INSCRIPTIONS

Water Management under the Pallavas

as Gleaned from Inscriptions
S.B. DARSANA
Department of History, Central University of Tamil Nadu, Thiruvarur

Abstract : The northern part of Tamil Nadu known as Tondaimandalam from the early medieval period is
known for dry weather, scrub forests, rough rocky terrain with relatively better rainfall towards the coast, and
these geographical features continue even today. The Pallavas, known as Kaduvettis or the slayers of forests,
who ruled from c. fourth century to ninth century ce in the region of Tondaimandalam, developed and/or
improved upon a management system for water management in this semi-arid zone, which could be traced
back to the megalithic period. The Pallavas not only built tanks, but also maintained them periodically. It is
interesting to note that some of the tanks were named after the kings as also the settlements. In some villages,
the maintenance of the tank was done directly by the sabha of the villages, while in some it was done under
the auspices of tank committee (eri variyam) making it a collective responsibility of all the stakeholders. This
article traces the development of water management system under the Pallavas based on inscriptional sources
and how the knowledge of the past can be used to plan for the better sustainability of the environment in the
present context for the benefit of future generations.

Keywords : Tanks, Pallavas, water management, sustainability, inscriptions.

Neerinri amayathu ulagu
Without Water there is no World
(Tirukkural no. 20)
Introduction
The study of past is not only an academic pursuit
of the archaeologists and historians, but also
increasingly becoming a social responsibility
to suggest means for the betterment of the
contemporary world. It is an essential task of the
archaeologists to explore, survey and document
the sites of the bygone era and at the same time
the finding should also lead to the betterment
of the present and future generations. One such
issue is water management. Water is becoming
a very scarce resource and water management
of the ancient people can teach us some lessons
to manage water resources in the modern
day effectively. The tanks built in the early
medieval period in the northern part of Tamil
Nadu provided water supply to the villages of
Tondaimandalam, the region known for arid and
Pratna Samiksha, New Series 10: 105–13. 2019. ISSN 2229 7979.
© Centre for Archaeological Studies & Training, Eastern India, Kolkata.
dry climate. With the region depending mainly
on the rain and other natural water sources,
it was imperative to find alternate solution for
water problem. The Pallavas are credited with the
creation of the first artificial tanks in south India
(Venkayya 1903–4) as early as fourth century
ce , as known for the inscriptional evidence. Till
the end of their rule, the Pallava kings not only
built tanks, but also made arrangements for the
maintenance periodically. This article traces the
water management system in Tondaimandalam
under the Pallavas.
Previous Work
Venkayya (1903–4) collected data from various
parts of south India on irrigation projects
undertaken during the time of the Pallavas and
the Cholas with greater emphasis on the latter.
It was Gopalan who in 1928 reconstructed a
detailed political history of the Pallavas based
on the available information. The key work on
Pallava administration by Minakshi (1938) is the
106 S . B . DA R S A N A
greatest contribution to the study of the Pallavas.
A detailed chapter on water supply and irrigation
was an exhaustive work based on inscriptional,
and field survey. She had gathered the relevant
data and analysed them very meticulously.
Krishnaswamy (1966) elaborated on the
irrigation system in Tamil Nadu with special
reference to Tamrabarani river and Kaveri
river, he also referred to a few tanks built by the
Pallavas. Srinivasan (1970, 1991) discusses about
the irrigation techniques in south India along
with the engineering methods.
Gunawardana’s work (1984) based on the
field survey along with inscriptional evidence
explained the technology of tank construction
with special reference to the sluice technology.
Mukundan’s work on the Tank systems of south
India’ (2005) brought to light the fact that the
construction and maintenance of the tanks
should be the duty and responsibility of the local
village communities.
Rajan’s research (2008) on the ancient
irrigation system with special emphasis on
Pudukkottai region is based on the study of
literature, inscription, and field survey. Rajan
referred to 1,700 inscriptions that are published
regarding irrigation, tanks, and sluices. Saghar
(2014) worked on the irrigation under the Pallavas
and emphasized on two key points, namely the
tanks were built in the name of the rulers so as
to facilitate agricultural production and to bring
various communities under the royal control.
He also observed that big tanks were built by
the rulers themselves, while wells and irrigation
channels were built by the village communities.
He further argued that not all the villages in
the Pallava country had tanks and wells thus
leading to the sharing of water resources by more
than two villages. The later Pallavas especially
Nandivarman III gave importance to the tank
irrigation and to the periodic maintenance of
the water bodies.
The inscriptional evidences are available
in Annual Reports of the Archaeological Survey of
India, Epigraphia Indica. Mahalingam in 1988
produced a monumental work by compiling all
the available inscriptions of the Pallavas. The
journal called Aavanam published by the Tamil
Nadu Archaeological Society publishes newly
discovered inscriptions.
The Region
The Tondaimandalam of the Pallava period
roughly corresponds to the modern day
Kanchipuram and Vellore districts which are
located on the northern most part of Tamil
Nadu. The region is watered by the rivers Palar,
Cheyyar, and Pennaiyaar. The Palar river has its
source in Karnataka, passes through Kuppam
in Andhra Pradesh, Vellore, and Kanchipuram
districts of Tamil Nadu before joining the Bay of
Bengal at Sadras, 60 km south of Chennai.
Throughout the region, a large number of
irrigation tanks are noticed, which provide water
supply to the masses till today. The Palar and her
tributaries feed a number of tanks. The presence
of the tanks or ¼ ri (in Tamil) in this region is
memorized even today in the following phrase,
‘Tondainadu eri utaithu’ (the land of the Pallavas
is known for water tanks). Agriculture is carried
out extensively with the help of these irrigation
tanks.
The region is characterized by the presence
of discontinuous hillocks of the Eastern Ghats
and the Javadis. The hills run parallel to both
sides of the Palar river and its tributaries. The
hillocks present a rugged appearance as they are
covered only with sparse vegetation. The region
falls under the dry sub-tropical zone and is
relatively dry in hot and cold seasons (Cox 1881;
Ramamurthy 1968).
The region was called as Tondainadu, i.e.
the land of Tondaiyars or the Pallavas, who
traced their genealogy with the Tontaimaan
Ilantiraiyan. The early Pallavas from late fourth
century ce had their rule over parts of Andhra
Pradesh and shifted to the region of Tondainadu
around sixth century ce. They are known for
architectural magnificence and credited with the
building of first stone temples for Hindu gods
and goddesses. Another achievement of theirs
which stands against time is the construction of
many water tanks in the dry zone of Tondainadu.
 Water Management under the Pallavas as Gleaned from Inscriptions 107

