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Mysore and Coorg from the Inscriptions c10: III. Features of Administration

Mysore and Coorg from the Inscriptions c10

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III. Features of Administration

c10.1

VARIOUS statements and references in our inscriptions afford some glimpse into the ideals and methods of administration in past times. Thus, an early Ganga king is said to have assumed the honours of the kingdom only for the sake of the good government of his subjects. In the twelfth century, a high official appointed to rule over the southern province is admonished to govern the country like a father, putting down the evil and upholding the good. This indeed was always recognised as the special function of sovereignty.¹ The Kadambas are uniformly represented (according to one version) as studying the requital of good and evil. In the case of the governor above referred to, it is said (Sk 119) that the happiness of his dependants he reckoned as his own happiness. And the results of his administration were general peace and contentment. “ None were filled with conceit, none made themselves conspicuous by a display of splendour, none were in opposition, none calling out for more influence, none creating disturbances, none in suffering, no enraged enemies, none who received titles had their heads also turned by the eulogies of the bards.” And as a tribute to such ability in exercising authority, it is added, that to apply the name master or king (dore) to men of straw (pul-mānasar) is like calling a stone a jewel. The invariable phrase used with regard to monarchs on the throne describes them as ruling *sukha-sankathā-vinōdadim*, in the enjoyment of peace and pleasant (or profitable) conversation, especially, it would appear, stories relating to benefactions for charity or religious merit.

c10.2

¹ The usual phrase is : *dushṭa-nigraha śishṭa-pratipālana*.

c10.3

The signs of prosperity in a country are thus enumerated in the seventeenth century: The lord of the gods sent good rains, the earth brought forth full fruit, all points of the compass were unclouded, the various orders were diligent in the performance of their respective rites, all the people were free from disease, the land was free from trouble, the women were devoted to their husbands, and all the world was prosperous (Sr 103). A thriving town is thus described in the thirteenth century: The Brāhmans were versed in the vēdas, the guards were brave, the traders wealthy, the fourth caste of unshaken speech, the women beautiful, the labourers submissive, the temples ornaments to the world, the tanks deep and wide, the woods full of fruit, the gardens full of flowers (Ak 77).

c10.4

The advice of the priesthood was ever deemed of importance, and they often played a prominent part in political affairs. Megasthenes, in his account of India in the fourth century B.C., says of the Sarmanes (the Jain śramanas) who live in the woods, that they communicate with the kings, who consult them by messengers regarding the causes of things. Aśōka's edicts, which belong to the third century B.C., are evidence of his solicitude for all classes of his subjects, induced in part by Buddhist precept. In the second century A.D. the Jain āchārya Simhanandi made the Ganga kingdom, as it is expressed. In the eleventh century a Jain yati put the Poysalas or Hoysalas in possession of their kingdom. But Brāhmans had the foremost place in more modern times. In the twelfth century the policy of Vishnuvarddhana was radically affected by his conversion from Jajnism to the Vaishnava faith through the reformer Rāmānuja. He is thus said to have given his own country to the Brāhmans and the gods, while he himself ruled over the foreign countries won by his sword. Mādhava or Vidyāranya, an abbot of the monastery at Śringēri established in the eighth century by the reformer Śankara, was instrumental in founding the Vijayanagar empire in the fourteenth century. In the seventeenth century the Mysore king Doḍḍa-Dēva-Rāja, it is said, divided his kingdom into four parts, of which he gave the first to the Brāhmans, the second to the gods, the third to charity, and reserved the fourth for his own use.

c10.5

The heir to the throne was styled the Yuvarāja. But in order that they might gain acquaintance with the duties of administration, he and other princes of the royal house were often previously appointed as viceroys or governors of certain provinces. Thus Aśōka had been a viceroy at Ujjain in the time of his father. In his own time we have his edicts in Mysore issued by the Ayaputa (Āryaputra or prince) at Suvarnnagiri. Among the Gangas, Śrīpurusha ruled over various provinces in the east before coming to the throne. In like manner Ereyappa was a governor of Kongal-nāḍ and Pannāḍ in the west. The Chālukya prince Vikramāditya was a viceroy at Balgāmi, and when he came to the throne, his half-brother Jayasimha was put in charge of the Banavase province. Chōla princes were appointed to govern the Vengi kingdom. The Vijayanagar princes held the position of viceroys at Muluvāyi (Mulbāgal) in the east, and at Āraga in the hill country in the west.

