1 Component-I (A) – Personal details: Prof. P. Bhaskar Reddy Sri Venkateswara University, Tirupati. Dr. Krishnendu Ray Dept. of AIHC, University of Calcutta. Dr. K. Mavali Rajan Visva-Bharati University, Santiniketan. Prof. Bhaskar Reddy Sri Venkateswara University, Tirupati. 1 2 Component-I (B) – Description of module: Subject Name Indian Culture Economic History of India (from the Earliest Time Paper Name to 1707 AD) Economy under the Chalukyas of Kalyana and Module Name/Title Kalachuris Module Id IC / EHI / 25 Learn the political history and cultural influence of Pre requisites the Chalukyas of Kalyani and Kalachuris of the south Indian dynasties. The south India under the Kalyani Chalukyas and Kalachuris viewed tremendous economic development. They paid much attention on the agricultural expansion. The majority of the people Objectives lived in villages and worked farming the stable crops paddy. Agriculture based village industry developed. Trade and commerce flourished during the time periods. Chalukyas / Kalyani / Kalachuris / Agriculture, Keywords Irrigation / Industry / Traders / Taxation E-Text (Quadrant-I) : 1. Introduction In south India the period of Kalyani Chalukyas and Kalachuris were important in the field of economic development. They took keen interest in agrarian expansion. They commenced many proposals to the improvement of agricultural and its prosperity. For the enhancement of more agriculture produce they constructed a large number of tanks for the irrigation purpose. They also formed new settlements in villages and granting them as Brahmapuri to the Brahmin functionaries. These economic activities enabled them and enriched them towards the enhancement. These agrarian changes led to the appearance of commercial activities. Eventually these changes in both agriculture and trade and commerce improved the economic condition of the state. 2 3 Map of Chalukya of Kalyani Map of Kalachuri dynasty 2. Agriculture 2.1. Land Tenure Land was by far the most important resource of medieval south India, as indeed in all pre- industrial food producing societies. It was played vital role in mobilizing revenue for the state in the form of land tax as well as agriculture produce. The king and the administrator realized the importance of the land and its value, henceforth; many initiatives were undertaken to the survey and measurement of the land. Demarcation of land was also done in proper manner. They tried to bring many forest lands under cultivation. The land grants served as one of the important means of bringing virgin soil under cultivation in Chalukya regions. 3 4 In the Kalyani Chalukya period there was a practice of granting land to the descendants of the heroes who sacrificed their life for cause of the state. They granted lands and villages to the temples and Brahmins. Land grants to the Brahmin priest and mathas we also get it from the records of the Kalachuris. Reference is also made to Brahmapuri, which was the Brahmin settlement. This practice of rewarding plots of land, villages even sometimes the fiscal and administrative rights also granted to the Brahmins and the temples by the kings, queens, feudal lords, private individuals guilds and other institutions, which paved the way for the emergence of powerful landed intermediaries between the king and the people during the Kalyani Chalukyas period. Apart from the service tenure there is also evidence to individual ownership and royal ownership. In royal ownership the king had the right to own private land, which is generally referred to as royal land. The land tenure of the period was known by in several terms viz. tala-vritti, bhatta-vritti, akkarika-vritti, kumara-vritti, deva-bhoga, (land gifted to Siva temples) etc. The gifts of land to temples for the maintenance of services are designated by the term tala-vritti. The term vritti is usually employed to designate service tenure. The bhatta-vritti is referring to free land donated for the teacher of Sastras. And akkarika-vritti refers to free land for the village teacher who taught morality to the students. The tala-vritti obviously means free land for the maintenance services in the tala shrine, to which the gift is made. There are several instances to the gift of land as tala-vritti. An inscription mentions that a village Suruki was given as tala-vritti by Attimabbe to the Brahma Jinalaya, a Jain basadi. The Sivanur village was made into a tala-vritti for the Siva temple of Nagesvara in Sundi erected by Nagadeva. This donation to Siva temples is also known as deva-bhoga. There is also reference to kumara-vritti, which stands for the land holding of the royal prince. Generally land was divided into different types as wet, dry and garden lands, grassland, and wasteland and forest land. These divisions of land were based on the condition of soil and cultivation of the crops. The following terms indicates the land division of the Kalyani Chalukyas; Key (land under wet cultivation) Galde (land under dry cultivation) Tonta (garden lands) Adakeya-tonta (areca gardens) Mane and mane nivesana (houses and house-sites) and some other divisions. During the Kalyani Chalukya period land was measured in the units of matter and kammas. There are references to 900 kammas and a matter of seventy six rods (kols) in Chalukyan inscriptions. But the kol (measuring rod) was itself no fixed unit. Numerous types rod occur in inscriptions such as piriya kol, kurita-kunteya kol, bherunda gale, etc. We also find the term rajamana as a royal measurement. The nivartana and khanduga are the other measures of land employed on occasions. 