CHAPTER - IV -THE POLITICAL ORGANISATION

208

The institutional and organ.isational constituents of con­

temporary polity engendered by the material matrix already

outlined, form the major concern in th.i.s section. The political

formation of the period was gradual# the processes of which are

seen along with the evolution and consolidation of the agrarian

system, It wos at first the result of the articulation of the

new mode of production manifested in the small brahman controlled

villages. In course o£ time the emerging political power and

authority structure in their turn became instrumental in the ex­

pansion of the new mode of production. Fottnd.tng of the brahma­

deyas by the kings exemplifies the role of the political power

in extending the agrarian system into new areas. The process

also involved the mechanisms of the transfor:mation of the given

political. structure itself. In short• the process was mutually

consequential and '\'tent on shaping each other for a very long

period. It is hard to recognise the early stages of the process

in the absence of enough source material. Though conceptually

one can explain the origins of the new political formation by

associating it with the expansion of agricultural production, tne

exact processes of the dissolution of ·the anterior structure and

the emergence of the new one cannot be reconstructed for the

following reasons. First it is hard to isolate the earlier poli­

tical ideas and institutions reflected in the ancient Tamil liter­

ature with any amount of precision. Second, there is a long ti..100

209

gap between the two political for,mations, i.e.,. that of the period

of anthologies and th~t of the early Pandyas. Though the name of

J?andya lineage remained. there is no evidence of the continuity

of the lineage from the ancient to early medieval periods. There

is the traditionally accepted interlude of the Kalabhras between

the two periods.· !t is reasonable to visualise the Kalabhra phase - '

as a phase Qf crisis in political pm-1er. So theoretically we can

perceive the se~ence of the collapse of the ancient political

structure, the entailing crisis of state power and the subsequent

emergence of a new structure. But it 1.s also hard to detennine

the exact length of the period of the !Sf!}aph~a occupation of the

Pandyan region. However, following the Ka;abhra raids there seems

to have prevailed a political vacuum at least for a couple of

centuries if not more. Further, it is also not clear whether it

was a period of mere predatory control. With the discovery of

the Pulankurichch! inscription,· ~t has# however, become certain

that some lineage other than the Pandya had ruled over the region

during the period of the so called interlude. Both Kii;';:-an Centan

and Centan Knrran of the Pulankurichchi record are not known to

the Pandya genealogy and were obviously not the members of the

Pandya lineage. It is possible that they were t.he lat~r descen­

dants of the Ka!abhras.1 The Pulanku~ichchi record contains refer-

1. There is an argument in this line in Kasinathan, N. "Pulankuricci Inscription! A Relook", !Plliy;al Karuttaranku No.2 (Madras, 1983) PP• 157 ff.. *-

210

ences to the early forms of political ideas and institutions of

the advonced agrarian society and points to a political structure

different from that of the period of ancient Tamil vrorks. So the

evolution of the constituent elements of the political structure

under review was a continuous process since the dissolution of

the anterior structure. The process was related to the material

developments consequent on the evolution of the agrarian system

out of its primeval forms. However, the establishment of power

by the Pa1~dya I<a'l:unJ~on after the quelling of the !<a~sl?l);:q§. marks

an intelligible poJ.nt in the history of the evolution of political

power in the regj.on. The period of the kings from I<atun'k:5n to

Parantaka NegunjaQ.aiyan, i.e. from the late sixth to the eighth

century A •. D. must have 't<J"itnessed the actual formation of the poli­

tical structure in question.. From the time of Parantaka Ne<l.unj a<tai­

yan to that of Vira Pandya it acquired clearer and more elaborate

dimensions. From the perspective of anthropology one can suggest

that the transition from pre-state to state power began with the

establishment of the Pandya domain by Ka~unkon and becru~e a well

established fact by the time of Parantaka NeQ.unjaQ.aiyan~ A notable

feature of the kingship during the period was the growing brahma­

nical influence on it, reducing the heterodox religions to insigni­

ficance, especially Jainism \-thieh was more dominant. The expansion

1. A~thropological concepts ralevant to the study of pre-state and the emergence of state society in ancient India are used in Thapar, R. '1 State Formation in Early India" International Social Science Journal (1980) pp 655 ff. Also her 11 The state as Empire" in Claassen, H.J.M. and Skalnik, P. ed. The Study of the S:tgt! (New York, 1991) pp 409 ff.

211

of the brahmadeyq - f!.~'l!adina villages~ the development of a new

pattern of land holding and the formation of a new system of

resource sharing gave shape to the pol:ttical s::tstem under review.

Kingship and Authority•

'l'he Pandya rulers of the line of Katunkon represented a

consecrated kingship and legitimated authority. In the srasastis

of the copper plates from the period of Parantaka Negunja4aiyan

onwards we find the various techniques of the validation of the

Pandya State power. Foremost among them was the technique of

legitimation through the constitution of the puranic genealogy

linking the lineage with the ganq;a-vamsS!~ The Sanskrit r.:rasasti

of the Ve~vikku~i plates n~ntions that the first Pandya king belon­

ged to the family of Pururavas who was the son of the Budha, born

from the Moon~ The: prasastis of all the royal charters issued by

1. The puranic genealogies and the question of legitimation are analysed in 'l'hapar, R. " Genaalogy as a sou.t·ce of Jti.story" in her ncJ.ent Indian Social Histor , op.,cit., pp.326 ff. The pursn c trad t ons regar ing the dispersal of certain well known lineages provide ground for linking the ruling families in. far off places with them. Relevant d.tscussions on the legitimation process are given in Mocart, A.M. ge.cit., pp. 197 ff ., Dumont, L. Religion, Poli,j;ics and Histog .ur India (Collected Papars in :tndlan sociology) {Hague,1i70)p.71. Also Kulke, H. l<shatriyisatlon and social Change: A Study in Orissa Setting", in Pilla!, s.o. ed. Asy;cts of Changing I dii (Bombay, 1976) PP• 398 ff., " Ear~ State Form~tion and Roya Legitimation in Tribal Areas of Eastern India", in MOser, R. and Gaut~n# M.K. ed. studia Ethnoloaica Bernens1a (Hague, 1978) rept. in Das, M.N. ed. sfde Lig ts on the H!st-2.!2: and Cult~_of o,riess (Cuttack, 1978) PP• 104 ff.

2. P.C.P., op.cit., PP• 19 ff.

212

the Pandyas a11ud8 to their candr<lvamsn origin. some of the char-

ters enume:rate the variou:> mythical or divine names of tho gandra­

,Y!lm~.J! as part of the ?andya ancestry. The Sanakri t ~"<l~a;;:ti of the

Da~avaypuram plates begins the genealogy from Vis~u~ The Tamil

pr<;18asti of the plates mentions Brahma, Atr.i, the Moon, the Budha

l~a and Puru in the descending order as the anceatory of the

Pandyas. The §ivakasi plates which also begins the genealogy from

Vishnu call the Pandya king ~anct:arkkijnvaya-dlaae A lithic record

of King Varagupa's 11th year from Tiruchchirappnlli calls th~ king

§oma-siirza_r.vsura-dvsur~~ Hero the genealogy is linked vi th tt-1o t-rell

knotfn puranic lineages. the Candravamsa and ~r~vamsa for validating

the Pandya power.

Another method of leg:ttimc::ttion was the association of the Pandya

rulers with thE=;! well kno~m epic ond puranic events und. characters

tl"..xcugh thei.r heroism. The sharing of !mira • s throne, breaking his

crown a.no bracelet, partlclpation in the puran:i.c chQrning of the

•mille-ocean• t obtaining of amrt.a out of the churning, pa~ticipation

in the deva-a~r~ battle, destruction of the army of Dritar5~~a,

releiving of Arjuna from the curse of Vasu, nego·tiation with r-tavnr)a

for peace~ destruction o:r: the city of Hariscandra, conquest of

ArJtlna, causing Ravarya to sue fm.~ peace, defeat.1 nq of tho Kurus and

serving as messengers to the celestials are the heroic acts attri­

buted to some of the grcut ::.ncast:ors of the Pandyas by the prasastis

1. Ibid., pp.75 ff. -2. l2!S•1 PP• 187 ££.

3. S.I,.I •• XIV, No. 10. 6 S5ma-sury§nvaya-dvara"

of their charters. At times certain super human adventures are

said to have been successfully undertaken by some of the ancient .

rulers of the lineage. The plates of D~aviiypuram, Sinnamanur

and ~iv~kasi, mention the Pandyan ancestors to have subdued the

ocean~ They are said to have incised the royal emblem,, the pair

of carps, on the H~alayas.

213

Yet another technique of the legitimation of their power was

through the legendary association with the saint Agastya. MOst

of the copper plates refer to the saint as the family priest of

the Pandyas and as the legen.dary genius with whom the Pandyas sett•

led the Tamil language.

The preponderance of epic and puranic ideas in the legitima­

tion of the Pandya royalty clear.ly shows that bra.hmana priests were

the authorities in their spiritual domain. The role of brahmanical

rituals in the consecration cf kingship was substantial during the

period. ~he tradition of offering protection to the rituals of

xagas goes back to the time of thEll anthologies'! In those days the

rituals were the instituted occasions of the redistribution of

resources in the fom of dana an.d dakshina rather than the means of - -validating state ;>ower~ Now the rituals acquired greater political

1. P.C.P., ge.ci:t•

2. Palyagasala1 Mutukutumi is a notable example. The making of kingship sacred ·through the Vedic rituals has been discu­ssed in Hocart, A.M. Kings and Councillors s An Essay in the Comyarative anatomx of Hymap Society (rpt. Chicago. 1970) pp 97 ff. Arso Gonda, J. Ancient Indiap,Kingsh1p from the Religious Point of View (Leiden, 1966) P.122.

3. A detailed analysis of the c~ncept in the north Indian context is given in Thapar* R. "Dana and DakshiQa - - - " gp.cit.,pp 105 f£.

21~

significance than ever before. We find the rituals of the maha--danas which ere dssociated with the claim for being e kshat;iya,

gaining popularity among the rulers during the period. The Va1gai

bed inscription. of Centan Arikesari•s 50th year mentions the mah§­

dana rituals such as hira~yeg§Fbha, gosahasra and tulabhara per­

formed by the king! The 2ra§astis of the plates of Ve~vikkuti,

Sinnamanur and Dalavaypuram allude to the performance of mahadanas

as the meritorious acts of the Pandya kings.

The construction of and endowments to the temples by the

~!ngs, though became prominent a little later must also be viewed

as part of the techniques of the consecration of royalty! We have

already discussed in detail the asoociation of the Pandya kings

~th the temples of the period in the second chapter.

'

All the above means of enriching royal status were the Dharma-

sastra prescriptions for kshatriyisation! Establishment of genea­

logical links with the well known kshatriya lineages like the cand:rg­

v.amSf! and ggry:avamSa. attribution of heroic achievements like the

conquest of Indra•s domain, claiming participation in the epic

battles and so on brought the lineage a glOrious tradition of ambi­

tious kshatriya-hood. Through the claims to have participated in the

1, E,I,, xxxi11, Pt, i, PP• 27 ff, 2, Kulko, Ho "Royal Temple-policy anc1 the Structure of Medieval

. Hindu Kingdom", in Eschmann, A, !£•al ed. QR•Cit. PP• 125 ff.

3. see discussions on the brahman1eal association of kingship in Lingat, a. The Classical Law of India (trans. by Derrett, J.D.M) (Burkeley, 1973) pp,.215 fft Also Kulke, H. ge.cit.

215

mythical churning of the milk-ocean and have gon on divine miss-1 ions, the Pandya royalty was divinised. such traditions could

attribute great antiqUity to the lineage. Whatever was the means

of consecration or legitimation of royal power, the group that

benefited the most was that of the priestly brahmanas. The popu­

larisation of the sastraic and puranic ideas played a crucial role

in achieving the material objectives of the brahmanas and~he

legitimation of the Pandya rulers through the Vedic rituals.

The Pandya kings rarely seem to have accepted high sounding

titles indicative of Cal~avartin model of kingship unlike their

Pallava contemporaries: The 'l'iruchchirappalli inscJ:"iption of Vara""'

gul;,la•s 11th year qualifies the king as adhir.ila! His Javantlnatha­

purem record of the same year and the Lalgudi record of 13th year

1. The underlying and significant concept in most of the ancient Indian t~ts dealing with kingship is the divinity of the sovereign. See Hopkins, E.w. u The Divinity of Kings" Journal of the American Orient 1 Societ • vol.Sl (1931) pp 309 ff• Also Drekme er. c. K n s and Communi in E 1 ~(Stanford, 1962).· The concept of divinised ngs .P rs-QOntrasted with the rational elements in the ancient Indian kingship in Dumont, L. Qp.ci~., p 71. The process of the divin!sation of kingship is analysed in Sharma, R,s. Aspects of Political Ideas fnd Institut.ioas in Ancient India (New Delhi, rev. ed. 1968 PP• ~27 f£. Aiso Jaiswal, s, The Origin and Development of Vg.iijaiism (New Delhi, rev. ed. t§ao) pp 178 f£. The concept o \divinity in the context of south Indian kingship is examined in Kesavan;v. "'Royalty and Divinity: Legitimisation of Monarchical Power in South India", I,HeC (Hyderabad, 19#18) •

2. The Cakfa.vartin status of the Pallav,a rulers is examined in Stein, B. Peasant State - - - - op,cit,., p. 70.

3. S,t.~. XIV. No,lO

216

call him mah5raja~ The same epithet is used for this king in

the .Ambasamudram inscription of his 16th year~ Some of his

records from Tiruppattur, Tiruchcha;~urai and TirukkO~ikaval

also refer to this epithet~ The Dalavaypuram plates qualify

Parantaka viranaraya~a as ~aharaJa~ It is significant to note

that Parantaka Ne~unjagaiyan is called maharaia only in the

larger ~innamanur plates. In short, the records prior to the

time of VaraguQa do not allude to any such titles indicative of

Cak~avartin status~ 1. E,I.. XXVIII Pt. I p.42 and S,I&},, ge.cit., No,12 B

2, S1 I,I,, op,cit., Nos. 13 & 14

3. ~., Nos. 15, 16A~ 28 & 21.

