, Gong
Zhen's U y u g Emg&&L, Feixin's Uagsh fhn&lan no longer
mention Coromandel ports but described the Malabar trading
centres of Calicut, Cochin and Quilon. This led some
scholars to believe generally that maritime activities had 25
shifted from East coast . Although Malabar reached its
peak of commsrcial activities with the coming of the Arabs
and the Chinese, Coromandel continued to trade with South
East Asia. The advent of Vijayanagara kingdom extending
over Tamil country had stimulated maritime trade on the
Coromandel coast and led to increase in its revenues.
Recent studies conducted by Nobcru Karashima also affirm the
same view and the Chinese traded with port called 26
Periyapattinam . An ambassadorial mission sent by Sultan
of Ualacca visited the court of Vijayanagar and the 27
commercial ties were established . If these evidences can
be relied upon we may not be incorrect in inferring that
maritime trade between the Tamil coast and Southeast Asia
continued unimpaired for centuries together.
A region so famous for maritime trade and commerce musc
have kept its continuity in the later period But, most of
the maritime historians start with the seventeenth century,
when the Dutch, the English, the Danes and the Franch 28
appeared on the Coromandel coast . The period immediately
before the seventeenth century is not properly studied by
the scholars and the wide gap existing in the historical
works is clear from the absence of scientific writings for 29
the sixteenth cantury .
This century is acclaimed by historians as a period
inaugurating commarcial revolution. The far-flung areas of
the extent were was physically united for the first time
with Europe through the opening of direct trade routes.
Many historians like M . N . Pearson, T.R, de Souza and K.S
Mathew while dealing with tho subcontinent of India confined 30
their studies chiefly to the Western coast of India
Number of works on the Coromandel coast of India chiefly
based on Dutch and English sources also confirm the same
prejudice. This may also be due to the fact that tho
Portugueae commercial establishments ware chiefly
concentrated on the region from Diu to Quilon on the west
coast, while comparatively a fen Portuguese establishments
existed on the east coast of India. It would be therefore
interesting to see whether the Coromandel region on the East
coast of India kept its continuity of trade and commerce.
Various sectors like agriculture, crafts and exchange could
Is affected by the impact of the commercial revolution of
the sixteenth century. The extent to which the polity,
economy and society of Coromandel were exposed to the after-
effect~ of commercial revolution is to be studied in the
light of contemporary documents in the regional languages aa
well as in Portuguese. It is possible to visualise how
Coromandel underwnet some changea in the sge of Portuguese
expansion during this period. The manner in which the
Dutch, the English and the French intruded into this region
during the seventeenth century tends to give the impression
that a radical transformation was inaugurated in the
sixteenth century.
A few eminent historians of South India iike Nilakanta
Saetri, N. Venkataramanaya, T.V. Uahalingam and A . Krishna-
swami Pillai paid attention to the political, social and 3 1
economic history of Vijayanagara empire , and their
discussion on the rule of Tamil country under Vijayanagara
emperors did not possess spatial and temporal variation.
Further, L.B. Alayev concentrated his attention on the
socio-economic history of southern India from the fourteanth
to the eighteenth century covering a vast region. His work
remains, to a large extent, inaccessible to the scholars not 32
knouing Russian . The lack of ideological framework found
in the writings of these historians prompted Burton Stein in
the recent past to work on peasants and society of South
India with the help of a borroued model, namely segmentary
state theory applied by Aidan Southall for the study on 33
Africa . While applying this concept to Indian conditions
he overlooked the changing pattern of South Indian polity
and society. Noborou Karashima and Y. Subbrayalu using the
quantitative method, long applied by D.D. Kosambi in
historical investigations, made use of the epiaraphicsl data
to shed light on the South Indian economy and aociety during 34
the medieval period . One could say that inscriptional
evidences are to a large extent made use of by these two
scholars in their attempt to reconstruct the history of
South India. Even going beyond the biased summaries of the
inscriptions, they broke new fields of investigation. The
above mentioned studies focussed generally on Large
geographical area and longer period of study prevented them
from paying required attention to a specific region in a
definite era, making use of both indigenous and foreign
sources. The present study taken up here is to concentrate
its attention on the Coromandel region during the sixteenth
century using also the foreign sources for the first time.
