Component-I (A) – Personal Details

Component-I (A) – Personal details:

Prof. P. Bhaskar Reddy Sri Venkateswara University, Tirupati.

Prof. Suchandra Ghosh Dept. of AIHC, University of Calcutta.

Dr. V. Selvakumar Tamil University, Thanjavoor.

Prof. Suchandra Ghosh Dept. of AIHC, University of Calcutta.

Component-I (B) – Description of module:

Subject Name Indian Culture

Paper Name Indian Polity

Module Name/Title The Cholas : The State and the Central Administration

Module Id IC / POLT / 19

Pre requisites  Knowledge of English  Basic Knowledge in History and Archaeology

Objectives  To know about the Medieval Cholas  To understand the nature of the Chola State and Polity  To know about the Central Administration of the Cholas

Keywords The Cholas Political History Central Administration of the Cholas Chola Polity

E-text (Quadrant-I) :

1. Introduction

The history of the Chola dynasty dates back to the Early Historic or Sangam Age from about ca. 3rd century BCE to ca. 5th century CE. But, they had disappeared in the early medieval period, ca. from ca. 5th century to 9th century CE; perhaps, they existed as a chiefly family, when the Pallavas and Pandiyas, who dominated Tamil Nadu from 6th to 9th century CE, respectively in the northern and southern parts, in the early medieval period. The Medieval Cholas rose to prominence around the middle of the 9th century CE and their dominance continued till the thirteenth century. However, we are not sure if any connection existed between the Cholas of the Medieval period and those of the Early Historic period.

The Cholas ruled from Thanjavur at first and the capital of the Cholas was shifted to Gangaikondacholapuram by Rajendra I, from Thanjavur. Their rule spanned from ca. 850 CE to 1279 CE, for about 400 years in major parts of South India. The Chola Empire had a strong maritime dimension and it had sway over parts of Sri Lanka and it had interfered in the Southeast Asian political affairs, at least for a brief span of time in the eleventh century CE.

The Cholas issued a vast number of epigraphs; stone as well as copper plates. Generally, there is abundance of inscriptions for this period, more than any other period in the history of Tamil Nadu. The Chola history is interesting because of the abundance of inscriptions that

offer information on the various aspects of the Chola history. The Cholas are well known for the all round developments and achievements in the areas of agriculture, administration and art and architecture.

2. Previous Research on the Cholas

The history of the Cholas has attracted the attention of several researchers. The inscriptions of the Cholas were documented and published by the Epigraphical branch of the Archaeological Survey of India (South Indian Inscriptions Volume) and are still being documented by many researchers. Their history has been researched on the basis of inscriptions by Venkayya (South Indian Inscriptions vol. 2). The noted historian K. A. Nilakanta Sastri extensively used the inscriptions of the Cholas to understand their history and the various aspects of their rule (Sastri 1955).

Extensive research has been undertaken on the Cholas by Noboru Karashima (1984, 2001). Y. Subbarayalu (2012) and Karashima (1984) have worked systematically on the inscriptions of the Cholas using computer techniques and statistical analysis from the 1960s. Y. Subbarayalu’s work on the Political Geography of the Chola country mapped and traced the historical geography of the Chola country based on the inscriptions (1973). Burton Stein researched on the Chola history and argued that the Chola State was a segmentary in organization (1980, 1984). The idea of segmentary state has been reviewed and rejected by various scholars (Jha 1984; Velthat1993, 2002: 99; Subbarayalu 2001).

S. R. Balasubramanian has published on the temples of the Cholas and numerous documentations have been undertaken on the art and architecture of the Cholas (Balasubramaniam 1966, 1978, Champakalakshmi 1996). R. Champakalakshmi has studied the Chola settlements (1996, 2002), religion and iconography, and the development of urbanization process.

Kenneth Hall (1980) has studied the on the statecraft and economy under the Cholas. His work Trade and Statecraft Under the Cholas focuses on the development of Nagarams under the Cholas and the urban processes.

