High Technology Letters ISSN NO : 1006-6748

Imperial Cholas and their Administration in Tamil Nadu

Dr.M.Anusha Angel
Assistant Professor of History
Jayaraj Annapackiam College for women (Autonomous),
Periyakulam

Abstract
The Cholas were the first dynasty who tried to bring the entire South India
under a common rule and to a great extent succeeded in their efforts. The Tamil
kingdom was divided their land into administrative units called kuttam. These
units were compared to the districts of the present day. King Karikala divided the
Chola kingdom into kuttams. Each village was organized under the leadership of
a village official called the gramakeya or mutada, who was accepted as the
village elder and acted as an intermediary between the government and the
village. As the leader of the village, it was his duty to safeguard the interests of
the village community. Further the system of taxes, obligations and trade
activities among the members of the village community were all regulated by
some sort of a collective organization. The mantram was considered assan
important centre of gathering and it served as a public place for more serious
actions.

Key Words: Administration, Government, Mandalams Assembly, Viceroys

Introduction

The Chola administration gave priority to the smallest unit of the

administration, the village. The village administration of the Cholas was based
mainly on democratic lines. Each village or ur was administered by a council
known as village council known as urar. The systems adopted in the local
administration of Cholas, revealed an excellent democratic system which
prevailed in the Tamil Country.

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Rajaraja Chola I popularly known as Rajaraja the Great, is one of the

greatest emperors of the Chola dynasty, who ruled between 985 and 1014 A.D.
the present Karnataka formely known as coorg and Gangabadi were annexed by
Rajaraja and the Chola empire expanded up to river Krishna. Rajaraja’s period is
known as the golden age of the Imperial Cholas.

The central government functioned under the headship of the king, who
was assisted by council of ministers and officials taking active part in running the
administration. For administrative convenience the Chola empire was divided
into nine provinces. They were also called mandalams. The head of the province
was called viceroy and the close relatives of kings were appointed as viceroys.
The viceroys were in constant touch with the central government and they
received orders from the king. They sent regular reply to the king every day. The
viceroys had a large number of officials to assist them in the work of
administration. In the beginning the Chola empire consisted of two important
units. One unit was the Chola territory, the original kingdom and the other was
conquered areas. The Chola territory and the conquered territory were united
together and the new province was joined with Chola territory. The units seemed
to have emerged as mandalams. Each mandalam was divided into a number of
valanadus. The valanadus were divided into nine divisions. Each valanadu was
administered by an assembly known as nattar, which look after the affairs of
valanadu. Each valanadu was divided into a number of nadus. Each nadu was
divided into ambadinmelagaram or units of fifty villages. Each
ambadinmelagaram was again divided into agaram or mangalam. Each mangalam
or agaram was divided into villages known as pidagais. The periyanadu which
was an important administrative division, generally consisted of more agriculture
areas. The periyanattar collected the agricultural tax known as nattanmai and
remitted it into the state granary. The state granary was known as Pandaram.

King Karikala divided the Chola kingdom into kuttams. The Chera

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kingdom was divided into valanadu and kuttam. The nattar was a supra – village
land body of land holders which played a greater role in the administration of the
nadu localities. Each village was organized under the leadership of a village
official called the gramakeya or mutada, who was accepted as the village elder
and acted as an intermediary between the government and the village. Lands were
donated by the Chola kings especially to the Brahmins. Such villages or lands
were known as brahmadeyam. One such example was chathurvedimangalam. The
chathurvedimangalam was a brahmadeyam exclusively meant for the Brahmins.
There mangalams were administered by the Brahmin bodies which were known
as sabha.

Kudavolai System

The members of the kudumbus assembled under a tree or in a common

place and wrote down in tickets the names of those whom they wanted to be
elected. The tickets were collected and put in a pot. A boy who could not
distinguish any one of the members was asked to draw the tickets from the pot
one by one. The tickets are drawn in such a manner that 12 members are elected
to a particular variyam representing one member from each seri.

Central Government

The central government functioned under the headship of the king, who
was assisted by council of ministers and officials taking active part in running the
administration. The royal household comprised numerous servants of various
descriptions including body-guards of all sorts. Several groups of Parivaras are
mentioned and distinguished from one another by their individual names formed
from the surnames of the kings. The king, his queens and their numerous relatives
set the example, of erecting temples and endowing them on a liberal scale, and
spending considerable sums of money on the reclamation of land, promotion of
irrigation works, maintenance of schools and hospitals and other useful works. A

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numerous and powerful bureaucracy assisted the king in the tasks of

administration, which were those of controlling, supervising and regulating an
existing order, changing it, if at all, only by imperceptible steps. One of the
important such officials was the revenue officer responsible for the receipts and
expenditures of the government. The activities of the officials of the bureaucracy
were under constant audit and scrutiny.

For administrative convenience the Chola empire was divided into nine
provinces. They were also called mandalams. The head of the province was called
viceroy and the close relatives of kings were appointed as viceroys. The viceroys
were in constant touch with the central government and they received orders from
the king. They sent regular reply to the king every day. The viceroys had a large
number of officials to assist them in the work of administration. In the beginning
the Chola empire consisted of two important units.

