Component-I (A) – Personal details:

Prof. P. Bhaskar Reddy Sri Venkateswara University, .

Dr. Krishnendu Ray Dept. of AIHC, University of Calcutta.

Dr. K. Mavali Rajan Visva-Bharati University, Santiniketan.

Prof. Bhaskar Reddy Sri Venkateswara University, Tirupati.

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Component-I (B) – Description of module:

Subject Name Indian Culture

Economic History of (from the Earliest Time Paper Name to 1707 AD)

Module Name/Title Cholas : Trade and Commerce

Module Id IC / EHI / 19

Pre requisites Early and Imperial Cholas

Economic History of the Cholas provides valid points on the trade and commercial activities. Through their commercial and trade policies the Objectives Imperial Cholas tried to enhance their maritime strength by gaining control over all strategically important coastlines and well as hinder-land exchange. Cholas / / Merchants / Guilds / Maritime Keywords Trade / Nagaram

E-Text (Quadrant-I) :

1. Introduction

During the 9th century AD, there were many kingdoms in . One of the most prominent dynasties in Indian history is the Chola dynasty. The rulers of this line founded during the 9th century AD as a powerful which dominated a large part of the peninsula right till the early part of the 13th century AD. The strongest among them were the Pallavas and the Pandyas. The Pallava at that time had a vassal named Vijayalaya who used to come to his master’s aid with troops during war time. The Pallava and the Pandya rulers were always at war with one another as each wanted to be the strongest king in the region. During one such war in the year 848 AD, Vijayalaya attacked and captured a place named Thanjavur, which probably belonged to the Pallava chieftain. Instead of handing over his conquest to his Pallava master, Vijayalaya crowned himself the king of Thanjavur and established there the famous Chola dynasty.

2. Trade

Trade and commerce flourished under the Cholas. Trade was carried on with West Asia and and South-east Asia. Trade with China reached unprecedented volume during these centuries. Foreign trade provided an additional incentive to an already developing local market.

There existed a brisk internal trade in several articles carried on by the organized mercantile corporations in various parts of the country. The metal industries and the jewelry had reached a high degree of excellence. The manufacture of sea-salt was carried on under government supervision and control. Trade was carried on by merchants organized in guilds. The guilds described sometimes by the terms nanadesis were a powerful autonomous corporation of merchants which visited different countries in the course of their trade. They had their own mercenary army for the protection of

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their merchandise. There were also local organizations of merchants called "nagaram" in big centers of trade like and Mamallapuram.

2.1. Maritime Trade

This is the Anchor of an Unknown LOLA class Chola ship, excavated by the divers off the coast of .

Maritime trade and commerce flourished under the Chola Empire. The Imperial Cholas tried to enhance their maritime strength by gaining control over all strategically important coastlines. They captured the Southwest Coast of India and almost the entire Indian east coast up to the mouth of Gangas. They also seized the , Sri , and the Andamans. All these military activities ultimately lead to the commercial relation with the Chola Empire. The Cholas also had commercial relation with the Sri Vijaya and Cambodia. The inscriptions of Rajendra I indicates the relationship between the Cholas and South East Asian rulers. The expanding maritime activities must also be seen in the context of increasing diplomatic activities at that time. The Chinese had sent envoys to the countries of south in the late 10th century indicating their interest in an increase of trade.

Chola Navigation

2.2. Trade with Rome

Early Chola ruler had trade relation with the Rome and Greek merchants. The merchants were visited the ports of south India. They came in quest of species and cotton cloth for which south India had become famous in the ancient world. There were Roman warehouses in south India. Rome received fine cloth, pearls, species, sandalwood, gems, and drugs from south India. A great number of Roman coins were found in south Indian Territory, which indicates the Roman trade relation with India. Large numbers of Roman gold coins have been discovered form the coromandalam coast and in and Pandimandalam regions. Apart from gold coins Roman also exported wine to Tamil country. The early of provide a vivid picture of the trade activities. The Tamil literatures also speak about the ships of the Yavanas (Greeks). Periplus has listed out the market towns of the Dachinabadas (Deccan) in his work.

