CHAPTER I

LAND GRANTS TO TEMPLES UNDER THE PALLAVAS

With the extinction of the Kalabhra rule, the Pallavas emerged as a

new political force unknown to Sangam politics in Tondai mandalam
region.123 They played a very important role in the History of South India for
more than five centuries.

The glorious period of Pallava history began with the accession of

Simhavishnu (556-589 A.D) the founder. He and his successors are known
as Imperial Pallavas. This period witnessed an era of religious fervour with
the construction of numerous temples made of imperishable materials.
Simhavishnu's successor Mahendravarman I (590-629 A.D), One of the
greatest sovereigns of the Pallava dynasty, was a Jain, later converted to
Saivism by Appar. He erected a temple for Trimvurate ie., Brahma, Vishnu
and Siva with the use of imperishable materials such as stone.124 It marked a
revolutionary departure from tradition.
One of the celebrated rulers of the Pallava dynasty was
Narasimhavarman (630-668 A.D), who succeeded Mahendra Varman I. He
distinguished himself as a conqueror, patron of Hindu religion and a builder.
He was a vaishnavite, yet he patronaged saivism too. He was succeeded by
Mahendravarman II (668-669 A.D), whose reign was short and peaceful.
His son Paramesvaravarman I (669-690 A.D) followed him. He was a great
devotee of Siva and he constructed Paramesvaragraha, the temple for Siva

123
Chopra.P.N., History of South India, Delhi, 1979, p.66.
124
E.I., Vol.XVII, p.17.
and granted the village Paramesvara Mangalam.125

The most illustrious among the Pallava ruler was Narasimhavarman II

(690-728 A.D) surnamed Rajasimha. His period witnessed remarkable
achievement in the field of temple building and religion. He constructed a
temple to Siva called the Kailasanatha temple. He was tolerant of other
faiths and constructed a Buddhist Vihara at Nagapattinam at the request of
the Chinese emperor.

Narasimhavarman II was succeeded by Paramesvaravarman II (729-

731 A.D), who ruled for a short period and succeeded by Nandivarman II
(731-796 A.D), who was from a collateral branch had a long reign. Then the
later Pallava ruler. Dantivarman came to the throne in 796 A.D and ruled for
a period of fifty one years. He was followed by Nandivarman III (846-869
A.D), the victor at Tellaru. He constructed the Vishnu temple at Kiliyanur in
South Arcot District. He tried to restore the Pallava power to its former
glory. He was followed by the rulers like Nripatungavarman,
Aparajithavarman and Kampavarman. Some minor chiefs ruled Kanchi and
Tondaimandalam after Kampavarman.

The Pallava power was eclipsed by the rise of the Imperial Cholas.
Kampavarman's reign marked the close of Pallava power in 980 A.D. The
Cholas rose again and grew into glory and greatness at the expense of the
Pallavas.

During the Pallava period the concept of divine origin of kingship was

125
Thirty Pallava Copper Plates, pp.33-60; S.I.I., Vol.I, pp.141-155.
accepted. They claimed that they belonged to the Bharadvaja gotra. The
kings were ardent followers of Hindu sastras.

Regarding society, Pallava inscription mentioned more about the

Brahmins and Kshatriyas than about the other strata of the society. The
Brahmins were at the apex of the social order. They received patronage
from the royal families. The rulers took efforts to enforce the special rules
of caste and orders as laid down in Varnashrama code.126 The temples built
during the period of the Pallavas proved to be the citadels of the orthodox
caste system and socio-religious tool to achieve the supremacy of the
Brahmins.127

In the early Pallava period the royal land donations made to the
Brahmins is comparatively more than that to the temple. The Pallavas,
Pandyas and the Cholas welcomed the Brahmin migrants to Tamilnadu from
various parts of India and made enormous gifts to them.128 Only scanty
information is available regarding the other sections of the society.

