the political organisation -...
TRANSCRIPT
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