The Administrative System of the Cholas
The Administrative System of the Cholas
Due to their military capability and strength, the later Chola kings conquered many countries and became rulers of a vast empire that brought the whole of South India under their control. Although the Chola kings considered military expansion and conquest as their primary aim, they also understood the necessity of governing it effectively. It can be said that the administrative system of the later Cholas served as a support for the political systems of that period in India. After each country was conquered, administrative order was established there. The Chola kings adopted a refined system of governance that combined autocracy and democratic principles. Although authority was concentrated in the king at the centre, its intensity was reduced by village administration. Village administration involved the people in governance.
Inscriptions and copper plates greatly help in understanding the administrative system of the later Cholas from the time of Vijayalaya until the decline of the Chola empire.
Central Government
The central government was strong during the later Chola period. It functioned under the direct supervision of the king. Several rules and traditions were followed regarding who should become king. The duties and responsibilities of the ruling king were defined. For administrative convenience, the Chola empire was divided into several mandalams.
The King
Kingship prevailed in the Chola empire. The custom that the eldest son should be crowned existed in the Chola empire. However, sometimes this system was abandoned on the basis that a capable person should sit on the throne. To avoid succession wars or to gain political experience, the king appointed one of his sons as crown prince and involved him in administration. When there was no direct heir, a non-heir was appointed as ruler; Kulottunga I is an example. Sometimes when the king died and his son was a child, the king’s brothers were given ruling authority.
The king held the highest administrative position in the Chola empire. The king was regarded as a god. The king also lived a life of luxury.
The king ruled the country from the capital. Thanjavur, Pazhaiyarai, and Gangaikonda Cholapuram served as capitals. In order to manage administration properly and efficiently, Thiruvarur, Chidambaram, and Kanchipuram were used as secondary capitals.
A royal official called Rajaguru advised the king in managing religious institutions.
Officials heard the complaints of the people and brought them to the attention of the king. These complaints were resolved either by the central government or by local administrative bodies. Sometimes the king travelled to various parts of the empire, met the people directly, and listened to their grievances. To resolve people’s complaints, the king issued verbal orders. This was called Thiruvaai Kēlvi.
There was no separate institution for making laws. In every village in the Chola country, assemblies were established. The resolutions brought by these assemblies were obliged to be implemented by the central government. Judicial work and dispute resolution were handled by village assemblies. Only when the village assembly was unable to resolve a case did the central government intervene.
There was no permanent council of ministers for advising the king. Regarding administration, government officials advised the king. High-ranking officials from the military and administrative departments were called officers.
Territorial divisions (States)
Because it was not easy to administer the expanded Chola empire conquered through wars using only the central administration, the empire was divided into several mandalams. During the time of Rajaraja I, the empire was divided into nine mandalams:
- Chola Mandalam – Chola country
- Rajaraja Pandya Mandalam – Pandya country
- Jayangonda Chola Mandalam – Tondaimandalam (Pallava country)
- Mummudi Chola Mandalam – Sri Lanka
- Mudikonda Chola Mandalam – Gangapadi
- Nigarilichola Mandalam – Nolambapadi
- Adhirajaraja Mandalam – Kongu country
- Mala Mandalam – Chera country
- Vengi Mandalam – Eastern Chalukya country (Vengi)
Among these, the Chola Mandalam was directly ruled by the king. Governors of the other mandalams were appointed from among princes or relatives of the king. Their duties were to maintain peace in the mandalam, report problems to the central government, and implement royal orders.
Each mandalam was further divided into valanadus, each valanadu into nadus, and each nadu into kurrams or kottams. Each kottam contained many self-governing villages.
Village Administration
The village administration system that existed in the Sangam period and continued in the Pallava period became highly developed during the Chola period. The central government focused on security, internal order, welfare of citizens, temple services, and cultural development. Other administrative functions were left to village assemblies. Only when disputes arose between two village assemblies did the central government intervene.
Boards / Committees (Varriams)
During the later Chola period, village assemblies had many responsibilities. To carry them out, separate committees were formed, called variyams. There were many variyams such as Samvatsara Varriam, Eri Varriam, Thottam Varriam, Panchavara Varriam, and Pon Varriam.
The Samvatsara Varriam was responsible for accepting charities, supervising charitable institutions, and resolving disputes brought by villagers.