4, P.C.P,., pp1cit,, pp.95 f£.

5. One Pancavan Brahmadhirajan §lfa~ centan Cattan of NellittO~a in Malai-nadd figures in the T rukk~ku~ inscription. of Parantaka Ne ufijaQ.aiyan•s 4t11 v;ar. SIIatoz; P.I!e.c!t., No. 19. The existence of such a title 1n Mala -nagu during the period is interesting, No Cera king of such an early period is known. The Ays were the subordinates under the Pandyas. However, the first Cera king who finds inscriptional mention uses high sounding epithet of Calq:-avartin model,·~., nsri r~Ja-raja­dhiraja pararnesvara bhat;taraka •••• " See T.A.s., II, pp. a ££. The title brahrqadhira1<a, occurs in the Pullur Copper plates wherein one brahmadh.iraj an alias Nagasarm.an, proficient in martial arts figures as ajnapti. ·See Pallava Cerm~tuk51l: Muppatu (P,CtM) P• 187, Ll, 13-14. None of the brahmana chiefs of the Pandya region is called an adh1ri1s• In the Cala recordS brahm~dhir~1a is the title of brahman sen~tis, See Sastri., K,A.N. The C8la~ (rpt, Madras, 1975) P• 4~ • Also Mahalingam T.v. South Indian Poli~ (rpt. Madras, 1967) p,263. It is obvious that distlngu!s ed brahmana warrior chiefs under the kings of Cak;avartin status alone bore the above title.

'217

The oldest and the most common term appearing in the records

for the ldng is 'ko'. The .Aramboli hero-stone record of Parantaka

Negunjageiyan•s 27th year uses the term perumana~ika~ for the king:

The t'\-tO Sa!a~gramam inscriptions dated in the 3rd and 20th years

of Rajasimha and Virapandya respectively use the same term! The

term appli~s to God also~ The 'l'iruchchendur inscription of Vara-

guQa calls the king U~aiyar-a~ixar. the servant of the God Ti~po­

ttutaiyar of the temple~ Two records from Lalgudi use the phrase

tan-ventu-ko, meaning as the king wishes~ It occurs in a srivilli-

pputtur record of 6 Vira Pandya's 14th year also. What is the

nature of the authority of the king? None of these terms gives any

precise idea about it. The Salaigramam inscription of Rajasimha•s

3rd year uses the phrase lj:9noinmj1 ko¥-~a,n which is express! ve of

the over all authority of the king in his domain! The e~act nature

of this over all authority can be understood only in the context of

1. T.A,S., I, ~o.VII

2. E,I., XXVIII, P.T. II, Nos. 17A & B

3. For example, .. tirunelw\.,1;_ U1fft1~lJJ Reruman,a~ka4" , s .• I 1 I ... v, Nos. 351. 352 & 354.

4. Ibid., XIV, No.16A

S. Ibid •. , Nos. 12 A & B -6• Ibid., No.91

7. ¥!I., XXVIII, No.17A. In certain COla records a similar phrase 'kon-erinmaikontan • • the unmatched among kings • occurs. It

has been shown clearly that the phrase occurs invariably in records carrying the oral orders of the king, in Subbarayalu, Y. 11 The State in Medieval South India - 600-1350" (unpublis­hed Ph.D. thesis, Madurai University, 1976) Appendix.16, P• 309. It is in the same context that the phrase 1k5noinmai­~optag• also appears in our record. So it appears that the phrases •konoinmai-koptan• and 'k<5n-G£inmS;i ... ko~' are of one and the same meaning.

218

the totality of authority relations in contemporary society. So

we will come back to the problem after analysing the var·ious orga­

nisational and institutional forms of the polity.

The most crucial factor to be investigated in a study of the

nature of t:'Oyal authority is its resource base. The chief resource

base of -t;he king was land dues from the central area i.e., the

area under direct control and tributes from the localities i.e.,

the area outside the central area. It appears that his share of

dues from the remote areas was mostly in the f(jrm of gold in. bullion

or coin. An inscription from Sa:}:aigraraam doted in the 20th year

of Vira Pandya refers to the presence of the king at Tiruppa.laiyur

for exacting the dues from the Sl$V?d<ina-brahmade2;a of Sa:ta.igramam!

It is mentioned in the record that the sabha of S&4a!g~amam owed

nine thousand §ac!;! to the king as dues. It appears thc:r't for clearing

the dues the sabha took a loan from the temple., by transferring some

plots of tax free land to it. such dues payments by the local bodies

must be the major source of the royal command over gold, which is

evidenced by the ~ng's large scale endot~nts of gold in oullion

and coins, Varaguoa•s period is notable for the huge gifts of gold

to the temple. We have no evidence to show that the king had coll­

ected dues from traders which formed part. of his resource. There

is no doubt that plundering campaigns brough-t the king a lot of gold

and other valuables. Actually the practice_ of accumulating resources

through wars which was a characteristic feature of pre-state society,.

219

continued in state society also though to a minimal extent. In

the absence of concrete evidence we cannot have a clear idea about

all the sources of the king • s revenue. However* the view of con­

ventional historiography that the king collected taxes systemati­

cally from his sUbjects all over his domain, seems to be anachro-

mistic! Xeeping in view of contemporary transport technology

and the absence o£ ad~quate infra-structure~ it is ·difficult to

assume that the king could have ever collected his dues in kind

from the remote villages. There is no infor.mation about the rate

of the royal dues and the t~e and mode of their exaction in the

extant source.

The Kingdoms

It is futile to look for an exactly de~imited territory for

early kingdoms. There are no precise boundary $Pacifications of

the kingdom in the early Pandya records. The records of the period

contain no expression indicative of a defined territory. It does

not mean that state formation had not talten place. State during

the perlod \'las a central area with fluctuating peripheries. So

the kingdom in those days was a territory whose outskirts 't~Jere in

a continual flux. The spatial distribution of the early Pandya

records may be taken as indicative of the changing limits of the

Pandyan territory. The records of Parantaka Ne4unjaQaiyan are dis­

tributed from ~ra.mboli'of the Travancore border in the south-west

1. The conventional vi~~s are well presented in Sastri. K.A.N. :fhe COla§.•# 2E•cit,, pp. 470 ff. Also ~iahalingam, T.v. gp,cit •• pp.180 ff.

220

to Tirukko~ikkaval of the kumbhak6Qam taluk in the north-east

and the Periyaku~am taluk in the west to the Paramagugi taluk

in the east. They do not appear further north. However, it may

not be scientific to argue that this distribution pattern indi­

cates the precise limits of his kingdom. The extant records would

hence show the minimum ex:tent of a kingdom, and any future addi­

tion to our knowledge in the form of epigraphic records beyond

this area would indicate a larger extent. The numerical distri-

bution of such records would also mean a gree:~ter or lesser degree

of control. Similarly, records of Srimar(t Srivallabha are found

from the Aaastisvaram taluk in the south to the Kulattur taluk in - -tha north and t.he Dind.:'.gal t.alnk :tn ~~he north '~est t.o tile Sattur

taluk in the north c~st. The distribut.ion of Varagui)a 's records

is between Pa*ani in the north-west and Tiruchchendur in the south­

east as well os Kumbakonam in the north-east and Arnbasa~udram in

the south-west. Par8ntaka viranaraya~a•s inscriptions are very

few end are found at Sucindram in the Agastisvaram taluk Dombach­

cheri in the Periya:ku~am taluk and Da:f:a.vaypur~m in the l<'oilpattJ.

taluk. The records of Rajasimha are the largest in number and

their distribution is between the Agastisvaram taluk in the south

and the Kutattur taluk in the north as well as Periyakulam in the

west and Manamad.urai in -the eest. The records of Vira Pandya are

distributed from the Agasti§varam taluk in the south to Madurai in

the north and Periyakulam in the west to Paramagu4! in the east.

The above distribution pattern shows that during the period of

Varagul')a the kingdom was stretched upto the northern banks of Kaveri,

221

as evidenced by the Lalgudi records. Its northern limits came

to Tiruchchirappalli south of the Kaveri during the period of

Rajas1mha. Under Vira Pandya it did not extend in the north

beyond Madura!. Broadly speaking, the kingdom prior to the time

of Vira Pandya seems to have been demarcated by the vet+ar on

the north-eastt the MSlur-Tiruohchirappally hillocks on the north,

the V1rupa1tshi pass on the north-west, the western ghats on the

west~ the Indian ocean on the south and the gulf of Mannar on the

east!

There is no evidence for an elaborately organised bureacraoy

in the Pandya state• From the records a few personages can be

identified who were in royal service. '!'hough we have no info.nna­

tion about the hierarchy of the royal servants, among the person­

ages mentioned in the records, the gtta;smant{i seems to have

enjoyed the highest status. The designation shows that he disch­

arged the functions of the chief minister. The Anaimalai inscri­

ption of Parantaka NaQ.unja~aiyan•s 3rd. year mentions certain Maran­

Kari alias the MUvendamangala peraraiyan as the king's pttaramant~i~

He is referred to in the record as the vaidya of I<a:t.akku1;1. The

ve~ vikk\11;1 plates call him the vaidyasikhamazp.; of Karavantapuram.

It is clear from the Anaimalai record that he was no more by the

third year of the king and his brother Maran-Eyinan §lias PanQi­mangala-vicaiyar§iy:an succeeded him as uttaramantri. The smaller

6

1. See discussion on this in Subbara.yalu, Y. "Some Reflections on P§~(!1-Mal}4alam, C.700-1300 11 Damllica, Vol.II. Pt.III p.27.

222

Sinnamanur plates refer to ceztain 'l'iiysn Cinkan of Ku~c;tur J.n

IQtt\~Urlt•Kiirram, as the gt.ta;amantrl. of the same king. After - • a

Peranta'ka Nec;)unj a4aiyan' s records, reference t.o uttarm,naptfi is

found in the sucindram record of P~rantaka v!ranaraya~a•s 3rd

year! 'fi1G record mentions certain Iyakkan Cellan of Ksttaiyarp~,~i in Mala!-~ as Tennavan t.ttt;arsmant;:1• The Da~avaypuram plates

refer to a man!zF1 by name Xl,a1ya-Nakkan.of ~ei1tu~1:a-va~1nasau who

belonged to the Xfilpa gotra. The Sivakisi pfates allude 1:0

oertain Xyakkan Cellen alias Tennavan uttaramgqtri of Ka~aiyar-. . - :

pal~1 in Malai•n§qu. obviously a junior member of the family of

the person of the same name figuring in the Sucindram inscription.

A f~agmentary record of this kino from Pa~~ima4am mentions one

Tenne.van ,uttaraman£tl of Kal)aiysrpa~l:l, obviously th~ same person: - '

This is a cleaJ:' indication of the hereditary nature of the posi­

tion. An inscription of the 15th year of the same king from Sri•

villiputtur mentions a Cu*aman.i tliag Tennavan gtta;amaat;i of

Marutur in ~~a-n5~u!

tn the Ve~v1lcku1;1 plates Maran-Kiri figures as the

(executor) of the charter1 Miran .. Eyinan appears in the

1. K.K. No. 180/1968

2. s1 IAl gp.eit.~ No.ao n. 2 A. 3o An unpublished inscription found on a rock near Kollam­

koQ48n, Ramanathapursm District.

4. ~an-~ri had the title madburakavi. The vgl,Qaya-&lvar K4ri-Maran aliap N~Jve who liQd the same t . tie hAs been regaraed as the son o .t former (Maran, the son of Kari). see the details of the proposition in Gopinatha Rao, T.A. Historv of Sr1va!snavag (MadJ:'as, 1923) p.19. Also Sastri, tc.A.N. 'l'he PanCiyan 1dn~dom, 9.Btc1t., PP• 97-98·• A detailed discussion on the prob em is given in E,J. •• VIIX, p.319.

223

record only as the person tvho completed the project of the Nara­

simha temple, which was begun by his brother Maran-Kar1! The

role of Tayan Cinkan of the smaller atnnamanur plates also was

that of the anatti of the charter~ I+aiya - Makkan, described as

mantri in the Da.:}.avaypuram plates also fi.gures as the anotti of

tho charter~ In the Sivakasi plates Iyakkan Cellan too figur~s

in the sarr.~ capacity~ The plates refer to him as mantira-5laj-

na;zakan the authority of the recor,d of the royal orders. In the

Sanskrit portion he is also called ~rual}.!vi:-graha.. This shows that

ytterama~t~i as such had no specific function and 1r1os assigned to

h~ certain office as indicated b¥ the above record.

The mahasamanta of the king was a similar dignitary. The

Tiruppa~ankun~am inscription of Parantake t~gufijagaiyan•s 6th year

alludes to certain Cattan KaQapati alias Pa~qi Amritamangala-

varaiyan as the mahasamant:.~ of the king~ He also is montionod

as hailing from the famous vaigyakul:a of Karavantapurrun. The Sri­

varamangalam plates mention certain Dhlrataran Murti Eyinan £}~as

Vira.mangala £§rarai~an as the mahasamanta of t~he Jting~ He also

belonged to the above xa~dyaku!! of Karavantapuram. Excepting these

1. S. I, I., ,ga,1c1t. 1 No.2

2. P.C.Pu ge.cit., PP• 75 ff

3. Ibid., PP• 95 ff.

4. Ibid., pp.187 ££.

S. s.I1 I., QR.oit., No.3

224

two records of Parantaka Nedunjadaiyan•s 6th and 17th years

respectively, l'le h;:tve no other records referring to the maha­

samanta. Cattan Ka~apati of the Tiruppa~amkun~am inscription

figures only as the builder of. the tirukkoil and sri-ta~akam

(shrine and tank) at the place. Dhlrataran Murti-Eyinan is

mentioned as .anatti, executing the royal order by making it

recorded in the plates.

