Kingship

During the rule of Cholas, the king was the head of the administration, and all powers were vested in his hands. However, he was assisted by a council of ministers who gave him advice on all matters of governance.^[5] The king's role in public administration was to issue oral orders called tiruvayk-kelvi drafted by the responsible officials and confirmed by the Olainayamak (Chief Secretary) and a Perundaram before its despatch by the Vidaiyadhikari (clerk) to the central and local authorities. Such verbal orders were recorded in great detail in the inscriptions, usually on the walls of temples. Rajaraja I started prefacing stone records (official prasasti) with a set description of the major events of his reign. This invention symbolised the augmentation in the position of monarch. ^[6]

On the matter of the right to succession, the rule of primogeniture prevailed. The king generally appointed his Yuvaraja (heir) during his reign. The crown prince used to take an active part in administration from the time of Rajaraja and minor princes were appointed as regional governors. When approached, princes also used to give oral orders to responsible officials. ^[7]

As the territorial extent and resources of the Chola Empire increased under Rajaraja I and his son Rajendra Chola, the power and prestige of the sovereign also get enhanced. Now the Cholas kings were referred to as Chakravartiga (Emperor) and on account of their vast conquest also called Tribhuvanachakravarti (the lord of the three worlds).^[8] The pomp of kingship was magnified by the great capital cities like Tanjore, Gangaikonda Cholapuram, Madurai, and Kanchi where large imperial households and imposing state banquets were built along with numerous spectacular temples. The magnificent dana & dakshinas (charitable donations and gifts) were made by Imperial Cholas in lieu of the Ashvamedha and other Vedic sacrifices.

Divinity was also added to the kingship as idols of Cholas kings and queens were installed in the temples for worship.^[9] This practice introduced the cult of Devaraja (God-king) in Chola polity as can be attested by inscriptions that mention the construction of memorial temples in the names of kings, queens, and princes. Thus, many Pallipadai (A Shaivite temple constructed in the cemetery of a ruler or member of the royal family to commemorate the deeds of the rulers) were erected like Parantaka I built Adityesvara temple to his father. Likewise, Arinjaya Choleeshwaram was constructed by Rajaraja I to commemorate the death of Chola king Arinjaya, and Panchavanmadeviswaram was erected by Rajendra I in memory of his stepmother Panchavan Madeviyar who was one of the wives of Rajaraja I. After her death, Rajendra Chola rested her ashes in an urn and built a Shiva temple on top of it. ^[10]

Rajaraja I adopted many beautiful titles to show his imperial status. Rajaraja I decorated himself with high-sounding titles of Jayangonda, Pandya-kulasani, Singalantaka, Colamartanda, and Telingakulakala. Most of the Chola kings engraved their titles on coins and foundations of numerous temples.^[11] Like his father, Rajendra I was also fond of the display of fine titles, noteworthy among which were Pandita Chola, Mudigonda Chola, and Kadarangonda Chola, and on account of his conquest of the north, he was called Gangaikonda Chola.^[12]

Territorial Division

The Cholas ruled mainly in the territory of the Kaveri delta when the first Medieval Chola king Vijayalaya conquered Tanjore in 850 CE. Gradually, they expanded their territories in all directions, even beyond the sea. At the peak of their power, their empire included almost the whole of Tamil Nadu and parts of southern Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh.

For the administrative purpose, the Cholas divided their empire into nine provinces called mandalams headed by governors. It was not uncommon for princes to be appointed as governors of mandalams. The governors were in constant touch with the central government and sent regular replies to the king.^[13] Generally Mandalams were named after the original names or the titles of the Chola kings. Mandalam was made up of several Valnadus which itself was the group of nadus. The nadus is also known by another name referred to as kurram in Chola inscriptions as it informs that the number of kurrams constituted a Valnadu. A village (Ur) in a Chola empire was a self-governing unit. A number of such villages constituted a Kurram in different parts of the Chola country. Taniyur was a large village big enough to be a Kurram by itself. ^[14]

