Social and Political Life in the Vijayanagara Empire (A.D. 1346 – A.D. 1646) v2.c24.s1.114

v2.c24.s1.114

For purely charitable purposes endowments of the people in pre-Vijayanagara times are numerous, both in the Karṇāṭaka and Tamil lands. In the south public charities, as in the reign of Parāntaka II, were placed under the *māhēsvaras* and great men of assembly.¹ Sometimes, as in Utkal, the village assemblies pledged themselves to feed Brahmans daily from the interest which amounted to 100 *kāḍi* of paddy every year.²