The uttaramantris Maran-Kari and Maran•Eyinan; and the

maha~amant~. Cattan Kauepati and nhirataran r4Urti-Eyinan belong

to a single family. M5r::u:-Eyinan• s fraternity 'tltith Maran .... Kari

is mentioned. in the Anaimslai inscription. It is not clear in

what way Phirataran Murti Eyinan was related to them. The sugg­

estion t~at he was another brother of the former may not be true

as he seems to be the son of -Marti whereas the former were of

Maran! His iden.tification with one of the sub donees,. of the same ' . 2

name in the Ve! vikkni;i plates. is a probability.. The implication

of their. family n.ame yaidya is another contreversial issue. One

thing to be noted in their names is that the term mangalq comes

in the position of caste when ~m compare them with other names such

as Vc~nn-araiyap or brahmaE,ll.i!,. (See table.A). 'rhe view in con­

ventional historiography that they t<rere brahmanas does not seem to

be t.rue. Usually brahma is added to the names of all brahmana

1. s.I1I,, op.cit., ii, n.s. For the other vi7w see !&!& vol. xvl 1 pp 295-96. Also Sastri• K,A,N, op,c~F.·• p.44.

2. E~I·,, op,cit., p.296. ASo Sastri, K.A.N, oo,cit., p.44

SURNAMES OF CHIEFS : SEGMENTATION P.lTTERN

Royal Title Caste Status Pre:!i:x. Stem Sldf'ix

Miiventa Mangala Peraraiyan

B- di a.J}_ Mangala Vi(layaraiyan

Pan cavan Brabma Adbirajan

Pil:}4i .lmri ta Mangala uaiyan

Colan taka Brabma Marayan

f.1anabbara.J}a v~an Araiyan

p- di aJ)_ Ilanko Mangala Peraraiyan

Vlra Man gala Peraraiyan

********************

226

araiyas and had the above persons been brahmanas ·the caste prefix

would have been added to ~1eir names. So it appears that they

belonged to the ma.ngala caste and \'tere traditionally the physicians

(yaidy;a) of the locality: The term yaidya does not seem to have

any connection with vaigilsi, (vedists), though the two terms have

been conventionally taken synonimous by the historians of South

India. !low the question or:tses \-Thether Mllrti-Eyinan a member of the

vaidy;a family eould be a -eatak§ir&mu~iv§n enjoying a shara in the

bra.hmadeya of Ve:t,vikkui;i? But this is r1ot a sh~rc on par vTith the

ganku enjoyed by the bra~~ano~. It is just a share in return for

•service• col:!Tparable to the rewards to various ·functionnrics asso-

ciated ~r~5.th the -,;vork of chartering a village. !-Iot.gever;. the pclit.i­

cal significance of this family, settled in the 'fortified' village

of Karavantapurom1 is too obvious to be emphasised.

Another group of high ranking pP-rsonages in Royal service,

designated as ~ahxkshas, figures in the copper plates. The Srivara­

mangalam plates refer to certain Cankan Ciritaran. ~lias PaQQi I~an­

lromangala f!£P.Faican as the 9,2j~§Qx;akslli obviously the chief of the

elephant corps! He figures in the plates as the supervisor of the

ritual of taking the female elephant along the boundary of the gran­

ted village marked by stone and milk-bush. Certain Maran COlai

1. Mapga~s is the barbar caste. It is important to note that even now the tradition that they were professional physicians too, rema.:f.ns.

227

alias Tennavan Anuttara Pallavagi-eraiyan is mentioned as ~­

dhy;aksha .i.n the §lvakasi plates, performing the same role~ The

Da~avaypuram plates refer to certain Subrahmanya, son of Datta

Bhatta as dharmadhyakph,e, probably the chief moral preceptor of

the king. Ha is mentioned as s great scholar in the veda .... sastra.

Tha mantira-olainaxakan appearing in th~ sivakasi plates seems

to be t:h«~ chief of the royal r.ecord keepers. The I>a.+avaypu.ram

plates refer to certain Centan~ the kilavan of Perumtuvelli in ----·.·- 1

'·. 2 r .. l.ng. In the Sanskrit portion he is called the ptafihyasth?,•

A few service personages of the king figure in the Ambasamu-

dram inscription dated in the 20th year of Vira Pandya~ All Of

them who ~re of different designotions appear in the recorc1 as

royal functionaries involved in the chartering of a devadana.

The record mentions certain Ve~an .sraiya.l) alias Manabharal)a as

e'\"imutal, he who 'keeps the accounts. certain Katt1 Nakkan Iranan . - .

KGrram is mentioned as 2€ll}-~6ratmott.?.1s.~m, tt".e registrar of royal

accounts. The yayk~lvi, i.e. he t~Tho tak.es the oral order of the

kingi whose name is worn out in the inscription also figures in the

racord. The record shows that these personages performed certain

functions at tho time of chartering a gevadana and were obviously

not assigned \-lith specific functions in a permanent ca.paeity.

1. thid .. # pp.1.87

2. Ibid,~,. pp.95 ££. 3. 2ti.t., XIV, No.9S

228

The Sivakasi plate~ refer to certain Rajasimha alias Tamila

B§raraiEU as adhikarif the authority in charge of the chartering

of the village~ In the same plates certain §£aiyaq of Ku~attur

in Mu+~i-na~ is mentioned as anaiotukka!Ym, probably the rider of

the elephant in the boundary ritual.

Some close associates ef the 1d.n.g, ar_:\.\1'-J<e:o£ figure in the

records of the period. A Tiruppattur inscription of Var&gupa•s 17th

yeiir mentions certain r-mraven AJ:tukkap•r,eraraitsn! Certain Puvan

Pafaiyqn is mentioned in the Ambasamudrarn record of Rnjesimh~'s 11th

year as one of the ~~~+ya-9~ukkari A record from So~avantan dated

in his 14th year alludes to certain Tenndvan A~ukkap-u~arai~,

al~ P~eyan r~~ikkan~ The Tiruvo~r!yur inscription of his 3rd

year mentions cert.ain sundaravalli a.s anukld, the lady in waiting . t ....

at the court~ The Sivakasi plates mention certain Ca~aiyan Kat,i as

a~ukkappi~.~ai., None of the references g:i. ves their actual fu.nctional

context. Most of the.-n figure as donors. The ,S.Q-U!.~SlRP~~~SJi of the

Sivakasi plates is referred to as a kankani, supervisor of the ---- !.""

chartering.

The personages in charga of the assessment and ac::cunt.ing of

lane! dues were called. puravuvari,-l;ar:attar·. ll. label inscription from

1. P.c .. P., 9;e.ci.t.1 pp.l87 ff.

2• 2.~1.!!·' gp.,t,Ci~., No.15 3. IbiA.v No.56

4. Ibid.:~., l~o.64

s. n>ic;!a,# No.49

229

Anaim~lai mentions ~£a~v~ri-ka~a~~ as the protectors of a

Jain image cs•Jscd to be cut by certain t.'uti of Vet;~nceri in ..

Ve~aikku~i-~\~! Another label from the same place refers to

pariv~ra-nurf.!yuvar..!2;~.;:~ Tile Slw:Jkusi plates mention four per::ons

viz, Araiyan Viraiyaccilai of Narrarayank.u'!;.i. in Purattaya-~;

Ka~am l?ai;i;alnltan of Ciru cevur in Tiruldt:anapper:k·Kii~7~SV colai

I'i~<Jvan of f.1ankui;i in C5la•,nac)u: end I:tr-,v·;::~larn Pullan of Ka~u:mnur

in Vil<:ltiramakarna-y~ana~ as £Uravuvar1. The sanskrit p:Jrtion

The Dn~ovaypurem plates

mention. tv.'O persons, vlz., Catt'.arn Pat.t_alnkan alias kon of Alarrur .......................... ~ ..

ttirukkai-nadu; as k~makkar. The large!' Sinnamnnur plates rafer -.,.- -

to three persons viz: Nakkan kat;cm or c:t~u cevur~ Pa<f:.aran Cola! of

Tur~calur in MiJ.)3laik-kUrram; and !.§rl-v,etan of Peruml~akkur, as

ka~akkar~ It has been cle~rl)v establishecl thut .Y:~~.?lfim refers

to th~ same department~ In one of the labels of Anaimolai the

tinaikkalatt.ar f5 .. gure ns protectors of. a Jein image~ The Ambasa-~ - ..... mudram inscription of Vira Pandya • s ~~1;h year ment:i.ons CPrtnin Cattan

the tinaikka.l~ttan of Nalkur in Venbu-nftdtt~ A record from Aramr.oli - --~

dated in the 27th yer~r of Pnrantaka Nedunjadaiyan, refers to PerurJ-.. .. - .

1. Ibid.~ No.106

2. Ibid., No.102

3. kilavan-~ of Perumkakkur figuring in the Da:t,avaypur~-n plates and l52I!.-velaB, of the same place in the larger ginn:31nanur plates might be identical.

4. su~berayalu, Y. The State in Medieval South India, oo.cit.,p.144 s. §.d._!., op.ci·t., No.lOO

6. Ibid., tio. 81 -

230

tina!: The Tirunelvelly record of Vira Pandya's 11th year also

mentions it: The term karanettar seems to indicate the same per­

sonnel. They figure as protectors of a Jain image, in one of the

Anaimalai labels~ Among these some of them t-lere obviously of the

local departments. The records do not give much detail about their

actual function. Those figuring in the Sivakasi plates must have

been for assessing the dues from the granted land. Certain records

mention k§viti, probably the accountants of local puravu-va£! depa­

rtment. An Arnbasamudram record of ~arantaka NegunjaQ.aiyan's period

refers to the kavitixar of I~avembaikkalatt!.,_rukl<:a.t in VeQbu-na~_g~

In the Tiruppattur inscription of VaroguQa's 18th year. the k§viti

of the same place figures~ The Pa~~imagam record of Vira Pan~·a•s

7th year mentions certain Pa~aran COlai the kavi£i of Potiyur in

Po!iyur-na~u~ A fragmentary inscription from the same place refers

to a kaviti called Centan? None of the records gives the actual

functional context of the kaviti. In the first record he is the donor

of cash and in the rest donor. surety and sharer of livestock. As

the mention is to the kaviti of a place, it is clear that the term

designates a local accountant.

The royal scribes, eluttu constitute an important group in the

service of the king. The ve~vikku~i plates mention Sudhakesari

1. T.A.S., I, No. VII 2. s.I.I., v, No.452

3. Ibig, - XIV, No.101 4. Ibid:, No.27

s. Ibid., No.16

6. Ibid., ~1o. 79

7. Ibid., No.a2, n.1

231

Perumbal).aikkaran as the royal scribe for the charter. The Srivara­

mangalam plates show that PaQQi Pertnnbaoaikk5rnn ali~§ Arikesari

was th.e king•s scribe for the charter., The same person tr.ras the

~cribe for the smaller Sinnamanur plates. The royal scribe of the

Datavaypuram plates was Nakkan sfias Nripasekhara Perumkollan. ~be

Ambasamudram inscription of V1ra Pandya • s 20th year l-lhich deals

with a royal charter of devadana refers to the otai=e~uttu, the

palm-leaf writer, of the ki.n.g1. The portion speclfyin.g his nama is

'~rn out in the record. In another line certain Pullan KO;~an ~s

menttoned as the scribe of the royal order which was lat.e:r cop1.ed

on stone by the scribe of the temple• It is reasonable to think

that the ~l$i~e~pttu mentioned above must be the same person. The

scribe often received a share of the granted village as a reward for

his writing of the charter~ The scribe of the Vetvikkutt plates was

given a house site, i:\-10 m& of \'let land and one !!!i of dry land.., The

scribe of the Da~avaypuram plates got three fields. It. appears

that the scribes were generally the iron smelting crafts-men. The

scribes of the Ve:tvlkku~, Srivaramangalam and Sinnamantlr (smaller)

plates were called Perumbaoalkkaran, a suffix to their names. The

Tirupparappu plates refer to its scril:)e• Aviyalan alias Srivallabha

Perumbaoaikkaran of vi*injam as radhakkan# the chariot builder and ., arms manufacturer.:' The Da~avaypuram plates call the scribe as Per-

um1collan, obviously blacksmith. He is mentioned as a native of

Vaiku9ta-va~ana~u. A passage in the plates by describing him as bel­

l. Ib.id., No.95

2. T.Ais., No.XIII, pp 197 ff.

232

onging to the lineage of Manu who made the axe of God Siva-raises

his status to a higher legitimacy~

The registrar of temple-accounts is referred to in certain

records as mel-e;uttu. The Perungulam inscription of Rajasimha•s

24th year shows that certain Ve~an Ku~apalan, the tfa~akkaooat;-t:-ari

was the scribe of the inscription~ A Suciridram inscription of

Vira Pandya's 19th year men.tions certain Co~antaka Piramcu"Tlarayan

as adbikara-mel-eluttu1 the registrar in charge of the temple acco-• ••

unts~ His title shO't-TS that he was a brahmana chief of the locality.

The record indicates a. significant functional context of this chief-.

Xt. registers his trial of certain Tevan o£ Vankanur., alleged to have

mortgaged a land of the devadana.

