Local Government in Ancient India c15.31.2

c15.31.2

At this juncture a certain Viśālayadeva of Kuraikkuḍi, surnamed Avaiyan Periyanāyanār, reconsecrated the temple and saved the people apparently from imminent moral and religious degradation. ‘The villagers of Tirupputūr, of their free will, agreed among themselves to show their gratitude to Viśālayadeva by assigning to him a specified quantity of corn from the harvest reaped by each individual and to confer on him certain privileges in the temple of Tiruttaliyāṇḍa-Nāyanār’ (ibid., 1908–9, pp. 82, 83). Some inscriptions from the Madaksira taluk of the Anantapur district, ranging over a long period from the early ninth century, illustrate the heroic sacrifices of certain ‘village Hampdens’ and the grateful appreciation of the villagers concerned. No. 479 of App. B of 1916 mentions the case of a villager successfully repelling two or three destructive raids for which he was rewarded by a grant of land. No. 753, ibid., mentions the death of both son and father in a battle for their village. No. 17 of App. C of 1916 records the fame of a village warrior who defended his village against attacks. A heroic fight is described in no. 33 of App. C, in which the hero is said to have dispersed the attacking army of 1 lakh (?) infantry and 1,000 horse, and killed 500 men and 100 horse. Nos. 19 and 58 of App. C mention a rent-free grant of land as the reward of blood spilt in the cause of protecting the community or village (all the above inscriptions are in *Mad. Ep. Rep.*, 1916–17).