Chola Administration

The Chola administration system was very well organised and efficient. The administration of
Cho la dynasty was essentially monarchical in character where the king was at the helm of the
administration and all executive legislative and military powers rested with him.

A council of ministers and other high officials were there to advice the king for administration of
Chola Empire. Even the princes of Chola dynasty were to associate with the ruling king and were
actively employed in war and peace. Since the Chola empire was a big one there were many
administrative divisions for the efficient working of the government.

The Chola Administration system did not had any central assembly either to assist the kings of
Chola Dynasty in making policy or to help in day to day administration of the state like the
Maurya administration. Since there was no central Assembly of the Vedic character, the king
was alone responsible for efficient administration of the Chola Empire. The was a body of
executive officers in the immediate and constant attendance of the king. Each department was
represented by a group of officers. They were possibly personal staff rather than regular council
of ministers. Rather they worked as liaison officers between the king and the bureaucracy.

The absolutism of the :.nonarchy was tempered both by a ministerial council and by an organised
administrative staff, the heads of the departments being also in close contact with the king, and
often consulted by him. Royal towns also contributed to the efficiency of the Chola
administration and the officers were paid by land assignments, and honored and encouraged by
titles. Moreover the verbal orders were drafted by the Royal or Private Secretary. It is believed
that in the days of Rajaraja I and his son Rajendra Chola Deva, the Chief Secretary and another
higher functionary officers had to confirm the royal orders before they were communicated to the
parties concerned by the dispatch clerk. known as Vidaiyadhikari. Finally the local governors
scrutinized the orders before they were registered and sent to Departments of Archives for
preservation.

The Chola empire known as Rajyam or Rastrayam was divided into a number of provinces or
Mandalam. The most important Mandalams were placed under the charges of the Viceroys who
were generally the Princes of the royal blood or of noble families. We came to know that
Rajaraja, the great, divided his empire into about eight Mandalams. Chola Princes were in the
charges of the provinces ofVengi and Madura. Some of the provinces were formed of such
principalities as had been annexed by the Chola imperialists. Besides there were the territories of
the vassal princes, who paid tribute and rendered service to the Crown in times of needs. The
provinces or Mandalams were subdivided into number of divisions known as Kottams or
Valanadus. The next administrative subdivisions of Cholas were the districts (Nadus), each of
which again consisted of a number of autonomous villages, unions or groups of villages, playing
a vital part in the Chola administration system.
.
Though there was corporate activity in the economic and religious life and in the territorial
divisions like Nadus and Nagarams or towns, there is ample evidence to show that these
divisions had their own popular assemblies during the period of Chola ascendancy which

I
 ty. First we hear of the assembly of
~xhibited the greatest and most comprehensive group activi
remission of certain taxes on land
t le people of the whole Mandalam in connection with the
r' assembly of the people of a Nadu
und~r i~s jurisdiction. Next the inscriptions refer to the 'Natta
groups which went by the generic
or d1stnct, and 'Nagarattar' or assembly of the mercantile
to the Janapada and Paura respectively.
name 'Nagaram'. These two terms perhaps corresponded
are unknown. Besides local
Unfortunately the details or their constitution and working
guilds or 'Srenis ', 'Pugas' and such
administration was greatly facilitated by the existence of
ns follow ed the same craft or calling
other autonomous corporate organisations in which perso
binding themselves together.

The Chola Village Administration

well developed. As regards the
The Chola village administration was very systematic and
the assemblies called the 'Ur' and the
assemblies of the villages, the Chola inscriptions mention
adult male members of the
'Sabha' or 'Mahasabha' which were the gatherings of the
Community.
ss matters without any formal rule or
The 'Ur' was the gatherings of the local residents to discu
pf the Brahmin Settlement (Agrahara)
procedure. But the Sabha or Mahasabha was the assembly
us indeed from the inscriptions of the
and it is this type about which our information's are copio
period.
'Ur'. But this much we came to know
Nothing is definitely known about the composition of the
"ganam" or "Miyalunganam." Instead
that 'Ur' had an executive body, called "Abunganam" or
administration. Inscriptions found
Sabha or Mahasabha had a more complex machinery of local
ties of the Mahasabhas. The
in Tondamandalam and Cholamandalam describe us the activi
major concentration being around
assemblies are found concentrated in certain regions, the
merur records of Prantika I of 919 and
Kanchi and minor one encircling Madras. The two Uttara
a" on the constitution of the
921 A.O. contain resolutions passed by the local "Mahasabh
tion impro ving on and superseding the first.
Variyams or executive committees, the second resolu
wards of the village was to nominate
According to the regulation of921 A.O. each of the thirty
ications:
for selection of persons possessing the following qualif
a half) of land,
• Ownership of more than 1/4th 'Veli' (about an acre and
• residence in a house built on One's own site,
• age between 35 and 70,
alternative 1/8th Veli of land and
• the knowledge of the 'Vedic mantra-brahmanas'; in the
knowledge of one Veda and a Bhasya.