To their credit, they have constructed around 40

tanks, 12 sluices, and periodically maintained
around 10 tanks and dug three wells as known
from the inscriptional evidence (Plate 1).

Water Management
The Pallavas had a wide network of water
sources. They were able to rule over the dry
and arid zones of northern Tamil Nadu for
more than 300 years. The Pallavas got the title
kaaduvettis or the destroyers of forests as they cut
the forests to bring more land under agriculture plate 1: Tanks, sluices, and wells found in the
and increase the agricultural yield. They could inscriptions of the Pallavas
achieve this due to the excellent and well planned
water management. They were able to construct strengthen the bunds of the tanks, and building
tanks, sluices, and wells all over the region. of sluices for better management of water. It is
Though there was a theory that the tanks in also inferred based on literary references that
the Kanchipuram district were the works of the there was a famine in the region around seventh
megalithic people (Gururaja Rao 1972), there century ce (Minakshi 1938). Probably the later
is no concrete evidence to prove it. However, rulers would have learnt the importance of
the inscription from the early medieval period saving water and increasing the agricultural
points out that the Pallavas were the first to build production by giving governmental support for
irrigation tanks in South India along with the tank building.
tanks and wells (Venkayya 1903–4). However The earliest reference to the tanks comes
there must have been tanks in the megalithic from the later part of the fourth century ce in
period and the Sangam literature referred to Andhra desa. The British Museum plates of
Karikalan digging tanks in the Kaveri reigon as Queen Charudevi refers to the ‘king’s tank’
found in the references of Pattinappalai. or Rajatataaka’ (Epigraphia Indica 8: 143–6). It
talks about the donation of land near the well
below the King’s tank to the temple of Vishnu.
Tanks The inscriptions of Mahendra Varman I refer
Almost 40 tanks were attributed to the Pallavas to Mahendratataaka, and citrameghatataaka
(Table 1) and around 10 tanks were maintained was probably named after his title chitrakarapuli
during their rule. The tanks were called tataaka
and eri in the inscriptions. In the early Pallava
period, we have reference to the construction
of 6 tanks and 14 tanks till 800 ce. However,
there is a steep increase in the number of tanks
built which increased in the later Pallava period
(Plate 2). There could be many reasons for this
development. With the rule of the Pallavas being
firmly established in the region, the need for
more settlements and population increase and the
less number of battles with the Chalukyas, their
enemies probably the later rulers concentrated plate 2: Distribution of tanks over a period of
on the construction of tanks, giving donation to time in the Pallava inscriptions
108 S . B . DA R S A N A

(Minakshi 1938). Another tank that was named constructed during the time of Parameswara
after the king’s name was Parameswara tataaka Varma I.