c10.6

The king, in Hoysala times, and doubtless in others not specified, was attended by five ministers, the pancha-pradhānar (Cn 260, Ci 72). The prime minister was the sarvvādhikāri, sarvva-pradhāna, or siraḥ-pradhāna. He (in one case at least) was the tongue in the council, the other councillors being like statues (Dg 25). The functions allotted to the several ministers cannot be determined from the inscriptions. But under the Chālukyas there is mention in the eighth century of the great minister for peace and war (Kl 63). In the eleventh century he appears as the great Lāla Kannada minister for peace and war (Sk 106), and in the twelfth as the senior Kannada minister for peace and war (Sk 267). He apparently combined in himself the offices of secretary of state for foreign affairs and for war. Of the Hoysala kings, Vishnuvarddhana in 1125 is said (Cn 149) to have acquired Angara's sevenfold (*saptānga*) kingdom, and Ballāla II in 1183 is said (Bl 137) to have acquired Pāṇḍya's sevenfold (*saptānga*) kingdom; while the Vijayanagar king Bukka-Rāya in 1377 is said (Yd 46) to be ruling an empire perfect in its seven parts (*saptānga*). These are explained in the *Chandraprabha Purāṇa* as—the king, minister, ally, territory, fortress, treasury, and army. In Bl 128 the king is said to have acquired not only the *saptānga-rājya* but also the *chatur-upāya* or four expedients against an enemy (explained in the *Jaimini Bhārata* to be—sowing dissension, negotiation, bribery, and open attack), as well as the *panchānga-sanmantra* or fivefold wise counsels. These remind us of the *panchatantra*.

c10.7

The policy of provincial governors in the twelfth century, under the Kalachuryas, was supervised by *karaṇams* or imperial censors, appointed no doubt independently by the supreme government, to whom, it is said, they were like the five senses. They were *dharmmādhyakshangal* and *rājādhyakshangal* (Sk 123), or scrutineers of morality and of judicial or political affairs. They were five in number (Sk 102), and their office, as here described, was to see that the Lakshmī or lady—the State—was free from adultery, which may be interpreted as meaning, that their duty was to check any disloyalty to the throne, and to maintain the purity of justice or morals and of charitable endowments.

c10.8

The high officials generally bore the title *daṇḍanāyaka*, in more recent times shortened to *dannāyak*, denoting both military and civil rank. These were indeed frequently combined, as witness the designation of a general as *mahā-pradhāna sarvvādhikāri senādhipati hiriya-hadavala* (Bp 9, Hn 69). They were also often styled *sāmantādhipati*, implying control over feudatory chiefs. But the express military title was *senādhipati*, or, in modern times in Mysore, *dalavāyi*. The life guards, as we might term them, in the time of the Hoysalas called themselves *Garuḍas*. The general Chokimayya claims to be Biṭṭi-Dēva's or Vishnuvarddhana's Garuḍa (Hn 69, Bp 9¹). The prince Lakshma was Ballāḷa-Dēva's Garuḍa (Bl 112), and he and his force of a thousand men, who had vowed to live and die with the king, committed suicide when the latter died. In like manner, a family of Nāyakas, vowed in succession as Garuḍas to the kings Ballāḷa, Nārasimha, and Sōmēśvara (Kp 9, 10), gave up their lives along with their wives, and their servants, male and female. In battle, when victory hung in the balance, it was customary for the commander to call out some noted champion to lead a forlorn hope and devote his life to gain the day. To be chosen for such an enterprise was always represented as a great honour, and the charge was confirmed with the presentation of betel leaf to the champion from the hand of his chief (Sa 84, 86). A grant of land was made for the family of the fallen man, which in some early cases is styled *bāl-galchu*, but is mostly called a *kalnāḍ*, though the term *sivane* is used in the west. Similar grants of rent-free land, called *koḍagi*, were made to men who fell in battle. In the interesting case of Ballāḷa-Dēva's Chōḷa queen, who was distressed on account of a man killed in the force sent to punish a village for an insult to her name, the grant is called a *rakta-koḍagi* (Cn 205). Such a grant was also called *nettara-koḍagi*, meaning the same. The weapons of the foot-soldiers were mostly bows and arrows. But the infantry of the Sēuna army are said to have carried thunderbolts (*aśani-sannāha*, Dg 25), which looks as if they had fire-arms of some sort. The cavalry in the same force wore breast-plates. The courage of warriors was stimulated by the belief that their deeds of valour were eagerly watched by the celestial nymphs, who, if they fell, would bear them immediately away from the battle-field in a triumphant procession to enjoy the delights of paradise. The verse usually quoted in this connection is to the following effect:—