Temple Administration

The Pallavas, the Chola kings were great patrons of temples. The Chola
temple architecture has been appreciated for its magnificence as well as delicate
workmanship, ostensibly following the rich traditions of the past bequeathed to
them by the Pallava dynasty. Temples were constructed by the kings and their
subordinates usually on account of their religious favour and sometimes to
commemorate their military successes. The temple during the medieval period
afforded good opportunity for the needy, talented and trustworthy people to
prosper, besides contributing to the nourishment of the culture of the times,
deeply set in the strong belief system based on God and religion. The temple is
known as devalaya or an abode of God. In India it helps in the preservation of
Hindu traditions, moulding the society and keeping the bond of unity in a country
where there is so many diversity of traditions, customs, dress and language .

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Military Administration

The Cholas maintained a regular standing army consisting of elephants,

cavalry, infantry and navy. The royal troops were called kaikkolaperumpadai.
The soldiers were given proper training and generally the Chola army was led by
the king or yuvaraja. The king was the commander - in - chief of the army and
navy which acted under his instructions and the army helped the king in the
protection of temples and revenue collection in addition to participation in war.

The Chola army had a traditional regimental system of military

administration. The Chola army resembles the modern army and had a highly
involved war machine in its non-material and strategic segments. The government
owns sixty thousand war elephants, every one seven or eight feet high. When
fighting those elephants carry on their backs houses, and those houses were full
of soldiers who fight with spears at close quarters. The land tenure system was
based on feudal class structure of warriors, farmers, artisans and merchants where
the distinctions between the caste status of the constituent classes were strictly
enforced. The kings and the royal family members were gifted with the training
in horse riding. Cavalry forces were supplied to the Imperial forces by the local
chieftains in times of war. The Cholas paid special attention to the navy and it
comprised the naval forces of the Chola empire along with several other naval
arms of the country. The Tamil king Rajendra Chola also had the honour of
establishing the first Indian merchant naval fleet. He transformed the naval fleet
and thereby established trade from India to the south east Asia and even the
China.

Revenue Administration

During the period of the Imperial Cholas trade highly developed and the economy
of the Chola kingdom seemed to have well advanced. During the period when
barter system was prevalent, the Chola coins were received with high expectation

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by the people who brought materials from abroad. Taxes on imports and exports
were known as sungam. The Imperial Cholas imposed taxes on those goods which
were exported and imported. Through those customs taxes the Cholas had a lot
of income. The taxes had been collected and deposited in the Imperial treasury.

Architecture

The development of Tamil literature reached its peak during the Chola period.
Sivakasintamani written by Thiruthakkadevar and Kundalakesi belonged to 10th
century. The Ramayana composed by Kamban and the Periyapuranam or
Tiruttondarpuranam by Sekkilar are the two master-pieces of this age.
Jayankondar�s Kalingattupparani describes the Kalinga war fought by Kulotunga I.
The Moovarula written by Ottakuthar depicts the life of three Chola kings. The
Nalavenba was written by Pugalendi. The works on Tamil grammar like Kalladam by
Kalladanar, Yapperungalam by Amirthasagarar, a Jain, Nannul by Pavanandhi and
Virasoliyam by Buddhamitra were the products of the Chola age.

The Dravidian style of art and architecture reached its perfection under the
Cholas. They built enormous temples. The chief feature of the Chola temple is the
vimana. The early Chola temples were found at Narthamalai and Kodumbalur in
Pudukottai district and at Srinivasanallur in Tiruchirappalli district. The Big Temple
at Tanjore built by Rajaraja I is a master-piece of South Indian art and architecture. It
consists of the vimana, ardhamandapa, mahamandapa and a large pavilion in the front
known as the Nandimandapa. Another notable contribution made by the Cholas to
temple architecture is the Siva temple at Gangaikondacholapuram built by Rajendra
I. The Airavathesvara temple at Darasuram in Tanjore District and the
Kampaharesvara temple at Tribhuvanam are examples of later Chola temples.

Conclusion

The Cholas also made rich contributions to the art of sculpture. The walls of the
Chola temples such as the Tanjore and Gangaikondacholapuram temples contain
numerous icons of large size with fine execution. The bronzes of the Chola period are

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world-famous. The bronze statues of Nataraja or dancing Siva are master pieces. The
Chola paintings were found on the walls of Narthamalai and Tanjore temples. Thus
Cholas made a rich contribution not only in the field of administration, but also in the
field of art, architecture and literature

References

1. Annual Archeological Reports , Vol. I, Shanthi Sadana, Chennai, 2002.

2. Banerjee, P., Public Administration in Ancient India, London, 1916.
3. Chopra, P.N., History of South India, Ancient Period, Vol.I, S.Chand &
Company Ltd., New Delhi, 1979.
4. Mac Iver, The Modern State, New Delhi,1972..
5. Majumdar, R.C. The History and Culture of the Indian People, New Delhi,
1976.
6. Moorthy,K.K., The Temples of Tamilnadu, Tirupathi, 1994.
7. Nilakanta Sastri, K.A., South Indian History, Vol.I, Madras,1987:
Development of Religion in South India, New Delhi, 1963.
8. Rajayyan, K., Early Tamilnadu, Madras, 1984.
9. Romila Thapar, A History of India, New Delhi, 1969.
10. Sharma, R.S. Shudras in Ancient India, Delhi, 1990.

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