Studies in Cola History and Administration c8.21

c8.21

In the *Peruṅgadai*, a Tamil version of Guṇāḍhya’s *Bṛhatkathā*, we have a significant statement that, on the occasion of the birth of Naravāṇa (Naravāhana), among those who took part in the festivities were: "the Sabhā dear (to the king), the five great kuḷus, the Nagaram and the Nāḍu." * As the Sabhā of the king is here distinguished from the Nagaram, we may conclude that the latter was more likely a professional corporation of merchants than an urban assembly for general administration. It may also be noted in passing that the "five great kuḷus," which some writers hold to have been a popular council of representatives, are best understood in the present context as ceremonial groups in personal attendance on the king on important occasions. †