4 5 2.2. Crop Cultivation Agriculture was the main source of income of state through taxes on land and produce. The majority of the people lived in villages and they cultivated the staple food crops paddy in the wet land. The pulses and cotton cultivated in the dry areas and sugarcane in areas having sufficient rainfall, with areca and betel being the chief cash crops. Besides the cultivation of food grains and pulses, on both wet and dry land intensive cultivation of garden product were also extensively practiced. There are references to the grazing fields in the Chalukyan inscriptions. An inscription at Sitabaldi (Nagpur) belonging to the reign of Vikramaditya VI records that Dandanayaka Vasudeva gave away twelve nivartanas of land for grazing of cows (gopracara) and five more for a sphere (vahaka) who tended the cattle. Among the cultivable lands the wet lands were the most valuable one, which were irrigated by means of water from a tank, canal, well, etc. With the availability of the irrigation facilities the people cultivated variety of food crops. Inscriptions give us valuable information regarding agricultural and horticultural products of the Kalyani Chalukya period. Paddy was cultivated in larger level. Inscriptions mention the cultivation of other agricultural products like indigo, maize, wheat, sesamum, mustard, castor, colam, etc. Among the garden crops areca nut, betel leafs, tamarind, mangoes, Palmyra, citron and sugar-cane figure predominantly. The root products like turmeric, ginger, kanda, pemdalam, cema, mullamgi, etc. and vegetables like potla-kakara, gummadi, vamga, baccali, nurulli, etc. are also referred in the inscriptional and literary sources. Irrigation Cultivation of various crops depended on a good supply of water. The river water is important source of irrigation, which give fertility to the soil of the river belts. During the scarcity of the river water the people stored the river water and rain water in the tank of the common villages. When the rainfall was uneven, cultivator used the tank water for irrigation purpose. The king and other royal families realized the importance of the irrigation, since the agriculture was the main occupation of the people. In the construction of the tank for water storage the king and royal families took special attention and provided their support in construction work. Inscriptions of the Kalyani Chalukya period give information on the support and patronage of the royal families for the promotion of the irrigation facilities. At Mantur in the Bijapur district (in 1041 A.D) certain incomes from taxes and fines were set apart for digging a tank called Rattasamudra after the Ratta governor of the locality. Another instances in 1052 A.D. the Kadamba prince Harikesarin presented to the mahajanas of Nirili (Niralgi in Darwar) the entire house tax of the place for the maintenance of the Piriyakere, the big tank. 5 6 Royal Emblem of Kalachuris Land was endowed in the same year for the maintenance of a tank Gundiyakere at Talakallu in the Bellary district. An inscription of 1071 A.D. from the Sorab taluk in the Shimoga district speaks about a successful scheme for bringing fresh land under cultivation by the digging of a new tank Settikere, and an endowment for the maintenance of this tank. Some time the entire toll taxes were transferred for the construction and maintenance of the water tank. These information notices that there were general realization of the importance of irrigation in land economy. 3. Village Industries During the Kalyani Chalukya and Kalachuri periods different village industries were progressed as a controlled industry of the state. Number of agriculture based industries; oil- pressing industry, sugarcane mills, spinning and weaving industries were industries were located in almost all important big town and cities. The oil-presses were licensed by the kings unless they were granted exemption. All the industries had to pay their duty directly to the kings In industrial activities many artisan community and other professional groups were involved. The artisans like carpenter, potter, black-smith, gold-smith, copper-smith etc. were closely associated with the economic development of the villages. Inscriptions of the Kalyani Chalukyas mentions certain occupational groups like cobbler, washer man, barber, cattle- keepers, various labours of both paid and free labour, etc.