TABLE 1: Tanks under the Pallavas

S. No. Tank Name of the Ruler Date Reference

1 Raja tataka* Charudevi/Vijaya 4th c. ce Epigraphia Indica VI: 88 and

Buddha Varman Epigraphia Indica VIII: 143
2 Endal -eri Simhavaman 6th c. ce Mahalingam 1988: 89–93
3 PandiyanKayam Simhavaman 6th c. ce Mahalingam 1988: 89–93
4 Mahendratataaka Mahendravarma I 6th c. ce Epigraphia Indica IV: 152
5 Chitramegatataaka Mahendravarma I 6th c. ce Minakshi 1938
6 Parameswara tank Parameswara varman 6th c. ce Mahalingam 1988: 152–61
7 Tiraiyaneri/Tiralayatataaka Nandivarman II 753–4 ce Mahalingam 1988: 240–55
8 Sattamangalam tank Nandivarman II 764 ce Mahalingam 1988: 277–8
9 Paadieri Nandivarman II 764–5 ce Mahalingam 1988: 261–76
10 Nesalarpaandieri Nandivarman II 764–5 ce Mahalingam 1988: 261–76
11 Pereri Nandivarman II 768 ce Mahalingam 1988: 279–80
12 Tank at Agalur Nandivarman II 781 ce Mahalingam 1988: 281
13 Tank and well at Nandivarman II 789 ce Mahalingam 1988: 289–313
Tandanthottam
14 Koneri Nandivarman II 796 ce Mahalingam 1988: 323–4
15 Maandaitalaivan eri Nandivarman II 796 ce Mahalingam 1988: 323–4
16 Cakratirtha Nandivarman II 8th c. ce Minakshi 1938: 100
17 Uragahrada Nandivarman II 8th c. ce Minakshi 1938: 100
18 Sindhuvarahrada Nandivarman II 8th c. ce Minakshi 1938: 100
19 Arumaikulam — 8th c. ce Rajan 2008: 90
20 Tank at Uttaramallur Dantivarma 8th c. ce Gopalan 1928: 194;
Mahalingam 1988: 340–1
21 Valiyeri Dantivarman 800–01 Mahalingam 1988: 337;
ce Rajan 2008: 90
22 Vayiramegatataaka Dantivarma 805 ce Mahalingam 1988: 342–3
23 Thumbaneri Dantivarma 845 ce Mahalingam 1988: 337
24 Tank at Manavatti Nandivarman 9th c. ce Sankar 2014
25 Tank at Tirukkattupalli Nandivarman III 852 ce Mahalingam 1988: 372–9
26 Kalathur tank Nandivarman III 860 ce Mahalingam 1988: 389–90
cont.
 Water Management under the Pallavas as Gleaned from Inscriptions 109

S. No. Tank Name of the Ruler Date Reference

27 Onkur tank Nandivarma III 860 ce Rajan 2008: 174

28 Avaninaranam tank** Nandivarman III 9th c. ce Mahalingam 1988: 432
29 Panamaattu tank Nrpatungavarman 875 ce Mahalingam 1988: 439–50
30 Kadumpalaiyanur tank Nrpatungavarman 875 ce Mahalingam 1988: 439–50
31 Valugur tank Nrpatungavarman 875 ce Mahalingam 1988: 451
32 Tank at Marudaadu Nrpatungavarman 881 ce Mahalingam 1988: 462
33 Kilpudur tank Kampavarman 880 ce Mahalingam 1988: 554–5
34 Utkar tank Kampavarman 884 ce Mahalingam 1988: 559
35 Kavadieri Kampavarman 888 ce Mahalingam 1988: 575–9
36 Teneri Kampavarman 888 ce Mahalingam 1988: 575–9
37 Stone tank at Avaninarana- Nrpatungavarman 886 ce Mahalingam 1988: 472–3
chaturvedimangalam
38 Kanakavellieri Kampavarman 892 ce Mahalingam 1988: 585
39 Palaeri tank Kampavarman 892 ce Boopalan 2011