The followings among others were excluded;

failed to submit the accounts, together
• those who had been on any of the committee but had
with all their specific relations,
as well as their relations;
• those who had committed incest or other great sins
• those who had stolen the property of others etc.
r

Frotn among the pers. on s th us nominate . umbus or

Words b K d d one was to be chosen for each of the 30 Kud so selected,
manner so prescribed. Of the thirt y
l y u avolai or pot lot for a year in the tank com mittees,
12 w 10 ~er e advanced in age and learning and had served on the garden and
iyam ' or
or annual committee, 12 to the 'totta-var
were ass igne~ to the Samvatsara-variyam were
or tank committee. Two other committees
gard en committee and 6 to the 'erivariyam'
yam' or a standing committee and the .
~qually ~elec~ed. They were the 'Panchavira vari of the committees and its members vaned
ber
Ponvanyam or the Gold committee. The num .
ent was mad e for their services. The members of the
from villages to villages and no paym was calle d "Per ungu ri" and its
and the Mahasabha
committee were called "Variyapperumakkal" le and occa sion aJiy
mbly met in the vil1age temp
members 'Perumakkal." Ordinarily the asse
e is no reference of voting or quorum. General
under a tree or in the bank of a pond. Ther
resolutions were passed are recorded.
questions were discussed in the assembly and
o_my.
canjudge the extent of the Chola village auton
From the functions of these assemblies we priv ate
ts over communal lands and contr?lled the
"The Mahasabha possessed the propriety righ the
ge assembly was the absolute propnetor of
lands within its jurisdiction. The Chola villa ly
e the assembly became proprietor of those new
village lands. When fresh dealings were mad y
the cultivators were not harassed. The assembl
acquired lands. The assembly was to see that .
ons or organisations. The Mahasabha was al~o
could transfer its jurisdiction to other corporati r lands. It cooperated with the royal offic1als m
wate
concerned with the reclamation of forest and
the culti vate d land and assessing the land revenue due from the
estimating the procedure of of
also the right to realize the revenue in cases
village. It also collected the revenue, and had utes conc ernin g land s and
ic auction. Disp
default by selling the lands in question by publ ed
by it and in spec ial cases, assemblies irrigation rights were settl
irrigation rights were settled in
neighborhoods were requested to cooperate
by it and in special cases, assembly's form the purp oses conn ecte d with the villa ge,
of taxation for
arriving at a decision. It also enjoyed powers y
purposes. Instead of paying land revenue ever
and of remission of such taxation for specific loca l and cent ral auth ority , by
e dues to the
year, a land owner could compound all his futur
paying a fixed sum to the assembly.
ee
who detected crimes. The Judicial committ
The committee was assisted by paid officials shm ent to the guil ty. Cap ital
utes and award puni
"Nayattar" of the assembly was to settle disp justice was rath er lenie nt.
la administration of
punishment was not given in all cases. The Cho of crim es. The
even for some serious type
"Riding on an ass" was a punishment given and
s inclu ding tanks, supervision of religions, medical
maintenance of road and irrigation work s for learn ing etc. from
m and making provision
eleemosynary endowments by the Dharmavariya
the Mah asabha. Accounts were kept with meticulous
its own limited resources were the duties of land
untants. The Chola government carried out
care and were regularly checked by the acco reco rd of holdings
ect to the lowest fraction, and a
survey operations periodically. They were corr oses of surv ey,
16 or 18 spans were used for purp
was maintained. In the earlier period rods of . The main
I became the unit of liner measure
but subse~uently the foot print of Kulattunga the
land revenue, which was normally I/6th of
source of income of Chola Kindgom was the wate r
ever, depended on the quality of land and
gro_s~ produce. Variation from this rate, how roya l dues
granted in case of flood or famine. The
facilities. Of course ren:iission was sometimes both . The
were paid either in cash or the kind or in
w~re colle~ted by the village assemblies and su."
nds and the current coin was the gold "Ka
unit of gram was a "Kalam" or about three mou

