Social and Political Life in the Vijayanagara Empire (A.D. 1346 – A.D. 1646) v2.c18.s2.t1.17

v2.c18.s2.t1.17

Dr. Barnett thus writes about the arguments put forward by Mr. Aiyangar: "It (i.e., the division of the posts of the temple staff and their quarters into those of the Right Hand and Left Hand) seems to be connected with the well known separation of the non-brahmanic castes of the South into those of the right and those of the left hand. In the temple of Kāḷi at Conjeeveram the right hand castes worshipped in one *maṇḍapa*, the left hand castes in another. If this view is correct, Mr. Srinivasa Aiyangar must be wrong in his theory that the division of the castes arose about A. D. 1010 from the distinction of the two armies of Rājarāja Chōḷa into that of the right and that of the left hand. I believe the converse to be the truth : the division seems to have been in existence long before the eleventh century, and was indicated by the separation of the castes in public worship; and Rājarāja made use of the principle (or at least the name) to classify his armies".²