The Chola Bureaucracy

The absolute power of the monarchy was limited by a ministerial council and an organised bureaucracy. The heads of all administrative departments were in close touch with the king and were often asked for advice from him. However, what distinguished the Chola administration from the contemporary bureaucracy of other dynasties was its highly organised nature.^[15] Non-interference in local administration was viewed as sacred, and a careful balance was kept between centralised authority and local autonomy. However, it has also been argued that the segmentary nature of the Chola state was responsible for non-interference in local administration. As the Chola state was not a monolithic unitary entity, nadu segments were independent units and were integrated with the central bureaucracy only ritually. Thus, the Chola state had limited territorial authority from the core to the periphery.^[16]

Despite the uncertainty on the nature of the Chola state, i.e. centralized bureaucracy or segmentary administration, it is clear that there was a hierarchy within the bureaucracy, and the confidence of the monarch was the sole factor that determined how long officials would remain in their positions. The officials carried a variety of titles, including enadi and marayan, among others. In the inscriptions of this period, we find the title in more common use for designating persons in civil occupations like Kadigai-marayan, Vacciya-marayan, and so on. The top officials in the army and general administration were called adigarigal in those days. However, Karumigal and Pani-makkal were terms used for describing officers of all ranks. Designations like "Perundanam" and "Sirutanam" denoted relative seniority within the same cadre. One of the most significant officers of this kind was the Revenue official, who was responsible for the government's income and expenditures. The people who worked as officials tended to be a separate class in society. The Sirutaram were considered lower authorities, whereas the Perundaram were ranked as senior officials. The trend was towards making bureaucracy hereditary. Officials were rewarded with plots of land called jivitas depending on their social status. ^[17]

Local Administration

The Cholas are well known for their local self-government at the village level. Each village had its own administration which enjoyed a remarkable autonomy. Chola officials only participated in village administration as an observer rather than administrators. Records inform that in the villages of Chola country, three assemblies viz. ur, sabha or mahasabha and nagaram were responsible for all administrative responsibilities. Ur was a general assembly of the village consisting of all the tax-paying residents of the village. The Alunganattar served as the governing council of ur. The ur was open to adult males, although the more experienced members tended to take the lead. The sabha was the assembly only for Brahmins of the Brahmadeya village. The more intricate machinery of sabha relied heavily on committees known as variyams to carry out their duties. It appears that those eligible for election to the executive body and various committees of the ur and sabha were selected through the system of draws. The nagaram was another governing body of the village. It was basically a gathering of merchants found in the villages that were active in trade.^[18]

The Uttaramerur inscriptions dated 919 CE and 921 CE of the Chola king Parantaka I is a great landmark in the history of the Chola village assemblies which also provide evidence of India’s long history of democratic government.^[19] It offers details of the functioning of the village sabha as well as its constitution. The election rules were framed out in inscriptions from 919 CE, and while 921 CE amended those rules. Describing how the sabha shall be constituted, the inscription says that 30 different wards (kudumbus) of the village will make nominations for those who met the criteria. The elections in each ward were decided using a system called kudavolai, which literally means "pot ticket" for a period of one year. Out of the thirty, twelve people who had previously served in the garden and tank committee and were of advanced age were assigned to the samvatsarvariyam (annual committee); twelve people were assigned to the Tottavariyam (garden committee); and six people were assigned to the Eri-variyam (tank committee). The remaining two committees were the Pancha-variyam (a standing committee) and the Pon-variyam (gold committee).^[20]

Variyapparumakal, Perunguri, and Nyayaffar were the members of committee, mahasabha, judiciary respectively. The Assembly usually met in a temple, tree, or near tank. A small group of village employees known as Madhyasthas helped the committees and kept the records. The sabha was assigned the responsibility of making forests and empty land useful again. This local body assessed the produce and decide the land revenue. It was responsible for collecting land revenue and had the authority to sell the land in question in case payment wasn't made. It also had the authority to levy taxes for village-related purposes and waive certain taxes under certain circumstances. Anyone on the committee who was found to have committed a crime—whether it be a forgery or riding a donkey as a form of punishment—was immediately expelled from their position. The inscription also stresses the importance of accurate record-keeping, since any difference may lead to expulsion from the sabha.^[21]

