Admintration in the Kingdom


 
 
Concept Explanation
 

Admintration in the Kingdom

Administration in the Kingdom:

  • Many of these new kings adopted high-sounding titles such as maharaja-adhiraja (great king overlord of kings), tribhuvana-chakravartin (lord of the three worlds).The kings often shared power with their samantas as well as with association of peasants, traders and Brahmanas.
  • Resources were obtained from the producers-that is peasants, cattle-keepers, artisans-who were often persuaded or compelled to surrender part of what they produced.
  • These resources were used to finance the king establishment as well as for the construction of temples and forts. They were also used to fight wars which were in turn expected to lead to the acquisition of wealth in the form of plunder and access to land as well as trade routes.
  • The functionaries for collecting revenue were generally recruited from influential families.
  • The Administration of the Empire:

  • The administration organized through the Settlements of peasants, known as Ur, became prosperous with the spread of irrigation agriculture. Groups of such villages formed larger units called nadu. The village council and the nadu performed several administrative functions including dispending justice and collecting taxes.
  • Rich peasants of the Vellala caste exercised considerable control over the affairs of the nadu under the supervision of the central Chola government. The Chola kings gave some rich landowners titles like Muvendavelan, Araiyar, etc. as markers of respect, and entrusted them with important offices of the state at the centre. Brahmanas often received land grants or Brahmadeya.
  • As a results, a large number of Brahmana settlements emerged in the Kaveri valley as In other parts of south India.
  • Each Brahmadeya was looked after by an assembly or sabha of prominent brahmana landholders. These assemblies worked very efficiently. Their decisions were recorded in detail in inscriptions, often on the stone walls of temples. Association of traders known as nagarams also occasionally performed administrative functions in towns.
  • Inscriptions from Uttaramerur in Chingleput district, Tamil nadu, provide details of the way in which the sabha was organised. The Sabha had separate committees to look after irrigation works, gardens, temples etc.
  • Names of those eligible to be members of these committees were written on small tickets of palm leaf; these tickets were put into an earthenware pot, from which a young boy was asked to take out the tickets, one by one for each committee.
  • Sample Questions
    (More Questions for each concept available in Login)
    Question : 1

    At the time of chola the tax vetti was levied in the form of

    Right Option : B
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    Explanation
    Question : 2

    What did a 'Samanta' do ?

    Right Option : D
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    Explanation
     
     


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