Mandalam, valanadu and nadu
Also called: Chola administrative divisions · Topic: Southern Dynasties: Chalukyas, Pallavas, Cholas · NCERT: Beyond NCERT
Meaning
These were the layers of government in the Chola kingdom (9th–13th centuries), from largest to smallest. A mandalam was a province. Each mandalam was split into valanadus (districts). Each valanadu was split into nadus, and each nadu was a group of villages (urs). Each nadu had its own assembly of leading peasants, and villages had their own assemblies. So the king ruled from the top, but a lot of daily work was done locally.
Example
In the Chola heartland, Cholamandalam (a mandalam) held several valanadus. Each of these held many nadus, made up of urs. Village assemblies at the bottom collected revenue, managed land and irrigation, looked after roads and settled disputes. The Uttaramerur inscriptions of Parantaka I (10th century) show one such village assembly at work.
Don't confuse with
- Gupta-era divisions (bhukti > vishaya): the north Indian system. Do not mix up the names. The Chola order is always mandalam > valanadu > nadu > ur.