Administration and Social Life under Vijayanagar c8.102

c8.102

Sometimes arbitration was resorted to even for deciding criminal cases. In the time of Vīra Sāyaṇa Uḍaiyār, a local dispute between two parties of Araiyars at Kōvilūr in the Pudukkōṭṭai State was settled by arbitration. The parties in question were one Terkilaraiyaṉ and his kinsman on one side and the descendants of one Vaḍakkilaraiyaṉ on the other. "It is said that Vaḍakkilaraiyaṉ first killed a relative (probably the brother-in-law) of Terkilaraiyaṉ and in revenge he himself was killed by the latter. Sometime afterwards the kinsmen of Vaḍakkilaraiyaṉ invaded the territory of Terkilaraiyaṉ and killed some men belonging to the party of the latter. To make this loss good, Vaḍakkilaraiyaṉ's party subsequently handed over some of their men to the other side, and both parties entered into a covenant addressed to the trustees and māṉarkaḷ of the temple of Kuḷandai Nāyakkar agreeing to be friendly to each other. Terkilaraiyaṉ and his kinsmen agreed not to commit any offence in the villages of Mēlaikkōṭṭai, Perumpuliyūr, etc., inhabited by the relations of Vaḍakkilaraiyaṉ, while Vaḍakkilaraiyaṉ's kinsmen agreed not to commit any offence in the district of Vaḷḷanāḍu inhabited by the relations of Terkilaraiyan. They also declared that in case of any violation of the settlement, they, the parties, should sit as judges (tānamumāga) and confiscate to the temple as devadāna some of the lands of the offender, for which the offender himself was to pay the taxes to the king. Fines also would be levied payable to the assembly and the king”.⁶⁰