Studies in Cola History and Administration c12.74

c12.74

‘B’ *ll. 9-11*: *kuḍavōlai parikkumbōdu*......*ōrō-pēr koḷvadāgavum*: These lines embody the arrangements calculated to secure full publicity and the elimination of all chance of fraud in the conduct of the election. The whole *Mahāsabhā* met; the temple priests had a special part; they sat in an inner enclosure and conducted the election in the presence of the entire *Mahāsabhā*. The phrase *mahāsabhaiyilē uḷ maṇḍapattilēy iruttikkoṇḍu* means not ‘be caused to be seated in the inner hall, (where) the great assembly (meets)’ (Venkayya), but “be caused to sit in the inner *maṇḍapa* of the assembly.” From what follows, we see that this inner *maṇḍapa* must have been so situated that a person standing in it might be seen by the whole assembly. The phrase *pagulē antaram ariyūdāṇoru - pāḷaṇai-kkoṇḍu* has been