The Eri Varriam was responsible for maintaining lakes, ponds, and water bodies, and ensuring proper irrigation for agricultural land.
The Thottam Varriam was responsible for agricultural lands, wasteland, and gardens.
The Panchavara Varriam collected land tax and other taxes from villagers and sent them annually to the government.
The Pon Varriam was responsible for testing gold and examining gold coins.
Apart from these, there were also other variyams such as Thadivazhi Varriam, Kazhani Varriam, and Kanakku Varriam.
Members of these variyams were selected in each village during the later Chola period through an election system called Kudavolai.
Uthiramerur Inscription
Uthiramerur is today a town panchayat near Kanchipuram in Tamil Nadu. During the later Chola period, it was a small village. In the stone walls of the Vaikuntha Perumal temple there is a large inscription known as the Uthiramerur inscription. This inscription was engraved by order of Parantaka I in his 14th regnal year (920 CE).
This inscription gives detailed information about the election system of the village assembly in Uthiramerur, including who was eligible and ineligible to become a member, the method of selecting members through Kudavolai, the assignment of members to different committees, and their term of office.
Eligible members
A person had to own at least a small amount of land, live in his own house, be between 35 and 70 years of age, be capable, educated, morally good, and earn wealth in a proper way. He should not have been a member in the last three years.
Ineligible persons
Those who had earlier been members and failed to submit accounts, their relatives, those who committed major crimes, those who had bad conduct, those who stole others’ property, those who accepted bribes, those who betrayed the village, those who were punished by being made to ride a donkey, and those who forged signatures were not eligible.
Election by Kudavolai system
Uthiramerur had thirty families (called kudumbus). Each family selected candidates by writing their names on palm leaves and placing them in bundles. A palm leaf indicating the family name was tied to the bundle, and all bundles were placed in a pot.
In public assembly, an elder held the pot. A young boy, who did not know what was happening, was asked to pick a bundle. The leaves were shuffled into another pot, and the boy drew one leaf. The name was read aloud by an official called the Madhyasthan. Everyone in the assembly confirmed it. The person whose name appeared became the representative of that family.
In this way, 30 members were selected. From them, 12 experienced members were assigned to the Samvatsara Varriam, 12 to the Thottam Varriam, and 6 to the Eri Varriam.
Twelve more members were selected from twelve settlements around Uthiramerur for Panchavara and Pon Varriams.
An official from the central government, Somasi Peruman, was present during the election and approved the results.
The elected members were called Thiruvadiyar, and their assembly was called Mahasabha. Their term of office was one year.
Meeting place and time
The Mahasabha met in public places such as village halls, riverbanks, under trees, or temple halls. Meetings were announced by drum beating. Meetings were held during the day because lighting at night was considered expensive.
Administrative officers of the assembly
Officials included Madhyasthan (record keeper), Karanathan (accountant), Padikappan (security officer), and Danduvan (executive officer). They were paid by the assembly.
Limitations
Women were not allowed to participate in elections. Common people also had limited access to membership.
Revenue
Without revenue, it was impossible to maintain an empire. Therefore, kings collected various taxes from the people. The largest source of income was land tax, called Kanikadan. During the time of Rajaraja I, it is believed that one-third of the agricultural produce was collected as tax. If tax was not paid, land was confiscated and sold.
Non-land taxes were called Kudimai. These included customs duty, fishing tax, irrigation tax, sales tax, and many other forms such as village taxes and trade-related taxes.
Army
The king was the commander of all armies. The Cholas had strong land and naval forces. Their armies included elephants, cavalry, and infantry.
A major infantry unit was the Kaikkolar army, consisting of weavers. There were also archers and sword-bearing troops.
During the time of Rajaraja I and Rajendra I, a “Threefold Great Army” is mentioned. Military camps were called kadagam. These troops also protected temples and temple towers.
The Chola army reportedly had around 60,000 war elephants and a very large number of horses.
Justice
Justice was mainly handled by village assemblies and local elders. Rules and procedures existed for trials. Most cases were handled by village courts.
The main punishment was confiscation of property. Theft, forgery, and adultery were considered serious crimes. Those punished lost eligibility for village office.
For some minor or unintentional crimes, imprisonment was not used. Instead, offenders were ordered to donate to temples or monasteries.
Translation by Hari
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