Chola Administration:

 The Chola inscriptions prove that the system of administration was highly organized
on highly efficient lines. The emperor was the axle on which the states machinery
revolved. The verbal orders of the emperor were drafted by the Royal or Private
Secretary. The monarch governed the state with the advice and help of his council of
ministers and other important officers and state dignitaries.

 The absolutism of monarchy was supported both by a ministerial council and by an

organized administrative staff. The head of each department was in close contact with
the king. Royal tours contributed to the efficiency of the administration and the
officers were paid land assignments and honored by the bestowal of important titles.
The higher officials enjoyed the status of penundaran, and the lower ones called
sirutaran.

 Upinder Singh points out that the Cholas had a large land revenue department
consisting of several rungs, but it was largely concerned with maintaining accounts.
The assessment and collection of revenue were undertaken by corporate bodies such
as the Ur, Nadu, Sabha and Nagaram and sometimes by local chieftains, who passed
the revenue on to the centre. In the early 11th century, during the reign of Rajaraja
I, the Chola state initiated a massive project of land survey and assessment, and
there was a reorganization of the empire into units known as Valanadus. In the
post Rajaraja era, the revenue department was known as puravu-vari-tinaikkalan or
the Shri-karanan. Village assemblies were also responsible for the maintenance of
tanks and for reclaiming forest and waste lands.

 The Chola army was well organized backed by a very strong navy. According to K.A.
N. Sastri, the central government concerned itself with matters like external defence,
the maintenance of peace and order, ensuring the general prosperity and cultural
 progress of the empire. Most other matters were left to smaller village assemblies,
with the central government interventing only in matters of conflict or exceptionally
difficult and trying situations. The army consisted of elephants, the cavalry and
infantry. Army commanders who were either Brahmins, or Vellala or belonged
to the upper caste – were referred to as the Nayaka, Senapatis or the
Mahadandanyakas.

 The most significant aspect of Chola administration was the village administration
run on the basis of local self-assemblies constituted on democratic lines. A number of
Chola inscriptions provide information about the village government under the
Cholas. The Cholas invested certain energy to establish an efficient, organized village
administration.

 The village was the primary unit of society and polity in the Chola kingdom. Burton
Stein points out that the idea of a village being self-sufficient unit was a myth.
Groups of formed larger units called Nadus. The village administration gradually
grew from compromising a simple group of people to the more elaborate and
complicated machinery of committees and officials.

 From the Chola inscriptions we find reference to three types of assemblies that
played a regular part in local administration, namely a) Ur, b) Sabha or the
Mahasabha and c) Nagaram.

 The Ur was evidently a village assembly of a common kind, where land was held by
all classes of people who were entitled to membership in the local authority. Ur
consisted of the tax-paying inhabitants of an ordinary village.

 The Sabha was probably an exclusively Brahmin assembly of the Bramhadeya

villages were land belonged to the Brahmins also. These Bramhadeya villages were
almost exclusively exempted from tax. So that, these were much more prosperous.
Under the Cholas, Davadana villages gained more popularity when the temple came
 to acquire seminal and unrivalled importance in the life of villagers. Davadana
villages were dedicated to the service of a presiding deity.

 An inscription from Uttarmerur dated 993-94 records the decision of the Sabha about
the payment of fines. According to Sabhas’ decision the responsibility of the payment
of a fine levied by either the king’s court (rajadvaran), the court of justice
(dharmasanam), or the revenue department (vari) rested squarely on the shoulders
of the particular community, group or class to which the person fined belonged.

 The Ur and the Sabha could well locate in the same village. Larger villages could
well have as many as two Urs, if this measure could enable a better, smoothers and
more convenient administrative functioning.

 The Nagaram was an assembly of merchants which was functional largely in

localities where traders and merchants were in a dominant position. Diverse kinds of
assemblies often coexisted in the same locality. Nagarams were found more
commonly prevalent in the trade centres as its main purpose was to gratify the needs
of the mercantile interests.