P. Shanmugam has researched on the revenue and administrative system of the Cholas (1987, 2017a, 2017b). Scholars including G. W. Spencer (1976, 1983), James Heitzman (1987), Leslie Orr (2007a, 2007b, 2016), Daud Ali (2007), Mahalakshmi (2011) and others have focused on the different aspects of the Medieval South India and the Cholas. The Chola’s maritime expeditions have also been researched by Herman Kulke (2009) and Tansen Sen (2003, 2009).

3. Chola Administration

The political administration under the Cholas was much more improved than it was under the early Pandiyas and the Pallavas. New administrative methods and better approach to management are seen in the Chola administration. The inscriptions offer information on the king’s duties and performance. The Cholas expanded their territory gradually through military activities. The princes were placed to administer the conquered territories (Shanmugam 2000).

The appointment of princes is evidenced during the reign of Rajendra I in the case of the Pandiyan country, i.e. southern Tamil Nadu including Madurai region. The chiefly powers, which existed in the early years of the Cholas, were removed from chiefly control and perhaps, they became officers of lower status than that of the chiefs from the middle or imperial phase from the late 10th century CE. The chiefs were probably reduced to the status of officers, because of the imperial nature of the Chola state in the middle phase. The Pazhuvettraiyars and the Kodumbalur chiefs who were prominent in the early years of the Cholas disappeared later in the later part of the 10th century CE. This process might have happened due to the expansionist plan of Rajaraja I.

The Chola country was divided into smaller territories for administrative purpose. New administrative divisions came into being from the time of Rajaraja I. Reorganization of territories took place and new taxes were levied. The army was reformed and army camps were established in different parts of the country during the reign of the Cholas.

The Chola navy must have also been well organised, although it might have had been only active on occasions. Local administration was also improved and reorganised. However, the Chola administration weakened during the reign of Kulottunga I from 1070 CE. The local chiefs became powerful from the 12th century. The rising influence of Pandiya and Hoysala powers also contributed to the decrease in the effectiveness of the Chola administration.

4. Chronological Scheme of Chola Rule

The four centuries of the Chola rule cannot be seen as a single unit. There were a lot of variations in the nature of the state and administration in the four centuries. Y. Subbarayalu has classified the Chola history into four sub-periods and has analysed the political developments by these sub-periods as given below.

Period I : 850 to 985 CE

Period II : 986 to 1070 CE

Period III : 1071 to 1178 CE

Period IV : 1179 to 1279 CE

We do notice the genesis in the first phase, a strong state in the period II and gradually declining power in the last two phases.

5. Territory

The Cholas ruled mainly in the territory of the Kavery delta when the first Chola monarch Vijayalaya conquered Thanjavur around ca. 850 CE. The fertile Kaveri delta and its agrarian produce in fact supported the empire building activities of the Cholas. The Kaveri delta was their core territory in the beginning and it continued to do till the end. The core was well organised in all senses and the core gradually expanded due to the military activities of the Cholas.

The Cholas gradually they expanded their territories in all directions, even beyond the maritime space. They incorporated the Tondaimandalam, Nadunadu, Kongunadu and

Pandinadu. By about 11th century CE, they had become a strong political power in South India. The regions of Tagadur, Nolambavadi, Gangapadi, Kodagu and Vengi and Sri Lanka were parts of the Chola Empire by the end of tenth century. However, their area of reign varied over the years, because of the conquest of territories by the enemies.

5.1 Territorial Divisions

The Chola country contained the following territories. It included almost whole of Tamil Nadu and parts of southern Karnataka and southern parts of Andhra Pradesh in certain temporal contexts.

Territorial Name Modern Area

Chola country Kaveri Delta

Tondainadu North Tamil Nadu

Pandinadu South Tamil Nadu

Kongunadu Coimbatore region

Tadigaipadi Southern Karnataka

Nolambapadi Southern Karnataka

Gangapadi Southern Karnataka

Kudamalai Kodagu- Southern Karnataka

Rattapadi Southern Karnataka

Renadu Andhra

Vengi Andhra

5.2 Territorial Divisions: Mandalam

With the expansion of the Chola territories beyond the core area, many new territories became part of the Chola country. The nadus became mandalams. The old macro territories with suffix nadu were renamed as mandalams in 1009 CE, the Chola nadu became Chola Mandalam, (but not the micro units of nadus). This was a major step towards the administrative integration of various regions into the Chola country. The new mandalams were given the names of the Chola emperors, and this was another important step in the political integration.

