The Colas c12.68

c12.68

There was the abode of the prosperous *yavanas* whose pleasant features arrested the eyes of spectators, and of other foreigners who, for the gains from their maritime trade, lived close to one another on quite friendly terms. Vendors of fragrant pastes and powders, of flowers and incense, weavers who worked silk, wool or cotton, traders in sandal, *agil*, coral, pearls, gold and precious stones, grain-merchants, washermen, dealers in fish and salt, sellers of betel-leaves and spices, butchers, sailors, braziers and copper-smiths, carpenters and blacksmiths, painters and sculptors (stucco-workers), goldsmiths, tailors and cobblers, makers of toys in pith and cloth, and the numerous *pāṇar* who were experts in the music of the lute and flute—these and others had their residence in Maruvūrpākkam. In the Paṭṭiṉap-pākkam were the broad royal street, the car street and the bazaar street. Rich merchants, brahmans, farmers, physicians, astrologers lived in their respective quarters. ‘Surrounding the palace were the houses of charioteers, horse and elephant riders and the soldiers who formed the body-guard of the king. Bards, minstrels and panegyrists, actors, musicians and buffoons, chank-cutters and those skilled in making flower garlands and strings of pearls, time-keepers whose duty it was to cry out the *nāḷikais* or divisions of time, as each passed, and other servants of the palace also resided within the limits of Paṭṭiṉap-pākkam.’⁷²