administrative system of cholas

1. ADMINISTRATIVE
SYSTEM OF CHOLAS
By
SIVAKATHIR

2. HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
• Origin – Unknown antiquities.
• Early cholas. (600 BCE–300 CE)
• Capital - Uraiyur (Trichy)
• Asokas major rock edict XIII – spread of “Dhamma” in chola kingdom.
• Periplus of the Erythraean Sea – over seas trade, commerce.
• After the end of the sangam age cholas become the chieftain in the kavery bank.
• Later cholas
• Founder – Vilajayalaya chola 848 CE
• By capturing the Tanjore from Muttaraiyars.
• Capital – Thanjavur.
• Great conquerors.
• Great administrators.
• Local self government.
• Chola kingdom - longest, greatest, and prosperous kingdom during their time.
• Only kingdom to hold whole south India in their hand.

3. ADMINISTRATIVE SYSTEM
• Uttaramerur inscription 920 A.D – of paranthaka chola.
• Decentralized federal form of government.
• Rajiyam – dynasty.
• Mandalam/padi – province.
• Cholamandalam - core mandalams
• Tondaimandalam
• Kongumandalam
• Pandiyamandalam,
• Gangapadi
• Tadigaipadi
• Nulambapadi
• Marayapadi
• Mummudi Cholamandalam
• Naduvilmandalam

4. • Mandalams were grouped into two
• Tenkarai Nadu
• Vadakarai Nadu
• Valanadu – intermediate division created by Raja Raja- I – initially there were ten. Later it
increased to fifteen.
• Nadu
• Urs and Taniyurs (village)
• Urs were the smallest unit of cholas administration.
• They didn’t believed in centralized government.
• So, they divided the kingdom, and gave autonomous.
• No much intervention from the central government.
• Local self government.

5. LOCAL SELF GOVERNMENT
• Prominent feature of the cholas administrative system.
• Administration from the below.
• Autonomously allowed to administrate themselves in a systematic manner.
Village assemblies
• Ur –
• ‘uray-isainda-urom’ meaning ‘residents of the village met as ur’.
• It was a kind of primitive gathering of the local people, in which people met together and managed business somehow without
any set rules or formal procedure.
• The Ur was open to all the male adults of the village but in effect the older members took a more prominent part in the
assembly.
• Ur had an executive committee of its own which was called the Aluinganattar which means ruling group.
• Sabha or Mahasabha
• Different from Urs. The Sabha or mahasabha was strictly the assembly of purely Brahman villages Brahmadeyas.
• Sabha functioned through its executive bodies called Variyam.
• Members of the Sabha was called as perumakkal.
• Members were elected by election. (Kudavolai system). – Qulification – Disqulification.
• Responsible for collecting the land revenue.
• It also had the responsibility of maintaining the roads and irrigation work.
• Nagaram – Merchant’s sabha – Met at important trade – Mainly concerned with problems of trade.

6. Various variyams
• Created by sabha.
• Dharma-variyam – which took care of the roads – management of common land –
recording of property – assessing its revenue – settling land disputes – local taxation.
• Samvatsara-variyam – which was a committee created to supervise the charity given
by the peoples.
• Pon-variyam – was created to test or assaying the quality gold which is presents in the
village.
• Erivariyam – (tank committee) manged large irrigation tanks.
• Tottavariyam – (agriculture land committee) supervised the all the agriculture land and
other lands in the village.
• Pancha-vara-variyam – (revenue committee) attended to revenue and financial
administration. Its important duty was to collect general revenue called Kadamai and
Kudimai. To assist the committees there were paid officials like Madhyasthas.

7. REVENUE AND TAXATION SYSTEM OF CHOLAS
• The main source of income of the Chola government was the 'land revenue’.
• Various land taxes
• Erai
• Enchoru
• Vatti
• Thethinai.
• Various profession taxes
• ‘Kusakhana’was a tax which levied on potters who produced potteries.
• ‘Patakhana’was a tax which is leaved on goldsmiths who fashioned ornaments.
• 'Tarikurai' or 'Taripudavai' was levied on weavers engaged in weaving.
• 'Cheku' and 'Chekkudamai' was levied on the traders who engaged in oil extraction.
• ‘Aatukkarai’was a tax paid by the farmers for rearing cattle and selling milk and other dairy products to the people.
• ‘Padikaval kuli’, the Sabha maintained a special post called chieftain to give protection to the life and property of the people of the
village. Like present day police. Padikaval kuli was the tax paid for this service.
• ‘Uppu’ or ‘Uppukasu’ was the tax collected from the people who cultivate salt in the sea sore.
• ‘Manai Kuli’ is a tax on a house or a house site, ‘Vasal panam’, may be another term to denote the same house tax.

8. Various tax on trade
• ‘Sungam’ and ‘Sariyai’ was the tax which was imposed on the good which are transported form the one
place to another place for selling purpose, by using the peruvali meaning highways.
• ‘Tharaku’ was the tax which is imposed on the goods which are imported from the foreign states for
trade purposes.
Conclusion
• Cholas were the one of the able administrators during their time. And also they are the pioneer of the
present day administration. Because the used federal form of administration even in that early 9th
century. And there are some similarities between cholas and contemporary administration like variyam –
ministry, village assemblys - panchayat raj system ect.