c10.9

¹ The *garuḍa* is the bird of Vishnu, a kite of striking aspect, having a fine rufous-coloured body, with a pure white head and neck. A chief under the Pāṇḍyas in 1123 calls himself Nolamba's garuḍa (Cd 34).

c10.10

By the victor is gained Lakshmī¹ (or fortune), by the slain the celestial nymphs; The body being destroyed in a moment, what fear of death in war?²

c10.11

¹ The goddess of fortune and beauty.

c10.12

² In the original— jitēna labhyatē Lakshmīḥ mṛitēnāpi surāṅganā kshaṇa-vidhvamsini kāyē kā chintā maraṇē raṇē.

c10.13

Another verse to the same effect says:—

c10.14

By only these two men in the world is the disk of the sun burst through;
The *sannyāsi* absorbed in *yōga*, and he who is slain in the front of the battle.³

c10.15

³ The original is— dvāv imau purushau lōkē sūryya-maṇḍala-bhēdinau parivrāḍ yōga-yuktaś cha raṇē chābhimukhē hataḥ.

c10.16

Of the secretariat there are a few notices. The private secretary (*rahasyādhikrita*) is mentioned so far back as the fifth century, under the Kadambas (Sk 29). But the most detailed account is in connection with the Chōlas, in the eleventh century (Kl 112, 111). Here is mentioned the royal secretary, who communicated the king's orders to the chief secretary, and he, on approval, transmitted them to the revenue officers to be carried out. These then assembled the revenue accountants, who made entries accordingly in their revenue registers. The nature of these may be inferred from the mention under the Hoysalas, in the twelfth century, that among his conquests Vishnuvarddhana wrote down the Banavase Twelve Thousand in his *kaḍita* (Bl 17). The *kaḍita* or *kaḍata*, which is still in use among native traders in the bazars, is made of cloth, folded in book form and covered with charcoal paste; it is written on like a slate, with a style or pencil of *balapam* or potstone, and though liable to erasure, forms a durable record.

c10.17

As to the form of official orders,—our Edicts of Aśōka, of the third century B.C., are prefaced, in the ancient mode, with a greeting wishing good health to the officials addressed (Mk 21), followed by—"the king thus commands." In the second century A.D. and onwards for some time, the early grants are prefaced by the word *siddham*, (?) confirmed (Sk 263). In mediæval times the inscriptions begin with invocations of deity, according to the creed of the donor. Then follow genealogies of the ruling sovereigns, with often long drawn out eulogies of their heroic deeds and conquests. The provincial governor is next introduced, with the phrase *tat-pāda-padmōpajīvi*, dweller (like a bee) at his lotus feet, and the same phrase is used of each subordinate with reference to his superior. The royal signature, where it is given, comes at the end. The style in the seventeenth century, as illustrated by the practice under the Keladi queen Channammāji (Sk 79), contains some up-to-date features. At the head are the words *nirūpa prati*, copy of order, followed by the date and the royal signature. At the end are the words *nirūpa band*, the order ends. The document was despatched by the hands of a court official, who was charged to see to its execution and that it was entered in the sēnabōva’s *kaḍita*.