Old Names New territorial Divisions

Chonadu Chozhamandalam

Tondainadu Jayankondachola Mandalam

Pandinadu Cholamandalam Rajaraja Mandalam 1012 CE – Nigarili

Kongunadu

Tadigaipadi Vikkiramancholamandalam

Nolampapadi Nigarilichola padi

Gangapadi Mudikondachola mandalam

Kudamalai/kodagu

Rattapadi

Renadu

Vengi

Sri Lanka Izhamandalam

5.3 Territorial Divisions: Mandalam>Valanadu

Valanadu means fertile territory. This division was created out of the natural boundary of the rivers. The concept of Valanadu was first introduced in the areas of the Pandya, and it was later adopted by the Cholas, especially by Rajaraja I. The Valanadus were given the titles of the Chola kings. They became 15 under the reign of Kulottunga I. The creation of Valanadu might have been done as an attempt to reduce the power and influence of the nadus.

Territorial Divisions: Mandalam>Valanadu

Arunmozhideva valanadu

Keralantaga valanadu

Kshatriyasigamani valanadu

Nittavinodha valanadu

Pandiyakulasani valanadu

Rajaraja valanadu

Rajeshvara valanadu

Rajendrasimha valanadu

Uyyakondar valanadu

Umbalanadu (Subbarayalu 1973)

In Pandimandalam, Rajendra I reorganized valanadus in 1021 CE. The following are the Valanadus of the Pandya country.

Rajendrachozha valanadu

Maturantaka valanadu

Mudikondchola valanadu

Uttamachola valanadu

Tondaimandalam, which is the territory of Northern Tamil Nadu, had divisions called Kottams as units under the Pallavas. The following were the kottams of the Chola period in the Tondai mandalam. Instead of Valanadu, the kottam nomenclature was used in this area (Shanmugam 2000).

Amur, Sembur, Sengadu, Ikkatu, Inthur, Kalathur, Kaliyur, Kunravarthana kootam, Manavil kottam, Melur Kottam, Paduvur Kottam, Paiyur Kottam, Puzhal kottam, Puliyur kottam, Thirukkadigai kottam, Thiruvengadak kottam Urrukattuk kottam and Venkunrak kottam. In addition there were the nadus such as Oymanadu, Pangalanadu and Perumpanappadi nadu

5.4 Territorial Divisions: Mandalam>Valanadu>Nadu and kurram

There existed several nadus within the Mandalams. The nadus perhaps formed around the early ur settlements. The lands in the Vellanvagai settlements, Urs, were the settlements of the Peasants. The lands were owned communally. There existed the settlement quarters of Kammana (bronze workers), Izhava (toddy tappers) and Paraiyar (labour service providers) quarters around the major settlements (Subbarayalu 2002). In each of the nadus, at least a few settlements of Brahmins and commercial settlements called nagarams existed. The nadus perhaps emerged at first and around the well irrigated regions (Subbarayalu 1973; 2002: 84). Y. Subbarayalu opines that the nadus were within a defined area of irrigation. Later on nadus became territorial divisions (Subbarayalu 2012). Cholamandalam had 56 nadus. They became 140 at the end of the Chola rule. Rajaraja I created 49 new nadus in the Chola Country. Their area varied from 20 to 140 square km. The increase in their number was part of the reorganization under the Cholas.

6. The King

The Cholas adopted the monarchy system. The king was the central authority of the Chola empire. The kings adopted Sanskrit titles. He was the head of the state. The Chola kings alternatively adopted the title, Rajakesarivarman and Parakesarivarman; which means if one king had the title Rajakesarivarman the next king had the title Parakesarivarman. Although this caused some confusion, sometimes this system is useful for identifying the kings.