The historiography of medieval south India for the past
three decades witnessed rapid and steady progress through
analytical approach. Many historians began to use the
published and unpublished texts of epigraphs raising a
number of questions both of theory and empiricism in
historical debate. While analysing the inscriptions in the
annual reports of epigraphy we find the systematic
quantitative data relating to socio-economic aspects being
ignored by Professional historians. Against this backdrop,
the present work attempts to use the statistics provided by
epigraphical evidences to relate the forces at work in a
multi-dimensional explanation to paint a picture. The
corpus of stone and metal inscriptions with Tamil, Telugu,
and Kannada is important among the indigenous sources of the
historians' information for the reconstruction of social and
economic history of Coromandel in the sixteenth century.
The texts which had been published in original and in
translation in various series are few. The unpublished
inscriptions seemed to be more in the case of Vijayanagar 35
period . Owing to the use of different Panohankam, or
almanac in different regions, given dates in the
vijayanagara inscriptions cannot be verified easily with the
tables given by L.D. Swamikannu Pillai in the volumes of
Indian ephemeris. This led the modern epigraphists to say
that Vijayanagar inscriptions do not strictly follow any
pattern and were often written in poor script in a
colloquial style besides having inaccuracies with regard to 38
dates and other details . Although we find deviations, 37
they follow a definite formula in the structure . They 38
confirm to the norms set forth in the Q h n ~ Sartra texts .
Regarding the scripts followed, we find the Sanskrit portion
of the inscription written in b & b g u i script and the
Tamil portion in Tamil script with Grandha letters to mark 39
the Sanskrit letters . They generally cite the SBka date
along with other details. Some $&a dates are given in
chronograma composed according to the K&auuli system 40
where Sanskrit passages occur in the inscription . The
usual and common pattern of inscriptional identification by
the number of the year in which an inscription was copied
and acquired by the office of the Government epigraphist ia
followed in the present work.
Another bulk of material is found in the Portuguese
sources which help immensely this study. Very little work
is done by researchers to explore and integrate the
Portumese sources into the broad economic and social
framework, presumably due to lack of expertise to unearth
Portuguese documents. This work attempts to explore the
history of Coromandel against the backdrop of maritime trade
during the period of Portuguese expansion from 1500 to 1600
which had remained unattended to. Barring the Romans, the
Portuguese were the pioneers among the Europeans who
established their commercial relations with Coromandel.
They made every possible effort to collect detailed
information about the places and inhabitants since they were
of a totally different culture and whatever they had seen 4 1
seemed to be strange . The published works of the
contemporary Portuguese Chroniclers like Fernao Lopes de
Caatenheda, JoAo de Barros, Gaspar Correa and Diogo de Couto
contain useful information for this study have been used.
The Jesuit letters form an important source since they
contain detailed account of Coromandel historical events
which served as an introduction to the Jesuit religious 42
activities of each year . These letters generally found in
the published works of Antonio de Silva Rego and Joseph
Wicki had been chiefly used in this work. There are
considerable amount of unpublished archival records such as
letters, mandates, receipts, account books relating to the
activities of the Portuguese on Coromandel preserved in
various repositories in Portugal and other parts of Europe
and they have been tapped and used in this thesis.
Other primary sources mainly include the accounts of
the travellers' who visited the Coromandel coast in the
sixteenth century and their descriptions are helpful to some
extent. The travellers wrote about the most striking events
or aspects of life which attracted their attention during
their stay at various places while they were on tour.
Although much detailed description of Coromandel has not
been provided by them on the different aspects of the
Coromandel, their narratives are reliable and important to a
certain extent. Every one of them wrote about Coromandel
from different angles and view points, but their importance
and usefulness should not be underestimated in any way. It
is generally admitted that the travellers account often
suffer from historical accuracy, and it must be said that
these travellers had no time to examine the facts in detail
and find out the truth. They had recorded their personal
experiences, wrote about the places they visited, the men
they meet, the things they saw, the amenities they enjoyed,
the discomforts they suffered, and the difficulities they
encountered. Keeping all the merits and demerits, we must
note that these travelogues serve as useful contemporary
source for the history of Coromandel and they remain
indispensable. The works of Italian travellers such as
Varthema, Ceaaar Frederick and Gasparo Balbi, Portuguese
accounts of Duarte Barbosa, Tomb Pires and t.he Dutch
writings of Linschoten had also been used in this work.