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2.3. Trade Relation with China and other Countries

The Merchants of the Chola period participated in maritime trade since ancient times. The Cholas excelled in foreign trade and maritime activity, extending their influence overseas to China and . The annals of the Sung dynasty of China and the accounts of the medieval travelers like Ibn Khurdadbeh, Abu Zaid, Alberuni, Marco Polo, etc. give testimony to a brisk maritime contact between south India and the South East Asian countries. The Tang and Sung rulers of China Saliendras of and the Abbasid Khalifs of Bagdad established commercial relations with the Cholas. The Cholamandalam and its coastal regions were very with commercial transaction with the China and Arabia. Mamallapuram, Saliyur, Korkai, Quilon, etc. were important port city, busy with the overseas trade.

They exported the articles like pearls, elephants, cardamom, cotton, pepper, perfumes, ivory, coral, etc. to the foreign countries. Horses were imported from the Arabian Peninsula. According to Benjamin of Tudela, the ships entering the Chola ports were required to pay tolls.

Commercial transaction was carried on with places as far off as China in the north. The Cholas tried to encourage trade with China by sending embassies to the country. The articles brought for trade by the Cholas included glass ware, camphor, brocades, rhino horns and ivory. Their ships carried goods from West Asia and Africa to China. Roads were built across the Chola country which not only facilitated the movement of goods for trade but also of troops during wartime.

The chronicles of the Sung dynasty of China record the arrival of diplomatic missions from Chola (Chu-lian). The Arab Merchants (Ta-shi), from Quilon went to China by way of Srivijaya and Java. A Hindu seems to have been established at Canton in China in the 8th century A.D.

The trade and commercial relationship between the Tamil country and China was prosperous in the medieval period of south India. Too much of imports seem to have drained Chinese resources which was regulated by Imperial legislation. The Karandai plates records that Suryavarman (1002-50 A.D.) of Kambhoja sought friendly relation with the Cholas. Much evidence is available to trace the cultural impact of Tamil country with the Far East. Apart from the in China, a temple at Ch’uan Chou (near Formosa) contains a sculptural panel of Hindu mythological stories.

Chola Port at Kambhoja

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Towards the end of the ninth century, southern India had developed extensive maritime and commercial activity. The Cholas, possessing parts of both the west and the east coasts of peninsular India, stood at the forefront of those ventures. The of China, the Srivijaya Empire in the Malayan archipelago under the Saliendras, and the Abbasid Kalifat at emerged as the main trading partners.

Chinese Sung dynasty reports record that an embassy from Chulian (Chola) reached the Chinese court in the year 1077, the king of the Chulien at the time called Ti-hua-kia-lo. Those syllables might denote "Deva Kulo[tunga]" (Kulothunga Chola I). That embassy embodied a trading venture, highly profitable to the visitors, who returned with 81,800 strings of copper coins in exchange for articles of , including glass articles and spices.

A fragmentary Tamil inscription found in cites the name of a merchant guild Nanadesi Tisaiayirattu Ainnurruvar (literally, "the five hundred from the four countries and the thousand directions"), a famous merchant guild in the Chola country. The inscription dated 1088, indicating an active overseas trade during the Chola period.

If we summaries that the Cholas had trade relation with the following countries:

 Persia

 China

 Arab

 Kambhoja

 Burma

 Java

 Sumatra

 Ceylon

 Maldiev Islands

 Rome

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2.3.1. Migration and Trading Networks:

The Merchants of the Chola period often migrated to other localities for trade. They had strong links with their own home base as well as the nearby commercial centres. Most of the migration took place over very short distances, and merchants moved within a relatively small radius. For examples they migrated from Thiruvannamalai to Kanchipuram, or from Thanjavur to or Uttiramerur to Thiruvottur. In some cases the traders moved over much longer distances. For examples merchants from Mylapore had migrated to Thiruvidaimaruthur (Thanjavur, 10th century A.D), and in Salem (12th century AD). There are also evidences to migration of traders from Thanjavur, Thiruchirappallli and Chinglepet to the nearby commercial centres after the 12th century.