.J
 The Chola government used •
to tap almost every
treasury Th h' conce1vabJe sources of revenue to fill its
I mi • • e_ c. tef expenditure was mainl and
...ltta~y admm1stration, planning and la
i Yfor royal ho~~ehold, maintenance of civil
th e cities, construction of temples roads
Yn~ out of
rrngatton channels and other works of pubhc utility. ' '

my of
Local Self-Government- Village Autono
the cholas
the Chola
villages fonned the administrative unit in
A_s in the earlier Gupta age in the North, were significant differences:
village administration, there
hmgdom. However, in the nature of the The role of the Cho la officials in
la villages were rem arkably auto nomous for their times.
the Cho a controller
that of an adviser and observer than that of
the village administration was more like at the local
was continuity in growth and development
and superintendent. Consequently, there also the
political changes at the upper level. This is
level, reasonably free of the effects of the try as
y that is a characteristic of the Tamil coun
reason behind the general cultural continuit
compared with other regions of India.
gers should
ge autonomy of the Cholas was that the villa
The basic premise in the concept of villa es veste d with the power
this purpose, village assembli
administer their villages themselves. For ber of rural orga niza tions,
larger villages with a num
of administration were constituted. In the ber of any num ber of thes e
villager could be a mem
there were a number of assemblies and a cons ist of ward s, each ward havi ng an
A village would
subject to the conditions of membership. such as
d also be members of a professional body
assembly of its members some of whom coul tenance
ing after other village functions like the main
smiths or carpenters or part of a group look village and their
constituted the social structure of the
of the local temple. These various groups in addi tion to the
e would be a general assembly
relationships were basic to its social life. Ther
smaller groups.
mblies were
of the general assembly. The general asse
Most of the local residents were members of an ordinary villa ge; the sabha,
aying residents
of three types: the ur, comprising of the tax-p usively
mans of the village or else was found excl
whose membership was open only to the Brah
ram, generally found in centres of trade and
in villages gifted to brahmans; and the naga munity.
serving the interests of the mercantile com
commerce, since it was devoted entirely to two urs. if
in some villages while larger villages had
The ur and the sabha were found together
necessary.
s of a
method of these assemblies. All adult male
Local conditions detennined the working ents took active
of the Ur, but in effect only elder resid
~iffage were eligible to become members sabh a wor ked in
e to look after routine matters. The
interest, some of them fonning a -committe ks of a spec ialized
titute subsidiary commities for wor
the same manner and had the power to cons the cond ition s _of
apparent~y by lot, subject to
nature. Members were elected to the sabha
 eligibility, but the b
centu • . sa ha made h
how ry inscription on a tem I c anges in the method of i . .
the local sabha Worked~ e Wall of the brahman viH ts working if that was necessary.A tenth
• age of Uttaramerur gives the details of
,, Th
•• • ere shall be thirty wards.

In these thirty wards tho . .

possessin th f◄ se th at hve m each w d h II
• g e ollowing quaf ificati fi . ar ~ a assemble and shall elect each person
ons or mclus1on for selection by lot.
He must own more than
one-quarter of the tax- paying land.
He must live in a house bu1·1t o h. .
n 1s own site.
His age must be below seventy and above thirty-five.

He must know the mantras and brahamanas.

Even if he owns only one-eighth of the land, his name shall be included provided he has learnt
one Veda and one of the four Bhashyas.

Among those possessing these qualifications only such as are well conversant with business and
are virtuous shall be taken, and one who possesses honest earnings whose mind is pure and who
has not been in any of the committees for the last three years shall also be chosen. One who has
been on any of the committees but has not submitted his accounts, and his relations specified
below, cannot have his name written on the tickets... "

There follows a list of the relations who cannot contest and then the five sins debarring
candidature: killing a Brahman, drinking alcohol, theft, adultery and associating with criminals.
The debarred list also includes fools, one who has taken forbidden dishes, etc. Next is a
description of how the tickets for each of the wards are to be bundled, one bundle is to be placed
inside a pot, then shaken loose by the chief priest, out of which a young boy would take one. The
chief arbitrator would receive the ticket in his palm with all five fingers open, read out the ticket,
get the name confirmed by showing the ticket to other priests, and record the name and so on.