Further, among the primary materials, a few existing
literary sources of the sixteenth century are used. They
contain very little historical information and generally
mythical elements dominate. The b&uay&b style in Tamil
peculiar to the Vaiahnava cult in the south freely mixed
with Sanskrit words had been adopted in the literature of 43
this period . Twenty two poets of the sixteenth century
composed on various pilgrim centres of the 4 4
Coronandel region in poetic and dialogue form . We a l ~ ~ o
find chronicles of temples oalled b y i l Qhju in this
period. Historians are not using them as reliable sources
since several K d l Q l u u exist in many families of the 4 5
same place . The method of checking the veracity of
literary account is carried out with epigraphical evidences.
This study attempts to adopt both inductive and deductive
modes of theoretical discussion. We know that theory
illuminates comparison but comparison also generates theory.
Some statistical details collected from the sources had been
incorporated at the end of this work.
TBK SCOPE 01 T i l t PRESENT WORK
After having a cursory look at the merits and demerits
of the works done by historians of South India in general,
the introductory chapter explains the relevance of a mlcro-
study on Coromandel. The next chapter presents a brief
survey of the historical geography and political economy of
Coromandel. It is interesting first of all to compare
Coromandel history in the broadest outlines of geography.
The region is defined, approximate boundries to which it
extended and existed in the sixteenth century with the help
of inscriptions and Portuguese sources had been traced.
Various territorial units such as b . k ~ W Wi.tm,
EatuL Uchav.di, are examined to locate the internal
boundaries of Coromandel region. Discussion on
historiography and anatomy of coromandel polity is found
here. Various views on Vijayanagara polity such as military
and feudal characters are analysed. Proportionate space is
therefore devoted to discussing the historical sketch of
rise of w, various Coromandel localities where families ruled at -, and their links with
Vijayanagara centre in revenue farming.
Chapter three is devoted to the study of agrarian
relations and agricultural production. Attention is paid to
various types of land tenures such as y u a j ~ l(uttaaai.
Kattukuttanai. nalaiv.n Kattukuttanai which benefited
particular section of land-owners, occupants and cultivators
in this period. Agricultural crops such as paddy, cotton,
sugar-cane, and oilseeds raised in Coromandel are discussed.
Land classifications of t h h ~ Pun.iev. Thottam. NatLm and
based on many factors like the type of land, nature
of crops grown and season have been examined. Reclamation
of forest and waste lands, and water management towards
expansion of agriculture form an interesting part of study.
Assessment and collection of revenue in Coromandel
localities and introduction of the system of revenue farming
are dealt in detail.
Chapter four discusses craft economy of the Coromandel
hinterland and coast and its role in the socio-economic life
of the sixteenth century. Flourishing waaving villages ara
also traced in this chapter. The role of temples and
in the development of ueavera' settlements through tax free
grants and other privileges granted are examined. Various
taxes such as yarn tax, loom tax, textile dyeing unit tax
and changes in technological innovation of weaving are
described. Uanufaoture of sugar, oil, and salt forms a part
of the discussion. Stone and wood works, Jewellery and
Smithery in metal works, besides development of crafts along
with partonage extended by thyaka and temples had been
analysed. Consideration is given to the guilds of
producers, growth and survival of crafts in Coromandel
economy during the sixteenth century.
Chapter five attempts to study rural and urban linkages
of internal trade. Special attention has been devoted to
the marketing functions of rural and urban, wholesale and
retail, weekly, periodical, and daily nature noticed at
-, m, w, and u. Some consideration is
given to the various types of agricultural commodities and
manufactured goods. Transit taxes, market levies and
secondary duties collected in tho overland trade has been
described The aapects that receive considerable attention
here are the various trade routes linking various urban and
marketing terminals of South India, means of transport, and
guilds of merchants In the growth of internal trade
Urbanisation of towns wlth the apeilatlons of Elurczm,
Pattinem, and W where trade intermingled wlth the
process of urban development and their details are
considered Coromandel coastal trade wlth Malabar, Bengal
and other regions are also explained
Chapter six is devoted to discuss the signlflcance of
overseas commercial networks of the external trade of
Coromandel with various parts of the globe Study of thr
ports in Coromandel and the various maritime trade linka
during the sixteenth century is described Space is devoted
to the discussion of various indigenous major merchant
groups such as l h d d h x ~ Marakkavars. C ~ L L L S and tnelr
role in the expansion of overseas trade The role of
Portuguese trade both official and private on Coromandel has
been analysed Special attention 1s devoted to the
commodities such as textiles and rlce exported, metals and
precious stones imported Creation of Portuguese
settlements at Santhome of Mylapore, Devanempattlnam, and
Nagapattinam to divert the existing flow of trade from the
ports of Pulicat, Kunimedu and Nagore forms a part of
absorbing interest.
