Chozha dynasty and its Nemam connection

Chozha dynasty and its Nemam connection

The Chozha Dynasty ruled southern India until the thirteenth century. The dynasty originated in the fertile valley of the Cauvery and its delta region.  Karikala Chozha stands as the most famous among the early Chozha kings, while Rajaraja Chozha, Rajendra Chozha and Kulothunga Chozha I ruled as notable emperors of the medieval Chozhas.

Vijayalaya ( 850–870 CE) began the occupation of the territory of the Pallavas, which was extended under Aditya I (870–907). Parantaka I (907–953), known as the destroyer of Madurai (the capital city of the Pandyas), defeated Sinhalese invaders and united the lands of the Chozhas and the Pandyas between 926 and 942.  Rajaraja I (reigned 985–1014), an able administrator, protected Vengi (the Godavari districts) and occupied the Gangavadi territory (in present-day Karnataka state), annihilating the western Gangas. Marital and political alliances between the Eastern Chalukya kings based around Vengi located on the south banks of the River Godavari began during the reign of Rajaraja following his invasion of Vengi. Also Raja Raja I selected many able administrators and able Army Chiefs of the fallen kingdom and gave them responsible positions in the administrative set up and in his own Army.

  By 996 he had conquered the Chera country and acquired northern Sri Lanka. With the booty thus acquired, he built the great Brihadishvwra temple at Thanjavur. By 1014 Rajaraja had acquired the Lakshadweep and Maldive islands.

His son Rajendrachozha Deva I (1014–44) outdid Rajaraja’s achievements. He placed a son on the throne at Madurai, completed the conquest of Sri Lanka, overran the Deccan (1021), and in 1023 sent an expedition to the north that crossed  the Ganga River and brought Ganga water to the new capital, Gangaikonda Chozhapuram. He conquered portions of the Malay Peninsula and the Malay Archipelago.

 Thanjavur and later Gangaikonda Chozhapuram served as the imperial capitals, while both Kanchipuram and Madurai constituted regional capitals where courts occasionally convened. The king presided as the supreme commander and a benevolent dictator. His administrative role consisted of issuing oral commands to responsible officers when receiving representations. A powerful bureaucracy assisted the king in the tasks of administration and in executing his orders.  

Every village made a self-governing unit. A number of villages constituted a larger entity known as a Kurram, Nadu, or Kottram,, depending on the area. A number of Kurrams constituted a valanadu. Those structures underwent constant change and refinement throughout the Chozha period.

Under the Chozhas, the Tamil country reached new heights of excellence in art, religion and literature.

They built numerous temples throughout their kingdom such as the Brihadeshvara Temple. Aditya I built a number of Siva temples along the banks of the river Cauvery .The teemple building activities received great impetus from the conquests and the genius of Rajaraja Chozha and Rajendra Chozha I . The magnificent Siva temple of Thanjavur, completed around 1009, stands as a fitting memorial to the material achievements of the time of Rajaraja. The largest and tallest of all Indian temples of its time, the temple sits at the apex of South Indian architecture.

The temple of GangaikondaChozhapuram, the creation of Rajendra Chozha, sought to exceed its predecessor in every way. Completed around 1030, only two decades after the temple at Thanjavur and in much the same style, the greater elaboration in its appearance attests the more affluent state of the Chozha Empire under Rajendra. The temple complex is designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The temples are part of multipurpose projects executed by the far sighted Chozha Kings. Apart from satisfying the religious needs of the subjects, they served as a meeting place for major congregations, as a refuge for the women, children, elderly and infirm during war, as a warehouse to store the agricultural produce of the kingdom. In addition, it put into productive use the population which remained idle during the break in their agricultural occupation. Most of the troops, barring those on permanent employment of the Kingdom are drawn from various clusters of villages to take part in campaigns.

The Chozhas excelled in maritime activity in both military and the mercantile fields. Their conquest of Kadaram (Kedah) and the Srivijaya, and their continued commercial contacts with the Chinese Empire, enabled them to influence the local cultures. Many of the surviving examples of the Hindu cultural influence found today throughout the Southeast Asia owe much to the legacy of the Chozhas.