c10.18

In revenue matters the measurement and assessment of the land were naturally of the first importance. The Sātakarṇi grant of the second century is addressed to the *rajjukam* (Sk 263), which, as previously stated (p. 15 above), literally means holder of the rope, that is, a survey officer. The *rajjukas* were originally appointed long before, by Aśōka, but perhaps for other purposes. The *prāku-pramāṇa* or ancient measurement is referred to in 1513 (Nj 195). The instrument used for the purpose was generally a pole, of which different ones are mentioned. There was the *bhēruṇḍa* pole (Sk 120), taken perhaps from the Bhēruṇḍēśvara pillar; the *dāya* pole of 18½ feet, the distance between the central pillars of the Aghōrēśvara temple at Ikkēri; the pole of 18 spans, each of 12 fingers breadth (Mb 49); and so on. Poles of 36 steps and 48 steps are also referred to (Ak 12, 13), and an *oṭṭōla* pole (Ci 64). The assessment is said, under the Chōlas in 1046 (Dv 75), to be one-sixth of the produce, and this was the recognised Hindu rate from the earliest times (see vol. ii, Introd. p. 4). But a quarter of a century later is described.

c10.19

in more detail (Mb 49) as a fifth of the produce of forest tracts and of lands on which dry (unirrigated) crops are raised, and a third of the produce of lands below a tank on which paddy is grown. Tipu Sultān, however, claimed three-fourths of the produce of irrigated land (My 54), at the same time asserting a title to the whole.

c10.20

But from an early period all the great provinces and their subdivisions commonly had their revenue value attached to the name. Thus, while Kuntala and Raṭṭavāḍi were a Seven-and-a-half Lakh country, Gangavāḍi was a Ninety-six Thousand, Banavase a Twelve Thousand, Noḷambavāḍi or Noṇambavāḍi a Thirty-two Thousand, Toṇḍanāḍ a Forty-eight Thousand. Haidar Ali's territory is called a Three Crore kingdom (Si 98). Of smaller districts, Kongalnāḍ was an Eight Thousand, Punnāḍ a Six Thousand, Sāntalige a Thousand, Hānungal a Five Hundred, Belvola a Three Hundred, Bellave a Seventy, and so on. This system is still commemorated in the Yēlusāvira or Seven Thousand country, the north of Coorg. The figures apparently indicated nishkas (see Yd 53, 54), long obsolete, the value of which varied at different times and cannot now be precisely stated, but they are popularly supposed to be equivalent to varahas or pagodas.

c10.21

Some idea of the burden of taxation may be gathered from certain inscriptions. Towards the close of the Hoysala period, in 1290, we find (TN 27) the following imposts levied on lands, whether occupied by houses or cultivated: land rent, plough tax, house tax, forced labour, accountant's fee, provender, unexpected visitor, army, double payment, change of district, threshing floor, tribute, coming of age, festivity, subscription, boundary marks, birth of a son, fodder for elephants, fodder for horses, sale within the village, favour of the palace, alarm, seizure, destruction, or injustice caused by the nāḍ or the magistrate, and whatever else may come. Under the Vijayanagar rule, in 1505, we have (Gu 67): land rent, fines, tribute, alms, gold, hombali, tolls on corn and grain, tax on Jangamas, tax on . . ., tax on meetings, duty on betel leaves, tax on Mādigas, duty on salt-pans, tax on Jīyars, customs dues, and all other taxes and imposts. See also Ml 95. Besides the revenue thus raised, taxes were imposed to provide for the festivals and offerings or other needs of temples (Gu 3, 8, 34, Sk 129). In 1491 a tax for this purpose was laid on looms, houses, oil-mills, grazing grounds, marriages, . . ., eggs, customs, imports, exports, cotton, et cetera (Nj 118). While in one case the funds for providing marriage pandals, and mirrors for dancing girls, were given up (Sk 295). In 1775 the Eighteen castes agreed to pay an addition to their land and other taxes, owing to the palace having taken for itself the funds previously provided (Yl 4). Remissions of taxes were sometimes granted, either generally or in specified parts of the country. In the sixteenth century, under Vijayanagar, the marriage tax was abolished, causing much rejoicing among all classes (Hk 111, Mi 64). Soon after, the tax on barbers, forced labour, *birāda*, customs, toll for watchmen, and other imposts were given up (Hk 110, Tp 126). Sometimes there was a vigorous protest against illegal taxation (see Sr 6, Mb 49).

