Mysore and Coorg from the Inscriptions c10.16

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.