Social and Political Life in the Vijayanagara Empire (A.D. 1346 – A.D. 1646) v1.c12.s2.t2.29

v1.c12.s2.t2.29

Turning to the villages, we find that inscriptions give some details about village officials. One of the most coveted offices seems to have been that called the *gauḍike*. The office of a *gauḍa* is, for example, met with in A.D. 1512-13.⁵ In what manner the duties of a *gauḍa* were similar to those of a *sthala-gauḍa* cannot be made out. We are aware of a *sthala-gauḍike* in about A.D. 1533, and again in A.D. 1547.⁶ These three epigraphs also give us the names of other important village officials—the *sēnabōva* or *sānbhōga*.