c10.22

The customs duties, or *sunka*, are spoken of as the *perjjunka* or *hejjunka*, those on wholesale articles in bulk, and the *kirukula*, those on miscellaneous petty retail articles. There was also the *vaḍḍa-rāvula*. An elaborate system existed for the levy of the duties, especially in the west, where the transport of grain and other commodities had to be carried on by means of pack bullocks. A list of forty-two *ṭhānas* or custom-houses is given in Sa 123. The nature of the goods carried may be gathered from the account of those which were allowed free, within certain limits, for specified Lingāyit monasteries. For instance, Sh 28 was a permit for fifty bullocks to pass without paying toll. These might be laden with grain, areca-nut, pepper, fringed silk cloths, dried coco-nuts, grass, husked rice, rice in the husk, salt, tamarind, jaggory, oil, *ghī*, baskets, *vidala*, catechu, tobacco, cloths, et cetera; but silk, areca-nut, pepper, coco-nut kernels, and wood, were still liable to duty (Tl 83, 49). Another list will be found in Tl 72. The colour and age of the bullocks to be exempted were to be registered at the various thānas concerned. The goods thus passed free were not to be sold outside, but to be stored in the monastery for the use of the priests and their disciples.

c10.23

Of judicial procedure there is very little sign in the inscriptions. But a rough and ready justice was dispensed, and disputes were often decided by an ordeal. In 1020, under Chōla rule, a dog, which had run away on the death of its master, was appropriated by a local chief. As a penalty for this, the king's officer on the spot went into his residence, dragged out the dog, burnt the place, and seizing fifty golden images belonging to the offender, sent them to the king (Hs 10, 11). In 1057 a young chief who was a powerful wrestler had a bout with an opponent, who was thrown and died in the crush. The latter was apparently some connection of the king's. For his share in this affair, the survivor was marched off straight to Talakāḍ the capital, and there put to death (Hg 18). It may thence perhaps be inferred that death was the appointed penalty for murder. In 1417, when a Gauḍa, who had gone to visit the local governor, fell down dead in his presence, a sort of inquest was held on the body, and it was sent back to his home (Sk 37). This was under Vijayanagar rule. Under the Gangas, in 910, the destroyer of a tank or grove is said to incur the same guilt as one who has committed the five great sins (Sr 34). In 1450 we find the theft of gold and drunkenness classed with the most heinous crimes, such as the slaughter of cows, or the murder of guru, wife and Brāhmans (Cd 29). In 1654 a farmer having been put to death unjustly by a Muhammadan official, a rakta-koḍagi, or grant of rent-free land, was given to his son as compensation (Yl 29). In 1757 orders had been sent from the Bednūr court to arrest an offender who was defying the law, but the local official, on capturing him, beheaded him. For this he seems to have been deprived of some land he owned. He afterwards petitioned that the pagadi money for the time the land was put out of season should be given to him. This was refused, with an order that petitions of this kind from the country for payment of money must not be made (Sk 209, 210).

c10.24

The king himself was the judge, especially in deciding important cases. Such was the dispute between the Jainas and the Vaishnavas in 1368, in the time of the Vijayanagar king Bukka-Rāya, who, after hearing the evidence of the leaders on both sides, took the hand of the Jainas, and placing it in the hand of the Vaishnavas, delivered a decree reconciling the two (SB 136). Sometimes the mediation of a guru acceptable to both sides was invited (Ht 105). But trial by ordeal is mentioned in several cases. The earliest method consisted in the accused making oath in the presence of the god, holding at the same time the consecrated food. If guilty, it would choke him on partaking of it. Instances of this ordeal appear in 1241 and 1275 (Sb 387, Md 79). In the first the payment of some money was in question; the second was a boundary case. The ordeal of grasping a red-hot iron rod or bar in the presence of the god Hoysalēśvara is recorded in 1309.¹ A later form of ordeal was perhaps a severer test, and consisted of making oath as before, and then plunging the hand into boiling ghī (clarified butter). If no injury resulted, the defendant won his cause. Instances occur in 1580 and 1677 (Yl 2, Ag 2, 3). The first was a protest by the barbers and washermen against the potters paring the toenails and putting on an upper cloth (in wedding ceremonies). The other was regarding the rightful claimant for the office of syānabhāga or village accountant, and the decision was recognised and acted on by the court. But under the Mughal government we find in 1720 a regular magisterial process in the case of a Gauḍa whose village had been taken possession of by some one else during his absence abroad (Si 112).

