The Colas c25.36

c25.36

With little assistance from contemporary literature in the elucidation of the public administration of the period, we are thrown almost entirely on the inscriptions themselves and the contexts in which the various terms cited above occur, in our attempt to interpret them. The term *naḍuvirukkai* literally means 'being in the middle' and as it is applied to the *vijñapti* (*vāykkēḷvi*) the petitioner, and the *āṇatti* the executive officer, it seems to carry with it the notion of liaison between the monarch and the persons who desired to lay matters before him for his consideration. There is no evidence to show that particular officers were told off wholly for this purpose; on the other hand, it seems more likely that highly placed officials, for one reason or another, espoused the cause of particular persons or groups that came seeking royal intercession, and consented to act as *naḍuvirukkai* in those specific cases. Likewise the execution of particular orders of the king was entrusted specially to particular officers selected for the purpose. The officers of the *ōlai*⁸⁹ seem to have been of a specialised character, and the organisation was carefully designed to minimise the possibilities of error in recording the orders. Thus the first draft of the order written by the *ōlai* officer⁹⁰ in immediate attendance on the king is scrutinised and approved by those of the *ōlai-nāyagam*,⁹¹ that is by senior officers conversant with the proper official form and practice, the custodians of official tradition, corresponding to the permanent officials of a modern secretariat, who scrutinise each new proposal in the light of existing codes, rules and practice; then the *ōlai* becomes a *tīṭṭu* and affords the basis for further action, such as an entry in the permanent record books, or a communication to the local authorities concerned, or both. Such communications to local bodies were called *tirumugam* or *śrīmukham*,⁹² and received by the addressees often with great ceremony; at any rate the official formula recording their receipt is highly formal and deferential. The Anbil plates for instance contain these picturesque phrases describing the occasion:⁹³ ‘Seeing the *śrīmukham*, we rose to welcome it, saluted it and placed it on our heads before taking and reading it.’ Among the permanent records, the *varippottagam* and the *vari-p-pottagak-kaṇakku* are to be carefully distinguished, and they formed the most important registers of the Revenue administration as their names indicate. This is, however, not to endorse what has so often been asserted of all oriental governments, that they are primarily tax collecting agencies. All governments worth the name have to collect taxes in order to maintain themselves and the public activities in their charge; and there is much evidence that the Cōḷa government was very mindful of its revenue. But the *vari-p-pottagam* was not a manual of extortion, but a carefully maintained record of land-rights, based on complete enquiries and accurate surveys, and kept up-to-date by fresh entries made from time to time by a set of well trained officials who were no strangers to the feelings of service tradition and loyalty to the king and state that actuate modern administrators. The *varippottagak-kaṇakku* was apparently a register corresponding to what we now call Demand-Collection-Balance statements, showing clearly the position relating to current receipts at any time.