Chapter seven tries to reoonstruct the picture of
Coromandel society. The living conditions of peasants,
artisans, merchants and slaves are traced Soclo-~ronomlc
changes are discussed by analysis of prices, wages and
occupations and their inter-relationships in the lloht of
statistical data collected from epigraphs and Portuguese
sources Some consideration is given to the selection of
twenty five commodities for the study of price fluctuations
The part played by the Portuguese settlements I n society has
been analysed
Chapter eight derives certain conclusion from the
foregoing discussions A select bibliography of the sources
unpublished, published and recent studies had been included
Appendices of relevant manuscripts, documents, and detalls
collected from epigraphs are found here Some Maps and
illustrations designed to elucidate the respectrve chapters
are incorporated in this study
NOTE8 AND REFERENCES
1 For details see, R E M Wheeler, A Ghosh,and Kriahnadeva,Arlkamedu, An Indo-Roman Trading Statjon on the East coast of India , AIL&& m, No 2 , July 1 9 4 6 , pp 17 & 124
2 K V Raman, Further Evidences of Roman Trade from the Coastal sites in Tamil Nadu , in Vimala Begley & Richard Daniel De Puma, eds , h and LndFp., Wisconsin, The University of Wisconsin Press, 1 9 9 1 , pp 125-133 Por details see also Lndian -ggy 2
A E&&u, 1058-57 , New Delhi, p 2 1
3 Excavations at Vasavasamudram show the presence of rouletted wars and amphora1 denotes Roman connection see, lndlan brchasolonv = A BeYFerr, New Delhi, 1 9 7 0 - 7 1 , p 33 Roman coins of Fourth century were discovered there See K V Raman, QE. &, P 125
4 R Nagasuamy, -, A gulde, Madras, 1 9 7 3 , P 3
5 In 1898 excavations of Karuvakkurrchi In Alangud. Taluk of Pudukottai district unearthed 5 0 1 Roman colns Excavations at Sorapattu madura kottam near Tlrukoyilur unearthed Roman coins, see Pinn U, Dally (rd 1 , Pondicherry 5 10 9 2 , p 1 1
7 U V Suaminatha Aiyer, ad , w, N M V Nattar and A J Pillai, eda , nanimekkalai, Madras, 1 9 5 1 , -, I 129 as quoted in K V Subramanya Aiyer, Largest provincial Organistaions In Ancient India , auartarlv Journal pf Lhe W W , 6 5 , I 1 9 5 4 - 5 5 , p 3 8
8 K S Mathew, Medieval Deccan and the Marrtrme Trade of India Presidential address to the sesslon of Mrdtrval Andhra hnQhra Pradash Blstorv w, XVI session, Karim Nagar, 18-19 January 1 9 9 2 , pp 1-34 ( p 2 )
For details see, H B Sarkar, M e 4 W l r l l dctivities dSouthsrnLndiain * Llalvo-Indone.ian W, (up to A D 1511), Vol I , Calcutta, 1986
Kenneth R Hall, International Trade and Foreign Diplomacy in Early Medieval South India ku.u&l nf LhS gconomic and Spdpl Hiatorv Qf * QriPnf,, vo1 XXI, 1978, Ledien, pp 75-98
K A Nilakanta Sastri, A Tamil Uerchant Gulld in Sumatra UQX Indlsche volkenkor;de, 7, 2, 1932, pp 314-317, K A ?k%% Sastri, Takuapa and its Tamil inscription Journal pf L h S a a l a v s i a n B r a n c h n f * B n r a l . U k , 2 2 % 1949, pp 25-30
The Chola epigraphs record, Alalkadal naPuril Eala k&m, Chaluthia (one who has salled many vessels in rough sea) Kanthalur f d a l i(alamaruthu arvLia (one who destroyed the ships at Kantalur Salai) deplct their strength of their maritime power, U, XXVI, 1906 For details on Leiden grants, see L, XXII, pp 213- 281