Revenue & Taxation

The Chola monarchs had the fullest control of all the resources of the state including finance. The king had to devise ways and means of collecting sufficient finance through the department of revenue called Variayam to levy taxes and dues for public services and maintain himself and his palace and other establishments. However, the taxes were collected following the rules prescribed in ancient texts of the polity. The tax was therefore levied after consideration of the income and expenditure of the people. Revenue administration was undertaken by the officials appointed by the Chola kings. More than 500 terms occur concerning the revenue in Chola's inscriptions. The most important tax, however, was the one levied on the land and called irai in the early period and kadamai in the later period. The Chola inscriptions referred to irai-kadamai, nilak-kadamai, pancavaram, nilavari, and puravayam as other taxes imposed on lands. There is also a specific tax called kani-kadan, denoting the property rights of the land, and kadan indicating a debt or a payment. The kani-kadan can be explained as a tax, levied on the land and paid by landholders. While irai was paid to the kings, another important land lax called eccoru was a contributed in food offered to the visiting officers. The state under Rajaraja demanded 1/3rd of the gross produce. ^[22]

Besides several lax taxes, vetti and amanci were compulsory labour offered for the maintenance of irrigation systems. The water taxes referred to in Chola inscriptions as nirvilai-kuli, nirkkirai, and nirvilai, were originally levied on land as a rate for using water for irrigation.^[23] The lands were properly measured using several measurement rods called ulagalanta kol and detailed account books were maintained regarding the taxable and non-taxable areas. From the time of Kulottunga I, chieftains were given the authority to collect the revenue. Iraiyili were tax-free lands granted to temples. Many commercial taxes prevalent in the Cholas rule also contribute to the state revenue. Ulku and sungam were toll taxes levied on commercial goods passing through roads (peruvazhi). Traders, shops, and merchandise were also taxed; vanikar-perkadamai duty which was levied on traders significantly contributes to the royal treasury.^[24] Various kinds of professions such as goldsmiths, blacksmiths, carpenters, stone cutters, etc. were also taxed during the Chola period. ^[25]

Justice

The administration of justice was mostly a local affair and minor disagreements were arbitrated by the respective corporations to which the parties belonged. In these situations, the village assemblies exercised large powers and sometimes used small groups of nyayattar to solve problems that didn't fall under the purview of the jurisdiction of local occupational and volunteer groups. There are several inscriptions that refer to the dharmasana as the place to which those in charge of charitable endowments are obligated to deliver the fines that are due in case of default. Most likely, the dharmsana was the king's court of justice and learned Brahmins who knew the law, called "dharmasana-bhattas" in the Cholas inscription, aided the king in the deliberations. In the sixth year of Rajaraja II, the authorities of the temple of Pasupatisvara in Tanjore- officiating priests called pati pad a mula pattiudaiya pan- cacaryas, devakanmis, mahesvaras and srikaranam seyvar —were authorised by a separate royal order to punish thieving corrupt Brahmans, defaulting tenants, and others. This may be a delegation of authority by the government to meet a special exigency. ^[26]

The list of people who were ruled unfit to serve on village committees in Uttaramerur shows that theft, adultery, and forgery were all seen as major crimes. The king himself handled cases involving offenses on him or those of his immediate family members. R ajaraja I issuing an order of confiscating the property of those responsible for the murder of his elder brother Aditya II suggest that the crime against the royal house was dealt with by the king himself. ^[27]

Trade and Taxation

The inscriptions of this period suggest that a very elaborate revenue and bureaucratic structure was put into place by the late 10th Century. These systems were handled by two kinds of officials - important functionaries like the proto-bureaucratic and others who could be called bureaucratic officials.

The government and local authorities gave special attention to agricultural prosperity. One-third of the production was demanded as land revenue by the State. Land revenue assessment and classification of land were revised regularly. Unpaid labour was frequently employed. Public expenditure was made towards the king and the court, civil, administrative staff, roads, army, and navy. There were cantonments, and the army was trained and disciplined. A grant of village land by the king was recorded in writing, signed by four office secretaries, and entered in the accounts register. The entry was made by the tax department officers and other officers who were called the ‘maintainers of tax systems’. There were committees formed to levy taxes and fines on the construction and maintenance of canals, tanks, and embankments. A general tax called Natacci / Uracci refers to taxes on residential spaces and common areas. This indicates the proper administrative procedure in the play.