Throughout their reign Chozhas followed a version of the classical Hindu faith.  Purananuru points to Karikala Chozha’s faith in the Vedic Hinduism.  Kochchengannan, another early Chozha, had been celebrated in both Sangam literature and in the Saiva canon as a saint.  Later Chozhas also stood staunchly as Saivites, although they displayed a sense of toleration towards other sects and religions. Parantaka I and Sundara Chozha endowed and built temples for both Siva and Vishnu. Rajaraja Chozha I even patronised Buddhists, and built the Chudamani Vihara (a Buddhist monastery) in Nagapattinam at the request of the Srivijaya Sailendra king.

The age of the Imperial Chozhas (850–1200) represented the golden age of Tamil culture, marked by the importance of literature. Jain and Buddhist authors flourished as well.  Jivaka-chintamani by Tirutakkadevar and Sulamani by Tolamoli numbered among notable by non-Hindu authors. The art of Tirutakkadevar embodies the qualities of great poetry.

Kamban flourished during the reign of Kulothunga Chozha III.  His Ramavatharam represents the greatest epic in Tamil Literature, and although Kamban states that he followed Valmiki, he imports into his narration the color and landscape of his own time; his description of Kosala presents an idealized account of the features of the Chozha country.

But one of the greatest contributions the Chozhas given to the Tamil country is in water conservation and water supply to harness the fertile delta region for cultivation of bountiful crops throughout the year for millennium to follow by their farsightedness. Cauvery as of now was their lifeline. It was christened as Ponni (Goldie) for giving bountiful crops of paddy harvest after every harvest. The Chozha mandalam was called the “Granary of the South”. Chozha Nadu was hailed as the one “Where its soil yields gold”.

 The major revenue for the kingdom was from agriculture by way taxes to maintain a huge Army and a resplendent kingdom. At the same time the untamed Cauvery and its tributaries were also a source of misery.  All the Chozha Kings from the time of Karikalan paid great attention to harness and tame the river and to utilize its water by building dams, water channels, ponds, temple tanks, huge lakes to ensure no water went wasted to the sea.

In this endevour the Nemam ancestors played very big role right from the time of Karikalan in advising the Kings. For their services, the kings granted them villages   under the general name of Chaturvedi mangalams.  These village clusters generally had about 100 to 300 Velis (250 to 750 hectares). Out of this 40 to 100 hectares were residential areas and the rest agricultural fields and orchards.  

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The Mannar and Maharaniyar reach the village Irawatheswaram along with the Raja guru. He is received with full temple honours by the elders of the village, Veda pundits and others. They are lead to the temple. The Mannar appears highly pleased and tells Raja guru that he has felt refreshed as never before as soon as he set foot there. He also notices that the pathway to the moat, the bridge over it, the forts and its embellishments are spic and span and lauds the upkeep of the area openly.

Gurukkal (who is following the Mannar on hearing the compliments)

This is all due the capable administration of Brahmmarayar who is the Puravalar (care taker/ in charge of administration) of the temple.

Mannar

Who is he? Is he present here? Why has not come to receive me and introduced to me as the Puravalar of the temple?

The Gurukkal is taken aback and noticing his discomfiture, the Mannar asks the Gurukkal not to feel inhibited and tell him whatever the reason.

Gurukkal

He is conducting a class for the students in the temple Mandapam. He does not like to be disturbed by any one when he is teaching.

The Mannar is surprised to hear this.

Mannar 

We have come here without prior notice. Let us first have darisanam of Easan and then go to the Mandapam to meet the Puravalar there.

All of them reach the sannadhi. The Gurukkal conducts the Deeparadhanai and distributes Thiruneeru. They come out of the Sannadhi.

Mannar

Raja Guruve! Generally, whenever I visit any temple, the Puravalar is the first one to offer the temple honours to me and tie the parivattam to honour me! Discarding that as trivial and showing primacy to teaching his students is very odd! I am therefore very eager to meet him. Let us go there.