c10.25

¹ Mys. Arch. Rep. for 1908.

c10.26

The earliest reference to famine is in SB 1, where one of twelve years' duration is said to have been predicted by Bhadrabāhu. This was in the third century B.C., and in the north. The ill effects of the calamity on that occasion were avoided by wholesale migration to other parts of India, but this was a sectarian movement, and though Chandra Gupta took part in it, the action was not in his capacity as a sovereign. Of a famine equally prolonged there is mention in Grant Duff's *History of the Mahrattas* (i. 43). It began in 1396, and from its severity was specially distinguished by the name of Durgā Dēvī. But no steps taken by the State for the relief of famine are recorded in our inscriptions. On the other hand, Ch. 108 of 1540 says that at that time all grains sold at 7 *mana* (maunds) for 1 *hana* (fanam), and that men ate men (*manuśa manuśara tindaru*). Things were apparently left to take their own course.

c10.27

Crimes of violence are occasionally mentioned, such as carrying off a dancing girl by force (Sk 300), or a guru's bondman (Sk 139). But by far the most numerous were cattle raids, especially in border districts. Though sometimes the work of organised bands of robbers, many were hostile demonstrations against an enemy. The cows of a village belonging to another ruler were driven off from the grazing-grounds in the intervening woodlands as an act of defiance. The cowherds often gave up their lives in defence of their charge. Or some village hero, fired with indignation, would sally forth with a few followers and recover the stolen cows, only to die of his wounds on his return. Such an exploit was reckoned as patriotic, and the man's family were provided for with a grant of rent-free land. In more daring cases the villages themselves were pillaged and the women molested. Memorial stones, rudely sculptured to represent the incidents of cattle raids and to record the grants made in connection with them, are found in all parts.

c10.28

Of measures designed for the public good, we are told (Ak 82) in 1234 that the towns in the Poysala country were surrounded with gardens, that many tanks filled with lotus were formed in their vicinity, and that groves were planted from *yōjana* to *yōjana* (about nine miles) for travellers to rest in.

c10.29

The college founded and endowed in 1290 by the Hoysala minister Perumāla at Māilangi (TN 27) deserves mention, though it was a private rather than a State institution. Provision was made in it for masters to teach Nāgara, Kannaḍa, Tiguḷa (Tamil), and Ārya (Mahratti). Then the Vijayanagar king Achyuta-Rāya established in 1539 a bank or fund, called Ānanda-nidhi, for the benefit of Brāhmans (Dg 24, Hk 123). It was apparently regarded as a great wonder, and the verses in praise of it have been found inscribed in no less than ten places. Perhaps this may be taken as a specimen of the old-time method of advertisement. Of the Mysore king (Doḍḍa)-Dēva-Rāja, it is said (Kg 37) that he made wells, ponds, and tanks, with *chatras* or inns from road to road, while temples of the gods he had made, was making, and would continue to make. He is also said (Yd 54) to have established *chatras* in every village for the distribution of food, as well as (Sr 14) at every *yōjana* on all the roads from Sakkarepattana (Kadūr District) in the west to Sēleya-pura (Salem) in the east, and from Chiknāyakanhalli (Tumkūr District) in the north to Dhārāpuram (Coimbatore District) in the south. In the Bednūr kingdom a veto was retained on the appointment of the heads of *maṭhas* or monasteries. To ensure the selection of qualified men, it was decreed that they must be in agreement with the court and the *mahattu* (the Lingāyit priesthood), not quarrelsome, hospitable, trustworthy, and having disciples (Tl 81).

c10.30

The vital importance of providing a good supply of water, whether for irrigation or for the use of towns, was always recognised. Accordingly, we find the erection of dams to rivers, from which channels were led off, and the construction of wells and tanks or reservoirs mentioned in every period. A few instances may suffice.