During the key days of Pallava rule, their territory included the
present Madras, Chengai, M.G.R.Vallalar in South Arcot, Sambuvarayar in
North Arcot and parts of Trichi Districts of Tamilnadu. Even their rule
extended upto Chittoor district in Andhra Pradesh.129

The end of the Kalabhra rule was a landmark in the History of

126
Kuram Copper Plates, p.47.
127
Chandrababu, B.S., Op.cit., pp.65-66.
128
Dayalan, D., Op.cit., p.7.
129
Chandrababu, B.S., Op.cit., pp.22-23.
Tamilnadu. After their decline, Hinduism grew in strength with the Bhakti
movement. It was the Saivites who launched a vituperative and scathing
attack on Buddhism and Jainism.130 The Bhakti age led to the proliferation of
temples, multiplicity of deities and the growth of agamic literature.131

The Sanskrit word 'Bhakti' is derived from 'Bhaj' meaning adoration

or worship. One who adores the god with devotion is a 'Bhakta' (or) devotee
of God.132 Complete self surrender to the principle of this universe. This
period is called the Golden age of Tamil Hinduism133 which led to the
decline of Buddhism and Jainism. The cult of Bhakti encouraged
congregational temple worship and a large number of temple, big and small
were constructed.

The Bhakti movement seems to have earned the support and

patronage of the monarch. The movement spread to different parts of the
country. With sufficient endowment of land grants and other gifts, it seems
the traders, merchants, artisans, landocracy and other well-to-do became the
followers of the movement.

The beginning of temple architecture in South India is attributed to the

Pallavas because the earliest temples were built only with the use of
perishable materials. Mahendravarman I popularly called Vichitrachitta, one
of the greatest sovereigns of the Pallava dynasty substitute imperishable

130
Ibid., pp.51-52.
131
Subramanian, N., History of Tamilnadu upto 1336 A.D., Madurai, 1972, p.383.
132
Cultural and Religious Heritage of India, Vol.III, Delhi, 2004, pp.1-3.
133
Ramasamy Sastri, K., The Tamils and their Culture, Annamalai Nagar, 1967,
p.77.
materials like brick and timber. The last inference of the Mandagapattu
inscription134 is important it proves that the Hindus knew perfectly well how
to build temples during the period of Mahendravarman I. Which led to the
evolution of so many temples during the period of the Pallavas followed by
the Pandyas and the Cholas. Mahendravarman I built the temple for
Triumvirate namely Siva, Vishnu and Brahma.

The temple became a major institution. The religious life of the

people centered around the local temple. Temples provide solace and
comfort to the people besides appeasing their inner urges and the search
within. Those who wanted to amass the blessings of the God liberally
donated lands to the temples as part of their prayers.

There is a bulk of epigraphical evidence during the Pallava and

Pandya times which speaks about construction, renovation and additions
made to the temples. The benefactors in the list are the kings,135 chieftains,
noble persons,136 royal ladies137 and other royal members138 beside them are
the Brahmins including Brahmin ladies,139 officials,140 merchants,141
pontiffs142 and village administrative bodies.143

134
E.I., Vol.XVII, p.17.
135
S.I.I., Vol.XII, Nos.8 and 9.
136
S.I.I., Vol.XIV, No.44.
137
S.I.I., Vol.XII, No.129.
138
S.I.I., Vol.XIV, No.27.
139
S.I.I., Vol.XIII, No.287; S.I.I., Vol.XIV, No.98.
140
E.I., Vol.VI, p.32b; S.I.I., Vol.XIV, No.3.
141
S.I.I., Vol.VIII, No.663.
142
Ibid.
143
S.I.I., Vol.XIII, No.314.
 Land being the immovable property, (i) it was easy for the donors to
donate them having easy access to the temples; (ii)donors preferred donating
the lands which ever yielding, perpetual gifts unmarred by the change of
time and fury of nature; (iii) yields from the lands became the major fiscal
source of revenue for the temples and it was to be used only for the specific
services;144 (iv) land was the most important, the most valuable, and most
desired commodity of gifts in medieval times. It enabled the donees to meet
almost all the wants of medieval households economy directly or
indirectly;145 (v) the enormous endowments in land made to the temples
show that the king and his people aimed at leaving no want of the temple
unsupplied;146 and (vi) attainment of a place in heaven is the fruit of gifts of
land.147
The land were measured in terms of veli, kuli and ma. Generally
when the lands were to be given away as gifts, the boundary of the
village to be given away was fixed by following the beat of a female
elephant.148 In Prakrit and early Sanskrit inscriptions mention the extent of
land measured by the plough, nivartana or pattika. Later on padagam is
used in the sense of cultivable land. The boundaries of lands in Pallava
times were measured and fixed differently.149
Gift lands donated to Siva temples were marked by a stone called
"tirsulakkal" and in case of Vaishnava temple by tirunalikkal and on the

