Chola Kingdom - Administration

- V. Praveen Kumar
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Chola Administration
The Chola kings followed a highly efficient system of administration
The entire Thanjavur district, parts of Trichy, Pudukottai and South
Arcot districts formed the part of the Chola Mandalam
The Cholas had three major administrative divisions
◦ Central Government
◦ Provincial Government
◦ Local Government
The whole of South India was for the first time brought under a single
government
The Cholas’ system of government was monarchical
Chola Administration
Early capital at Thanjavur and the later on at
Gangaikonda Cholapuram
Kanchipuram and Madurai - regional
capitals in which occasional courts were held
The efficient Chola administrative system
has been well appreciated by many historians
and rulers
The King
The king was the supreme leader and a benevolent authoritarian
The king was the head of the administration
The Chola kings and Queens were considered as representatives of God.
Their idols were kept in temples
The Chola kingship was hereditary - eldest son as heir
The Chola monarchs enjoyed enormous powers and privileges
The Chola kings took up titles which marked their achievements
Kings went on tours in order to keep better touch with the administration
Administrative role - issuing oral commands to responsible officers when
representations were made to him
The fairness of king’s orders dependent on his morality and belief in Dharma
Government structure

The Chola Dynasty was divided

◦ Mandalam ( Province)
◦ Valanadus (Division)
◦ Nadu (District)
◦ Ur (Village)
Central Government

The Central Government under the headship of the

King
Kings were assisted by ministers and officials in
their administration
Council of ministers and officials took active part in
running the administration of Central Government.
The higher officials were called Peruntaram and the
lower officials were called Siruntaram
Provincial Administration
The Chola Empire was divided into nine provinces. They were also
called mandalams. The head of the province was called viceroy. Close
relatives of kings were appointed as viceroys. The Viceroys were in
constant touch with the Central Government. Viceroys received orders
from the king. They sent regular reply to the king. The viceroys had a
large number of officials to assist them in the work of administration.
The Chola empire was divided into 9 provinces called mandalam,
each under a governor called Mandala mudalis who were paid salary
in the form of lands. They were required to maintain an army out of
the resources and maintain peace in their respective territories.
Divisional Administration
The success of the Chola administration depended more on the proper functioning of
the administrative divisions
Generally mandalams were named after the original names or the titles of the Chola
kings
Each mandalam was divided into number of Kottams or Valanadus
The valanadu was under periyanattar
Each kottam was sub divided into nadu
The provinces were in turn divided into districts called Nadus which were about 500
in number and were run by an autonomous assembly called Nattar
One of the most important administrative units of the Cholas was Nadu. Each nadu
was headed by a Nattar while the council of nadu was named nattavai
Representatives of the Nattavais and nattars promoted agriculture. They also took
care of the protection of the people and tax collection.
Local Administration
The most important feature of the Chola administration
was the local administration at districts, towns and
villages level
Each nadu was further divided into (Urs) villages which
form part of the last unit of the administration
Uttaramerur inscriptions speak much about the Chola
administration
Village autonomy was the most unique feature of Chola
administrative system
Revenue
Rajaraja Chola I - initiated a massive project of land survey and assessment and there was a reorganisation of the empire into
units known as valanadus
The land revenue was the main source of income of the Chola Government. Proper land survey was made. Lands were
classified as taxable land and non taxable land. There were many grades in the taxable lands. Land revenue differed according
to these grades. Generally 1/6 of the land yield was collected as tax either in cash or in kind or both according to the
convenience of the farmers. Besides land revenue, there were some other sources of income like customs and tolls. Taxes on
mines, ports, forests and salt pans were collected. Professional tax and house tax were also collected. Many other taxes were
levied. Tax burden was more on the society. Sometimes due to failure of rain and famine people could not pay tax.
The Cholas paid attention to irrigation and used river such as Kaveri for this purpose. Raja Raja I conducted a land survey
during his time in order to fix the governments’ share of land revenue. In addition to land tax, income was derived from tolls
on trade, taxes on professionals and also from plunder of the neighbouring  territories.
Chola government depended mainly on the land revenue as the main source of income. 1/6 of the land produce was collected
as tax. Besides land revenue, customs and tolls were the other source of income for the empire. Moreover, taxes on ports,
forests and mines contributed to the treasure of the king.
Besides land revenue, there were tolls and customs on goods taken from one place to another, various kinds of professional
taxes, dues levied on ceremonial occasions like marriages and judicial fines. During the hard times, there were remission of
taxes and Kulottunga I became famous by abolishing tolls and earned the title - Sungam Tavirtta Cholan. The main items of
government expenditure were the king and his court, army and navy, roads, irrigation tanks and canals.
Military
The Chola dynasty had a professional military, of which the king was the supreme commander. It had four elements, comprising the cavalry, the elephant
corps, several divisions of infantry and a navy.
There were regiments of bowmen and swordsmen while the swordsmen were the most permanent and dependable troops. The elephants played a major
role in the army and the dynasty had numerous war elephants.
The soldiers of the Chola dynasty used weapons such as swords, bows, javelins, spears and shields which were made up of steel. The Chola navy was the
zenith of ancient India sea power.The navy grew both in size and status during the medieval Cholas reign.
The Cholas had an efficient army and navy. The Chola army consisted of elephant, cavalry and infantry. Soldiers were given proper training.
Commanders enjoyed the ranks of nayaks and senapathis. The army was divided into 70 regiments. The Chola arm had 60,000 elephants. Very costly
Arabian horses were imported to strengthen the cavalry. The Chola kings defeated the Cheras at Kandalur salai. The kings of Ceylon and Maldives were
also defeated. The Chola navy was formidable one in South India. With the help of their navy the Cholas controlled Coromandal and Malabar coasts.
Bay of Bengal became the Chola lake. The Chola army and navy together had 1,50,000 trained soldiers. The armies of the tributary chieftains also joined
Chola army at needy times. Generally the Chola army was led by the King or Yuvaraja.
The Cholas maintained a large army consisting of infantry, cavalry and elephants which were called the three limbs of the army. The venetian traveler
Marco Polo says that all the bodyguards of the king burnt themselves in the funeral pyre of the dead king.
The Cholas possessed an efficient army and navy. The army was made of 70 regiments. Chola kings imported highly efficient Arabian horses at a very
high price.
The Chola king acted as the chief justice, as the trial in major cases were conducted by the king himself. The minor disputes at the village level were
heard by the village assembly.
The Cholas maintained a regular standing army consisting of elephants, cavalry, infantry and navy. About seventy regiments were mentioned in the
inscriptions. The royal troops were called Kaikkolaperumpadai. Within this there was a personal troop to defend the king known as Velaikkarar.
Attention was given to the training of the army and military cantonments called kadagams existed. The Cholas paid special attention to their navy. The
naval achievements of the Tamils reached its climax under the Cholas. They controlled the Malabar and Coromandal coasts. In fact, the Bay of Bengal
became a Chola lake for sometime.
Justice
Justice was mostly a local matter in the Chola Empire; minor disputes
were settled at the village level. Punishment for minor crimes were in
the form of fines or a direction for the offender to donate to some
charitable endowment.
The Chola king was the chief justice. The Chola kings gave enough care
for the judicial administration. The village level judicial administration
was carried on by the village assembly. Minor disputes were heard by
the village assembly. Disputes were settled with proper evidences.
Village assemblies exercised large powers in deciding local disputes.
Punishments were awarded by the judicial officers. The trial of serious
offences and major cases were conducted by the king himself.