c10.31

One of the earliest recorded in the inscriptions was the formation of the tank at Tālgunda in the fourth century by the Kadamba king Kākustha (Sk 176). To the eighth century or before belongs the Vijayādityamangala or Bētmangala tank on the Pālār river, named after the Mahāvali or Bāṇa king who caused it to be made. It breached more than once, as it was restored in about 950 by the Vaidumba king (Bp 4), and again in 1155 by the Hoysala general Chōkimayya (Bp 9). Of the tenth century were the tanks made by the priest who ruled at Āvani in the Mulbāgal tāluq (Mb 65), and of the twelfth century those in the Tumkūr tāluq made by the liberal-minded Kaydala chief who, it is said (Tm 9), supported all the four creeds—those of Jina and Buddha, Śiva and Vishnu. In 1358 we have the account (Ml 21, 22) of a number of tanks made by a Bhaṭṭa or bhāṭ, who also planted lines of trees on the four sides, and performed the upanayana ceremony to the pīpal trees planted at the four corners. In 1653 was made the tank in Channagiri tāluq called Vali Surūr, by the Bijāpur governor Bari Mālik (Ci 43, 44). In connection with this is quoted the verse describing the merit acquired by all who assist in the formation of a tank. It runs thus: "The quail and the boar, the she-buffalo and the elephant, the teacher and the performer,—these six went to svarga." The explanation given is that a quail once scraped a hollow in the ground to nestle in; a boar came and made it larger; a buffalo and an elephant each in turn enlarged it still more; a holy man then pointed out that it could be made into a tank or pond, and the king to whom he gave this advice carried it out. For their shares in this work of merit they all went to svarga or paradise.¹

c10.32

¹ The merit of making a grant of land is thus expressed in Ck 42: "As many roots as the crops in the ground have, as many hairs as cover the cow, so many thousand years does the donor of land enjoy in paradise." See also Si 95.

c10.33

A scheme for the water-supply of Penugoṇḍa, carried out in 1388, is described in Gd 6. The prince Bukka-Rāya, who was the governor, wanted all the subjects to be happy. For this purpose, water being the life of all living beings, he in open court directed the hydraulic engineer to bring the Henne river (the northern Pennār) to Penugoṇḍa. A channel was accordingly made from the river, at Kallūḍi, to the Siruvera tank, ten miles to the north.

c10.34

As regards dams, with their channels for irrigation, an interesting account is given (Dg 23) of one erected at Harihara in 1410 on the Haridrā, near where it flows into the Tuṅgabhadrā. It soon breached, but was restored in 1424 (Dg 29). The river is addressed as if sentient and responding to the wishes of the restorer. "When you said Stop!—at your command she stood still. When you called, she at once came on, flowing through the channel." In 1416 was restored a dam on the Pālār which had been breached from time immemorial and ruined down to the level of the ground (Mb 7). In 1460 was made a new dam in the Kāvērī (Sr 139), by the chief of Nāgamangala, the channel from which was extended to Harahu. The conditions on which the contract for making a channel in 1397 was given are stated in Bg 10, and included the present of a horse and bracelets to the contractor. But it was stipulated that these, as well as the funds advanced, were to be returned if water did not flow between certain specified points.

c10.35

As regards municipal matters, we find (Sk 123, 119, 100) that Belgāmi included five *maṭhas*, three *puras*, and seven Brahmapuris, together with apparently three medical dispensaries (Sb 277). So also (Ml 109) Talakāḍ-Rājarājapura contained seven *puras* and five *maṭhas*. Agara, again, comprised three cities and eighteen *khampanas* (Tl 133, 197). In all important trading places there was usually a *paṭṭaṇa-svāmi* or town mayor, generally a prominent merchant. Some of the regulations laid down (unfortunately partly effaced) on the foundation of a town in 1331 were the following: "No fine was to be levied from a mother; brothers, elder and younger, were to share alike in property; if a female servant died, the body was to be carried forth and (? buried); if a wife died, the body was to be cremated" (Ml 114). On the rebuilding of Bāgūr in 1554, settlers were encouraged by freeing them from all taxation for one year from their arrival; after that they would be considered as permanent residents and be given full possession, all previous claims being cancelled (Hk 112).

