The Rashtrakutas and their Times c22.135

c22.135

It is, however, by no means certain that the Kalam by the Āḍavallāṉ measure, which was in use in Tanjore in our period, was exactly equal to the modern Kalam there in vogue. It may have been bigger or smaller or equal. In South Arcot district, we have seen above that the Kalam today is 50% and not 25% bigger than the Tanjore Kalam; so these measures have been by no means unchanged in the last 1000 years. Our records, however, supply us evidence to conclude that the modern Kalam at Tanjore is approximately equal to the one in vogue towards the end of the 10th century. A number of inscriptions state that one uri of ghee was required to burn one lamp, day and night. The uri in the above table is equal to 15 tolas, and it will be found that if a ghee lamp of one flame of moderate dimensions fed by two wicks is kept burning day and night, it will require 15 to 17 tolas of ghee. 15 tolas are just sufficient for the purpose, but it is possible that the endowments may have provided for some margin, or that the wicks may have been bigger than those used now-a-days, requiring a somewhat greater supply of ghee. If we assume that the latter was the case, then the uri referred to in our records would be 17 to 18 tolas, or say 17½ tolas, i. e., ⅙ bigger than the present one. Under that assumption the Kalam would be also about 16% bigger than the present Tanjore Kalam, *i. e.*, about 84 lbs.; otherwise it would be approximately equal to the modern one, *i. e.*, 72 lbs..