War Personagest

War being part of the kshatriya-dharma, every king seems to have

conducted at least one major campaign during his reign! The prasastis

in the royal charters enumerate many campaigns as the creditable

achievements of each king.. It is true that all the achievements

claimed by the prasastis or the campaigns described in ·them are not

completely historical.. lo(any of the descriptions are conventional,

often presented in stock-expressions and stereoty~es. Yet, the

general culture represented by them cannot be far different from

actuality,

1. Ll. 231-32, P,c.P., op1 ci~., pp.95 f£.

2. S.I,I., oa.cit., No.74. 3. K.K. No.l969/173 -· 4. The sastraic concepts on this are adduced in Lingat, R. gp.ait.,

PP• 211 ff.

233

There are certain stone records referring to the campaigns

of a few ltings of the period, which offer more reliable clues.

The .Ara.mbol1 hero--stone inscription of Parantaka Ne9unj agaiyan • s

27th year refers to certain incidents of the ldng 's campaign at

Vi}:injam~ His campaign.at IQ.avai in Co:ta-naqu is alluded to in

the Ramanathapuram and Perumpu:U.i rock inscriptions~ The perum­

pu~.:t-1 inscription mentions the campaigns of Srimara Srivallabha

also at I~avai, V!~injam and Tiru~tu~amukku. It is hard to know

the organisational and administrative aspects of war since they

are not the concem of our source materials. Hot·rever, references

to Senapati and the Ggjadhyak.c.;has wo11ld indicate that there t11as

somekin.d of corps-divisions and a central co-ordination. But all

these high-ranking war personages were dra~~ from the locality

chiefs who acted in different capacities, as already noted earlier.

Some of the high ranking service personnel were warrior-chiefs

too. Maran-Karit the uttaramantri of Parantaka N'eqt'inj a4aiyan is

described in the VeJ.v.:tkkuti plates as a 1.-rarrior-chie£ fighting

against the eurvaraiar, the eastern kings.

In certain records a few ve!ans appear as war-chiefs accompa•

nying the king in his campaigns at various places. The Perumpu+~i

record mentions certain palli-vGlan who fought and died for Mara­

varman Rajasimha, the father of Parantal~ NeguDja4aiyan, at RUtumbur.

The Ve~vikku~i plates describe the Ku~umbur campaign. of the king.

2. S.I.,I.~ XIV, No.26 and E.I., XXXII Pt. VI pp.275 ff respecti• -vely.

.234

Both the Perumpu~!i and Ramanathapuram records refer to certain

Nakkan-Pullan alias Parantaka Pall!-v~lan. the son of the above . . . . . -Pa+!i-ve~an, accompanying Parantaka NeguiijaQ.aiyan !n his IQ.avai

campaign. The Perumpu~li inscription mentions the son of Nakkan­

Pu~:tan named Al)ga ve~an Kut:umpar-Atittan Pu.t~a-Nakkan accompanying

Srimara Srivallabha in his campaigns at Vi~injsm, Igavai and Tiru­

kkugamukku. These campaigns are described in the larger atnna­

manur plates. ,His son Pall!-velan Nakkan-Pullan is mentioned as ·- -' ' .-· serving the king Varagulja in hi~ battles. The title Pa:t~i-ve:t.an

shows that they t-1ere the ve:t.ans of the ldng. The record enumer­

ating the veJ.,ans t-Tho served the kings of four generations, on

hereditary succession shows contemporary system of inher.tti.ng the

high ranking positions in the royal service. The name AQqa Ve~an

noted above has been suggested as the short form of the ve~an of

AQga-na~. The Apga-na~tu-ve~an appearing in a few records of

Varagupa as the kings agent might be a warrior chief, probably of

the above ve~an-family!

The warriors of the king are referred to in some of the records

as cevakar, meaning those t-Iho serve. The Ka~ugumalai inscription

o£ Parantaka Ne{iunjagaiyan's 23rd year mentions certain Vinaiyantolu­

Ciiran of Putanmali in Ton1:ai-n,a~y anC. Cattan Nakkan of Pereyir-ku'f!-

as ul vi ttu-koil-cevakar, 2 the warriors serving in the palace. The

1• S.I.-I., op.cit., Nos.11 1 12 & 12B. Also E.I., XXVIII, pt•I -p .. 42.

235

record mentions that both of them died fight!n.g for the king in

his campaign against tho Ay chief Karunandan at Aruviyur. The

above Ararnboli inscription of the king•s 27th year refers to

certain Iranakirti as ul vi ttu-cevnksn,. who died along with several . ~-= .... : ... others in tho king's campaign at ViJ:injam~ being struck by an

arrow of certain Tatam the perumti~ai of Perumur in Koluvurk­

ls.,Uf:am,. I:t appears that he was killed tthen he was guarding the

karaikk51;1:ai (fort) with some o~~ai-cevakar; tho spies. The

Edirkko~'t;si in.scription of Rajasimhais 16th year mentions certain

Maran Bha1;tan as 1tii11-~vgkan, \'7ho died at Ktlttank.ui;i in Vel)bai­

kkuti-nndu! His name shcn·1s that he '~as a brahmana ~mrrior. The . -record registors a donation to the Cuoaikkuti temple at I~ttankuti#

by certain ~,yakan .of t-takaoakkuti in the above na~u, probably in

the name of the deceased~ The TiruppuqaJmarudur record of the

king • s 20th year refers to certain ve!an t.IJatevan as cevakan, pro­

bably as a donorf

The waxTior groups were doing the watch and ward service

(kaval) for the localities and insti·tutions. The Dalapatisarnudram

record of Parantaka NE:~Q.unjaQ8iyan•s 41st year mentions n~taly.-nattu-• .. - --n~~akanmar, the warrior chiefs in charge of the n~~, as the pro­

tectors of the tt·To t.rater-sheds at PerumpaJ:anji in Na"t:~a~~uppokku~

They figure in the EruvaQi inscription of the king's 43rd yeur as

the protectors of a Jain institution# Tiruviruttalai-Aruval.am; in

2. !b..!as..• no. 68

3. Ibid., no.t10

WARRIOR GROUPS IN ROYAL SERVICE

Categories Variables Reign· Ref -·· cevakan o~:raJ.-cevakan JatJ,la TAS.%~7

u:I.vi~1;U-eevakan Jat1la SII.XIV.31

mati-cevakan- Rajasimha EI.XXIIX., 4S A

kiili-cevakan Rajasimha SI:L XIV. 65

Kavalan pati-kavalan viranaraya{la PcP.,DP.Ll.148-9

Nayakan na:t;~u-nayakan Ja~la sx:r.xiV. 40 & 41

ku~-kaval-nayakan Rajas1mha PCP.LS1?.L.164 peru-n~yakan Parakesari SIX.II%.Pt,Iri.99

v!ran parantaka-virar Ja<t;ila s:rx.xnt. 42

tirumalai-virar Jai;ila SII .• XlV. 42

Notes DP - Da~avaypuram Plates1 LSP • Larger Sinnamanur Plates

237

the same village~ The smaller Sinnamanur plates J:'efar to ou:am­

k&va,!, the external watch and ward of the granted village. The

larger ~innamanur plates allude to ku~ikaval-naxakaQ1 the warrior

chief in charge of the protection of the settlers of the granted

village. The Dalavaypuram plates refer to patiknvalan, the

protector of pat~, division of a locality. Inscriptions from

UkkirankOttai dated in the 11th and 15th years o£ Rajasimha allude

to m§tic-cevakar, the t'larriors at the outer '>~all <w!+) as kaval!

In the first record they figure as protectors of an endowm~nt in

the rest house at Rajacin1tapp·erankati and in the other as the

security personnel of the Ki~evayil t~(~le, both belonging to Kara•

vantapuram in Ka.}.akku-t:i-.Dlis.!!• The locali tit~s had t~heir mvn warrio·r

groups. The Ka};ngurr.alai inscrip'f:~ion of Parantalca NeQunjaQaiyan • s

42nd year refers to Tir~nalai-vlrar and Parantaka-vlrar~ the

warriors of 1'irumalai and of the king respectively, as the prote­

ctors of certain charity in the temple.

The warrior chiefs of the village, ur-pat:aitt§J,aivan1 is refe•

rred to in some of the records of Tirunel,relly1 Ramanathapur~m and

Nadurai. The Dombachcheri inscription of Parantaka Nequnjaclaiyan•s

35th year mentions certain Taniyan MUI)itan as ea~ait.talai van of

Tiruva~iyapputtur in A~a-nadu~ His above Da~apatisamudram record

Of the 41st year mentions certain GUl)t1V8rt1'9ala tevan uS J2a1ja:tttalaivan

1. Ibidu No .. 41

2. E,I .. ; XXIII, No.45.A & C.

3. s. I.; .. , QR:.9!t.- No. 42

Name/Place

Kul}avampala Mvan

KO:raikkatan of Perumpa1.afij1 Taniyan Mugtan of Tiruvatiyapputtur

Nakkan Munn~uvan

Ven~a Vaypeci

l(ittam Pattam of Tiruvatiy§pputtur

Kavan

Cattan Tevan of Idranur-kuti,

Nakkan Cattan

Va!iyan Cattan

Pallavan of Perun-eennilak-ku1:1

PATAIT'rALAlVAN 1 EPIGRAPHICAL CONTEXTS AND DISTRIBUTION

Epigraphical Cont!!t

Donating l.ivestock for a certain Velan

Receiving livestock

Receiving livestock

Donating livestock

Pupa! for a livestock endowment Receiving livestoCk

Receiving livestock

Receiving lives took

Receiving livestoCk

Receiving livestock

Receiving livestock

Reign

JatJ_la

Ja~ila

Rajasimha

Rajasimha

Rajasimha

Rajasimha

Virapandya

V.irapandya

Virapandya

Virapandya

DtiRef'.

Tn .. SII. X7V.40

Tn.sxx.xw. 41.

Mr.ARE.49-S 1958·59

Tn.EI.XXXI%. 4SC

Tn.EI.XXIIZ.45C

Mr.ARE .• 496 1958-59

Rd. New inscription from the Pushpavane~­vara temple at Tlru­ppuvanam

Rd.SI'I.XIV. 79

Rd.SIZ.XIV • 82

Rd. SII.XIV • 83

Rd.SIX.Xl.V. 88

Name/Plaee Cattan of Tirunelvel1

Centa Mangalavan

Tirumal Cattan

Kunmaga vlran

Ep.tqrsmhical context Receiving livestock

Receiving livestock

Receiving livestock

Pupa! for a livestock endowment

******************

Reign

Virapandya

Virapandya

Virapandya

Virapandya

Dt,/Ref Tn,SIX, V,452

Tn,SIX,V,454

'.rn,S:II, V, 351

Tn,SIZ, V,351

40 2 of Perumpa~a'fij! in Na-t;t,:at't"UPP5kku. The Dombachcheri inscription

of Paranta"ka vira--narayapa's 7th year refers to a certain Kat.am

Pa~tan as £a~aittalaivan of Tiruva~iyaputtur! The Tiruppuvanam

inscription of Rajasimha's 4th year refers to 1:\-ro ;ea~aittala1van,!1

of the village! certain Nakkan Munnu~~uvan and Venra Vaypec1 are

mentioned as aa~aittalaivans of Karavantapuram in the Ukkiran­

kot't;ai record of the above king~ The Pa~~imagam·inscription of Vira

Pandya's 7th year mentions certain Cattan Teven as pa~aittalaivan

of I<lranurkuti in Tenpula-nagu~ In another record from there

dated in the 11 t.h year of the kinq, certain Palavan figures as :e~r~ai­

ttslaivan of Perumcennilaltku~i in Paruttikkuti-~~~ Two records

from T.irunelvelly dated in the 11th and 16~h. years of the king refer

to certain Catta.n uS ua~sittalaivag of Tirunelvelly~ In the record

o£ the 11th year of the king.- pa~~it·:t;.elaivan of I<u:tunko·~i is called

Kummal'}a-viran. There are several other occurrences of patait"calaivan

without the personal names and place names.

Unlike 'l:.he other t1ar personnel.- pa'l;aittalaivan figures no where

as kaval or rakshai.- in the records. He does not figure in the con­

text of war either. His status as a chief is clear from a Tirunel-

W3lly record of Varagutta • s 7th year, which mantions a nat:aitt§!lsJ.van

1. Ibid., No.496

2. Unpublished record. From the collection by Mr. Vethacholam and Dr. Subbarayalu.

4. S.I.I., OP.cit., No.79 -:-ee-

s. Ibidu No.Sa

6~ Ibid-, v, Nos. 452 & 351.

241

as Araiyart Nacakan: It is significant to note that he figures in

the records exclusively in the context of the livestock transactions;

mostly as the recipient of livestock from the temple andvery rarely

as its donor. (See table.D.) In a fevr instances he figures as sul:lety

to the other sharers of livestock from the temple. A late 10th

century record from Sucindram refers to a ve~~ik]sy~i-:ga~Slitterumau~ An early 11th century reco.rd from Perungulam refers to certain

Pu!1yan Ka~avati as ve::ikku:i-aa~ittalaivan of the temple~ These

two records show that they emerged from among tt~ vettikkutis • . - ~ ..... attached to the temple. Here also they figure as the recipient of

the livestock from the temple. The vettikkutis have already been ' . . ... shown as the temple's cattle-keepers in an earlier section. It seems

reasonable to suggest that pa~ai~~ela;yan belonged to the pastoral

group. He was a pastoral aristocrat ~mo held land also. None of them

is found using the titles of the reigning ldng as done by the major

chiefs of the period. It shows that their connection with the king

was quite remote and status inferior, compared to those of the other

warrior chiefs.

