The Colas c29.13

c29.13

Service-tenures were of various types. The assignments in favour of public servants as remuneration for their official work under government have already been noticed; these assignments were, however, only of certain rights to taxes and dues from land, and as such must be distinguished from direct assignments of land in lieu of particular services rendered. Land was endowed for instance in 1088 as *kūttāṭṭuk-kāṇi* by the *nagarattār* and temple authorities of Mānambāḍi (Tanjore dt.) for the performance of five *Tamiḻakkūttus* during the festival in the month of Cittirai in the temple of Mahādeva at Vīranārāyaṇapuram. Such assignments of revenues from the land and of the land itself formed a normal method of remunerating military service, at least in later Cōḷa times. Two inscriptions from Tiruvāḍuturai dated A.D. 1117 and 1121 mention the grant of a considerable area of arable land, constituted into a separate unit under the name Kulōttungaśōḷanallūr, as *vīrabhōga* for the enjoyment of the Kaikkōḷas, from Mēṟkā-nāḍu, who were of *śirudanam* rank and served in the palace of Gangaikoṇḍa-cōḷapuram.¹⁸ An inscription of A.D. 1125 from Śivapuri, Ramnad,¹⁹ states that Śuṇḍan Gangaikoṇḍān, a vassal of the king, promised to give as *udirap-paṭṭi* five *mā*-s of good land and three *mās* of poor land to the dependants of each of his swordsmen (*vāḷilār*) who fell in battle. He further promised that in case any of the servants of the *vāḷilār* died in war or on account of disease, he would not recover anything as his dues from their relatives which they were not prepared to give with a good grace. Yet another inscription, from Tanjore district (Kōvilkāḍu), dated A.D. 1256, records an undertaking by Śōḷagangan of Paiyūr in Toṇḍai-maṇḍalam not to collect any dues over and above 600 *kāśus* and two *kalams* of paddy on every *mā* from all the lands held by him as *paḍaipparru*.²⁰ This is obviously an instance in which a feudal chieftain was allowed to enjoy the proceeds of taxes from lands assigned to him in return for his maintaining a stated number of soldiers ready for service when required by the king.