 The manner of functioning of these assemblies differed from place to place according
to the prevailing local conditions. Theoretically, the Ur was open to all tax-paying
adults of the village, but in effect older members played a more prominent role with
some forming a small executive body called the Alunganam. The Sabha functioned
largely through committees called Variyams. Both Alunganam and Variyam usually
constituted smaller committees of different sizes from among their members for
specialized work.

 Nilkantha Sastri explains that two Uttaramerur inscriptions of the 12th -14th centuries
of the Chola monarch, Parantaka I, give a fairly detailed account of the history of the
Chola village assemblies. In these inscriptions we see the Chola period in a traditional
phase. In place of the erstwhile executive bodies, we now stand evidence to the
 establishment of a fairly elaborate committee system, by means of which important
sections of the local administration were entrusted to 6 or 12 member committees or
Variyams- depending on the kind of duties allocated to them. The members had
various tasks at hand – i) to collect the land revenue, ii) to levy additional taxes for
specific purposes like the construction of a water tank, iii) to settle agrarian disputes
over duration of tenure and irrigation rights, iv) to maintain records pertaining to
donations and taxes. The larger assemblies kept a small staff of paid officials, but
most of the work was done on a voluntary basis in smaller assemblies. It can be said
that the role of the Ur in local administration was fairly similarly to that of the
Sabha.

 The extent of village autonomy can be judged from the functions performed by these
assemblies. The Sabha possessed proprietary rights over communal land. Privately
owned land also came under the jurisdiction of the Sabha (the collection of land
revenue, settlement of disputes about land and irrigation right were other important
tasks of Sabha).

 In certain inscriptions of Karnataka, there are interesting references to villages headed

by women. For instance, in a 902 CE inscription, we learn that the village
Bharangiyur was headed by the wife of a man named Bittayya, in another inscription
of 1055 CE, there is a reference to a woman named Chandiyabbe as agavundi, that
is, village chieftain and another woman named Jakkiyabbe as her mantraki
(counsellor).

 The judicial committee or the Nyayattar of the assembly settled disputes took the
final decision about whether a person was innocent or guilty as charged. The jury’s
verdict in the matter was final. Each Sabha had a small staff of paid servants called
Madhyasthas, who assisted the committees of the Sabha in their work and
maintained the records of the village. They also attended the meetings of the Sabha
and kept a record of the minutes of each meeting.
 Historians are of divergent opinions regarding the nature of Chola administration.
K.A.N. Sastri talks about a highly centralized empire in the Chola country, equipped
with an efficient bureaucracy, a comprehensive revenue system and a strong navy.
Minakshi Appadorai, T.V. Mahalingam follow the line of argument put forward by
Sastri by claiming that the glory of the polity found expression in art, architecture and
literature.

 Noboru Karashima, Keshavan Veluthat provides an alternative model for

understanding the nature of the Chola state. They have attempted a systematic
application of the idea of feudalism to the socio-economic formation in the early
medieval period in the South India and have called it a ‘Feudal State’.

 Burton Stein refutes both the above-mentioned model by putting forward an

alternative one, i.e., the model of ‘Segmentary State’ to explain the Chola
administration. This theory emphasizes upon the – i) polarity between the centralized
monarchy and elected local self bodies, and ii) the alliance between the brahmanas
and peasants to their mutual advantages. The real foci of power were the Nadus
which were primary units of socio-agrarian organization. Chola monarch had few
bureaucratic controls and exercised little authority over revenue claim and resource
mobilization. These two vital areas of statecraft were firmly in the hands of the Nadu
organization. The Chola monarchs are thought to have enjoyed only limited
traditional sovereignty, which petered out as it moved from the core to the periphery.

 But Stein’s argument has been vehemently criticized by R. Champakalaxmi. People

working in the Nadu administration or influential in the Nadu were frequently
conferred with important titles like brahmarayau, pallavarayayu, muvendavelam etc.
by the central authority. The creation of Valanadu by Rajaraja and Kottulinga I
respectively in Cholamandalam and Jayangondacholamandalam indicates the direct
interventions by the Chola authority.
  James Heitzman, Y. Subbarayalu said Chola state as an ‘Early State’, a centralized
socio-political organization, since its agrarian base and the political power of its
landed elite were at a rather nascent stage of development. The most striking feature
was the rapid decline of royal influence with increasing trend towards
decentralization.

