Pandya Dynasty

levels. Three levels specifically mentioned in the consulted sources. Towns and Hamlets inferred due to the presence of capital, cities and villages. :1. Capital : “The Pandya dynasty was centered in the city of Madurai on the extreme southern coast of India.” ^[1] ::2. Cities :: “From 7th to the 13th century, their capital was Madurai. Other important cities in the kingdom were the port cities, Kanyakumari, Kottalam and Suchindram.” ^[2] :::3. Towns (inferred) ::::4. Village :::: “The relief very likely represents a local legend associated with the village Govindaputtur on the northern bank of the river Kollidam (Coleroon) in Tamil Nadu. An ancient Saiva shrine, it was visited by Appar and Sambandar, two important Saiva saints who may have lived in the seventh century. Both recorded the local tradition of a cow attaining salvation at Govindaputtur by adorning the Sivalinga of the local temple known as Tiruvijayamangai.” ^[3] :::::5. Hamlet (inferred)

[1]: (Middleton 2015, 716) 2015. ‘Pandya Dynasty’ In World Monarchies and Dynasties: Vol 1-3. Edited by John Middleton. London: Routledge. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/7F5SEVNA/items/BISZJCDB/collection

[2]: (Kamlesh 2010, 596) Kamlesh, Kapur. 2010. ‘Pandya Dynasty’ In Portraits of a Nation: History of Ancient India. New Delhi: Sterling Publishers. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/7F5SEVNA/items/3TS5DCT6/collection

[3]: (Pal 1988, 259) Pal, Pratapadiya. 1988. Indian Sculpture: 700-1800 Vol. 2. Berkeley: University of California Press. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/7F5SEVNA/items/GI668E2K/collection

levels. Four levels specifically mentioned in the consulted sources. Officers and soldiers inferred due to the presence of defence minister, general, and the Gajaadhyaksha (overseer of elephants) whose exact place in the hierarchy seems unclear. Possible that more levels were present. King seems likely to have been at the top of the hierarchy, based on comparison with other South Asian polities. :1. King “The first two rulers of the early medieval line were Kadungon (560-90) and his son Maravarman Avanishulamani (590-620). The latter is credited with ending Kalabhra rule in the area and reviving Pandya power.” ^[1] ::2 Defence Minister :: “The Sivakasi copper plate inscription mentions the name of a minister who was also the secretary in charge of defence and foreign affairs.” ^[2] :::3.Gajaadhyaksha (overseer of elephants) ::: “Similarly, Srivaramanangalam copper plate grant of King Nedunjadiayan also mentions an official known as Gajaadhyaksha (overseer of elephants). Navy was an essential part of the military might of the Pandyas. Pandya kings made several naval campaigns against the kings of Ceylon.” ^[2] ::::4. General :::: “His son Rajasimha formed an alliance with the Chalukyas and challenged the Pallava king Nandi Varman II. The later was under siege when one of the Pallava generals rescued him by killing the Pandya generals.” ^[3] :::::5. Officers (inferred) ::::::6. Soldiers (inferred)

[1]: (Singh 2008, 558) Singh, Upinder. 2008. A History of Ancient and Early Medieval India: From the Stone Age to the 12th Century. Delhi: Pearson Longman. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/7F5SEVNA/items/UJG2G6MJ/collection

[2]: (Kamlesh 2010, 599) Kamlesh, Kapur. 2010. ‘Pandya Dynasty’ In Portraits of a Nation: History of Ancient India. New Delhi: Sterling Publishers. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/7F5SEVNA/items/3TS5DCT6/collection

[3]: (Kamlesh 2010, 598) Kamlesh, Kapur. 2010. ‘Pandya Dynasty’ In Portraits of a Nation: History of Ancient India. New Delhi: Sterling Publishers. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/7F5SEVNA/items/3TS5DCT6/collection

In the below quote, Rocher argues that professional lawyers did not exist in India for much of its history. Unhelpfully, Rocher does not provide dates or much in the way of temporal boundaries. However, the use of the word “ever” in the sentence “no written source allows us to draw the conclusion that the experts on legal matters ever developed into a professional group whose regular activities consisted in representing parties in the court” may perhaps be taken to mean that professional lawyers did not exist in India before the colonial era.

“Thus, we believe that at an early date—let us roughly say at the time of the dharmasutras—professional lawyers or, to be more precise, specialized dharmasastrins could not exist. The Indian sage in those days was a specialist in all of the texts related to a particular Vedic school. His specialized knowledge concentrated on a specific version of the Vedic samhita and all its related texts: brahmana, aranyaka, upanisad, srautasutra, grhyasutra, dharmasutra, etc. There were no specialists on dharmasastra, and, a fortiori, no specialists on law that were part of it.