George W Spencer, Bnral. Leadership end ImDeriel GMsuaaLinLledievalWLndigbtlaral eueduhn nf Ra.lendra C~QJ,A f l E 5 &1L, Ph D dissertation, University of California, Berkeley, 1967, pp 191 205 The Thanjavur inscription of 1030 A D mentions various ports of Halay Peninsula, U, Vol I , No 40 pp 105-109
George W Spencer, QE a, pp 177-180
U, 119 of 1888, &L, V , p 105
Epigraphia Birmanica, E + L , I, 8, p 165
Tan Yoek Seong, 'The Srivi~ayan Inscription of Canton (A D 107a), nf W ensZ Aahn W , 5, 2, 1964, pp 17-24
For details see Roderich Ptak & Dietmar Rothermund, EmDPdnCommodi t i esnndEnt raDreneurs inumu Trada, Stuttgart, 1091, p 5, Tansen Sen, Maritime Relations Between China and the Cola Kingdom A D 850- A D 1279 a paper presented at the Second International Symposium on Maritime Studies. 16-19 December 1991, Pondicherry University, Pondicherry, India
Kenneth A Hall, pe &, pp 75-98
Pernard. EdaLbna de YQYFUES + ~ ~ L & U G S ~ e a r - a t ~ r e l a t l f s L l ~ Puanf, du YLI.L.c au U u, Vol 11, Paris, 1913-14 p 465
F Hirth and W W Rockhill, - - I l F s & ~ i l Lhs C h i n e s e a n d k & S a d s i n L k t u e l f t h and
w, gnt&kd b + d U St Pcters burn. 1911, D 96 S D Goiteln. Letters and dociments on thb India Trade In ~edlrvel tlme L U L C u U u i 37, 3 , 1963, p 196
Roderich Ptak, Notes on the World Shanhu and Chlnuvr coral imports from Maritime Asia c 1250-1609 A&&?.&, No 39, 1990, pp 64-80
The Department of Archaeology and Epigraphy of Tamil University, Thanjavur conducted excavations at Periyapattinam during 1987
S Singaravelu, The Ambassadorial Nisslon of Lakshmana Hang Tuah from the Kingdom of Malacca to the Kingdom of vijayanagara in South India , Vol I!, 1982, No 1, pp 32-33
Tapan Ray Chaudhuri, Jan ~n CPromandel LKk L698AhidYinthaInter-relat lonsaf- Commsrce pg(i Traditional Economies, s Graver.hape, 1962, R N Banerji, Gconomlc Proerese d ik Fas$, hdu CPIPPBDY.~r lLhsCoromandelW - Nagpur , 9 7 4 J J Bmnning. T P ~ TCI~L~. &?Zab& L s a u ~ HorthernCoromandelAWd a Pre-Modern
-, Ph D Dlssertat~on, Unlvarslty of Wiaconsin, Madison, 1975, S Arasaratnam, Uezchant~, c Q r & m A L C o m m e r c e Q r l d m w LE!OLiZ412# Oxford University Press, Delhi, 1986
Sanjay Subhramanyam, Tha Political ~conomv ef ~ommerce- Sauthern Lndia w, Cambridge, 1 9 9 0
M N Pearaon, Isrchanta pgd W in w, The Response to the Portuguese in the Sixteenth century, New Delhi, 1974; T R De Souza, &a, Asmn Economic History, New Delhi, 1 9 1 9 , K S Nathrw, Portunuese ~ I L L t h L n d i a i n L b B s l x t e e n t h C e I L L u , New Delhi, 1983
A Robert Sewell, A Porlrottan w, New Delhi, 1 9 6 2 , K A Nilakanta Sastri, A Biatorv Qf W India, Madras, 1 9 5 5 , N Venkataramayya, Studies in U UW nf U ThFLd D,YM&%x nf Yilavananara, Madras, 1 9 3 9 , T V Hahalingam, and Snrral Lifa Llndar Yiiavananara, Nadras, 1940, A Krlshnaswaml, T m d CoYntrr Undar ViJbvananare, Annamalai Nagar, 1 9 6 4 , Henry Heras, Tha A~AYUU ovnastv af Vilavenaaara, Madras, 1927
L B Alyev, Southern IndLh SPrial and Eronomic Bistorv U i h h l&h Centuries, Moscow, 1 9 6 4 (Yuzhnaya India Sotsialno-ekonomicheskaya Istoriya XIV-XVIII vekor)
Burton Stein, W Sfgte and &&$y U India, Delhi, 1 9 8 5