The status of the king increased from an ordinary chief in the 9th century to that of an emperor in the 11th century. The title Ko was used in the initial period and later the title Udaiyar was adopted. In the early period, the title perumaanadigal was used and in the later period Udaiyar and even later ulagudaiyar, perumal or nayanar were adopted. The Chola king Virarajendra used the title Chakravarti and Tibhuvanacharkravarti (Subbarayalu 2001). The adoption of the new titles over the time suggests the increase in the influence of the

Chola kings, and their gradual movement away from the ordinary people and the complex nature of the administration.

6.1 The King and his authority as revealed by the Titles

The king’s titles were given to the villages, jewels, measures, territories, fields, places, villages and administrative divisions. Perhaps this was one way of taking the influence and authority of the king over everything in the country; and it was a symbolic measure. The kings were polygamous. The kings took wives from the chiefly families, which helped them to consolidate the political relationships and territorial solidarity. The succession was through primogeniture. The princes had title pillayar and they did not have much role, but participated in the battles. The coronation ceremony was done by the Brahmins. The Brahmin priests offered titles to the kings during the coronation.

6.2 The King and his authority

Sanskrit titles were given and puranic lineages were attributed to the royal family. The Cholas traced their origin to the solar race. The king took over the conquered territory. He took the title over the conquered territory as Maduraikonda, Kadaramkonda, Gangaikonda, Kadaramkonda Agavamalla kulakalan and Keralantaka. Konda means to have gained victory over, in Tamil.

The king took the title as udaiyar which means the owner of the territory. The Meikirthi declares their might, power and rights through a poetic expression. The system of meikirthi was introduced from the time of Rajaraja I. Rajaraja I had the meikirthi which reads Tirumgal polap perunilach chelviyum tanakke urimai poonda manakolak, which means the he possessed rightfully (owned) both Lakshmi and Bhudevi. And Rajendra I’s meikirthi was Thirumanni valara irunila madanthaiyum …. Each king had his own meikrithi and they become the signifiers of the kind and helped to identify the kings without much difficulty.

The king was considered equal to god. They took the title udaiyar, devar, nayanar, perumal. The Thanjavur temple was known as Rajarajeswaram and suggests the symbolic divine power of the king (Champakalakshmi 1996; Veluthat 2002). The repeated use of Tripurantaka images at Thanjavur temple suggests the royal iconographic scheme and the use of icons and purana stories for political purpose (Champakalashmi 1996: 426-427).

6.3 The King and his authority and Brahmins

The itihasa-purana ideas, Sanskrit, rituals and Brahmins played an important role in legitimization of kingship. Adoption of titles, puranic lineage, temple construction and complex iconography did contribute to the polity and authority of the king, who donated land to the Brahmanas and performed Hiranyagarbham tulabharam. The Brahmadeyas, lands donated to the Brahmin and the Brahmin settlements supported the king’s authority (Karashima 1984, 2001). Temples too helped kings to exercise power and control over the territory. The modification of traditional community structures with the creation of Brahmin settlements and reorganization of local territories is evidenced in the new Brahmadeya settlements. The creation of officialdom and the control over the communal corporate bodies did help the establishment and sustenance of the Chola polity and power over the landscape.

6.4 Royal Family: Succession

The princes were anointed as kings even when the monarch was alive. They started issuing inscriptions in their own name. Perhaps this was done for the smooth transfer of power, when a king attained old age, and to avoid any political vacuum. Sometimes, the sons of the ruling king did not naturally acquire the throne. The elderly member of the royal family was chosen for the throne on some occasions. After Parantaka II, his cousin Uttamachola took the power instead of his son Rajaraja I, perhaps because of the young age of Rajaraja or due to other factors. After the death of Virarajendra I, not his son, but Kulottunga I from Vengi Chalukiya line, took over the reins of the Chola empire. These instances could have emerged due to the political issues within the royal family circles.