144
S.I.I., Vol.II, p.76.
145
Pandeya, B.K., Op.cit., p.10.
146
S.I.I., Vol.II, p.11.
147
Appadurai, A., Economic Conditions of South India, 1000-1500 A.D., Vol.I,
Madras, 1936, p.26.
148
Sastri, K.A.N., Pandyan Kingdom - from Earliest Time to 16th Century A.D.,
Madras, 1972, p.88.
149
Minakshi, C., Op.cit.‚ pp.107 - 108.
boundary stones of Jain temple the three umbrellas (mukkudaikkal) were
inscribed.150

The lands granted to Siva temples were named as devadana, Vishnu

temples as tiruvidaiyattam and to the Jain Shrines as pallichchandam.

Grants Made by Kings

The Pallava kings constituted an important part in the society. They

were god fearing and they were keen in protecting the subjects and in
promoting dharma. They were called as dharmamaharajas, adhirajas.

Each and everyone of the Pallava king was of a religious

temperament. They were tolerant towards their subjects and stood as
defenders and protectors of different faiths that prevailed in the kingdom.

The kings made a number of endowments to the temple because they

might have felt that by appropriating the deity they could atone for all
atrocities they committed in the war.151

The kings not only built most of these temples but made liberal
endowments for the regular services and special festivities. The large tracts
of lands were granted to big and small temples by kings. They were called
as devadanams which were either partly or fully exempted from taxes.
In the early Pallava grants, the orders of the village or land gifts as

150
A.R.E., 135/1939 - 40.
151
Ananthi, B., Crime and Punishment in Early Tamil Society, Madurai. 2002,
p.96.
devadana was issued by the king himself to his officials with instructions to
make a note of the gift in the register and to grant the village all kinds of
immunities making it an entirely tax - free village.152

The royal gifts can be classified into svadatti153 and paradatti'154. In

the later Pallava grants the paradatti gifts are those where some one acts as
vijnapati155 or petition and some other as ajnapati.156

In the early Pallava period, the royal land donations made to the
Brahmins is comparatively more than that to the temple. Gift of villages
formed an important source of revenue to the temple. It placed the temples
on permanent financial status. There are only few instances of village grants
to temples during the period of the Pallavas.

The earliest known copper plate inscription in Tamil and the earliest
village grant to the religious institution was issued by Simhavarman in his
sixth regnal year in 550 A.D was Pallankovil grant. It records the grant of
the village Amanserkkai in Perunagarnadu in Venkunrakkottam and
Sixteen and half patti of land in Tamar to Vajranandikkuravar, a Jaina
teacher of Paruttikkunru as pallichchandam.157 The boundaries of the
donated village are clearly mentioned in the inscription. Narabhaya, the
minister figures as the ajnapati of the grant. It indicates the spirit of

152
Minakshi, C.., Op.cit., p.163.
153
Svadatti : Indicates the gift made out of one's own will.
154
Paradatti : gift made at the request of others.
155
S.I.I.,Vol.XII, No.44.
156
Executing officer.
157
Thirty Pallava Copper plates, pp.18 – 31; T.A.S.S.I, 1958-59, pp. 41-83.
tolerance that prevailed among the members of the Pallava royal family
towards the other religious sects.

The Kuram plates158 of Pallava king Paramesvaravarman I state the

endowment of a village Paramesvaramangalam as a devadana
brahmadeyam. This village was divided into twenty five shares out of
which twenty shares were given to the Brahmins, three shares for performing
puja in the temple ie for the worship, the bathing of idol flowers, perfumes,
incense, lamps, oblations, conches and drums . One share for reciting the
Mahabharata in the temple, and one share for bringing water and fire to the
mandapa at Kuram. It is interesting to note that this grant makes provision
for the exposition of the Mahabharata along with the daily worship of Siva
in the Kuram temple.