The clues in the extant source do not point to the existence

of a systematically organised stan<llng army during the period. It

appears that the warrior chiefs were mostly the big land-holders uith

their own localities of rt,.le. They seem to have taken pride in res­

ponding to the king•s military calling. Their relation with the

1. Ibid., No. 728

2. K.K •• , l.qo.1968/204. This must be engraver's mistake. ·.-3. S,I~., XIV, No.131.

242

king involved an e;~a economic loyaH:y. lm.y free man prepared to

die for the king could become a cevakan. A collection of such brave

men at the beck and call of the king constituted his warrior-p~1er.

The warrior chiefs being lccal noblen, there was no dif~erence bet:-

ween the civil and military h:terarchies. The personal tics and

de~ndence involved in the civil society determim}d the nature of

the relations tfithin the warrior community. Each warrior 't'TaS extre­

mely obliged to his chief as the chief "t-tas to t.~e king. i>. hero-s1".one

inscription from Vilinj am, probably of Parm")tc1J~a Nedunj adaiyan • s

period gives a. clear c>..rpression to this 0bli,Jc1tlon t:s £~ncor~yJ2perum---!5a~n.. the huge debt of :t·i.ce feast: The hero who died in course

of the king • s campaign at Vilinj am is said to hnve repaid l1is rnrum-

katan to the king with his life. The decensed 't.rarriors t-rere

comm.emorated. by installing recorded hero-stones .:1nd instituting endo­

t-nnents to the temple, in their name. The KaJ.ugumalai inscription '

of Parantaka Negunjagaiyan•s 23rd year registers a gift of land valued

at 20 kalanju of gold to the s_abha of Kummal)amo:mgalam by c~rtain Ett-1

Ma~~an alias Mangala Enati, 2 obviously a t-1arrior chief. 'l'he EcJir-

koi;:~ai inscription of Raj asimha • s ·16th year .::l:Jo seems to rc:;Jiste.r

a similar inst.ance o:C inst:l.tut:.ing sorr.c:,) endowment by a ~evalss'Jn in a

3 temple, in the name of a deceased h'"?ro.

Thf:: Chiefs:

In the records a local chJ.ef j_s called ?raixan_,. t.gith any of the

pr~fixes such dS l?allava, ViJ,uppa, Vicaiya, rr.engala, and Brahma.

1. A.R.E., No. 470 of 1958-59 2. ~J,I., op.cit., No.31

3. Ibtd:, No.65

Oft~en he uses one of the titles of the Pandya lineage such as

Tennavan, Pancavan, Maravan and Pandi besides a title of the

243

reigning king.. 'l'hose called in the records as ki~avan, na~?tl$k.OJ3

=t -d-~ an c. na _a van were also local chiefs. ~lost of the chiefs seem

to have acted as high ranking functionaries in the royal service.

All such chiefs bore royal titles. But kilavan, nattukkon and

nadalvan do not use royal titles, either of the lineage or of

the reigning Jcing, implying their relatively lower status, Every

ehief t1ad a small locnlity of his own traditionally ruled over

by his lineage. The records referring to i:he ~hieis, invariably

indicnte their localities.

Th~ {\rai~!lii with Pallava as their prefix seem to be more than.

tho$e wi.t.h other prefixes. They occur in the records from the time

of Parantaka Negunjaqaiyan to that of Vira Pandya. The Vijayanara­

yattam inscription of Parantaka Ne~nja9aiyan•s 2nd year refers to

certain l?ancaven l?allav:C'\raiysn alias Velcentil of lC:o;r:r;;mpullanknt;i

in Mutuku~i-nadu~ A Sucindram inscription of Parantaka viran~ra­

yaoa 's Sth year mentions certain Tcmnavan Sri Tonka Pallav,pFa~Yal'\

alia§ Vi!up-peraraiyan of Ve~iya~~ur in Ko~uvurk-ku~~am: The Ktitt­

alam .:i.nscription of Varagu~a •s 5th year alludes to certain Tennavan

Pallav,?raiyan alios t1aran Accan of PoJ:iyur in Po~iyur-!!Pdu~ This

chief figures in the Tiruppattur record of the king's 7th year also~ 1.. Ibid., l\1o. 17 --2. !•~, No. 1968/224

244

The Attur inscription . of Raj asimha • s· 3rd year mentions certain Vikki•

ramakamuka Pallavaraiyan §!ias Tevan Colaiyan of RU!attur in Ala~;ur­

nadu~ Certain ·Tenna\l'an PaUavaraivan alias Maran Cilran figures in the . . ' . . 2

UkkirankO~~ai inscription of the 15th year of the king. The Pa~~i-

ma4am ·record of V'ira Pandya's 7th year refers to certain Co~antal"..a

Pallavaraiyan alias ~ran Aticcan of Po!iyur in Po~iyur-na~u~ Th~ same chief figures in a sucindram inscription of the k1ng's 14 th year

also~ AnOther record of the place dated in the 7th year of the king

mentions certain Tennavan At].ukkappallavara1:gan alias Vira Narayanan of . = Urappanur in Nat.ta:r;;-upu~am"; Certain Pa•]~arttaQi;.a . Pallavp.~C\~.JI:an

alia~ Cennapp1 of Ku;unkuti in Tiruva!u~i-va~anagp is wsntioned in the

Perungutam record of the king •s 15th year~ The localities of these

chiefs were in different; parts of the Tirunel velly and Ramanathapuram

districts.

Aralyan with the prefix anukka seems to be a close associate of

··the king.. r-ta;avan AI}ukkapperaraix;an of ·the Tiruppattur inscription

and Tennavan AQukkapperaraiyan of Perumpakanur of the Co~avantan ins­

cription are examples? An praixan with senavu as the prefix is found

in a sucindrsm inscription~ The Ambasamudram record of Vira Pand,ya's

1. Ibid,, No,61 2. §. Iu XXIII, No.45 A

3, §.l.Z., op,oitu No,79

4. T8 A,S,, III Pt. l pp 71 ff, 5, Ibid,, PP• 67 ff,

6• S, I. I,, op:,cit,, No,93 7 •. s. I.~: X.,. em. cit., l'!os. 15 and 64 respectively. 8, T,A.s., III, Pt. I, p. 25

20th year mentions certain AraivaJ:! rl!:anabharai).an of Iral)acinka­- 1 mangalmn in MaDalurku~akkil. nle localities of these chiefs

were in different parts of the modern Madura! district.

245

A few chiefs of the period of Vira Pandya were known as

muventa-v~lans. The Pa~!ima4am inscription of the king's 13th

year mentions certain muventa-velan alias Arankan Puti of Cu~uvur

-in PoAiyur-na~u~. Certain Satrupayankara muventa-ve~au al:t.as

Vetan Paranjy6ti of Perunku!am in Tiruva~uti-v~~ana~u figures in

the Srivillipputtur inscription. of the king•s 14th year~ The

Ambasamudram inscription of the king's 20th year mentions certain

Vikkirama Pandya miiventa-ve~an ~11~.,!! I<at~i Nakkan Ira:t)an of

VetiYSFfUr in Ko!uvurk-kUrram~4 The localities of these chieftains

were in the modern districts of r1adurai, Tirunel velly and Ramana-

thapuram respectively.

A kilan is called aracan in the above Malay<=r!;:ikku.ricci inscri-- .,, .... ption of Maran Centan's 17th yeer which is the only instance of it

in the extant records. Ki~lJ. or ls.i;,;;;l.-o...,v .. a.n vias ·the headman of a

village. The record refers to certain Cattan E;an ali§§ Pauqiman­

galavati-araca,n as the kiUin of Cevur. Kamakkal)i Narcinkan, the

donee in the Vel vil~ku~i pl.at:.es is called thez:ein as the kilan of

I<orkai. The JdUin of Arukatt-t;ur is referred to i11 the Tiruppattur •• inscription of Varagm:m' s 10th year. The reco.x:-d mentions his son

1. Ibid., No.95

2. Ibid., No.90

3. Ibid., t.Jo.91

4. Ibid .. , -- No.95 s. Ibid., No.9

246

MOe! Kantan Can.karan • s wife Maram Pattattal a brahman!,. It shows . - . - . . that this kilan also \'laS a brahmana. The Cinnakkollappa-t;.i;-1 ins­

cription of Srimara srivallabha•s 8th year mentions certain E~~i

Cattan as the kilayan of Iruppaikkutt in Irunjola-~~ He figures '· .

also in the two Erukkanku1_:1 in::3criptions of the king•s 16th and

18th years respectively and in the Tiruchchendur inscription of

Varaguna: The ki~_avan§ of Katattirukkai, Perumk~kkur apd Perumtu­

ve}.!i are mentioned in the Da:t,<Jvaypuram plates; certain Cankaran

Muri Aru.}.aldd is alluded as ki&attan of Arpne-na~ in the Srivilli­

pputtur inscription of Rajasimha's 7th year~ The §ivaka§i plates

mention certain C~lai as the ki~avan of Mankuti in C5~a-na~B·

Certain A~a~!, the ~~evan of Mattevanku~i in VeQbu-n~gu figures

in a Pa+!imagam inscription of Vira Pandya's 8th year~ References

to ki~avgp are found without the personal and place names in a few

other records of the period. The villages of the above kilavans

were mostly in the modern districts of Madura! Ramonathapuram and

T.:f.runelvelly.

References to na~~ukkOn is found only in two records of the

time. The Dalavaypuram plates mention certain Teyamapikkan as

1. UnpUblished record. From the collection of Mr. Vethachalam and or. Subbarayalu,

2. s.I.I., ORecit., Nos.43 & 44

3, p,c,P ... o;e.cit.# pp. 95 ff. Kaoattirukkai must be Kalattirukkai in Ve(lbaikkut.l-nadu. In certain recordS the plnce figures as I~avembaikkalatttr'U'kkai, See S.I,I., op,cit." Nos. 16 & 27

4 •. ~.R,E., No,285 of 1965 - 66.

s, s.I.I." gp.cit,, No,ao

1 kilavan-kon of Pcruml\.akkur.

247

The kon of l'J. arrur-n5du fig llres in ............... . -- ~ 2 the Tiruchchendur inscription of Varag~va• Na~a~v~n occurs only

in the KUgumiyamalai inscription of Rajasimha's 4th yeur~ The

record mentions Ct?rtain Kadamban E~~i alias Parantaka the nadalv5n

of Ata~aiyur-na~ •. The localities of these chiefs were in the

Ramanathapura~ district.

The chiefs figure in the records mostly as donors of land to

the temples. Many of them figure in the records as functionaries

in the royal service. We have already noted several examples of

this while discussing the service personages of the king. SOme of

the chiefs are found in the records as builders and endowers of

charitable institutions like way•side inns and t-rater-sheds. Certain

V~:tan Cattan, a chief of Irarnpatu in Karaikkana-nadu figures in the -Oal.apatisamudram. record of Parantaka Ne4unjagaiyan•s 41st year. as

the builder and endower of t~ water-sheds in the name of r&Jakkar

{kings) and the koil-pillaika; munniirruvar (the junior member of the

palace) respectively. In a few records of Ktlmatt.ur, certain Tenn­

avan Ka!)~;:m Cattan alias Tami.l. velan. figures as the builder of a

shrine. He is mentioned to have functioned as §.rikariyam-ara;yyrnavan,

a royal enquiry conductor, in a temple and recovered the dues to

1. P.C.P •• gp,cit., 95 f£.

2. S, I, I .. , gp.cit., No.16A

3. Ibid1,, No. SO

4. Ibid., No,40

s. Ib12., Nos .. 84-87 & 95

248

1 the temple after settl!ng the problems thereof. We have already

discussed in the third chapter the constructional projects of the

chief, E~~i Cattan, the ki~avan of Iruppaikku~i.

The chiefs ~~re the major land holders of their localities,

enjoying the status of a ruler• Their status as araiyan, kilavan.,

h2n, or a~van in the given localities is indicative of the autho­

rity of local rulers. They were enjoying the prerogative heredi­

tarily. Many of the chiefly lineages were quite old. There are

a lot of references to kilans in the anthologies, which would suggest :.

that some of the kilavan-lineages of the period goes back to the

time of ancient Tamil works. Hm·rev·er, the growth of the chiefs both

in number and power, was the r~sult of the expansion o£ agrarian

society. The antiquity of some of the lineages is evidenced by the

later records then1Selves. The Vetv1kku-;i plates ascribe great anti­

quity to the lineage of Kamakka~i Narcinkan, the donee. His kilan­

hood of Korkai is shown as hereditarily passed on to him through

the long line of ancestors from Nakkan Ko.rran, of Huduku"t;umi's time.

Maran Achchan, the chief of Po~iyur, figuring in the records of

VaraguJ;)a has a junior heir of his lineage t"lith the same name and

status mentioned in a record of Vira Pandya. The traditional conmand

of the chiefs over the resources and people of their localities was

1. Srikarizam-arayurnavan occurs for the first time in these K!~mattur inscriptions ,..mich belong to the period 9f Vira Pandya. It appears that the functionary called Srikariyam­~r§yumavan t'las not there in the Pandya royal service before the 10th century. It is quite possible that this functionary was a Cola "import" since there has been. great influence of the CO+a pot-ter in the Pandya region from the time of Parantalca I.

