Vellanvagai
Topic: Southern Dynasties: Chalukyas, Pallavas, Cholas · NCERT: Beyond NCERT
Meaning
Vellanvagai was a type of land recorded in Chola-period inscriptions, c. 9th–13th centuries. It was land held by non-Brahmin peasant owners, meaning ordinary farming families who owned and worked their own land. Chola records sorted land into types by who held it. That makes vellanvagai useful for studying who controlled land in the Chola villages.
Example
Chola inscriptions list vellanvagai alongside other land types. These were brahmadeya (land given to Brahmins), devadana (land given to temples), shalabhoga (land set aside to support a school) and pallichchhandam (land given to Jain institutions).
Don't confuse with
- Brahmadeya: land granted to Brahmins, usually free of tax. Vellanvagai was land held by non-Brahmin peasants, who paid revenue to the state.
- Devadana: land gifted to a temple, not land held by peasant owners.
Related concepts
- Temple economy
- Hero stones
- Chola patronage of bhakti
- Periya Puranam
- Kamban
- South Indian merchant guilds