History of the Pallavas of Kanchi c15.29

c15.29

The activities of the Sabhās were varied in character and they dealt with all important aspects of village life. From the Pallava inscriptions alone we gather that these Sabhās looked after the temple and its administration, and received the endowments made on behalf of temple services. In addition to this many of these Sabhās looked after the supervision and repairs to the village tanks which were brought into existence with considerable labour at the instance of the Pallava kings. Some of these immense irrigational tanks which must have engaged the skilled labour of a vast body of men have survived to our own times. These include, the Paramēśvara Taṭāka in Kūram near Kāñchīpuram, the Mahēndra Taṭāka in Mahēndravāḍi not far from Arkonam, Tirayanēri, Vayiramēga Taṭāka in Uttaramallūr, in the Madurantakam Taluk, Chitramēgha Taṭāka, Veḷḷēri and probably the large tank at Māmaṇḍūr which now irrigates a large area. The irrigation channels figuring in the Pallava inscriptions include the Perumbiḍugu Vāykkāl, the channel cut from the Pālār to Kūram and the Vayiramēga Vāykkāl, both of which probably owe their origin to the Pallava kings bearing these surnames. The supervision and upkeep of these tanks and channels must have entailed a great deal of labour and attention on the part of the village Sabhās many of which had a separate Tank Supervision Committee as is clear from one of the later inscriptions.¹ The great tank at Uttaramallūr owes its origin to one of the Pallava kings named Vayiramēgan and figures frequently in the inscriptions relating to the activities of the Uttaramallūr Sabhā during the reign of Dantivarman and Vijaya Kampavarman.²