During the period of Dantivarman at the request of a certain Kaduvetti

Muttaraiyan, an endowment of four patti of land made to the old temple of
Vishnu called Tirumerrali at Iraiyancheri in Conjeevaram Taluk, Chingleput
District.159

An inscription in the Parthasarathi temple at Triplicane, Madras

describes Dantivarman as the ornament of the Pallava family and records a
gift of land.160

The donor of the Velurpalayam grant is Nandivarman III who was the
grandson of Nandivarman II. He was a great devotee of Siva. His reign
158
Thirty Pallava Copper plates, pp. 33 – 60; S.I.I., Vol.I, pp.141 -155.
159
S.I.I., Vol.XII, No.44; A.R.E., 89/1921.
160
Chopra, P.N., Op.cit., p.66.
witnessed the ascendancy of Saivism. In this case, the complete
proprietorship rights over the village were not given to the donees. Only the
kings income from the village is diverted to the religious institution. The
village Tirukattupalli was donated by the Pallava king Nandivarman to the
temple of Mahadeva at Velurpalayam in 852 A.D. The Velurpalayam plates
clearly state that taxes and immunities received by the king within the
jurisdiction of the village were now assigned to the temple and not the
ownership of the village.161 Nandippottaraiyar who defeated his enemies
at Tellaru made a gift of land to the pidari temple of Mangalam at
Niyamam.162

At the request of a Bana chieftain the village of Vikramaditya

chaturvedi mangalam which was formed by clubbing together three villages
was granted by Pallava Nandivarman III to the temple at Tiruvallam.163

Charitable endowments to the temple were entrusted either to the

village assembly or to the authorities. Many village donations made for the
purpose of maintaining jointly the temple as well as the Brahmins were
known as devadana brahmadeya villages. A copper plate inscription of
Aparajitha dated 879 A.D refers to the royal grant of tax - free devadana
brahmadeya by clubbing Pudur with Melirunjeru as kani to the sabha of
Melirunjeru stipulating that they should measure out 1000 kadis of paddy
annually as panchavara to the deity Subrahmanya at Tiruttani at the instance

161
A.R.E., 1911-14, p.14; S.I.I., Vol.II., Part V, No.98.
162
A.R.E., 11/1899.
163
S.I.I., Vol.III, No.43.
of vamana.164

A record in the 12th year of Aparajithavarman refers to a gift of land

after purchase from a resident of Iganaimudur for offerings perfume, incense
and for a perpetual lamp to the god Cholamalyisvara at Orrimudur i.e.
Tiruvorriyur.165

In the 25th regnal year of Vijayakampavikramavarman, mentioned a

gift of land endowed to a deity called Irunda Perumanadigal as devadana
and made tax-free for conducting a festival for seven days from visakam to
tiruvonam in vaikasi (May) every year.166

It was also necessary for the king to maintain properly the land
donations previously made to the temple. At Tirukkalukkunram the Pallava
king Skandasisya gifted certain tax free land to the local temple and
accordingly Narasingapottaraiyar Narasimhavarman I had to confirm the
grant. Following this Rajakesarivarman Aditya I at the request of an
individual maintained the grant like the former kings.167
There are occasional references to the grant of pallichchandams in
the stone inscriptions of the later Pallava rulers such us those of
Nandivarman II and Kampavarman.168
The status of women was fairly high in the upper strata of Pallava

164
Thiruttani and Velanjeri copper plates, A.R.E., 1977 - 78, p.35.
165
S.I.I., Vol.XII, No.93; A.R.E., 180/1912.
166
A.R.E., 309/1969-70.
167
E.I., Vol.III, No.38A.
168
Minakshi, C., Op.cit., p.168.
society. The Pallava queens were pious and made endowments to the
temple. Charudevi one of the earliest Pallava queen of the heir-apparent
Vijaya Buddhavarman made a gift of four nivartanas of land to a Vishnu
temple at Dalura.169

The royal ladies also made village grants after getting concurrence
from the reigning king. An inscription from Manalurpet, South Arcot
District registers a gift of village for offerings and lamp by a royal lady with
the permission of her elder brother.170

Grants made by the Feudal Chiefs

The medieval age had a Governmental polity made up of the kings

and feudatories. The subordinate chieftains in the Tamil country were called
as feudatories.171 Muttarayas and Banas were the notable feudatories under
the Pallavas.

The Muttarayas were the petty ruling chiefs ruled the portions of
modern Thanjavur and Thiruchirappalli district, Sendalai,172 a small village
near Tirukkattupalli and Niyamam173 as centres of their activity. They were
the feudatories of the later Pallava kings like Dantivarman and his
successors. They also donated lands to temple.