6.5 Duties of the Kings

The king was the supreme authority and he was the chief of justice. He had total control and total leadership over the country. Protection of the people, and the Manudharma were considered his duties. Protection of the Country was also the responsibility of the king, who ruled according to or adopted the regulations of the Dharmasastras.

6.6 Princes and Chiefly Families

The princes and chiefly families supported the king in administration. The king or the princes led the armies in expeditions. Subordinates or chiefly families supported the king in the political administration. The Pazhuvettaraiyar, Mazhavar and Kodumbalur Velir and Gangars, Kongu Cholas supported the Chola kings in their expeditions, in the early part of the reigns. These chiefs took the title araiyan, vel and rajan. They also took the Chola’s titles. The capital of the Cholas was Thanjavur, but later on it was shifted to Gangaikondacholapuram. But, the royal palaces also existed in Tiruvarur, Madurai, Kanchipuram, and Chidambaram, where the kings visited and sometime issued orders.

7. General Administration

Officialdom

Stein doubted about the existence of officialdom under the Cholas. But the inscriptions do suggest the existence of officialdom. There was no ministry according to Nilakanta Sastri. Udankuttam might have functioned like a ministry. Evidence for officers is found in the inscriptions. Peruntaram and sirutaram are the two main divisions of officers. The Chola kingdom had adhikari, sri karyam and naduvakai as officials.

From the time of Uttamachola, Puravuvari, naduvirukkai and olai are found. Y. Subbarayalu divides the administrative System into four grades.

King

Adhikari, Senapathi, Puravuvaritinakkalam, Naduvakai

Sri Karyam, Naduvakai, Senapathi, Adikari

Lower cadre including soldier, Brahmana, Karanam, Mukavetti

The officers with the title muvendavelan were very important in the administration. The title udaiyar was adopted by people who had land holding in their villages (Subbarayalu 2002). The officers who held the titles Araiyan and muvendavelans were of higher category (Subbarayalu 2002).

Defence Administration

The Chola king was the chief of the Defence System. The Cholas has army, cavalry, elephantry and chariot. The Chola army had about 31 to 70 divisions. The officers such as anaiyalkal, villikal, kudiraisevukar, anukkar, parivarattar, velaikkarapadai, thirumeikaappar and pazhanpatai are mentioned in the Chola inscriptions. The inscriptions also mention about the Velaikkaraperumpadai, Kaikkolapperumpadai (Ali 2007), archers and swordsmen. An inscription of Karnataka mentions about the existence of 9,00,000 warriors in the infantry of the Chola. The Chinese source Chau ju kua mentions about 60,000 elephants in Chola elephantry. Considering the vast size of the Chola territory it is clear that they had a large army and it was administered very well. Kaikkolars were part of the military establishment and form the 13th century they took up weaving profession (Subbarayalu 2002: 86).

Taxation

One of the main sources of income for the Cholas was through the land tax. Land tax was called irai. Land was surveyed and proper books were maintained and the lands were taxed. Avanakalari was the place where the documents were preserved. Lands were classified into various grades and taxed accordingly. More than 500 terms related to tax have been identified in the Chola inscriptions (Shanmugam 1987). Y. Subbarayalu (2001) suggests that the rate of taxation varied. It could be 1/3 of the wetland’s produce and 1/5 of dry lands (Kolar inscription). It could be around 40 percent of the produce (Subbarayalu 2001: 70). Craft production such as textile, pottery and blacksmith, oil producers were taxed.

The taxation measures under the Cholas were well organised. Kadamai was a tax directly paid by the Kaniyalar to the king, whether the kaniyaalar cultivated the land or not (Subbararaylu 2002). The landholder was compelled to cultivate the land. Besides Kadamai, several other compulsory labour services were also levied. Kudimai was a labour service and it was levied from the kutis who cultivated the lands.