“But the situation changed. The texts on dharma grew away from the Vedic schools. Gradually there may have come into being a specialized group of learned men whose main interest was dharma, and the various dharmasastras as such.

“Finally, as the amount of textual material increased, we may assume that certain experts, without detaching themselves completely from aspects of dharmasastra and from Hindu learning generally, accumulated a very specialized knowledge of one aspect of dharma: vivada and vyavahara, or, in modern terminology, law. It is very possible that at this stage the nature of legal representation (niyoga) also underwent a certain change. We do not want to exclude the possibility that, at that moment, in a number of cases legal competence played a role in the choice of a representative. We are even willing to accept that Vyasa refers to the very special circumstance in which the representative was paid for his services. However, no written source allows us to draw the conclusion that the experts on legal matters ever developed into a professional group whose regular activities consisted in representing parties in the court. The impression which we gather from the texts is that, even in cases where the representative was chosen because of his special competence on legal matters, and, a fortiori, in all other cases, the necessary condition for a person to represent a party was the existence, between the former and the latter, of a certain form of close personal relationship.” ^[1]

[1]: (Rocher 1969: 399-400) Rocher, L. 1969. "Lawyers" in Classical Hindu Law. Law & Society Review 3 (2/3): 383-402. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/QKMEMIHW/library

Dharmasutras. “The subject matter of the Dharmasutras, therefore, includes education of the young and their rites of passage; ritual procedures and religion ceremonies; marriage and marital rights and obligations; dietary restrictions and food transactions; the right profession for, and the proper interaction between, different social groups; sins and their expiations; institutions for the pursuit of holiness; king and the administration of justice; crimes and punishment; death and ancestral rights. In short, the unique documents give us a glimpse if not into how people actually lived their lives in ancient India, at least into how people, especially Brahmin males, were ideally expected to live their lives within an ordered and hierarchically arranged society.” ^[1]

[1]: (Olivelle 2000, 1) Olivelle, Patrick. 2000. Dharmasutras: The Law Codes of Apastamba, Gautama, Baudhayana, and Vasistha. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/7F5SEVNA/items/RTJ2KC23/collection

The following quote suggests that markets were likely present due to presence of merchant guilds. “Merchants organized themselves into a guild and were associated with similar associations in other parts of India. Inscriptions in the Pandyan country dating from 9th century onwards gives us graphic account of activities of members of the guild. Several facts concerning their free movement from one place to another, their settlements, the names of the guilds, their philanthropic activity both inside the Pandyan country and outside are well attested.” ^[1]

[1]: (Soundaram 2011, 77) Soundaram, A. 2011. ‘The Characteristic Features of Early Medieval Tamil Society: An Overview’ In History of People and Their Environs: Essays in Honour of Prof. B.S. Chanrababu Edited by S. Ganeshram and C. Bhavani. Chennai: Indian Universities Press. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/7F5SEVNA/items/CISI5MVX/collection

“The royal grants provided or the building of tanks and wells in the villages.” ^[1]

[1]: (Kamlesh 2010, 600) Kamlesh, Kapur. 2010. ‘Pandya Dynasty’ In Portraits of a Nation: History of Ancient India. New Delhi: Sterling Publishers. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/7F5SEVNA/items/3TS5DCT6/collection

Temple. “Known locally as Vettuvankoli, this temple was excavated from live rock probably during the reign of Varugana I, one of the great kings of the Pandya dynasty, who ruled from 765 until 815.” ^[1]

[1]: (Pal 1988, 259) Pal, Pratapadiya. 1988. Indian Sculpture: 700-1800 Vol. 2. Berkeley: University of California Press. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/7F5SEVNA/items/GI668E2K/collection

Drinking water supply systems. “The royal grants provided or the building of tanks and wells in the villages.” ^[1] The following quote also suggests that markets were likely present due to presence of merchant guilds. “Merchants organized themselves into a guild and were associated with similar associations in other parts of India. Inscriptions in the Pandyan country dating from 9th century onwards gives us graphic account of activities of members of the guild. Several facts concerning their free movement from one place to another, their settlements, the names of the guilds, their philanthropic activity both inside the Pandyan country and outside are well attested.” ^[2]

[1]: (Kamlesh 2010, 600) Kamlesh, Kapur. 2010. ‘Pandya Dynasty’ In Portraits of a Nation: History of Ancient India. New Delhi: Sterling Publishers. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/7F5SEVNA/items/3TS5DCT6/collection

[2]: (Soundaram 2011, 77) Soundaram, A. 2011. ‘The Characteristic Features of Early Medieval Tamil Society: An Overview’ In History of People and Their Environs: Essays in Honour of Prof. B.S. Chanrababu Edited by S. Ganeshram and C. Bhavani. Chennai: Indian Universities Press. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/7F5SEVNA/items/CISI5MVX/collection