The Mannar and the Rajaguru reach the Mandapam assuming that the teacher will be an old and infirm person and the students will be boys. Finding a youth of about sixteen years of age conducting the classes for students who are youth and middle aged, the Mannar is even more surprised. The Mannar and the Rajaguru stand there and listen to the teacher.  Unaware of the presence of the Mannar and the Rajaguru, Brahmmarayar carries on with his teaching. The students listen to him as if they are bound by some magical force.

Brahmmarayar (to students)

I have spoken about the administration of the kingdom. I will narrate now a sequence of events. You must listen carefully and answer my questions at the end.

On the day the king takes a tour of his capital city as his routine, he goes on his chariot followed by his appointed retinue for the trip. Next to the palace and surrounding it are the streets where Anthanars are quartered. Appreciating the pleasant smell emanating from the Yagakundam in their houses, he drives to the area where the Vaisyars reside. Seeing the king and his retinue, the people who have come to buy goods, give way for them to proceed. The Vaisyars come out and praise and hail the king. Accepting their greetings with a pleasing face, the king proceeds further to the locale where Kshatriyas are housed. As his chariot reaches there, the soldiers who are engaged in training stop their fight and bow to the Mannar. The king then goes around the areas where farmers, metal smiths, potters, washer men , medics and other working classes who reside in their respective allotted areas. After crossing these areas, he reaches the outer limit of the city where the forest areas start where people of hunter class live. As the Mannar reaches there, the youths among them rush to greet the Mannar as he alights from his chariot. Their Chief of hunter clan restrains them and tells the elders among them to receive the king first.  Two of the elders hand over two mud pots to the kings which are filled three fourths. The Mannar accepts them happily and looks inside to see their contents. One contains ghee and the other honey. He hands over the pots to his personal guard and asks him to bring to the palace securely. He walks around conversing with the elders. As he nears their Chief who is bowing to him, he enquires about the welfare of his people. He then enters the forest and looks at the number of neem trees grown there. Recollecting his playful childhood days there, he sees a vine plant creeping around a tree and enquires about it. The chief replies that it is a sturdy wine which is used as a rope to pull even the heavy chariots of the temples. He goes near that plant and examines it and walks back speaking to them. He then returns to the palace in his chariot. His routine tour of the city comes to an end.

Brahmmarayar concludes his narrative and looks at the students. There is absolute silence. The king and the Rajaguru are standing there curious to know what he is going to say next.

Brahmmarayar

What I have narrated now is the information derived from the Dharmasastram.  Can you tell me what do you learn about Dharmasastram from this narrative?

Youth 1

People are leading their lives based on their castes.

Youth2 (angrily)

Is it acceptable to segregate the people based on their castes and make them live in separate areas? Does the Dharmasastram promote divisive tendencies among the people and discourage their unity?

Youth3

The say that the future of the kingdom is in the hands of the youth! How is it justified to relegate the youth and promote the old people to receive and interact with the king?

Youth 4 (mockingly)

The Mannar has enormous wealth at his disposal. Still he not only accepts the ghee and honey from the poor hunters but also asks his personal guard to take it carefully to the palace! This shows that the king is greedy to accept whatever is offered to him!

The other students laugh at this comment.

Brahmmarayar does not react to any of the comments and asks whether there are any more views from any of the students. Getting no reply, he continues…

Brahmmarayar

If you take the narrative superficially, these questions are likely to arise. But I will explain how Dharmasastram justifies all the actions described in the narrative.