169
E.I., Vol.VIII, p.146.
170
A.R.E., 469/1937-38.
171
Rajalakshmi.R, Tamil Polity, Madurai, 1983, p.65.
172
S.I.I.,Vol.XIII, No.187.
173
A.R.E., 202/1926.
 A Tirumayyam inscription174 refers to a Perumbidugu Perundevi, the
mother of Sattan Maran. She has repaired the Vishnu temple namely
Satyagirinathaperumal temple at Tirumayyam and granted some lands for
the upkeep of the temple. She granted it as a tax free gift inclusive of
Karanmai, Kudimai and Miyatchi rights.

In the 13th year of Videlvidugu II alias Kuvavan Sattan (ie) in 804

A.D, the Sabhaiyar of Kiranur registered some lands as endowments for the
conduct of festivals for the Perumanadigal of Uttamadanisvaram of
Kiranur.175

The Banas were orginally feudatories of the Satavahanas and after the
fall of them they became feudatories of the Pallavas of Kanchi. The Banas
figure as feudatories of the Pallavas from the reign of Nandivarman II.176
Bana inscription from Gudimallam.dated in the 23rd year of Nandivarma II
Pallavamalla records a gift of land for a lamp to burn in the Paramesvara
temple at Tiruvippirambedu (ie) Gudimallam.177

Another Bana inscription from Tiruvallam dated in the 62nd regnal

year of Nandivarman II registers that Ratnavali, the beloved queen of Bana
king Vijayaditya I made a gift of land to the temple at Vanapuram.178

In the 4th year of Aparajithavarman Kumarandai Kurumbaradittan

174
I.P.S., Part I, No.13.
175
Ibid., Part II, No.237.
176
S.I.I.,Vol.III, No.90.
177
A.R.E., 229/1923.
178
S.I.I., Vol.III, Nos.42 and 43.
(alias) Kadu Pattipperaraiyan, the chief who had connection with the
Pallavas made a gift of the village Turaiyur including its income in gold and
puravu179 for conducting the worship in the temple of Matangesvara at
Tirumatanganpalli in Tekkurnadu, a subdivision of Paiyyur Ilankottam.180

Another inscription belonged to the 10 th year of Aparajithavarman

records gift of 1000 kulis of land in the village of Singapura to the god
Tirumerralidevar at Nenmali for sounding music during the sribali service
by Sattandai Suthamallan alias Pallavaraiyan.181

Grants made by officials

Many gifts to temples were made as a matter of routine by royal
officials. Even minor officers made gifts. An inscription of the 22 nd of year
of Nandivarman, Sandippeliyar182 purchased one and half a veli of land
called Vannakkavilagam from the assembly of Tribhuvanamadevi
chaturvedimangalam for burning a lamp and for offerings to the god
Tiruvaigaudaiya mahadeva at Tribhuvanamadevi chaturvedimangalam as
the surname of Tiruvaigavur in Papanasam Taluk, Tanjore district.183

Grants made by the common people

The donations and endowments coming from individual persons were
another important source of wealth to the temples. Though small and
meager. We find all classes of people donating lands according to the need

179
A tax on land collected either in kind or coin.
180
S.I.I.,Vol.XII, No.86.
181
A.R.E., 154/1942-43.
182
A person in charge of conduct of ceremonies in the temple
183
S.I.I.,Vol.XII, No.58.
of the temples and to the best of their capacity.

In the 3rd year of Nandivarman III, a resident of the village Tigaittiral

built the temple of Tigaittiral vishnugriha at Kilinelur in Oyma - nadu and
gave 2 pieces of land (seru) made tax free for providing offerings to the
god.184 In later inscriptions the god is called Virrirunda Perumal.