The emergence of market areas in urban centers was also another feature associated with expanding city based trade. The Thanjavur inscriptions and the Madras Museum Copper Plates give vivid descriptions of the layout of commercial as well as capital centres Thanjavur (capital city of Imperial Cholas) and Kanchipuram (religious capital of the Cholas). Both were known as mahanagaram (big town) in inscriptions. There are also references to various kinds of commercial areas- like angadi (market), perangadi (the main market), perunteru (the commercial main street usually named after the Chola king, Rajaraja as Rajaraja-perunteru). These commercial areas were developed within the nagaram and in the suburbs.

2.3.2. Trade Routes

There were internal trade routes in the Chola country. Regions like , Ramanathapuram, Salem and Coimbatore lay on ancient trade routes linking and with Tamilnadu. From Mannar gulf to there was a trade route. There was a trade movement from the western coast to eastern coast. The emergence of coastal towns such as Mayilappur, Mamallapuram, and port town Kaverippattinam, Nagappattinam would also indicate the coastal route of the Chola period. From these commercial towns several merchants groups like Manigramam entered into a trade agreement with the other merchants groups of the Pandiya and Chera country.

In Chola country there were many land route (Road way) connected the important commercial centers. Several roads are mentioned in the inscriptions from all parts of the country. Two classes of roads are mentioned: vadis and peru-valis. The vadis were only slightly better than foot-paths, which is not suitable for wheeled traffic. The better road suited for trade purpose was peru-valis, which is identified as great road in inscriptions. These were the trunk roads leading from one large divisions of the country to another. From the Chola country many such roads were leading to the other regions. In Inscriptions there references to Vadugapperu-vali, which connect to the Andhra regions, Kongapperu-vali, connect to the Kongu regions. Tanjavurp-peruvali was a most significant of great roads leading to Kalyanapuram. Form these roads the merchants of the Chola country carried their commercial goods to the distance regions.

3. Industry

Many industries such as cottage industry, metal works, sea-salt manufacturing, textile industry etc. were developed during the Chola period. The Cottage industries flourished extensively in the Chola period. The metal workers had expertise knowledge of metallurgy and produced images and utensils in gold, silver, , copper, brass etc. It is said that the “jewelers art reached its high water- mark under the Cholas”. The manufacture of sea-salt was carried on under the supervision of the Chola state. Marakanam, Kanyakumari, Variyur and Ayturai were important salt manufacturing

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centers, which was widespread industry all along the sea coast. Kanchipuram was an important center of textile industry. There were merchant guilds in important cities. Merchandise was sold in markets both through barter and coins.

4. Chola Ports

There were many port towns during the Chola period. The Chola inscriptions portray the Chola ports and its international trade activities. Kaverippumpattinam, otherwise known as Puhar, a port (dating to the 1st century AD) was described in classical Tamil works, was very active in maritime trade. From that port town the Chola merchants exported and imported the commercial goods. These goods were charged duty before they were carried to ships and were marked with the tiger emblem of the ancient Chola king.

Nagapattinam another port town of the Chola. The resident merchants of the port town actively engaged in commerce at , which was commercial oriented port, had trade relationship with the South East Asian countries. It is noted in Chola inscriptions that the of Sri Vijaya had cultivated their commercial dialogue with the Chola kings during the reign of Rajendra I.

Several secondary Chola ports are named in Chola inscriptions. During Rajaraja reign Tiruvadandai (near northern Madras) was a port of some significance. Mayilarppil (Mylapore, a commercial port town) and Alaiyur in Conadu of the Chola region were yet other port towns had commercial contact with Kanchipuram, one of the major center of hinter-land exchange.

Kaveripattinam, Chola port of Ancient period

5. Commercial Town Nagaram

Nagaram were commercial towns inhabited by Merchants such as Chettis (general merchants), Sankarappadiyars (oil merchant) and artisans like Saliyars (weaver), and Tattars (goldsmiths). During the Chola period most of Nagaram were identified by the suffix ‘puram’ (a fortified town), which was usually attached to the king’s name as Kulottunga-cholapuram, Rajendra-sivapuram and Mummudi-cholapuram.

