A History of South India from Prehistoric Times to the Fall of Vijayanagar c12.63

c12.63

The richer classes dwelt in houses of brick and mortar; the walls often bore paintings of divine figures and pictures of animal life. Royal palaces were surrounded by gardens tastefully laid out. Houses and palaces were constructed according to rules laid down in the *śāstra*, care being taken to start at an auspicious hour carefully determined beforehand. The Neḍunalvāḍai, one of the ‘Ten Idylls’, contains a detailed description of the women’s apartments in the palace of Neḍuñjeliyan, their walls and pillars and the artistic lamps manufactured by the Yavanas; this is followed by an account of the equipment of the bedroom in the palace, its ivory bedsteads and superior cushions. High life even in those early days was thus no stranger to refined luxuries. The wife was highly honoured and was held to the light of the family. The common folk dwelt in humbler structures in the towns and villages, while out-castes and forest tribes lived in huts of sorts which are also described in the poems. The making of rope-charpoys by pulaiyans and the use of animal skins as mats for lying on deserve to be noted. The Paṭṭinappālai gives a vivid account of the life of the fisherfolk of Puhār, the paradavar, including some of their holiday amusements.