Revenue administration and Revenue Department

Revenue administration was undertaken by the officials appointed by the Chola kings. The authority of levying taxes was with the Chola kings and the Chola state. They paid specific attention to revenue administration, since it was the main and permanent source of income for the state. Although more than 500 terms occur with regard to the revenue more than 50 percent terms occur only once (Shanmugam 1987). The most important tax of the land was irai in the early period and it was known as kadamai in the later period (Shanmugam 1987: 139). The land tax was classified into irai, eccoru, vetti and vedinai (ibid.) Irai was paid to the king and eccoru was a contribution in food offered to the visiting officers (?). Vetti (from Sanskrit Vrishti) and amanci were compulsory labour offered for the maintenance of irrigation systems. Vedinai was a fee paid to the royal officers (Shanmugam 1987: 140). The state also taxed the craftspersons. The lands were properly measured using several measurement rods and detailed account books were maintained regarding the taxable and

non taxable areas. Extensive revenue surveys were conducted and the measurement called ulagalanta kol refers to the measurement scale (rod) used across the country. The tax regime became organised from the time of Rajaraja I. From the time of Kulottunga the officials were decreased. The number of chieftains increased from the time of Kulottunga I and the chieftains were probably given power to collect the revenue (Shanmugam 1987). In the last phase, 1178 to 1279 CE, the tax collection deteriorated as a result of the decline of the power of the rulers.

The tax was assessed at 1/6th or 1/5 were assessed (Shanmugam 1987: 140). Many officials were involved in taxation. Puravuvari tinaikkalam referred to the revenue department. It had various officials called Puravuvari tinakkala nayakam, Kankani, Srikarnam. Naduvai, Mugavetti, varipottaka kanakku, Variyilidu and pattolai worked under these officers. Mandalamutalis are found from the time of Kulottunga. The Cholas had a separate treasury in the temples and the Thanjavur temple had a separate treasury. Military expeditions were led for plunder as well, and they added to the resources of the kingdoms.

Administration of Justice

The king was the chief of justice. Perhaps Dharmasastra regulations were adopted in the administration of justice. The inscriptions mention about dharmasana, and perhaps it was seat of justice. The officers called Matyastar and Naduvirikkai acted as justice. Killing the prince was considered Rajadroha. Murder, theft and misappropriation of temple properties were punished. Sabhas, Urars, the village assembles and merchant associations too offered justice in some cases. Payment of fine as fee, confiscation of lands rights and lighting of perpetual lamps in the temples were offered as punishment for various crimes.

8. Chola Polity and State and Administration: nature of the Chola State

There have been debates on the nature of the Chola state. It was considered to be a well- organised centralised state, with bureaucratic establishment and it was compared to the Byzantine Royalty by K. A. Nilakanta Sastri. He states about “the Byzantine royalty of Rajaraja and his successors with numerous palaces, officials and ceremonials and its majestic display of the concentrated resources of an extensive empire” (Nilakanta Sastri 1955: 447).

The idea of strong Chola State was not accepted by Burton Stein. In his books Peasant State and Society in Medieval South India, based on Southall’s model of segmentary state proposed for the East African kingdom (See, Upinder Singh 2008: 588-589). Burton Stein argues that the Chola state was a segmentary state with the dominant role of the peasant bodies. It was not a monolithic unitary entity. He argues that the nadu segments were independent units and they were integrated with the state only ritually and the bureaucracy was lacking. The Chola state had limited territorial authority from the core to the periphery. It had no monopoly as a legitimate state authority. It had dual sovereignty: Political authority vs ritual sovereignty. The nadu acted as segments under the chiefs with titles such as udiayar and muvendavelar. The land-grants and the prasastis supported the royal influence and ritual sovereignty. The Chola polity had a pyramidal structure with segments consisting of social formations of cultivators, artisans and herdsmen with a supra-local authority. According the Stein the local segments gave the foundation (1984) for the Chola state which had a pyramidal structure with the monarch on top with sacred and temporal authority.

Heitzman’s analysis too reveals an attempt to centralise the administration from the tenth century (Heitzman 1997). Kesavan Veluthat (1997) and Nandi (2000) present a feudalism oriented model, which perhaps might suit the later part of the Cholas rule, say from the 12th century CE.

