The Colas c33.39

c33.39

The Great Temple of Tanjore was easily the richest temple of the time. The king alone had by the twenty-ninth year of his reign presented to it a vast amount of gold and treasure in the form of ornaments, jewels and vessels. Much of it was booty that fell to him as a result of his wars. The quantity of gold of which account has been preserved amounted to over 41,500 *kalañjus*, or, taking a *kalañju* to be about 70 grains, well over 500 lbs. troy. The value of jewels presented was about 10,200 *kāśus*, equal to half as many *kalañjus*, in gold.⁸⁰ Of silver he gave 50,650 *kalañjus*, over 600 lbs. troy. He set apart lands in several villages throughout his dominions, including Ceylon, yielding an annual income of 116,000 *kalams* of paddy, equal at the then prevailing prices⁸¹ to 58,000 *kāśus*, besides a cash income of 1,100 *kāśus*. For the service of the temple, four hundred hetaerae were impressed from among those of the other temples in the country, and they were assigned each a *pangu* (share) comprising a house and one *vēli* of land yielding a net revenue of 100 *kalams* of paddy a year. About 180 such shares were set apart further for the maintenance of as many as 212 men servants comprising dancing masters, musicians, drummers, tailors, goldsmiths, accountants and so on. Among these were three persons to sing the *Āriyam* and four others the *Tamiḻ*, apparently the two systems of music called *ahamārgam* and *dēśi* elsewhere.⁸² There was constituted also a choir of fifty persons for reciting the *Tiruppadiyam* to the accompaniment of musical instruments; the choir had the power to fill vacancies by co-optation in case any of them died or migrated elsewhere leaving behind no relative suitable to take his place; the daily remuneration for each of them was fixed at three *kuruṇis* of paddy-corn.⁸³ Rājarāja’s elder sister Kundavai presented to the temple gold of the weight of nearly 10,000 *kalañjus* and utensils of the value of 18,000 *kāśus*. Others, queens and high officials and regiments of soldiers, made other gifts recorded with equal care and precision on the temple walls and pillars. All the cash endowments amounting to several thousands of *kāśus* were loaned out to numerous village assemblies at rates of interest fixed in kind or money, and generally ranging about 12% per annum. Camphor, cardamom-seeds, campak-buds and cuscus-roots, for instance, were provided for in this manner by means of cash endowments.