Uttaramerur inscriptions

Also called: Uthiramerur inscriptions · Topic: Southern Dynasties: Chalukyas, Pallavas, Cholas · NCERT: Class 7, Ch 3 "Empires and Kingdoms: 6th to 10th Centuries"; Class 9, Ch 5 "State and Society up to 1000 CE"

Meaning

The Uttaramerur (also spelt Uthiramerur) inscriptions are Tamil inscriptions of the Chola king Parantaka I. They are cut into the walls of the Vaikuntha Perumal temple at Uttaramerur in Kanchipuram district, Tamil Nadu. The best-known one is dated 919 CE. It sets the rules for electing members to the village assembly (sabha) and its committees: who may stand, who is disqualified, and how members are chosen by drawing lots. [2]

They matter because they work like a written local constitution for an early medieval Indian village. NCERT uses them as evidence of a long tradition of self-government in India.

Explanation

Background: a strong state with self-governing villages

• The Chola state was built in layers:
• mandalam — the province, the largest unit.
• valanadu — the district.
• nadu — a group of villages.

• ur — the single village, the smallest unit.

• The top grew stronger:

• Rajaraja I ordered a land assessment survey (measuring land to fix tax). [3]
• He then reorganised the empire into valanadus. [3]

• He replaced hereditary princes and officials with appointed governors. [3]

• The bottom stayed local:

• The village assembly collected revenue, managed land, ran irrigation tanks and channels, kept up roads, settled disputes and kept records.

• These assemblies were self-reliant. They did not depend on state patronage (royal money or favour) to do their work.

• Revenue administration, village self-government and irrigation were all well organised under the Cholas. [2]

• Uttaramerur's formal name was Uttarameru-chaturvedimangalam. [2] A chaturvedimangalam was a village given to brahmanas learned in the four Vedas, so its assembly was a sabha of brahmana landholders.

What the inscription lays down

• The 919 CE inscription is dated to Parantaka I's 12th regnal year (the 12th year of his reign). It gives detailed rules and regulations for election to the village assemblies. [2] It covers:
• how the assembly should be run;
• the qualifications a member must have;
• the process of electing members;

• the grounds for disqualifying members. [2]

• Qualifications commonly taught from the inscription:

• the candidate must own land on which revenue is paid, and his own house;
• he must be between 35 and 70 years old;

• he must know the Vedas and be skilled in administration.

• Moral test. The candidate must have "honest earnings" (wealth got honestly) and be "pure" of mind.

• Disqualifications commonly taught:
• a person who sat on a committee recently could not stand again at once;
• a person who had not submitted his accounts could not stand, and nor could his relatives.

How the election worked: kudavolai and variyams

• Kudavolai means "ballot-pot". It was a draw of lots:
• the names of eligible candidates were written on palm leaves;
• the leaves were put into a mud pot; [2]
• a young child drew out the leaves;

• this was done at a public gathering, often at the temple.

• Why it was fair:

• The child could not read or take sides.

• The whole village watched, so nobody could fix the result.

• Around 920 CE, palm leaves were used in the same way for town gatherings across the Tamil country. [2]

• Variyams (specialised committees). The chosen members were split into working committees:
• the tank committee, for irrigation, the most important job in a dry farming region;
• the justice committee, for settling disputes;

• the tax collection committee, for revenue.

• Dividing the work among committees let the assembly actually run the village, not just meet and talk.

Results and legacy

• The rules survive because they were cut into stone. Epigraphy (the study of inscriptions) is the main source here. [2]
• The inscriptions show that village councils could issue public records of their own. Under the Cholas, inscriptions came from the royal family and also from temple authorities, village councils and trade guilds. [3]
• NCERT Class 7 calls Uttaramerur evidence of a "long continuity of democratic traditions in India, dating back 1,500 years to the janapadas".
• NCERT Class 9 draws a line on ethics in politics that runs from Ashoka's edicts to the Cholas.

Time, place and evidence

• Period: 10th century CE, early Chola period.
• Ruler: Parantaka I of the Chola dynasty. The key inscription is from his 12th regnal year, 919 CE. [2]
• Place: Vaikuntha Perumal temple, Uttaramerur (Uttarameru-chaturvedimangalam), Kanchipuram district, Tamil Nadu. [2]
• Language: Tamil.
• Evidence:
• long inscriptions on the temple walls that record how village councils were organised and run;

• the IGNCA and ASI treat them as a key example of the value of epigraphy. [2]

• The royal record for comparison:

• The Brihadisvara temple, Thanjavur, was built under Rajaraja I between 1003 and 1010 CE. Its Tamil inscriptions name the people who built and later repaired it. [3][4]
• It is part of the Great Living Chola Temples, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. [4]

Don't confuse with

• Ur vs Sabha: The ur was the assembly of an ordinary village of landholders. The sabha was the assembly of a brahmana (brahmadeya) village. Uttaramerur, a chaturvedimangalam, had a sabha.
• Variyam vs Nadu/Valanadu: A variyam is a committee of the assembly (tank, justice, tax). Nadu and valanadu are territorial units (a group of villages, and a district).
• Vaikuntha Perumal temple, Kanchipuram town: This is a Pallava temple built by Nandivarman II. The Uttaramerur inscriptions are at the Vaikuntha Perumal temple in Uttaramerur, a separate village in Kanchipuram district.
• Parantaka I vs Rajaraja I: Parantaka I issued the Uttaramerur election rules (919 CE). Rajaraja I carried out the land survey, the valanadu reorganisation and the Brihadisvara temple (1003–1010 CE). [2][3]

Prelims Hooks

• Uttaramerur inscriptions: Parantaka I (Chola), 12th regnal year = 919 CE, in Tamil. [2]
• Location: Vaikuntha Perumal temple, Uttaramerur, Kanchipuram district, Tamil Nadu.
• Formal name of the village in the inscription: Uttarameru-chaturvedimangalam. [2]
• Kudavolai = "ballot-pot": names on palm leaves in a pot, drawn by a young child in public.
• Committees = variyams, such as the tank, justice and tax collection committees. The text lays down both qualifications and disqualifications. [2]
• Chola units from largest to smallest: mandalam > valanadu > nadu > *ur*.

Mains Points

• Local autonomy inside a strong state.
• Rajaraja I tightened central control through a land survey and appointed governors. [3]
• Yet Chola villages ran revenue, irrigation and justice through elected committees, with no need for royal patronage.

• So the centre and the village were not rivals. Each layer did a different job.

• Inscriptions as an administrative archive.

• Village councils, temples and guilds all engraved records on stone. [3]
• Because of this, we know local details that no literary text keeps: election rules, committee names and disqualifications.

• Useful in answers on the sources of early medieval Indian history.

• The democracy-continuity debate.

• NCERT links Uttaramerur to the janapada assemblies and to Ashoka's ethics, and calls it a long democratic tradition.
• A balanced answer should note the limits. Only a small group could stand: qualified, property-owning, mostly brahmana men of a brahmadeya village. There was no universal vote.
• It shows continuity of assembly practice and ethical standards for office-holders, not modern democracy. It is a historical ancestor of today's panchayati raj.

Related concepts

• Mandalam, valanadu and nadu
• Mandalam
• Nadu
• Parantaka I
• Kudavolai
• Variyam
• Nagaram

Read more

• Chola administration and village self-government