249

recognised by the king and seems to have maintained a sort of

concord with them! The king used them as agents for appropriating

his dues from the localities. The chiefs in their turn acquired

a higher status by being the loyal servants of the king • Donations

to temples and the execution of charitable schemes in. differen.t

parts of the kingdom were other means for the chiefs to augment

their stature into greater dimensions beyond their respective locn­

lities. Often their activities gave way to prestigious royal reco­

gnition too as is found in the case of Et!:i Cattan who carried out

many irrigation projects in Iruiijola-na~u~ One of the E;ukkanltui;i

records en~~erating his projects mentions that the king, pleased

by his activities, conferred on him the status of the kilavan of

:Iruppaik'kut;.i~ He was recognised as the ruler of KG:~ar-ku1;_1, Kulattur

Tulayur, Iruppaikl<.:ut:i, Va~iyankuti and A~anku't;i, the v:.i.ll~ges in

Zrunjola-nadu. It is significant that the irrigation projects of -":"""

the chief were all in the above places. The projects were capable

of establishing a sound resource base for himself as he could claim

a share of the produce fr.om the places benefited by the projects.

l:n fact, the Jdng's honouring of the chief was only a formal reco­

gnition of his growing power.

1. The concept is elaborated in the context of Ancient Indian king surrolli,ded by petty kings, in Mabbett, I.w. Truth, Myth and Politics in Ancient Ingt .• ~, (New Delhi, 1972) p. 38.

250

The chiefs ~rcre the main pille1rs of ·the king 1 s power st.ru­

cture. They had their m1n agents for appropriating the land dues

from their localities. some of the euravuvari or til)aikka~¥1

functionaries figuring in the records were of the chiefs. They

had their own warrior po'tfer, which they proudly led for the king,

in times of war. The formation process of the k!ng's domain

rested on this non-economic bond of the chiefs to the king. We

have already seen how the chiefs were serving the king in various

capacities. The king' s success in the co-ordination of his state

depended on his ability in strengthening concord between himself

and the chiefs,. Incorporation of th~ chiefs :tn the r.oyal service

as high ranking functionaries, their collabor·ation. in the local

activities of the king, the king•s recognition of their services

with honours and privileges etc. were the usual methods of co-ordi­

nating the chiefs. The samanta and mahasamanta net~'lork of hierar-

ch1cal relations headed by the king vrhich had the basi~ in contem­

porary relations of production acte('l as the reinforcement of ·the

stote power~

The Corporate Bq~es-1

We have already seen that the chiefs were the rulers of the

agrarian localities. Hadrts and kurrams lrere the m.ain agrarian . ......... - . localities, ti1e distribution pattern of which has been discussed

1. Relevant discussions are given in Chattopadhyaya, B.D. flPolitical Processes and Structure of Polity in Early Medi­eval India: Problems of Perspecti ve11

, Presidential Address, I,H.C (Bur&~an, 1983).

251

in t.he second chapter. A locnlity consist.cd of a fev:r i:lgrarian

'\rillages, some of t-J'hich 'i.vere m<::mgalam,s and others .~• At times

one or tvro markt:t t.ot:mo, ll2.t~ru.m~ \'Jere slso there. !1fmC!,.Q.,lam being

a !?_rahmad~~. village its control \'WS in the hands of the landed

brahrnnn<'ls. The ~ t·rhich t'las a general village i-"las controlled by

its land holders called urar. The control of nak<J.r.am v-ras ln the ............... .....-...............

hands of big merchants (nakaruttar) who were the settlers there.

The prominent land holders of the loca.li.ty \'tere called the nattar

t..rho looked after the general af:Eairs of the nadtt. The land holders -"<:lcre organised into corporate bodies at the village level. The

share-holders of a brahmadeya village called the brah~adeya-ki~aVq£

constituted a corporate body called the pabha. in the ·Y.£ the iirar -constituted the corporate body called the ur. In the nakoram the

nakarattar consti.tuted their corporate body called the nakarsm.

The nattar constituted a supra-village body ce.lled the nadu. The -brahmadeya village betng the centre of advanced agrarian relations

the organisational and institutional superiority of its corporate

body is an impl~cit factor. As our source materials aro primarily

the records of the brahmana controlled temples and the royal char-

ters, 're get some information about ti1e sabha rather than the

nokaram or nadu., -=--

ur, -

The members of the sabha are generally called in the· records

as Qabhaiy§r. The Ambasamudram inscription of Parantaka Negunja9ai­

yan1s 35th year refers to them as sdbhai.-variyar~ The famous r~nur

1. s. I. It, XIV, No.36

252

inscription of tho above ki119 • s 37th year regi.sters a resolution

ka~ceam of the mahgsabhg of ~nanilainallur in Ka~aklal~i-na~u

prescribing the qualifications for being its members! The resolu­

tion mainte1ins that p£ the children of the shareholders (panku•

!:aiyar) of the !!£ tl:a~ 1-1ho have studied the !JlSW~a-brahmalji inclu­

ding one dha;mo end have a good conduetf may be admitted in the

sabhp in the ratio of one person for a share(pankg). Those who

with the above qualifications have shares purchase~ received as

'gift or acquired as do"tn:y may also be admitted in the same ratio.

Those admitted as holders of shares by purchase. gift or dowry can

havo only full membership (mglusr9v§nai) and in no case quarter •• I •

half or three-qu.arter membership allowed. Those held shares by

purchase must study one of the v-edas with its parisi~~s for repre­

senting their shares in tho s@ha. Those becoming members like

this were to be bound by the provisions provided for in the koiccam

excepting those entitled for full membership none was to be in any

committee (v§riyam) of the s§bha. The full membership holders

should in no case utter •nay•, •nay• in the deliberations of the

sabha, Those doing so together with their supporters were to pay

a fiFe of 5 kacu each for their offence and even after paying.the

fine they t*lere bound by the same rules, The Manur record is actu­

ally promulgating certain norms. probably elaborating and for-

1. Ibid •• No.37 See the comments on the record in Sastri, K,A,N. The Pandyan Kingdom, gp.cit., pp. 93-94, Also t-1ahal!ngam, T.JI• op,clt, • pp, 351-52,

malising the previous ones. and seeking to establish them~ It

seems to have involved certain n~1 norms also~· However property

qualifications and Vedic kn~1ledge must have been the criteria

everyt1hero, for electing the members of the sal?ba ..

It appears. that the gabha took decisions only when there

was full quo~" as indicated by the phrase "JsG.ttans§ttilgitta-- - a ...

~kuraivinr!"• Very few of the resolutions of the sabha find . . .

253

mention in the records of the period. The Sinnsmanur inscription

of the 46th year of Srimara Srivallabha registers an interesting

resolution of the S§bhg of Arikesarinallur as noted in an earlier

section, that in the land near the water-channel called Sriltat):t;a­

vay~kkal, certain variety of paddy called ku:uvai alone should be

cultivated and violation of this \·ms liable to a fine of ten kagy

per mensum! Even after paying the fine the offenders were not to

1. Nowhere do we come across the Manur-kaiccam quoted as a precedent. It cannot be accidental that such contexts found no inseriptional mention. It is worth while to point out the caso of the Mu*ikkal,am-kaiccam of the Cera period, 't-1hich has been quoted as precedent in a number of records from different parts of tho ldngdom. See Narayanan M .. o.s. "Poli­tical and social conditions of Kerala Under the Kulasekhara Empire, C.A.D. 800-1124'*, (Unpublished Ph.D. thesis, Kerala University 1972)~. pp. 332-35. Also Gurukkal., R. " Some Aspe­cts of Early Medieval Brahman Village Legal Codes of Kerala", I.H,c., (~<~altair, 1979) PP• 150 ff.

2. It has been in;erred that at some stage the working of the sabha must have been obstructed by the members of losser qualifications. Hence the new kaiccsma see Mahalingam, T.v, gp.cit,_. p.352.

3. s.z.x., gp.cit., No.78

254

grow any other crop there. The record alludes to another reso­

lution of the sabha. regarding the operation of the sluice of the

above channel. A few records register the decision of the sabha

to sell a piece of land to s~mebody who wanted it for instituting

an endot~ent in the temple!

In most of the records the sabhs figures in managerial capa­

cities regulating the temple affairs. The receiving of endowments,

their execution and maintenance: the·regulation of the temple

rituals and services; the appropriation of dues from the temple­

lands; the administration of the temple-wealth: and the looking

after of the temple functionaries are referred to in the records

as part of its functions. The agrarian management and tho control

of irrigation sources are hinted in the §innamanur inscription.

In the Da~apatisamudram inscripti ·-;n of Parantaka Negunj aQ.aiyan • s

41st year, the sabhaixar of Ci;upa*anji in Na1;1;8+J."UppOkku figure as

surety to a 2a~aittalaivgn of the village who undertook to provide

certain amount of ghee daily to the watershed at. the place, for

the livestock he received from the institution. The §abhaiyar of

Narcinkamangalam are mentioned in a label from the Aoaimalai, as

protectors of a Jain image~ The Vet,vikku~i plates mention that

the redistribution of the granted village was "t-ti th the approval of

the ~abha~ The Datavaypuram plates refer to a note of approval by.

1. Ibid,, Nos. 17, 191 56, 61, 95 etc.

2. S,I,I., eP•cit., No.102

3, PtsC,P., op,citu pp,19 ff, Ll, 136· 39,

255

1 the mahasabha of Tirumangalam in a similar context. A Sucindram

inscription of Vira Pandya•s 19th year shows the sabha organising

a trial with the help of a local chief, of a man who mortgaged a

devadan.a land, as already noted~ There is an instance of too sabha

of Salaigramam, taking a loan from the temple for clearing the

royal due.s, mentioned in a record from the place dated in the 20th

year of Vira Pandy ~

The assemblies of certain brahmadeyas are called mahasabhas.

Mananilainallur, Vaikul)~a-valanadu, Tirumangalam, Srivillipputtur~

Vijeyanaraya~a Caturvedimangalam and Sucindram are such brahmadeyas

figuring in the records of the period under review. All these were

larger brahmadeyas controlling extensive areas and naturally the

number of the landed brahmanas was much higher than the ordinary

brahmadeyas. More over the temples of these brahmade:v:as were alS)

very prominent as lan.ded magnates. So the strength of the corpora­

tions of such huge brahmadeyas t1as very high since tha interests of

a large number of land holding brahmana.s were to be represented in

them. Needless to say that in such centres of considerable number

of brnhmana population, there "tore enough members of reqUired pro­

perty qualifications and scholarship for being members in the stibha.

Though the mahasabhas were exercising control over large tracts of

fertile land, its people and resources, we do not find any. hierarchy "

in tho relations between them and the ordinary sabha.s. Each one was

1. Ibid • ., PP• 95 ff. Ll. 213-14

2. K.K.,No. 173/1968 -3. ~~I., XXV%II, Pt. II, No. 17 B

256

concerned only about the land, the irrigation and the agrarian

society under its control and maintained no hierarchical rela-1.,)\\'t--

tions one another irrespectJ.ve of the fact t'lhether they t-rore .~abh~s. ('-

or mahasabhas.

Usually a §abha represented a single settlement of the land

holding brahmanas• But in certain case we find a single ~bh§

represen.ting the two separate settlements in a village. A reco.r<l .(,

of Varagupa from Till~sthanam refers to the sabha of the t\~ ~~

in. Panaiyur, obviously the a.ssembly representing the two brahman

settlements~ The management of the gevada'na villages t-ra.s under­

taken by a smaller body constituted by the sabha. It was mula2ara­

~a1-..sabba in the case of Sucindram; Certain temples had a larger

body helping the sabhft in the protection and successful execution

of their various endO\'\?ments.. . The sabhg of Tiruppa:ttur t-tas helpad

by a body called ax1rgtte~un~~var~ A group called RanmahesvaraE,

the great saivites, is found in the records of ~e saivite temples

of Tanjore-Tiruchch.irappalli area doing the same function. They

figure in the area south of Pudukkottai only during the period of

Vira Pandya, A Kt!mattur record of the 9th and an Ambasamudram

inscription of the 20th year of Virapandya refer to them~ Similarly

1. S,I,I1 , V, No,608,

2. See discussions on it in Pillai, K,K,, The sucindram Temp;J.p (Madras, 1953),

3~ S,l,~~' XIV, Nos. 9, 15 & 16.

4. Ibid., Nos. 86 & 95.

257

e group of Vei~~av_sa called the Sri-vaisnatrnr figures in a Sevili­

peri inscription of Rajasimha•s 21st year, in. the same context:.In

two records of the Saptar~16vara temple of Lalgudi a numerical group

called. nampatt~eyirava.,.£# literally the forty eight thousand,

figures as protectors along with the sgnm§hesvarar~ There is no

mention of this group in the records of the region south of Lalgudi

in the early Pandya period• They figure in ono or two fragmenta~~

Jain inscriptions of the late 10th century from Kerala~ They arc

referred to ip a few inscriptions from Kanyakumari dated in the per:l.oa

of Raja Raja COla. It reminds us of the tradition of the 49000 vc~­

a~as in the Kover! region. Probably this numerical group must be the

ve!a~a land holders with the above tradition. The numerical expre­

ssion is only traditional and does not indicate their actual strength

as such. There are many such numerical groups referred to in the

Cera records such as munnU.::uva£ (the_ three h~ndred), ,pijii~~var (the

f 1 ve hundred) • 5i.~nnu~:uyar (the six hundred) 4 the e!unG~fUVat;. (the

seven hundred) ete., who are identified as the king 1s companions of

honour~ The numerical groups of the early Pandya records are indi­

cative of only higher numbers. AyirgVa.£ of the OOmbachcheri inscription

1. Ibid1 t ~To. 72

2. Ibj.d., No. 12 A andE,I, XX, No,3

3 •. See Narayanan M.G.s. Cultural Spiosis in Keral§. (Trivandrum, 1972) PP• 73 & 75, Also last chapter in Varier, ~R.R,nJainism in Kerala6 (unpublished M.Phil thesis, Jawaharlal Nehru Uni­versity, 1990)

4, See Narayanan, M.a.s., "Companions of Honour in south India", in his Reinterpretations -- gp,citu PP• 99 ff,

•

258

of Parantaka Negunj agaiyan' s 7th year is the group indicative of

the smallest number" other being ii!ratte~uniirruvar and nalppatte­

~ayiravar~ It is not possible to consider them as the king•s

companions of honour in the absence of clear evidences, unlike the I

numerical bodies of Kerala "Thich were associated t-rith nilal or

kaval, the royal police force.

