Assemblies in the Southern Kingdoms

Introduction

There were several great empires in Southern India, the Cheran, the Cholas, and the Pandyas. One amongst them was the Pallavas, who had a considerable role to play in the history and evolution of Politics, Society, and Culture in the Indian Subcontinent.

Origin of the Pallavas

There are various perspectives with regards to the origin of the Pallava Empire in India. Historians like B.L. Rice and his contemporaries identified that the Pallavas was similar to the Pahlavas or Parthians. However, there appears to be no evidence to suggest a Parthian migration into the Southern parts of India. Other historians have attempted to establish a link between the Pallavas and Jaffna, correlated with the island of Manipallavam specified in the Manimekalai.

Based on their research, the Pallavas claimed descent on one side from the Cholas, and on the other side, the Nagas of Jaffna. K.P. Jayaswal makes the argument that the Pallavas are from the clan of Vakatakas as both the clans share a mutual gotra.

A widely accepted theory has been posited by S.K. Aiyangar, who observes that the Pallavas were from a family of feudatories from the Satavahanas. His theory specifies that the Pallavas migrated in swathes to Tamil regions from the south most regions of the Satavahana Empire.

The Pallavas utilized Sanskrit and Prakrit, with regards to their inscriptions, gave preference to the culture of Brahmanism, and such inscriptions have been discovered both in Tamil Nadu and Andhra Region.

Pallava Administration

The Pallavas had an extremely coordinated administrative system. Monarchy was the norm, and the self-proclaimed “Dharma-Maharajas” of the empire was a symbol to demonstrate they used their power judiciously and responsibly. The King was the Head of the State, The Fountain of Honor, Judge, and Leader of the Armed Forces.

The Pallava state was demarcated into kottams. The kottams was managed by officers who were sworn into office by the King. The Village was the smallest administrative unit. Various types of villages with mixed caste demographics, Devadana and Bhramadeya were present during this period. All villages had access to skilled workers like weavers, potters, smiths, and carpernters, etc. It seems that villages functioned as self-sufficient miniature republics during the Pallava age.

Outsourcing the management of a smaller territory to an assembly or a local autonomous institution seems to be a very critical feature of the Pallava Polity.

Assemblies in the Southern Kingdoms

Pallavan inscriptions specify various local assemblies. These consist of the sabha, which is essentially a congregation of Brahmin land owners. The sabha remained operational through sub-committees, which tended to irrigation, agricultural operations, road construction, and the construction of local temples.

The Ur was used to refer to a rural assembly found in regions where the land owners were not Brahmin. The Nagaraj was an entity composed of merchants. It is probable that these assemblies were setup, controlled, and managed by affluent and powerful landowners and merchants. Several of these local assemblies continued to function for centuries.

Land revenue was a dominant stream of income. The Pallavas also expected taxes on professional vocations, matrimonial unions, salt production, sugar and textiles production, draught cattle, etc. It is clear from the testimonials of Xuan Tsang that the people were very robust, and hard-working, and the soil was incredibly rich, the workers who did farm work were paid in kind.

Conclusions

• A broadly accepted theory is that the Pallavas were from a family of feudatories from the Satavahanas.

• The Pallavas had an extremely coordinated administrative system, and the King was assumed to be at the epicenter of everything, the leader of all administrative threats, and the fabric holding the kingdom together.

• The Pallavas utilized Sanskrit and Prakrit, and had a preference for Brahmanism.

• The Village was the basic unit of administration, and the Pallava kingdom was demarcated into Kottams.

• All villages had access to skilled workers, such as potters and weavers.

• The villages themselves served as self-sufficient miniature republics during the Pallava Age.

• There were several local assemblies, and the Sabha was an assembly or congregation of Brahmi land-owners, who spoke about issues like irrigation, land ownership, road placement etc.

• The Ur was the same rural Assembly but the land-owners were comprised of Non- Brahmins.

• It is possible that these assemblies were setup by affluent and influential landowners. Several local assemblies continued to function for centuries.

• The Pallavas taxed marriages, professions, salt manufacture, sugar/textiles, draught cattle etc.

FAQs

Qns 1. What is a widely accepted theory with regards to the origins of the Pallavas?

Ans. A widely accepted theory is one posited by S.K. Aiyangar, who theorizes that the Pallavas had descended were of a family of feudatories of the Satavahanas

Qns 2. What religious tradition did the Pallavas favor?

Ans. The Pallavas favored orthodox Brahmanism.

Qns 3. What was the basic unit of administration? How was the Pallava system demarcated?

Ans. The Village was the smallest administrative unit. The Pallava system was demarcated into Kottams. Each village was in essence, a self-sufficient republic.

Qns 4. Distinguish Sabhas from the Ur?

Ans. Sabhas were congregations of Brahmin landowners who took care of administrative issues like road laying, irrigation, etc. The Ur was the same congregations in rural areas, except the landowners were non-Brahmins.

Qns 5. What did the Pallavas levy taxes on?

Ans. The Pallavas charged taxes on matrimonial unions, professional vocations, salt production, sugar and textiles production, draught cattle, etc.