Social and Political Life in the Vijayanagara Empire (A.D. 1346 – A.D. 1646) v1.c12.s3.t2.3

v1.c12.s3.t2.3

In purely political matters the Pāṇḍyas had set a precedent in the south. The chiefs (araiyar) of Iraṇḍumalai-nāḍu, according to an inscription dated in the twelfth regnal year of an unidentified Jaṭāvarman Sundara Pāṇḍya, gave assurance to the headmen of Kunnāṇḍār-kōyil that when they took up arms and fought with one another, they would desist from destroying the villages under their protection (kāval), and that they would cause no injury to the resident or itinerant cultivators. If, however, any person was so injured, they would pay a fine of 100 paṇam, and if a village was destroyed, they would pay a fine of 500 paṇam. Even after paying the fine, they agreed to protect the villagers and cultivators, though they might have cutting, piercing and dying in their communal fights.¹