"Of the thirty men thus chosen, those who had been previously on the Garden Committee, and on
the Tank Committee, those who are advanced in learning and those who are advanced in age
shall be chosen for the Annual Committee.

Of the rest, twelve shall be taken for the Garden Committee and the remaining six shall fonn the
Tank Committee. The great men of these three committees shall hold office for full 360 days and
then retire. Anyone on a committee found guilty of an offence shall be removed at once. For
appointing the committees after these have retired, the members of'the Committee for
Supervision of Justice' in the twelve streets shall convene an assembly with the help of the
arbitrator. The Committees shaU be appointed by drawing pot tickets...
 Next the qua~lifi cat ion ('po sse ss 11onest earn· '
• ns 1or th e acc oun tan t (h
• Iatto es mg s) of the arb't .
st1pu onest, should submit his t rator_1s ~pecified and the
hitn self ) is giv en, and it end . accounts tn ttme and should write it
s.

"W e, the ass em bly of Utt aram eru r- Chatu d'

·11 •k rve tmangalam made th. the prosperity
o f our v1 age in ord er tha t Wtc ed men may perish and the rest m ts settlement for
gre at me n sitt ing in the
p:rR~t the order of!he
wro te the sett lem e:~ .s(e mb ly, I, the arbitrator Kaladipottan s~r v~~ ur~ a.,amangala- pnyan
• as quoted by Romila Thap ar, A 8 1story of India Volume One)
thu s .
. . .
.
Ins cnp t1? ns f~u nd else wh ere did also describe similar with a diff erent set of requirements
can at I h pro ced ures
hfi cat ton s for the s of f •
and qua
the bea
es as a so
tin f d
ot er met hod sane ionmg exp~nses. Assemblies
we re gen era lly con ven ed by ally held m the temple
. The y we re inst anc f fi g o la rum a~d they were usu ges between the assemblies.
cou rty ard es O ratema cooperation and exc
han
e instances it
th me nt was coll ecte d by the assembly from its members in som
Ta x for e gov ern er to impose a
the ent ire vill age take n as a who le. The assembly also had the pow
wa s the tax f?r were kept
pur pos e say , for the con structio n of a water tank. Such collections
tax for a par ticu lar s, were
oun t obt aine d for the state. Rec ords, particularly of taxes and charitie
sep ara te fro m the am ters relating to agricultural
they intervened and mediated in mat
ma inta ine d by the assemblies and were maintained by the
ation rights, etc. Salaried personnel
lan d hol din gs, disp ute s ove r irrig on a voluntary basis.
es, such works were usually done
larg e ass em blie s; in oth er instanc
y intermediary and the
g, the king's officer was not the onl
Bet we en the vill age and the kin Pallava chiefs and other
affected by that. Feudatories like the
ass em bly wa s not in any manner e not involved in any
la kingdom, but the assemblies wer
min or rulers wer e the re in the Cho assemblies were
een the king and his feudatories. The
ma nne r in the relationship betw higher levels had no effect
the changes in the relationships at
ind epe nde nt to such an extent that the administrative and
dom from the effect of changes in
on the life of the village. This free and P?litical self-suffici~ncy
at the_ top ~as possible beca?se_of~he ~conomic
pol itic al stru ctu re bhshed and economic
ework, social institutions were esta
of the village, and, within this fram th~ assembly, fr~m which
was c~rr i~d out. The _revenue was collected by
act ivit y in the vill age y 1n the Chola kingdom. In
share. This system was followed onl
the feudatory remitted the kin gs ger politically subordinate
Deccan, the feudatories were no lon
the No rth as also elsewhere in the med into one based on
h the king meanwhile had transfor
to the king; the ir relationship wit enue, but did so on a
par ativ e stre ngt h. The y d!d not_ just pass on the king's share of rev
com
ts.
def init e political and economic bas
I
l