Noboru Karashima, & tiistor & m, Studies from Inscriptions A D 850-18eW, Delhl, 1 9 8 4 , N Karashima, Y Subbarayalu and P Shanmugam, YuxmaaurYlnin~Countrvaseevealed tLhri'Uh a S t a t l s t i c a l ~ ~ r e v t l n u e ~ l n InacrlPtiuns, Institute for the Study of languages and culture of Asia and Africa, Tokyo, 1 9 8 8
N Karashima, Nayaka s rule in the region of North and South Arcot districts In South India durlng the Sixteenth Century , AsXa Bsiaelca, 4 8 , Tokyo, 1 9 8 5 , pp 1 - 2 6 See footnote no 6
R Nagaswamy, bly&tUd (Tarnll), Madras, Tamil Nadu State Department of Archaeology, 1 9 7 2 , p 4 2
Each Inscription is divided into three brcad n e c t l o n c The first introductory and preamble part contains Svasti Sri, the auspicious Symbol, place of Issue,
date, name of the donor and details of his ancestvry The second detailed part oonsists of information about the gift, name of the donor and purpose of the grant The final concluding part contains the names of the composer, and ends with an imprecatory verse for the preservation of the grant See George Mitchell t~nd Vasundhara Pilliozat, &hr&u gf Yi.lavananar b, Hampi, Marl Publications, 1981 , p 125 The copper plate inscriptions of this period follow a standard form beginning with the rxazaaU (genealogy) of the ruler and new verses added wlth the succession of each king besides retaining the earlier portions, T N Subra- maniam, S.I.T.L., Vol 111, pt 2, p 180
38 D C Sircar, LnPIan -, Delhl, notllal Banarsidas, 1968 , p 242
39 T V nahalingam, Inscriptions rn Tamrl Nadu , J P Dr Souza & C M Kulkarni, eds , ~n Lrdun
(Dr G M Morass Pelicitatron Volume), Delhl
4 0 Some examples of Bburpivandva 1532 In A , & L 31 1 of 1950-51 , SalMvedve 1535 in U 17 of 1 3 8 3 8 , Tatavandva 1544 in kBB, 353 of 1953-54 The practice of quoting regnal years had been entlrely given up In this period
41 K S Hathew, Portuguese Sources for the Study of Socio-Economic History of Indla , a paper presented In the International Conference on the Hi~torlans of Asia, Hong Kong, 1990
42 John Correa Affonso, W lettcrs and L W . Bombay, Oxford Universlty Press, 1 9 6 9 , p 38
43 The work of Kumara Saraswati composed on Saluva Nayaka of Villupuram contains Tamll, Telugu, Hinduata~~l, Kannada and Sanskrit, Somasundara Dikshitar. TlllPll Pulavarkal Yaralaru W h n u a m Huttandu (Tam.1) (History of the Tamil Poets of Sixteenth Century), Madras, 1939 , p 43
44 Thlrty six Siva and five Valshnava in total forty one QUAMA were composed In thls perlod Ulaganatha Pillai who prepared the catalogue of lanil works of Saraswati Mahal Library records seven works o t
Sixteenth Century. Srinivasa ~uranam was introduced by Kathichetti during Nitvotsavam festival in Tirupatl temple during 1513, T.T.D.B.S., Vol V , No. 466, Iraivaaanallur m (1510), Chidambara puranam (1508), Tiruvarur (1592), Arunagiri puracd~ ( 1555), Tiruttani m, Tirukalukuntra m, Tiruchengattankudi wrdnm and Kachi are some examples of ILUSMAA in thir period
45 Qhgu is defined as the register of a temple giving an account of Its properties and its history in the Tam11 Lexicon. In the case of Srirangam there were many U &gu, see T.8. Parathasarathy, l b i l PLYPYA Tirupati, Tirumala Devasthanam, Tirupati, 1954, P i i .