Nagaram as commercial town involved in more market oriented exchange of goods and services in the Chola domain. It also involved in collection of taxes on commercial transaction and established the rules and regulations for its community of exchange, dominating trade within the nadu unit of the Chola polity.

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The Nagaram was a body of merchants which actively participated in the trade and commerce of the medieval south India. It was essentially an administrative unit of the merchant community specializing in the field of commerce and industry especially in big and small towns. The members of the Nagaram were generally known by several names such as Nagarattar, Nagara-karanattar and Nagara Madhyasta. They had a large measure of control over trade settlements, within the locality of the area to which they belong. According to Kenneth R. Hall the Nagarams as local commercial institution was integrated into supra-regional commercial organization with passing of time during the Chola period. It was important commercial centre as well as religious centre, attracted and nourished several religious beliefs, both Brahmanical and heretical.

The Nagaram and its members, Nagarattar participated individually and collectively in religious activities in certain temple and were endowing a certain amount of sale proceeds or profits as benefaction for special worship and other routines in the temple. As they were known for their honesty and reliability, the endowments made for the temple were placed under their safe custody for maintenance of worship. The Nagaram also involved in many other responsibilities. It was responsible for collecting the applicable commercial as well as land taxes, including the wide-ranging authority of the Nagaram, which extended proprietary rights over the adjoining agricultural lands too.

5.3. Facets of Nagaram

Apart from these, the Nagarams were also involved in temple financial administrations. Such involvements are noticed in the temple inscriptions of the medieval south India. The Nagaram were most conspicuous in their involvements with local temple administration. Temple funds were commonly entrusted to a Nagaram for investment. The resulting rate of interest was returned to the temple for the support of ceremonies, lamps, dancing girls, servants and other temple needs. Many private individuals, including members of the royal court, often invested funds with the Nagaram, and the Nagaram became the collective agent of the donor. In these instances, money or livestock such as sheep and cows were usually deposited with the Nagaram, which then invested the money as it saw fit or assigned the livestock to shepherds or cowherds for care. The Nagaram guaranteed at set rate of interest as a return in either case. Inscriptions state that the temple’s money had been treated as nagarattom-pon, indicating that the gold was held commonly Nagaram and would have been invested for the profit of the Nagaram as well as for the temple.

The kings had close association with these merchant bodies. The height of commercial group’s interaction with the king is best shown in temple inscriptions of Kanchipuram temple, which identify the representation of the Kanchipuram merchant community as participants in Chola’s coronation ceremonies. Uttama Chola validation of the merchant assembly’s authority to supervise the management of a temple in the Nagaram and Kulottunga’s later renewal of the royal relationship with the Nagaram are shown. In return for such royal favour, the merchants of Kanchipuram made special contribution to the Chola treasury.

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The Nagaram as one of the old cultural centers of south India was attracted by many political powers towards the establishment of magnificent temples. The capital cities of the prominent political powers viz. the Pallavas, Pandyas, Cholas, Vijayanagar were not only political centre, but also an important cultural and religious centre played important role in power legitimacy as political centre as well as a commercial centre.

6. Merchant Guilds:

The merchant community of the Chola country had their own guild organizations, depending upon the nature of goods or commodities they handled. The community, those who handled the horses as their commercial goods, was called by the generic term ‘Chettis’. The oil merchants were called Sankarapadiyar or Sankarappadi Nagarattar, who supplied oil and ghee to the temple worship and festivals. The weaver community were involved in the textiles trade were called Saliyars. The merchant guilds who involved in the transaction of agricultural products and other related articles, were called by the general name as Manigramam, Ayyavole, Nanadesi, Anjuvanna-vanigar, Tisaiayirattu-ainurruvar, Anjuvannathar, Chitrameli Periyanattar, Valinjiyar, Padinenbhumi-visayathar, Nagarattar, etc. Most of them had a fair way of trade connections both in inland and foreign countries. The great ports (pattinam) also had their guilds and autonomous institutions, but they were much more under the control of royal officers of the Cholas.