The views of Stein have been critically studied by scholars based on the scrutiny of the inscriptions (Champakalakshmi 1981, Subbarayalu 1982, Jha 1984; Karashima 1984, Kolenda 1985). The formation of certralised state is evidenced in the Chola times according to Karashima (1984). Y. Subbarayalu argues that the Chola state was an early form of state. It was a small kingdom in the early stage and the segmentary concept may apply to this phase, says Subbarayalu. The king was the head of the state and the state took control of the territories gradually. The chiefs who were active during the Parantaka were not present during the time of Rajaraja I. Rajaraja’s activities expanded the power of the state and the officialdom was strengthened and the taxation measures (Subbarayalu 2002) were refined, and even the institutions of temples and the Brahmadeyas were monitored. From the time of Rajaraja I, the imperial phase was inaugurated. The centralised structure could not continue in the later period. Agrarian crisis due to the conflicts between the bigger and smaller landlords led to the fall of the state control in the later period (Subbarayalu 2001).

One of the criticisms of Burton Stein’s view is that it did not give importance to the urban institutions (Champakalakshmi 1980: 203), but focussed on the peasant society and the agrarian order. P. Shanmugam states that Burton stein took the views of the tax Kadamai from the works of K.A. Nilakanta Sastri and Arjun Appadurai. Stein states that “There is no evidence to support the view that kadamai was a payment from localities to the ‘Central Government.’ The generic revenue terms Kadamai and Kudimai appear simply to have been terms for taxes; they imply no reference to the source (i.e. whether from the land or not) nor the recipient (i.e. whether local or extra local)” (Stein 1980: 263). The tax called kadamai was paid to the central government is clearly evidenced in the references from the inscriptions , according to Shanmugam (1987: 145-148). Therefore the segmentary state model cannot be applied to the context of the Cholas.

George W. Spencer accepted Stein’s proposition and argued that plunder as a means of raising resources for the country (Spencer 1976). The theory of plunder is also criticised by researchers. According to D.N. Jha

“It is, in fact, difficult to imagine a political system exercising its authority in some form of the other over a large number of agrarian settlements without controlling to a significant extent their economic resources and thriving mainly on plunder which could have been at best only one of the channels for the inflow of wealth” (Jha 1985: 135).

The argument of Subbarayalu appears more accurate, and the Chola state was integrated in the middle phase and it perhaps showed somewhat “segmentary nature” in the early and later phases.

9. Rituals, Iconography and the Chola Polity

It appears that rituals and religious activities and temples too had their role in the development and control of the Chola polity. The royal capital was designed and developed to serve as ceremonial centre by Rajaraja I by constructing a massive temple

(Champakalakshmi 1996: 426-427). The ritual importance of the temples and their role iconographic components are discussed by (Champakalakshmi 1996: 426-427) and Veluthat (2002: 101-102).

Stein states the “Chola religious policies are not to be understood as arising from economic purposes nor the presumed zeal of Rajaraja and his successors, to expunge the existing forms of ritual affiliation, but from a political design calculated to encompass independent and localised cultic affiliations within the expanding Chola hegemony” (Stein 1980:331). The “royal cult, the prominence of Brahmanical forms, and the network of Brahmanical institutions in the intermediate and peripheral zones of the Chola state is best viewed as a means by Chola rulers to affect ritual hegemony over the numerous locality chieftains of the macro region.” (Ibid. 339).

The Chola monarch Rajendra I had to construct an equally important and massive structure, in the dry region of Gangaikondacholapuram, to match the importance of Thanjavur. The design of the Thanjavur temple, massive size, the massive dwarapalas, the iconographical choice of Tripurantaka as repeatedly occurring image, and the choice of paintings on the walls of the circumambulatory passage, the donation of enormous jewels, the name of the temple as dakshinameru and rajarajeswaram, the allotment of lands and devaradiyars from the various areas of the territories to the temple point out the efforts to symbolically and ritually integrate the Chola territory.

