A History of South India from Prehistoric Times to the Fall of Vijayanagar c12.50

c12.50

Land and trade were the chief sources of the royal revenue. The *mā* and *vēli* as measures of land were already known; but the king's share of the produce of agriculture is nowhere precisely stated. Foreign trade was important and customs revenue occupied a high place on the receipts side of the budget; the Paṭṭinappālai gives a vivid account of the activity of customs officials in Puhār (Kāvēri-paṭṭinam). Internal transit duties on merchandise moving from place to place were another source of revenue, and the roads were guarded night and day by soldiers to prevent smuggling. Moderation in taxation, however, was impressed on the rulers by many wise sayings of the poets. If their word may be trusted, booty captured in war was no inconsiderable part of royal resources. The Cholas are said to have had a strongly guarded treasury at Kumbakonam in the Saṅgam age.