The Rashtrakutas and their Times c18.s1.58

c18.s1.58

Let us now consider the question whether the land tax was permanently fixed or periodically revised. Tuppad Kurahatti inscription of Kṛṣṇa III (33) states that the fixed revenue for the king's share on the land in question shall be two Gadyāṇas. The expression 'fixed revenue' may quite possibly point to a permanent settlement of the government demand; it seems not unlikely that when lands were given to Brahmanas or temples, their assessment may have been permanently fixed, if they had not been altogether exempted from taxation. Whether other lands were similarly permanently settled is a question on which our records throw no light. We have, however, seen that the writers of Smritis and Niti works allow a wide option, and permit the demand to vary between 8 and 50 per cent. It is, therefore, not unlikely that the government may have periodically revised its taxation demand in view of the changed circumstances or its own needs. This inference is supported by an inscription from Banavasi, dated 941 A.D., (34) which seems to refer to a fresh settlement necessitated by the drying up of an old irrigation canal.