The view that these numerical and other groups like the san~

mahesvarar or s,rivgisnavgr tvere nothing but the devotees of the . • • concerned temples is not satisfactory. In a f~r records it is shown

that the sabhaiyar themselves were part of the na.lJI1lahe§varar~ They

might be the land holders of the locality rather than mere devotees.

The , assembly of the jj£. just a.s the sabha tfaS also a land

holder's body.. In conventional historiography the ii£ t-J'ClS con.sideFed

1. ~,R,!., No~496 of 1958-59.

2. ~.!.I1 .r 2J:•cit., Nos. 12 A& E " ...... panmahesvarare sabhaiya­kavum tant~kavw:n -----" Ll, .4-5 and 6-7 respectively., meaning prinmahe~varar as the sabha and as individuals. The passage "------ miil a a· an-mahe 'varare sa hai akavum t ni ttaltavum nilaikk ul a tan ve u k0-v1nukku nu ~a 1 n- ru at n-ru ka~am t§mtam-ita ... ot'< nom ----" 12 A above has ·been trans ated In tf 1,1., XX, No.3 A as " . ---the m!hesvara§ attached to the cen.tral shrine shall levy on (us, the members. of) the assembly as a body or individually a fine of 216 !,aqqm and this shall be pa.id to the royal officers inclu&Uve of the pilaykkalam (stan­ding committee) \.vhichever they desire • ••• '* 1sic .. The discussion on certa:i.n aspects of sabha in Mahalingam., T.V:: OJ2,cit .• p.353, is based on this translation ~1hich is misleading. The pacsage actually meanss "-----the mahesvsrar attached to the central shrine shnll be liable to pay a fine of 216 ka2am severally as the members of the sabha and individually to the nilaikkalam in­clusive of the king, -----"•

25~

- ;. 1 to have been. constituted by all the residents of the S£• This

cannot be true. The basis of contemporary political organisation

being an agrarian system headed by land atmers as the organisers

of production,. one cannot assume that all the residents other than

land holders could become members in a managerial cox:poration like

the ,§£. In a Pat~ima~am inscription belonging to the time of Paran­

take Ne<junj adaiyan the pr&.£ of Tiru.kka:t:;~mpa:n.i in Vetfuu-1.!§.$1 and

kanattar are mentioned as kaval~ The above Dalapatisamudrnm

record of the king • s 41.st year refers to the !!,r&!; of PerumpaAan.1 i

in Natta~~uppokuf selling a piece of land of the village to a cer­

tain Vel. an. Cattan of Irampat;u for instituting an endo'ti'men.t in the

watersheds built by him in the village., The KaJ:uguznalai record of

the king•s 42nd year mentions the aerurar, the urar of the great

!!£, of Peruneccuram receiving some endmrment for the temple; The

above Tiruchchendur inscription. of. Varagu~a alludes to the yrar of Korkai~ Nallur and Caliyam in Ku~a-pa~g; and Alampa~tam in ~n­

kaima.ngal~ in Tiruva,!uti-va~RP.~~ among the sharers of gold from

the temple. The yrar of Tiruvatiyaputtur in Alu-nj~ are mentioned

1. The phrase ~uray-isainta-uram• meoning the resic3.ents of the ur constituting the urom (members of the ur) ha.s been taken ...... ..._,........., < ........

as the basis for arguing that all the people of the Y£ were the members o£ the assembly. See Sastri., K.A.N. The Colas# QJ;?.Oit., P• 492. Also Mahalingam, T.v. OE1c!S., P• 368. ·

2. S,I,I., oa.cit.; no.34

3. Ibid., No .. 42

260

in the above Dombachcheri inscription of Parantaka viranarayaua,

as the custodian.s of the temple. The Ku4llm.iyamala! inscription

of Rajas1mha 1 s 4th year refers to the urar of Pul1ankut1 and

Pampaiyur as protectors of an endo'"mtent in the temple! :tn the

Sivakasi plates the ura; of Nalapuram figure among the authorita­

tive witnesses of the demarcation of the brahmadeya. All these sh~1

that the functions of the urar in an iir were the smne uS those of - -the §abhaiyar in a qrahmadeyg.

Allusions to naltarattar in the records of the period ara very

few. The Tiruchchirappalli inscription of Varaguna•s 11th year

mentions the nakarattar of Ci;~ambar as the recipients of gold

from the temple: The nakef?~tar, of Manavirapat~i~am figure as reci­

pients of a share of cash from the temple# in the Tiruchchendur

inscription of Varagu~a~ The nakarattar of Rajaeinkapp§rankati '

figure 1n the tnddranko~~ai inscription of Rajasimha's 11th year~

They are mentioned to have undertaken along with the mat~ccevak§r

to malte the pat;aittalaivan ~mo shared livestock from the rest house

of the place, provide the required ghee to the institution without

failing, The names of the mt'lrket t~ms such as r~tanavirapattiQ.am and

Rajacinkap-neranka~i show that they h~d royal patronage. It is possi­

ble that they were founded by the kings themselves by settling the

1. Ibid,, No,SO

2. p.I.I., XIV, No,10

3, Ibid,, No, 16 A

4, E,I,, XXIII, No, 45 C.

261

merchants there. However, ~lere is no clear evidence in the re­

cords regarding the conscious creation of a market tot1D comparable

to those of the Pallavas or Co!as, during the period by the Pan.dyas.

There is no indication in the extant records of the nakaram emerging

in each agrarian locality, i.e pa?u or ~~am, But the ttiO market­

towns figuring in the in~eriptions were in the agrarian localities

of the most fertile area. The market town of Manavira-2attinam was . . . in Tiruva~uti-valanadu on the TSmb;-aparl)i. The other one, Rajacin­

kap-gerenka~ was in Ka~akku~i-~~~ on the sea coast near Tiruch­

chendur. The locational significance is too obvious to be highlighted.

It appears that such fertile agrarian localities producing surplus

must have giwm birth to marl~et towns; though they happened to leave

no inscriptional mention. However, in established market tot-ms, the

merchants t-rere organised into corporate bodies comparable to the sabha

or ii£•

In certain.records !la~":ar, the members of the assembly of na~g

are referred to. The na~~ar of Valla-na~p figure as prot~ctors of

an endowm~nt, in the Tirugok~~am record of Vsragu~a's 17th year~ Tha

nattar of Aci-nadu and Neccura-~a~ appear in the Da+ovaypuram

plates as authoritative witnesses of the demarcation of the granted

village~ In the S&ile capacity the na-t:~ar of Mel-Vemba-n§~u figure

in the Si vakasi plates and the na1z;':ar of Paruttikku1:1-pa$J in a

Pat~1ma4am record~ Just as the sabha or .1!£, it also must have been

1. s.z,r,, gp.cit., No.25

3, Ibid., pp. 187 ff., and s.I.I., o_p.cit., t-lo,SO n.2A

a body of the prominent land-holders of the locality. It goes '

without saying that the nattar included some of the sabha6yar

and urar!

.262

It is obvious that the sabha and .ii£ had considerable autonomy

in administering the affairs of the settlements thereof. They

ot-Ied to 'the local chief. for the protection offered by his warrior

groups and to the king \'Tho was the supreme lora,. The assembly of

the naCJB had some super-ordinated pcn~r over the 'J?rahrj}s.{t~Y9S and

urs of the locality. The ~ivakasi pl~tes clearly show that the

brahmadeyas and urs in a na~u were under the na~~a~ai, the over­

all authority of the naSU-• Thc.charter helps us suggest that when

a brahmadexa wus created 111. an Yo£, it l'Tas separated from the

§.£,ar_unai, the authority of the 1!£ and brought directly under the

nattanmai. the authority o£ the na~u. It appears that all signifi­

cant events in a village w~re to be jointly approved by the ~abhgiyar,

urar and nattar. The demarcationof a h£.ahmadeyqvillage founded

by a royal charter. was jointly witnessed by them. The nattar of

Mlll-vemba-na~u., the brahmadetraJs-k1~avar and the yr:ar of Nalapuram

are mentioned in the Sival-~si _plates,. jointly 'd t.nessing the demar­

cation of the granted village. This implies that their joint appro­

val 't'ITas !30Ught at the time of the crention of a brahmaooya within

the area of their authority.

1. It has been observed that th~ nattar included the representa­tives from the assemblies of all 'the villages and tol-ms i11 tha nadu. See Sastr11 K.A.N. o~it., p.S07. All the residents of the'locality are mentioned t e constituents of the nadu

·assembly in Mahalingam T.v., QR•Cit • ., P• 236. The fact that nattar 't~re distinguished land holders of the locality is expli­cit Ih-contem:::>Orary agrarian system.

263

Configuration•

't'lhat emerges out of our study is contrary to the viet1S held

on polity of early medieval South India by the conventional

historians. In conventional historiography, polity· of early medi­

eval South India was a combination of absolute monarchy, its

bureaucratic regalia and the administratively autonomous local

assemblies. Until recently, there has been no attempt at analysing

the structure and compos! tion of the polity as a system. Hardly

could any of the historians of South Ind.ia detect ~he conceptual

contraditions involved in th~ conventional generalisations of the

above nature. The conventional historians li ttl.e thought about the

mechanisms of tho structural transformation of the political system

and they hardly differentiated the political structure of the early

medieval period from that of the ancient Tami:ta1tam. Now it has been . •

found that. absolute monarchy, bureacracy and th<:~ village republics

were myths! t~at one discerns in the source mat~rials from the

an.cient to the medieval p0riods ia the grndual evolutior.t of the pol--- L-·-

ity from its pre-state forms to state for.m.

The basis of the political organisation of the kingdom v-ms con­

temporary agrarian system~ The polity by and large was a system of

institutions rooted in the nature of the organisation of production

and the corresponding social relations. The structured rights over

land. the flow of the produce in diverse shares to the holder of

1. See discussions in Stein B. 11 r.rhe State and the Agrarian Order !n Medieval south India: A Historiographical Critique" • in Stein, B. ed. !_ssays ----- op,cit,, pp,64 £f.

264

each right. tho gro~rth of the possessors of superior land-rights

into pat·mr•groups, their individual or corporate management of

agrarian settlemen.ts are the basic developmental stages behind the

institutional manifestation of state power. The management of

agri,culture in those days involving mobilisation and control of

the labour force and its methodical division into specialised arts

and crafts~ virtually meant the rule of a locality,. !n ·this sense

a corporation of land holders (sabha/.~) or a chief among them in

an agrarian settlement constituted its government. The basic unit

of the government wns R~bha in the case of a ~ and Ur in •

the case of a ·non-brahinana village. Above it t-Tas the nadB• Inter­

spersed with the~e ,.1as the hiel;'archy of chiefs such as kilavan, kon -- -araiyan or ij~v~, pqraraiyan and other high ranking functionaries

of the king. most of them headiDg an agrariem locality.. Localisa••

tion being the fundnmental feature of conteffiDorary agrarian organ!-

sation, its political super structure vJ<::JS nlso naturally local:i.sed,

Such localised political constituents hardly gcncr:::tte a ce11tralis'"'d

pot-Jer-structure~ But the political consi:ituents i:Je:re: bonnd by their

extra-economic loyalty to the ldng, 't1hose t-.erri torinl sovereignty

uas tacitly recognised all over ·the kingdom as a cultural tradition.

1. The concept is delineated empirically in Meillaxxo~~, c. n The Social Organisation of the Peasantrys The ~conomic Dasis of Kinship", J,P.s._ I. No.1 (1973) p. 86. Also Krader, L. !9.£­mat!on of the S·tat.e (P.e-w Jersey. 1968) pp. 34 ff.

For instance, the king is often described as of war-like

characte.r with a godly mien compelling_ loyalty and adulation~

265

He was a merriber of an ancient ruling l.:tneage of a great tradition.

He was made sacred in the days of the anthologies themselves

through the Vedic rituals, Jain preceptors later added to his

charisma, The obsarvation of brahmanical rituals of the mahadanas

raised him to the legitimate status of the sastraic-purar!ic model.

o£ divinised kingship, Founding of the brahmadeyas and §evad5n~

enriched his pat-rer. It t11:1s this venere.ble dlv:l nisec1 image of king

'.rhich held hegemoney over the kingdom, co-ordina·ting all the rela-

tively autonomous. constituents t...rh:tch \'Tere mutually antagonistic

and co~limentary,

l'fei ther the tvarrior povrcr nor ·the royal ftlnctionaries were

sufficiently s~ong or elaboru:te to extend his oovereignty t'hrough-

out. the kingdom. so also ·l.:he inadequacy of requ:l.red transport tech-

nology ano. infr;:::-str•..:tctu.!"e restricted quick moverncnt and commun:lca-

tion. Naturally, the absolute and direct con·t:rol of the king became

confined to the central area of the kingdom. Land dues from the

central arce const.:i.t.1.1ted his chief resource base. Tribut8S from the

co.rporat.e bodies snd chie:~f::; t-vho governed the localities of the rest

1,. He is described so in the Iarn§nstj~ of. the roy:Jl chflrtcrs. · Through eulogies king is made a tradi~onal force of religious importance •. See discussi· ns on the relevant concepts in Trautmann.. T.R. " Tradition of Statecraft in Ancient India" in !40ore, R.J. ed. 'tradition. and Polit.ics in ~ uth Asia (Delhi, 1979) pp. 66 ff. Certa n aspects of tne concept n the context of medieval 1--;urope have been discussed in Bloch; 1-1.. Fcu&:l.l societ~, op~cit., Vol.2, pp.·450 ff •. This •royal mystique' actually counter-balanced the powerlessness of the king.