A king must not remain confined to his palace all the time to run his kingdom. He must go around the city and have personal interaction with people and see things on the ground for himself. Next, to segregate the living areas of the people based on their castes is not to promote division based on Varnasramam. It is only to ensure that there are no complications caused  because of the routine and life style of one group of people to other groups of people. The Anthanars are learned people whose advice, guidance and intelligence will be available to the kingdom’s administrators and others. That is why they are located close to the palace. The Vaisyars are located between of the Palace staff and Anthanars on one side and Kshatriyas on the other side centrally for the sake of convenience as they are dealing with goods and services for everyone. The Kshatriyas who are physically strong are the soldiers and their residence is on the outer side as any intruder will have to overcome them before they hope to reach the weaklings of Vaisyars and Anthanars. Also they will be engaged most of the time in training for war which will disturb others if they are residing among them. The others are located on the periphery as they have to gather the waste and dispose them off in the forest area. More importantly, the agricultural fields will not be in the centre of the city. They will be around the periphery only. It is more convenient for them if they stay nearby. The shepherds and cowherds are located near the forest area as they have to take the cattle and goats to the jungle area for foraging their food. The hunters are located in the forest so that they can ensure that the wild animals do not enter the populated areas of the city. They also double up as intelligence gatherers to report any suspect movement of outsiders or enemy spies who cannot enter the city bypassing the forest areas.  So they also do a very crucial job for the security of the kingdom. You also note that the king has gone around the areas not in a hurry but slowly so that he can observe things for himself. The youth in their exuberance may commit some blunder while receiving the king and incur his displeasure. The elderly people because of their experience are less likely to commit such mistakes. Even if they do, the king is likely to brush aside such mistakes considering their age. It is a custom to offer to a visitor some kind of a gift. The hunters offered ghee and honey as these are easily available with them and in plenty.  Still they gave only partly filled pot! Why? If the pots are filled to the brim, the contents will spill out when carried in the fast moving chariot of the king! Why the king received these gifts happily is only to acknowledge the welcome he received from his subjects and not because of the intrinsic value of the gift. To show that he cares for the gifts and their usefulness, he orders that they be taken carefully to the palace. He walked along with the people in the forest area only to impress upon his subjects that he is also one among them so that they can freely interact with him without any inhibition. By enquiring about a creeper, he exhibits that he has no false pretense that as a king he knows about everything.

So every incidence narrated here only reinforces the rules of Dharmasastram. This is what is defined as Dharmaparipalanam (just administration )!

Not only his students but also the king, the queen and the Rajaguru are impressed beyond words by his erudite explanation.

As Brahmmarayar announces the closure of the session, the students leave bowing to him in silence. The Gurukkal informs him about the arrival of the king. Brahmmarayar rushes there and bows to him.

Mannar

Brahmmarayare! I gauged you expertise in administration from observing the way the temple and its surroundings are kept. Your proficiency in knowledge, I have come to know from the way you discussed about Dharmaparipalanam with your students. If you become a minister for me, our kingdom will progress in all fields and be benefited greatly. Do you agree to come with us?

Brahmmarayar accepts the same as King’s offer is considered as divine order! Observing all these events Irawatheswarar, smiles benignly!     

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 His descendant Krishnan Raman (c 11th century AD) joined the service of Raja Raja Chola at an early age and rose to be the Commander-in-chief of the Chola forces under Rajendra Chola. He held the title Mummadi Brahmarayar Niyomanam. The Leyden Copper plates are an important source of information about him.  Krishnan Raman's achievements as an officer won him administrative roles and he was made a Tirumandira Olainayagam, the highest post  in the bureaucratic setup.

Krishnan Raman is known for the religious endowments he made. He was one of the main donors to the Peruvudaiyar temple at Thanjavur. Inscriptions in the Rajarajeswaram temple indicate that Krishnan Raman constructed the fortifications around the temple. This wall is known as Krishnan Raman Tiruchurrumaligai. This is one of the oldest surviving defensive walls around any Chola temple. A metal image of Ardhanariswara was donated by him in 1014 AD.

 Krishnan Raman's son , Maraiyan Arumoli, also known as Uttamachola Brahmarayan, also served as Senapathi in the Chola army. He assisted Rajendra Chola in building a temple for Pidari near Kolar in 1033. The descendants of their family were then called as Pazhamarneri Brahmarayas and commonly constitute the Palamaneri Brahatcharanam of the Iyer community.

Originally Vaishnavite , the followed the footsteps of their emperors and became Saivites  true to the saying of “ Yatha Raja Thatha Praja” but mostly retained their names only after Vishnu. The naming of males  as  Sundaram, Vaidhyanathan, Subramaniayam, Viswanathan  are just about three hundred years ago. Still it will be a rarity to find a Ganesan or Ganapathi among them even today!