Another inscription of the same period records the gift of 250 kulis of
land free of tax in Nallur to the west of Simmali by Sadaiyan Attimallan of
Simmali to Intalainadu for providing food offerings at the time of the mid-
day worship to the deity Tirukkalisvarattu Mahadeva at Nallur, a
brahmadeya in the same nadu.185

An inscription issued during the reign of Nandivarman III refers to the

grant of tax-free land Mummulaippatti at Ilayanur by Iruvarumma
vinnikkidiyar for some temple service.186

A record dated in the 5th year of Nandivarman III registers the gift of
village for offerings and lamp to the Agastyesvara temple at Manalurpet, in
Thirukkoyilur taluk, South Arcot district by Mahadevadigal, the daughter of
Vanakovaraiyar Siddhavadavanar with the permission of her elder brother
Vayirimeganar.187

During the period of Nirpatunga many land gifts were made. An

184
S.I.I., Vol.XII, No.47.
185
A.R.E., 120/1974-75.
186
A.R.E., 324/1992-93.
187
A.R.E., 169/1937-38.
epigraph of Nirpatunga in 871 A.D records a gift of six mas of land for
providing offerings to the god Mahadeva at Pillaipakkam by a certain
Ayyakkuttiyar for the merit of his elder brother Pillaippakkilar of
Pillaippakkam in Sriperumbudur Taluk, Chingleput district.188

In the 7th year of his reign, Paliyili Sriyanaigai, the wife of Minavan
Tamiladiyaraiyan189 made an endowment as archana bhogam to the Sattan
of the sabha a free gift of kani to the extent of 3 velis of land and for these
stipulating that the land should be inalienable and that not only the taxes due
there on be including irrigation taxes of every kind should be dedicated as
offerings to the temple but the land should be enjoyed by the Sattan of the
sabha and his descendants. If he failed or in case of the extent of the breach,
the donee shall be liable to a penalty of 25 kalanjus of gold to be paid to the
temple.190

There is a reference from the inscription dated in the 18 th year of

Nirpatunga, recording that Nangali Akkan, the daughter of Chendi residing
at Alancheri in Alinadu raised a shrine at (...lani) Nallur and endowed land
for food offerings and a garden for a festival on the day of tiruvadirai in
chittirai.(April).191

An incomplete inscription found on slab lying near the Agastisvara

temple, Achcharavakkam, Chingleput Taluk and district belonged to the
period of Nripatungavarman records a gift of 800 kulis of land as

188
S.I.I., Vol.XII, No.80, A.R.E., 172/1930.
189
The Pallavas of Tamil country.
190
I.P.S., part I, No.19.
191
A.R.E., 251/1967 - 68.
archanabhoga to provide for worship to the god Agastisvarar by a certain
sankan.192
A fragmentary record of the same king registers a gift of 7 mas of
land to the Siva temple at Pillaipakkam by a certain Padirikilar Singan.193

A record dated in the 18th year of Aparajithavarman refers to a

remission of taxes made by the sabha of Tiruttaniyal on 1000 kulis of land
purchased by Nambi Appi from the villagers and given over to the
Dharmigal 194 for providing offerings and for burning 2 twilight lamps in the
temple of Tiruvirattanattudeva in Tiruttani, Tiruttani division, Chittoor
district.195 The donor is evidently identical with the builder of the temple.196

An inscription issued during the reign of Vijaya kampavarman,

Niranjanaguravar of Tiruvorriyur constructed the temple to
Niranjanesvarattu Mahadeva at Tiruvorriyur and made a gift of 20,000 kulis
of land by purchase from the assembly of Manali for its upkeep.197

Another inscription of the same king registers the agreement made by

the Tirunamakkilavar of Ulaichcheri in Urrukkadu to burn three lamps and
to provide offerings to the God for the money and land received by them
from Pusali Vamanan, a resident of the village.198
There is a reference from the inscription found on the North, West and

192
S.I.I., Vol.XII., No.83; A.R.E., 108/1933 - 34
193
S.I.I., Vol.XII No.81; A.R.E., 172 A/1929 - 30
194
Dharmigal : A body that managed the charitable endowments.
195
S.I.I., Vol.XII, No.95; A.R.E., 435/1905.
196
A.R.E., 433/1905 Thirutttani copper plates of Aparajithavarman
197
S.I.I., Vol.XII No.105; A.R.E., 372/1911
198
S.I.I., Vol.XII No.108; A.R.E., 345/1906.
South Walls of the Kailasanatha temple, Kilpulam, Arkonam Taluk, North
Arcot District registers a gift of land made by Mullikkudaiyan Adittanali for
conducting the sribali ceremony and for offerings during the three services
the temple of Triukkulichcharattu - Alvar at Palkalam in Damar - Kottam
with five persons one beating the gong (segandigai) and two for blowing the
trumpets (kalam). The assembly of Palkalam entrusted the endowed land to
Arayanichchingan, a drummer (uvachchan) residing in the village.199
The land donation by individuals mainly of non-brahmins were in
some cases made after getting concurrence from the reigning king. An
inscription from Tiruvallam in 793 A.D states that a Goldsmith granted some
land to a temple at Vanapuram after purchasing it from a manradi
(Shepherd) and the Bana king permitted the grant after circumambulating the
hamlet.200