“The kings cared for the education of the subjects and maintained schools and centers for higher learning. They made land grants to the learned people to establish Agraharas and promote learning and education.” ^[1]

[1]: (Kamlesh 2010, 600) Kamlesh, Kapur. 2010. ‘Pandya Dynasty’ In Portraits of a Nation: History of Ancient India. New Delhi: Sterling Publishers. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/7F5SEVNA/items/3TS5DCT6/collection

“Transport of commodities was a problem in those days. Roads within urban limits were maintained by local authorities like ur or sabha. Trunk roads were not officially the concern of anybody but were maintained by their users especially traders. We hear of toll-gates and accountants who maintained the accounts of the tolls. The travelling merchants had their guards in arms.” ^[1]

[1]: (Soundaram 2011, 77) Soundaram, A. 2011. ‘The Characteristic Features of Early Medieval Tamil Society: An Overview’ In History of People and Their Environs: Essays in Honour of Prof. B.S. Chanrababu Edited by S. Ganeshram and C. Bhavani. Chennai: Indian Universities Press. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/7F5SEVNA/items/CISI5MVX/collection

“Other important cities in the kingdom were the port cities, Kanyakumari, Kottalam and Suchindram.” ^[1]

[1]: (Kamlesh 2010, 596) Kamlesh, Kapur. 2010. ‘Pandya Dynasty’ In Portraits of a Nation: History of Ancient India. New Delhi: Sterling Publishers. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/7F5SEVNA/items/3TS5DCT6/collection

The following quote suggests that trading emporia were likely present due to the presence of trunk roads and travelling merchants who used these routes. “Transport of commodities was a problem in those days. Roads within urban limits were maintained by local authorities like ur or sabha. Trunk roads were not officially the concern of anybody but were maintained by their users especially traders. We hear of toll-gates and accountants who maintained the accounts of the tolls. The travelling merchants had their guards in arms.” ^[1]

[1]: (Soundaram 2011, 77) Soundaram, A. 2011. ‘The Characteristic Features of Early Medieval Tamil Society: An Overview’ In History of People and Their Environs: Essays in Honour of Prof. B.S. Chanrababu Edited by S. Ganeshram and C. Bhavani. Chennai: Indian Universities Press. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/7F5SEVNA/items/CISI5MVX/collection

Shrine. “The relief very likely represents a local legend associated with the village Govindaputtur on the northern bank of the river Kollidam (Coleroon) in Tamil Nadu. An ancient Saiva shrine, it was visited by Appar and Sambandar, two important Saiva saints who may have lived in the seventh century. Both recorded the local tradition of a cow attaining salvation at Govindaputtur by adorning the Sivalinga of the local temple known as Tiruvijayamangai.” ^[1] The following quote also suggests that trading emporia were likely present due to the presence of trunk roads and travelling merchants who used these routes. “Transport of commodities was a problem in those days. Roads within urban limits were maintained by local authorities like ur or sabha. Trunk roads were not officially the concern of anybody but were maintained by their users especially traders. We hear of toll-gates and accountants who maintained the accounts of the tolls. The travelling merchants had their guards in arms.” ^[2]

[1]: (Pal 1988, 259) Pal, Pratapadiya. 1988. Indian Sculpture: 700-1800 Vol. 2. Berkeley: University of California Press. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/7F5SEVNA/items/GI668E2K/collection

[2]: (Soundaram 2011, 77) Soundaram, A. 2011. ‘The Characteristic Features of Early Medieval Tamil Society: An Overview’ In History of People and Their Environs: Essays in Honour of Prof. B.S. Chanrababu Edited by S. Ganeshram and C. Bhavani. Chennai: Indian Universities Press. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/7F5SEVNA/items/CISI5MVX/collection

Shrine. “The relief very likely represents a local legend associated with the village Govindaputtur on the northern bank of the river Kollidam (Coleroon) in Tamil Nadu. An ancient Saiva shrine, it was visited by Appar and Sambandar, two important Saiva saints who may have lived in the seventh century. Both recorded the local tradition of a cow attaining salvation at Govindaputtur by adorning the Sivalinga of the local temple known as Tiruvijayamangai.” ^[1]

[1]: (Pal 1988, 259) Pal, Pratapadiya. 1988. Indian Sculpture: 700-1800 Vol. 2. Berkeley: University of California Press. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/7F5SEVNA/items/GI668E2K/collection

“A Sanskrit epigraph mentions the name Madhurakavi who belonged to a family of doctors and was a minister under king Parantaka Nedunjadaiyan.” ^[1]