 Chola society and economy

 The society was divided on caste lines and the status of the Paraiyar (untouchables)
continued to be pathetic.
 The Vellallas (farming groups) were identified with the Shudra varna but since they
were land holders and were an economically powerful group they did not suffer from
much discrimination or lower social status.
 A crucial and unique development was the emergence of a supra caste dichotomy
known as:
i) Idangai (left hand caste groupings): Consisted mainly artisanal and trading groups.
ii) Valangai (right hand caste groupings): Consisted mainly of agricultural groups.
 Initially, these were not antagonistic to each other but gradually an element of conflict
emerged between the two caste groupings.
 An interesting aspect related to the religious sphere was a significant shift of royal
patronage from gifts to Brahmanas to gifts to temples. Apart from the king, members of
the royal family, rich merchants too contributed generously to the temples. Revenue from
many surrounding and far-flung villages was assigned for the temple’s maintenance and
in order to ensure transparency, the management of the financial resources was in the
hands of Brahmana Sabhas of several villages.
 There was an expansion in the agrarian economy and various factors attributed to it such
as extension of the margin of agriculture through land reclamation, the spread of
irrigation techniques, and an expansion in the range of crops. The use of agrahatta
(Persian wheel) also facilitated the already established smooth irrigation networks of
tanks, canals, wells and sluices.
 The early medieval period also marked a significant improvement in the craft techniques
and various centres of craft production emerged. For instance, Kanchipuram emerged
as important weaving industry centre. Kudamukku was a prominent centre of betel
nut and areca nut cultivation as well as an important centre of crafts such as metal
works, coin minting and textiles. Palaiyarai was another important administrative
centre and residential capital of the Cholas.

 Another noteworthy aspect of the Chola period was the emergence of trading castes
known as the Garvares who were the northern merchants who had migrated southwards
in the 10th−11th centuries, Gaudas/Gavundas who were originally cultivators, Heggades
who were initially revenue officials, Kayasthas (scribes, they specialised in drafting and
writing land grant documents), and Karanas who also represented the occupational group
of professional scribes.
 The Chola kings maintained close commercial contact with south-east Asia and China.