The best known among the merchant guilds of the Cholas were the Manigramam (vanika-gramam) and Ayyavole guilds, and they had their bases in Kodumbalur in Pudukkottai, Tiruchirappally districts. The Ayyavole were generally referred to as the Tisai-ayirattu-ainurruvar, though sometimes this was prefixed with the Nanadesi from several countries. The Ayyavole had their home base at Aihole in the Raichur , in north Karnataka, as their name suggests.

Kanakalatha Mukund says that “it is clear that they had a southern base in Pudukkottai and that two groups were not part of one centralized decision-making body-though the two groups had a common point of origin”. The Ayyavole guild migrated from Aihole to Pudukkottai region during the Imperial Chola period. The Ayyapolil is the Tamil form of Ayyavole. Several trading centers were called Ayyavole of the south probably indicating branches of the main guild of south Indian region. The international connections of Ayyavole extended to West Asia, while the Manigramam concentrated on trade with South East Asia.

During the Chola period both the Manigramam and Nanadesi of 1500 (of all countries) were very popular and powerful merchant community, had their own representative assemblies looking after their business in commercial center known as Nagaram. Among these, the Manigramam is said to be the earliest guilds in south India, the Nanadesi corporation was the most celebrated of the guilds, who were prominent not only in inland trade but also in overseas commerce. In medieval Tamil country, the nanadesi were equated to the Tisai-ayirattu ainurruvar (ainurruvar of thousand directions), which denotes the number of five hundred of the thousand directions.

The Nanadesi-tisaiayirattu ainurruvar was a celebrated and influential autonomous corporation of merchant. They flourished in all places, and maintained an army to protect their merchandise. An inscription from Vittrrirunda-perumal temple at Kattur ascribed to the A.D, furnishes details about the Nanadesi who claimed descent from Vasudeva Kundali and Virabhadra. They proclaimed themselves as the protectors of the Vira Valanjika , who were glorified in 500 Vira-sasanams.

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The south Indian inscriptions speak of the nanadesi’s close association with the Chitirameli periyanattar, the agricultural guild involved in the transaction of agricultural products. In many inscriptions of south India, we find the words nanadesi, which denote the existence of merchant groups that moved in the four directions of the country for pursuit of trade.

The mention of paradesi and nanadesi testifies the presence of colony of merchants of foreign countries. The nanadesi seemed to be a powerful body of merchants, who had great influence in the royal court. Some inscriptions of the Chola period provide information on the merchants and their corporate bodies’ paradesigal (foreign merchants) and nanadesigal and about their contributions to the worship of temples and for the repairs of temples. They decided to assign to the temple, a fixed amount of money obtainable through the sale of commodities such as pearls, cloth, oil, and merchandise of various commodities.

The ainurruvar, was a large network of merchant organization in and after 11th century A.D., engaged in long distance trade even across the sea. As they engaged in long distance trade, they needed soldiers for the protection of their valuable commodities and the soldiers groups were called as virar, eri-virar, virakkodi, diyaar, munai and others also appeared in . The earliest extant eulogy of this ainurruvar is recorded in a Kamudi inscription dated around 1000 A.D. The eulogy of the ainurruvar-the five hundred of the thousand directions of the eighteen countries, who support all the people, who are adorned with the five hundred victorious charters, where bosom, was adorned by goddess of future, who were also the descendents of the deities Vasudeva, Kundali and Mulabhadra. The ainurruvar had their own settlement known as Virapattanas in the Chola country, enjoyed special privileges in matters of trade.

7. Summary

If we look at medieval Tamil country particularly the Chola country (from c. 900 to 1300 AD) as a stage in the evolution of trade and commerce. We can see continuous institutions and changing structure of trade and merchant activities. The most important feature of the economic history of the Chola period was that well-defined commercial organizational forms and institutional practices were current, testifying to the functioning of trade as a special economic activity.

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