266

of the kingdom, added to it. The king was therefore tho biggest

chief. He linked the localities outside the central area of his

kingdom by making their chiefs his samantas, mahasamantgs and the

various high ranking functionaries in the royal service• Creation

of arahmadeyaa in the frin.ges of the ldngdom. tms another effect! vc

strategy of the king, enabling co-ordination.

The localities had thei• own warrior pm~r and collectors of

1 and dues as in the c0n·tral area. The administration. of a locality

\·las· simple and. function.ed smoothly as things t-7ent on in the centre

since all political relations 't'lere based on extra-economic bonds.

The human relations in a locality t-Tos \'Jell integrated by the agra­

~ian system. '!'he deity ;J,n the temple as the sovereign of the

locality reinforced t.he extra-economic loyalty to the king. He was

the embodiment of the corporate force of the land-holders. He sole­

mnised the local rules and regulations(O' He t'!l'as the highest a.ul::horit.y

of the local department of jus·tice called .!2-iJ._ailtkaJ.sm! The Srivara­

mangalam plates boast of Parantuka Negunjagaiyan•s kaf!~skysodhs.trul

i.n the kingdom according to the injunctions of Manu: It doos not see:;m

1. Nilaikkalam occurring in the Pallava records has been token for a kind of survey department. in r.1inakshi, c. pp.cit ... p. 75 She has given the meaningJ nilgi = fixing: ~. = cult.i"'lable £ ields. An alternative by the same author rs-'Iand department' • In the records of our period nilaik!£glam figures as a fine receiving body.. Therefore it has been taken to mean a body that has to do something \'lith the administration of justice.

2. ••-----Manudarsita - margattinal gurucaritam kOI).i;.~t.ik-'Y.a11i;alta­s6dhana1ttan cey·tu ---" Ll. 48-49. P,.C,P.._, gpeit., pp.56 ff.

267

to be practical for the king to organise it in the remote localities.

' In the two La.lgudi recorda of the period, the king is mentioned as

part of nilaikkalac. 1 Generally the remote localities of the kingdom

regarded the deity of the local temple as its highest court of appeal.

He represented the idealised form of the reigning king. The daily

rituals and services to the temple-deity \'/ere exactly in royal fashion.

It is significant that the aga~t.ic texts consider rajopacara as po.rt of

the ritual to the deity in the temple. The royal splendour and subli­

city attributed to the tecple-deity would ~ake little sense unless we

conceive it symbolic of the actual king. 2 The services and rituals in

the tecple for the propitiation of the deity representeu the ~ode of

people's homage to the king. This clearly indicates the process of the

divinisation of kingship which was necessary as a counter-balancing

factor in a royalty of limited authority.

1. S. I. I., :xiv, Nos. 12 t. & B. "nilaikkal.am u:I.li tta ta11 ventu ko"

2. lippadurai, A. and Breckenridge, C.J.\. "The South Indian i'emple J.uthority, Honour and Redistribution', op.cit., pp.187 ff.

1 .. UTTJlUMANTRI

Name

Maran-Kiri

Miran-Eyinan

Tayan Cinkan

Iyakkan Cellan

Iyakkan Cellan

Iyakkan Cellan

Iyakkan Cellan

2. G.lJlDHYAKSHA

Cankan Cir1 taran Inkitan

ADMINISTRATIVE FUNCTIONARIES

Status/Designation

Peraraiyan - Uttara-(Chief) mant~i

Vi~Jayaraiyan- Uttara-(Chief) · mantri

••••••••••• - Uttara-mant;ri

(Chief) - Uttara-:mant;ri

(Chief) -Mantira-~lainay-akam

(Chief) - Uttara-mant~i

(Chief) - Uttara-mant:ri

Piraraiyan - Gajadh-( Chief) yakaha

• EPIGR!P.HIC!L CONTEXT •

Bp.Contert

Founding a tem-ple ·

Founding a tem-ple

Executing a Ro-yal grant

Executing a Ro-yal grant

Executing a Ro-yal grant

•· •· . . . . . . Donating sheep

Delimiting a brahmadeya

Reign Re.f. -Ja'f!ila SII .XIV .1&2

Ja~ila SII • .XIV. 1&2

Jatila :PCP.SSP.Ll.31-33

Virapandya PCP.SP.L.76 ·

Vira Pan-dya

Vira Pan-dya

Vira Pan-dya

PCP.SF.L.75

SII.XIV.80

KK.1968.180

PCP.SMP.Ll.72-75

Cntd.. N 0")

00

Cankan Ciri taran Inkitan

Maran Cola!

3. SENlFATI

Cattan oattan

4. PUR.lVUVARI

••••••••

••••••••

Viraiyaccil

I1avalan Pullan

Colai

ADMINISTRATIVE FUNCTIONARIES ••••••• CNTD.

Piraraiyan - Gaja-(Chief) dhyaksba

J.raiyan (Chief)

Enati

- Gaja­dhyakaha

- sena­pati

Puravu-variyar

Puravuvari-kanattar

Araiyan - Pura-(Chief) vuvari

(- Pura-vuvari)

(- Pura-vuvari)

Ki};avan (- Purav-uvari)

Executing a Ro­yal grant

Delimiting a brahmadeya

Receiving land in a brahmadeya

Cutting a Jain image

Protecting a Jain cave

Puravuvari

Puravuvari

Puravuvari

Puravuvari

Ja~i1a FCP.SMP.L.75

Vira Pan- PCP.SP.L.85 dya

Ja1;1la PCP. VP.L.140

••••• SII.XIV .102

••••• SII .XIV .1 06

Vira Pan- PCP.SP.L.82 dya

Vira Pan- PCP.SP.L.83 dya

Vira Pan- PCP.SP.L.84 dya

Vira Fan- PCP.SP.L.85 dya

Cntd. N 0")

c.o

5. ELUTTU .. l?~c}ipperumpa-naikkaran alias .lrikesari

Perum~aikka-ran alias Yud-hake sari

Pat}.dipperwnpa-J!aikkaran alias

Peruml)atlaikk~ran alias Aviyalan

•••••••

Pullan K o:r:ran

Co~antaka Brabma-marayan

6. SRIKARIYAM

Kaotan Cattan alias Tennavan Tami~ V!l

Tevan KiritJ;an

ADMINISTRATIVE FUNCTIONARIES •••••• CNTD.

Royal black- E~uttu Scribe of a smith Royal charter

Royal black- El.uttu Scribe of a smith Royal charter

Royal black- E!uttu Scribe of a smith Royal charter

Royal black- Radbakkan Registrar o:f' smith a temple

Olai- Royal scribe E~uttu

E~uttu Royal scribe

Adhika- Registrar of ramele- a temple - as luttu Investigator

(Cbief) Sriki- Investigator riyam recovering

temple dues

Srika- Passing Royal riyam order to the

temple-scribe

Ja~ila FCP.SMP.L.92

Ja~ila PCP.VP.L.155

Jatila PCP.SSP.L.38

VaraguiJ.a T.A.S .XIII. P .197

Vira Pan- SII.XIV.89 dya

Vira Pan- SII.XIV.89 dya

Vira Pan- KK.1968.173 dya

Vira Pan- SII.XIV.84 dya 85

Vir Pan- SII.XIV .95 dya

Cntd.

7. K.lVITI

Manomayan Miran

•••••

Pa-tiran Colai

Centan

B. IWJAKKAN (KA:t\AKKU)

GUJ}.apalan

Colai ••• Periyan

9. ADHIKlRI

I~aiya-Nakkan alias Van Tamil.-kon

Puvanavan

ADMINISTRATIVE FUNCTIONARIES ••••• CNTD.

Kivit1

Kaviti

Kaviti

Kaviti

Kat}akkap~:..;~ ~ari-ve:J.an

~akkappaJJ.­~aram

Kon - .ldbi-(Chief) kari

- Tiru­mal Adh­ikarikal

******************

Donating sheep

Donating cash

~j. for a Iliiitock reci­pient

Receiving live­stock

Scribe of a temple

Rewardee by the temple

Executing a Ro­yal grant

Donating land

Varagupa SII.XIV.16

Varaguoa SII.XIV.27

Vira Pan- SII.XIV.79 dya

Virap~dya SII.XIV.82

Rajasimha SII.XIV.74

Vira Pan- SII.XIV.95 dya

viranaray~a PCP.DP.L.158

Rajasimba SII.XIV .67 ·

Name/Placp

P~'I t-1ANGALAVA'fi ARACAN a11ag cattan ~.. tho KQan of cevur

PANcAVAN PALLAVI\RAftAN oliag VQl­cenail. of ~anpullunk.UU in f4oduk'kuti-DS4u

t-ruvEND.N:'JAmAL.AP-PERMAttAN e1ia ~aran-Kad. of t<az"avant:apurom-in

8

t<aJ.altlcuti•na4Q

PAt}QJMANGALA V%~AYMAlYAR aJ:Hfn Marano.-Ey!nan of xaravan~ram · KaJ,ekku~1-ns(JQ

TlU1NAV1\N UTTARAMArn'lJI a11ag %yaltltan-Cellan of Kataa!Y'a~li 1n r-1alai•nll4tl

PAW2 ~<0 f•tANGALAP-PERARA:tYAN algo Canltan Clri~an tnld.tan of Koluvar 1n Ko:tuwn-Kiinam

vlRAt1ANGALAP-PE~.RAIYAN alias Dhlrataran l-tiirt:i By1nanr vyay:Q •of Ka.ravant.apurcm 1n Ka+ekku~~

.Ro19.9

r1AMN cENDAN 17tb ye~

Ja~11a·

Ja~ila 3rd year

Jaifils ...........

•••••••••

Varagu'(la

D.lotrist/!efemnse

.rum.sss of 1959-60

S%:r .. ·xxv. ·17

Name IE,lsc:e

MARAVAN A~KKAPPERARAIYAN J!..lias Kadamba-ve~an of Perumat.tur 1ft r.tut tii.;;-utc:-kii;-;sm

'l'lUm'l\VAN SRI TONIO\PPALLAVARAXYAN aliag V~UPPimARAZY.AN of Ve.Jiya• rrur_. Ki1kkundaru in Ko11.l'Vt1rk -ka~rsm · · · ··

SKNAVARAJYAN ~~ Tatt::an-Antart ~f ·TtruValJ.u~ 1ii"Tlruva1titl-vaianaau

PANCAVAN BRAlmADHIRAJMl _!.l!.fJ4 cenaan-eattan of Nolli'ttOla J.n ~talai-ria4u · · · ·

PAGJ?I AMR'rAMANGALVARAIYAN al:iag catta-~aoavaU Of Karevant;ap~am in Kal.aldc~i-nada

Vll<KlR.Al-1AXAt.ftJKA PALL.AVARAIYltN el iaa Devan-C.Olatyan of Kalaf!tttr 1n At~ na~

PARANTAKA ATA~AIYUR NA~VAN gl!ps Kadamban-Et~i ·

TENNAVAtl ANUKKAPPERARAIYAN al.ti!.f Paosya~ao1kkan of Pe~kanur~n Paltanu~ltU~am

Raign

VareguJ}a . 4+4635 Clays Rd. ibid. 15

K K./i'AS. ZII.P.:r.p .• 25

l.fd. 1bitt..# 3

Rajas:imha

Rajasimba

Rajasimha Md./Sll. XIV. 64

·TE. NNA. VAN PALL. · . AVARA1YAN 1!U.ml I.Jfttan-Ctira.n of IQ.tnnur -s::n­Kar:unllalcku~-noQU

TENNAVAN A~PALLAVARA7YAN aliain vir:a-Naro~an of Umppa­nur Nattaf;Uppu~am

COLAmAKAPPALLAV.ARAlYAN 11aa r.taran-AcUccan of Po.J.,iyur · n Poliyur-na{ill

'i'ENNAVAN 'l'.Mfi:H vft,.AN .Alian, R'al}~n...Clitb!n

t-16VitNDAvE¥AN Jiliart Arangan-Put! of CUtuWr 1n · PoXIytl!\-na$1

SATRUBHAYANr<AAA MUvENDAWLiN 1!1ac Peranjy6t1 .of Perun9ulam

Tlruvalu~i.va~ana¢11

P~I~TTA19l}A PALLAVARAIYAN alias Cennapp1 of KuJungu~ in r.tinaVlra-valan~du In T!mvaltit:.t­Volanadu · · ·· C0t.ANTAKA PDW-!·lARAYAN .!J.1y Narn.vana Sri t..tadnava, mmet of COlantakamangolam 1n sa,aigrimam end l<APPr.tAN of Pe.rtunerut:nr

Reign

Rajas1mha

Virapantlya

2 + 13

4+3

14 4+3

4+5 4 <¢' s 8

15

15 + 4

K ~/ibid" p.71-74 Rd./Stt.XIV .. 79.

M.·d·.·-·· ... · .. ••. 94 t-fd.. ·. ., 86 ' ;o.>t.a . .N'Il • .NU+ . . • (,)f

Rd./tbitl.,. 91.

KK.196~11 & 173

~ AAAr.ii\N MANimtAAA19AN o:f (Podiyil) • · traoacinkamangalam in Mel)elur~aklc!!

15 + 5

DifS1£t/!efpnnce . .

Not:e•- Mtl. m Madura.ll Tn. - Tiranelvel.t.. Rd. IS Ramanat::hapQramt Tg1... T11:u.chcbirappal111 ICK. • K'anyoJcumarir sMP. e srtvarsmangalan pla•a.