c10.36

Commerce on a large scale beyond the limits of the country was carried on by what may be styled merchant princes, who generally had the title *mahā-vaḍḍa-byavahāri* (Ml 56, Sk 247, Ak 108). In the last is an account of a family of Maleyāla merchants, experts in goods and conveyance. One of them was skilled in testing all manner of gems. "He was so liked both by the Hoysala emperor in the south and Ballaha himself in the north, that he was able to form an alliance between the two kings. The wants of the great Mālava king, of the Kaḷinga, Choḷa, and Pāṇḍya rulers, he at once supplied. No Śeṭṭi was equal to him throughout the Hoysala kingdom—just, honoured, of kind speech, full of common sense, delighting in truth." But some great merchants were of Brāhman descent, such as those in Ak 22. One of these imported horses, elephants, and pearls in ships by sea and sold them to the kings. Another transported goods from the east to the west, and those that were suitable from the west to the east; also products from the north to the south, and those of the south to the north. The mercantile and trading classes are mostly included in the term vīra-Bananju-dharmma, at the head of which were the Five Hundred svāmis of Āryyāvale or Ayyāvale (Aihole in Kaḷādgi District—Arasikere is called the southern Ayyāvale in Ak 77). In inscriptions recording their agreements to pay certain dues on specified articles of merchandise, in order to provide for the support of local objects in which they were interested, they are described in long strings of somewhat amusing ironical or quasi-royal epithets (see Sk 118, Hg 17, Bl 117, DB 31, Hk 137). Their formal assembly was generally accompanied with setting up the diamond *vaisanige* or *baysanige*, as the symbol of their guild (Bl 75, Dg 59). A more sober account of them in 1181 (Sk 119) represents them as honoured residents of Ayyāvale and many other chief *grāmas, nagaras, kheḍas, kharvaḍas, madambas, dronāmukhas, puras,* and *pattanas* of Lāla, Gaula, Karṇṇāṭa, Bangāla, Kāśmīra, and other countries (the conventional number being fifty-six) at all points of the compass. With them are often associated, as here, the two sects of Nānā-Dēśis. The Panchālas or five guilds of artisans also describe themselves in a similar strain of ironical epithets, which are not without interest (Gu 34).

c10.37

The Twelve Āyagār are mentioned in Si 41, 112. They form the primitive village corporation, who are entitled to certain land rent-free, or to fixed fees or dues of grain and straw at harvest time. A reference to the Eighteen castes, which form the ancient Right and Left hand factions, appears so far back as in 459 (DB 67), which shows that they are much more ancient than generally supposed. In one case (Hk 104) they are spoken of as the seven-and-a-half and eleven-and-a-half. The sections included in them are called phanas, and comprise the agricultural, artisan, and trading communities. The Balagai or Right Hand¹ are headed by the Banajigas, with the Holeyas at the bottom; the Yeḍagai or Left Hand are headed by the Panchālas, with the Māḍiga at the bottom.

c10.38

¹ The great army of the Right Hand are mentioned in 1072 (Mb 49ᵃ).

c10.39

Among the officials of rural districts, the nāl-gāvuṇḍa or nāḍ-gauḍa was one of the most important. There is an interesting account (Sk 219), dated 918, of the office being continued to the widow on the death of her husband. She was a Jain, and rejoicing in her beauty, was distinguished for the skill and ability of her management. Though a woman (it says), she well protected her charge, with pride in her own heroic bravery. But on being attacked by some bodily disease, she retired in favour of her daughter, and ended her life with the performance of the Jain vow of sallēkhana.

c10.40

A number of inscriptions record the sale of villages to various applicants, especially in the hundred years from about 1670. The general valuation seems to have been based on ten years' rental (Tl 57, 85, An 90, Nl 51, Tp 112, Hn 132). But in a case four centuries earlier (Sk 282) the value was taken at five times the annual rent, and a present of cloths was given besides to the headmen. Deductions were made in the purchase money for ruined condition (Tl 67), and for lands damaged by floods, but if trees had grown up on such damaged portions they were not to be cut down (Tl 71, 74).

c10.41

An endless variety of details might be collected from the inscriptions to illustrate different features in administration, but the above may perhaps suffice to indicate some of the more salient points.

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