10. The Changing nature of the Chola State and its decline

The Chola State was not the same during the four centuries that ruled in South India. Its horizontal territorial control and the administrative control over the chiefs and officers varied. In the period I there were many chiefs and the concept of segmentary state could be applied to this stage. In the period around the late 10-11th century, the Chola state was more integrated. The later phase the chiefs became powerful, reducing the power and influence of the Chola monarchs (Subbarayalu 2001:84-86). Hall states that the role of the Periyanadu assembly, increasing importance of the merchants and their collusion with the warlords contributed to the decline of the Chola empire (Hall 1980; Champakalakshmi 1996: 204).

11. The Nature of the Chola State: Ethnographic Argument

Ethnography is used mainly by archaeologists and some of the historians, very rarely use ethnography. But, it can offer useful tool for understanding the historical processes, rather than the text-oriented understanding. It would not be inappropriate to cite the ethnographic parallels to elaborate the nature of the state in the historical times. The state entities of the Pre-Modern period as political entities were not strong or integrated, as they were in the colonial times or as in the modern times. Even the colonial state was not so integrated. As late as 1980s, it was common to quarry sand in the rivers of the villages for house construction, in Tamil Nadu without any restriction, and now the state has a complete control over the rivers, especially after 2000. The state’s power does not reach the forest areas where bandits have control, and even the Naxal dominated areas are in the periphery of state, even today. With the development of IT, the state is all the more gaining control over information and territory, only in the modern day.

The traditional village accountant and administrators called respectively as Karnam (village accountant) and Pattaamaniyaars (village officer) were abolished only in the 1980s by the Tamil Nadu government. These people, mostly from the local villages, functioned in a very informal level, were appointed in a hereditary scheme and it did not suit the modern government policies. The Cholas too appointed officers from Chola nadu in the Tondaimandam area. And it was probably an attempt to circulate officers from different regions to avoid certain administrative issues. The concept of state as an impersonal entity perhaps was introduced in the colonial times, and it exists so now. Understanding of the forms of state in the early twentieth century would reveal about the loose nature of the state in the historical period. The state entities were not very integrated or organized as they are now. The political parties of 20th and 21st century also do offer parallels, for the chiefly powers and political integration of the Chola times. The local functionaries of the political parties that are acting in South India do reflect some of the features of the medieval political environment. We can see these processes acting in the rural India even today to a certain extent. The medieval kings conquered the territories and were seeking to manage the country with the existing structures such as village assemblies and the local chieftains. They did not go on to create full time (9 AM to 5 PM) bureaucracy and they were managing with the local chiefs, land owners and influential people, though power and alliance. If we cannot argue for a strong state in the case of the Cholas, one can well imagine what type of political forms would have existed in the Sangam Age or in the Mauryan times!

12. Summary

The Cholas began to rule over mainly in the territory of the Kavery delta when Vijayalaya conquered Thanjavur. Gradually, they expanded their rule over many areas of South India. The Cholas adopted the monarchy system. The succession of the king was thorough primogeniture. The kings adopted Brahmanical rituals and Sanskrit titles as part the coronation. The princes were appointed to govern the provinces. The territory was divided into mandalam, valanadu, kottam, kurram and nadu. The division of valanadu was created during the time of Rajaraja I. Cholanadu became Cholamandalam; many of the territories became mandalams. Stein doubted about the existence of Officialdom. However, this view is not accepted. There was no ministry according to Nilakanta Sastri. Evidence for officers is found in the inscriptions. Peruntaram and sirutaram are the two main divisions of officials.

The Chola kingdom had adhikari, srikaryam and naduvakai as Officers. From the time of Uttamachola the official categories such as puravuvari, naduvirukkai and olai are found. Subbarayalu divides the administrative system into four grades. The Byzantine model of state proposed by Nilakanta Sastri is not accepted any longer. Burton Stein argued that there was no officialdom. He offered a segmentary state model of Aidan Southall (Alur of East Africa) for the Chola State. Noboru Karashima mentions about centralised nature of the state. Subbarayalu argues that it was an early form of state and its nature was changed and it might have segmentary in nature in the initial stages. Y. Subbarayalu’s argument appears to reflect the actual situation and the nature of the Chola state.