 Chola Art and Literature

 The temple architecture in the south reached its climax under the Cholas. The Dravida
style of Temple architecture came into vogue which laid emphasis on the building of
storey upon storey above the chief deity room (garbhagriha). The temple had a pillared
hall called mandapa with elaborately carved pillars and flat roof which was mostly used
as an audience hall and a place for other activities such as ceremonial dances by
devadasis. The temple, apart from serving as place of worship, also functioned as the hub
of social and cultural life.
 The temple had lofty and elaborate gates called gopurams. A fine example of Dravida
style architecture is the 8th century temple of Kailashnatha at Kanchipuram Similarly, the
Brihadeswara temple at Tanjore is another fine specimen of Dravida style.
 It is pertinent to note that after the fall of Cholas, temple building activity continued
under the Chalukyas of Kalyani and the Hoysalas. The district of Dharwar and the
 Hoysala capital had large number of temples such as the magnificenttemple of
Hoysalesvara which is a fine example of Chalukyan style.
 In case of the Chalukyan style, that is, the Vesara style (which represents a mixed style of
Nagara and Dravida), apart from the images of Gods and their attendants Yaksh and
Yaskhini, the temples contained finely sculptured panels depicting panorama of life such
as scenes of dance, music, love, and war. These were mostly built under the patronage of
the Chalukyas and are found at Pattadakal near Badami (Karnataka). The art of sculpture
attained high standard during this period as evident in the giant statue of Gomateswar at
Sravan Belgola.
 The Chola period is noted for the aesthetic and technical finesse of its metal sculpture.
The dancing figure of Shiva called the Nataraja belongs to this period and is considered
to be a bronze masterpiece.
 There was also growth in literature of general parlance languages along with Sanskrit
during this period. A number of Alvars (devotees of Vishnu) and Nayannars (devotees of
Shiva) flourished in the Tamilakham between the 6th and 9th centuries who composed a
lot in Tamil and other regional languages.
 The writings of these saints have been collected into 11 volumes under the name
Tirumurais in the early 12th century and were considered to be so sacred that they were
deemed the Fifth Veda. Kamban’s Ramayana is another classic gem of this period. Along
with Tamil, a vast body of literature was also composed in Kannada with the aid of the
patronage of the Rashtrakutas, Chalukyas and the Hoysalas.
 The famous Rashtrakuta king Amoghavarsha wrote a book on poetics in Kannada. The
famous trinity of Pampa (who composed Vikramarjuna-vijaya, known popularly as
Pampa Bharat), Ponna, and Ranna were the three most priced jewels of Kannada poetry.
 Nanniah, who lived at the court of a Chalukyan king, started the Telugu version of the
Mahabharata, which was completed in the 13th century by Tikkanna.
 Contact with South-East Asia
 The most important empire which come to be founded in south-east Asia in the 8th
Century CE was the Sailendra empire which comprised of Java, Sumatra, Malay
Peninsula and other parts of the south-east Asian region. They were a leading naval
power and on account of their geographical position controlled the trade between China
and India as well as other countries in the west.
 The Sailendra kings were followers of Buddhism and had close contact with the Indian
rulers. One of the kings of this empire built a monastery at Nalanda in the ninth century,
and at his request, the Pala king, Devapala of Bengal, granted five villages for its upkeep.
Similarly, in the eleventh century, another king was permitted by the Chola king Rajaraja
I to build a Buddhist monastery at Nagapattam on the Tamil Coast.
 The Sailendras also built a beautiful temple dedicated to Buddha at Barabodur in Java. It
is situated on the top of a hillock and consists of nine gradually receding terraces.
 Besides Buddhism, the worship of Hindu gods such as Vishnu and Shiva were also quite
popular in south-east Asia. The temples dedicated to them have been found at various
places. They show distinct traces of Indian influence and inspiration.
 One of the most famous temples dedicated to Vishnu is the Angkorvat temple built in the
12th century by Surya Varman II, the king of Kambuja (Cambodia). It is surrounded by a
moat, filled with water. It has a huge gopuram (gateway) and number of galleries, the
walls of which are decorated with sculptures based on themes drawn from the
Mahabharat and the Ramayana.

Key Term/Concept Meaning

1) Puravu-varitinaikkalam/bShrikaranam- Revenue department.
2) Eccoru- Obligation of villagers to provide food for state officials.
3) Muttaiyal/Vetti/Kudimai- Obligation of villagers to provide labour services to state
officials.
4) Kadamai- Land revenue collected in kind.
5) Antarayam- Rural tax realised in cash.
6) Dharmasana- Royal court of justice.
7) Ur-nattam or ur-irukkai- Residential quarter of the landowning farmers.
8) Kammanacheri- Residential quarter of the artisans.
9) Paraicheri- Residential quarter of the agricultural labourers.
10) Paraiyar- Socially and spatially segregated group of people who were considered
ritually impure.
11) Vellalar- Cultivating groups.
12) Kaniyudaiyar- Land owning farmers.
13) Ulukudi- Tenant farmers.
14) Perudan- Highest officials.
15) Sirutaram- Lower officials.
16) Kasu- Gold coins.
17) Gaudas- Cultivators.
18) Nettal- Compulsory labour.
19) Nagarams- Market and commercial centres.
20) Erivirappattanas- Protected mercantile towns.
21) Samanta- a king who has been defeated but his kingdom has been restored to him,
with the condition that he will continue to accept the overlordship of the conquering
king and also pay regular tribute to him in cash or kind. He may also be asked to help
with military assistance in times of need.