The endowed properties were managed by the alumganathar or the

mulaparushai or the amritaganattar of the temple.201 The land donations to
temples upto 700 A.D were very limited. Majority of them were given only
by the kings, chieftains, and other royal members. Next to them the
Brahmins and their ladies and village assemblies. The donated land
belonged to the donor202 or was purchased from the individuals203 or from
the village assemblies204 or was fallow land made fit for cultivation.

199
S.I.I., Vol.XII, No.114; A.R.E., 152/1916.
200
S.I.I., Vol.XII, No.16.
201
A.R.E., 47/1913.
202
S.I.I., Vol.XII, No.47.
203
A.R.E., 435/1905.
204
S.I.I., Vol.XII, No.105.
 The temples were great gifts of medieval Hinduism to the Tamil
country. For the construction, maintenance and renovation of temples, the
rulers, royal family members, village assemblies and chieftains lavishly
granted lands for the conduct of festivals, regular prayers and pujas. Of all
the benefactors, the kings of the medieval period involved themselves in the
philanthropic and religious activities on a large scale so next to the rulers the
temples were the chief land owners of the country.

Geogrphical Jurisdiction of the Donors

The lands gifted by kings fall into one of the following four groups:
(i)land which was the property of the crown. The Pallava kings owned
personal farms in villages;205 (ii)land which was unoccupied; (iii) land
confiscated to the state for the non-payment of revenue or treason or for
some other cases; and (iv) the land which was in the hands of a private
individual or a village community. It was purchased by the state and made
over to the grantee.206

The lands endowed to the temple should not be always under its
absolute ownership. They were donated with many or any one of the rights
like karanmai, miyatchi and kani rights.207 The lands which were held
under the absolute ownership of temples of Siva and Vishnu temples were
called as tirunamattukani208 and tiruvidaiyattam209 respectively. In many

205
Thirty Pallava Copper Plates, p.326.
206
A.R.E., 433 and 435 /1906; S.I.I., Vol XII, No.93.
207
I.P.S., Part I, No.13; I.P.S., Part II, No.237.
208
S.I.I., Vol XVII, No.144.
cases the right of alienation of lands by temples was not given. The land
was donated after withdrawing the kings right on it. Kovum porium matri.210

Private land grants to temples seem often to have transferred a share

of lands production which was normally collected under the right of
proprietorship.211 The land donated to the temple were referred as iraiyili212
(tax-free land) it doesn't mean that the village itself was free from the
payment of the taxes. The recipient of the revenue changed from the state to
the temple. If it was an individual, then it was the duty of the particular
individual to make the land free from payment of taxes by paying a lump
sum of money or gold213 as the tax due on the land for all the time to come.
The sabha and other corporate bodies also made iraiyili land donation to the
temple.

The land became the major source of revenue to the temple so care
was taken before transferring the land to the temples. The rights of the
previous occupants known as kudi of the donated land were protected. In
most of the cases the occupants of the village or the lands were not evicted
and it was known in the records as kudininga devadanam. During the
medieval period this type of devadanam was popular. In some cases, the
rights of the previous occupants of the donated land were evicted and it was
known as kudinikki devadanam. But the reason for the eviction was not

209
A.R.E., 34/1936-37.
210
Thirty Pallava Copper Plates
211
Kenneth, R. Hall, Trade and Statecraft in the Age of the Cholas, Delhi, 1980,
p.23.
212
A.R.E., 324/1992-93.
213
Minakshi, C., Op.cit., p.167.
known.214

The Pallavas donated lands to Siva, Vishnu temples and Jain pallis.
The donated lands were situated in Kurram, Uttukkadu, Achcharavakkam,
Pillaipakkam, Satyavedu, Pillaipalayam, Tiruvorriyur in Chingleput district.
Tiruttani, Nenmali in Chittoor district. Manalurpet, Kilinelur in South Arcot
district. Velurpalayam Dusi in North Arcot district. Tirumayyam, Nallur
Tiruvaigavur, Mangalam in Tanjore District.