[1]: (Kamlesh 2010, 599) Kamlesh, Kapur. 2010. ‘Pandya Dynasty’ In Portraits of a Nation: History of Ancient India. New Delhi: Sterling Publishers. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/7F5SEVNA/items/3TS5DCT6/collection

“A Sanskrit epigraph mentions the name Madhurakavi who belonged to a family of doctors and was a minister under king Parantaka Nedunjadaiyan.” ^[1]

[1]: (Kamlesh 2010, 599) Kamlesh, Kapur. 2010. ‘Pandya Dynasty’ In Portraits of a Nation: History of Ancient India. New Delhi: Sterling Publishers. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/7F5SEVNA/items/3TS5DCT6/collection

“Another phonetic feature of the speech of many Tamils is the fronting of the short vowel a which we represent generally as [a] in transcription and transliteration.” ^[1]

[1]: (Schiffman 1999, 17) Schiffman, Harold F. 1999. A Reference Grammar of Spoken Tamil. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/7F5SEVNA/items/GBFQFXFD/collection

Shaivist Hindu sacred texts. “The Pandya kings followed the tenets and traditions of Vedic Dharma; they were worshippers of Shiva and Vishnu. They respected all Devas. Many inscriptions begin with prayers and invocations to Shiva and Vishnu. Many rulers of Pandya dynasty performed Vedic Yajnas such as Rajasuya and Asavamedha. ^[1]

[1]: (Kamlesh 2010, 600) Kamlesh, Kapur. 2010. ‘Pandya Dynasty’ In Portraits of a Nation: History of Ancient India. New Delhi: Sterling Publishers. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/7F5SEVNA/items/3TS5DCT6/collection

Hindu religious literature. “The Pandya kings followed the tenets and traditions of Vedic Dharma; they were worshippers of Shiva and Vishnu. They respected all Devas. Many inscriptions begin with prayers and invocations to Shiva and Vishnu. Many rulers of Pandya dynasty performed Vedic Yajnas such as Rajasuya and Asavamedha. ^[1]

[1]: (Kamlesh 2010, 600) Kamlesh, Kapur. 2010. ‘Pandya Dynasty’ In Portraits of a Nation: History of Ancient India. New Delhi: Sterling Publishers. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/7F5SEVNA/items/3TS5DCT6/collection

“Essentially, the Tamil calendar is a solar calendar, with aspects of the lunar cycle incorporated for fixing certain religious and temple festivals. The Tamil month begins when the sun enters a particular iraci (rasi-zodiac). Therefore, the number of days in a particular month does not remain constant or equal, although on the average the length of the year is 365 days.” ^[1]

[1]: (Venkateswaran 2018, 274) Venkateswaran, T.V. 2018. ‘Ragoonatha Charry and his ‘Scientific’ Pancanga. In The Growth and Development of Astronomy and Astrophysics in India and the Asia-Pacific Region. London: Springer. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/7F5SEVNA/items/7AH4P2I9/collection

“Recently one gold coin was published as an issue of the early Pandyas. The coin has two fish on one side and the legend ‘Sri Varaguna’ingrantha characters on the other side. This is assigned to Varaguna II (862-880 AD).” ^[1]

[1]: (Soundaram 2011, 78) Soundaram, A. 2011. ‘The Characteristic Features of Early Medieval Tamil Society: An Overview’ In History of People and Their Environs: Essays in Honour of Prof. B.S. Chanrababu Edited by S. Ganeshram and C. Bhavani. Chennai: Indian Universities Press. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/7F5SEVNA/items/CISI5MVX/collection

“Many epigraphs of the Pandya period refer to charitable activities of the kings. One such activity was when the kings weighed themselves in gold and gave that much in gold donation.” ^[1]

[1]: (Kamlesh 2010, 600) Kamlesh, Kapur. 2010. ‘Pandya Dynasty’ In Portraits of a Nation: History of Ancient India. New Delhi: Sterling Publishers. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/7F5SEVNA/items/3TS5DCT6/collection

“Essentially, the Tamil calendar is a solar calendar, with aspects of the lunar cycle incorporated for fixing certain religious and temple festivals. The Tamil month begins when the sun enters a particular iraci (rasi-zodiac). Therefore, the number of days in a particular month does not remain constant or equal, although on the average the length of the year is 365 days.” ^[1]

[1]: (Venkateswaran 2018, 274) Venkateswaran, T.V. 2018. ‘Ragoonatha Charry and his ‘Scientific’ Pancanga. In The Growth and Development of Astronomy and Astrophysics in India and the Asia-Pacific Region. London: Springer. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/7F5SEVNA/items/7AH4P2I9/collection