Quantification of Land Grants

While Quantifying the land grants to the temples under the Pallavas
we came to know about the number of land measurement practised during
the Pallava period. Many of these continued even today in Tamil country.

In the early Prakrit and Sanskrit inscriptions the extent of land

measured by plough, nivartana or pattika. Plough measurement was used
as a standardised unit of land measure.215 The Pallava inscriptions do not
donate the exact measurement of the area contained in nivartana. Pattika as
a unit of land measure216 is a Sanskrit term for the measure. Patti in found in
the Tamil inscription of the Pallavas.217 Nivartana or pattika or patti lands
were denoted by the name padagam in some Tamil inscriptions.218
Padagam is used in the sense of cultivable land. Later from Kampavarman's
inscription were obtain the measurements of a padagam as 240 kulis of
214
Tirumalai, R., Studies in Ancient Township of Pudukottai, Madras, 1981, p.251.
215
Minakshi, C., Op.cit., p.106.
216
E.I., Vol VIII, p.235.
217
S.I.I., Vol.XII No.44; A.R.E., 89/1921 & Thrity Pallava Copper Plates, pp.18-31.
218
A.R.E., 80/1898.
lands.219 veli220 and kuli221 were the most common land measures. Kuli is a
unit of square varying with different times and districts from 144 square feet
to 576 square feet.222 From the time of Nripatungavarman a kuli consisted
of 81 square feet.223 Hundred kulis of land was equivalent to 1 ma, 20 mas
was equivalent to 1 veli and 1 veli was equivalent to 6.7 acres of land.224

The Pallavas made both village grants and land grants. The village
grants were made mostly by the kings. There are few instances of village
Grants to temples during the period of the Pallavas. The kings like
Simhavarman, Paramesvaravarman I, Aparajithavarman, Nandivarman III
granted villages to the temple.225 Perumbidugu Perundevi, the mother of
Videlvidugu Vilupperadi Araisan alias Sattanmaran, the feudatory of the
Pallavas granted village to the Siva temple, Tirumayyam.226

The most favourable kind of donation was the land donation. The
land donation was praised in the Pallava charters as the best dana than any
other dana.227 There are many kind of land donations referred to in the
inscriptions during Pallava period. In many cases the fallow or dry land was

219
S.I.I., Vol.XII, No.105; A.R.E., 372/1911.
220
E.I.,.Vol VIII, p.121.
221
S.I.I., Vol.XII, No.95; A.R.E., 433 and 435/1905.
222
Minakshi, C., Op.cit, p.108.
223
A.R.E., 33/1900.
224
Subramanian, N., The Tamils (Their History, Culture and Civilization), Madras,
1996, p.96.
225
S.I.I., Vol.I, pp.141-155; S.I.I., Vol.II, Part I, No.98.
226
A.R.E., 402/1906.
227
E.I., Vol.XXIV, pp.209-303; E.I., Vol..XXXII, pp. 91-92.
made fit for cultivation228 and donated to the temple. Lands were also
donated to the temple after their purchase from the corporate bodies 229 or
from the individuals.230 More than 33, 860 kulis of land were donated to
different temples in chingleput district, Chittoor district, North Arcot district,
South Arcot district, Tanjore district231 and so on. Some of the Pallava
inscriptions simply mentioned the gift of land, the
measurement was not given.232 Apart from the ordinary lands the garden
land were also donated to the temple.233

In the early Pallava period the land donations made to the Brahmins
was more than that made to the temple, but in the later Pallava period the
temples received lots of land donations and gradually the temple became the
biggest land holder.

228
S.I.I., Vol VI, No.446; S.I.I., Vol.III, No.45.
229
S.I.I., Vol.XII, No.58.
230
S.I.I., Vol.VI, No.356; S.I.I., Vol.III, No.42.
231
S.I.I., Vol.XII, No.114; I.P.S., Part I, No.19.
232
A.R.E., 324/1992 - 93.
233
A.R.E., 251/1967 - 68.