*in Andhra, **in Siam

The tanks are mentioned in the inscription Sluices

as boundaries of the land donated to the
The sluices are water regulators in the tank.
Brahmanas and the temples. The tax paid for the
They are built either in the middle of the tank
maintenance of tanks was stated. The donation
or at the end of the tank. They are referred
of land and gold to the maintenance of tanks
to in the inscriptions as madagu and Kalingu.
was also referred to and the interest from this
These structures are provided with long tube like
was used for the repair work. It is interesting to
structure called Thumbu that carries excessive
note that the tanks were constructed not only by
water at the time of floods to the nearby water
the ruling class but by government officials and
bodies. The inscriptions frequently refer to the
also lay public (Rajan 2008: 174) as known from
the inscription of Nandivarman III, indicating a
collective responsibility of the villagers. Even the
Brahamanas who were given land as brahmadeyas
were given permission to dig tanks as known
from Tandantottam plates of Nandivarman II
(Mahalingam 1988: 289–313) and Vellurpalayam
plates of Nandivarman III (Mahalingam
1988: 372–9). Further the Kaasakudi plates of
Nandivarman II mentions that the Brahmanas
were given iron tools (Kol kalam) and dry land
(Puzhudipadam) to dig channels (Minakshi 1938).
The leader of Nangur is said to have built a tank
at Siam called Avaninarayana tank (Mahalingam plate 3: Pallava inscriptions on tanks and sluices
1988: 432).
110 S . B . DA R S A N A

donation given for the construction of thumbu on tank building in Tamil Nadu which has one of
(Table 2). The Aanattur inscription of Mahendra the titles, Kunamalli on the entrance of the sluice
Varma I is considered as the earliest inscription (Rajavelu 1993, Rajan 2008).

TABLE 2: Sluice Inscriptions

S. No. Name Name of the ruler Date Reference

1 Kumili Mahendravarma I 7th c. ce Rajavelu 1993

2 Thoombu Narasimha varma I 7th c. ce Gandhi and Mani 2011
3 Kumili Nandivarma II 756 ce Mahalingam 1988: 258
4 Sluice Nandivarman II 768 ce Raghavan 2002
5 Sluice and Thoombu Nandivarman II 781 ce Mahalingam 1988: 281
6 Sluice and Thoombu Nrpatungavarman 875 ce Mahalingam 1988: 451
7 Kalingu and thumbu Nrpatungavarman 881 ce Mahalingam 1988: 462
8 Kumili — 8th c. Rajan 2008: 90
9 sluice — 8th c. Rajan 2008: 174
10 Thoombu — 9th c. Shanmugam 2001: 31–2
11 Sluice-Kumarikkal — 9th c. Rajendiran 1991
12 Sluice — 9th c. Rajendiran 1993

The Tanks and their maintenance inscription of Nandivarma III gives information
that one third of the income from the local lake
The tanks were periodically maintained. We
(eripÀttu) should be given to the perumakkal
have references to the donation of land and gold
of Kalathur by making the sabha liable for the
by individuals to the sabhas of the villages for the
maintenance (Mahalingam 1988: 389–90). The
maintenance of the tanks (Table 3).
Porpandal inscription of Kampavarman of 871
An inscription from Pullur refers to the
ce gives imprecation that if the people violate
permission given to the villagers to use the
the maintenance of tanks, they will incur the sin
water from Cheyyaru and the tanks of Paadieri,
of having destroyed the city of Kanchipuram,
Nesalarpaandieri. It further adds that if the
the capital of the Pallavas. The Uttaramallur
villagers are found to misuse the tanks, they are
(Uttiramerur) inscription of Kampavarman
liable to be punished by the kings (Mahalingam
mentions that if the people dig on the banks of
1988: 261–76). The sabhas of the villages are
the tank or let out the water, they will be fined
vested with the maintenance of tanks and the
and considered as traitors respectively for the
building of sluice and the tube, in one instance,
offenses (Mahalingam 1988: 545–6).
the Uttaramallur inscription of Dantidurga of
A case of periodic maintenance is found in the
ninth century refers to the sale of land by the
Vayiramegatataaka, probably constructed during
sabhaiyar to Swamikumara Chaturvedi Somayaji
the rule of Dantivarma. The 805 ce inscription
who in turn donated the land for digging a
of Dantivarma refers to the deepening of the
tank and raising its bunds (Gopalan 1928:
tank every month by the sabha. The lands of the
194; Mahalingam 1988: 340–1). The Kalattur
defaulters were handed over for the maintenance
 Water Management under the Pallavas as Gleaned from Inscriptions 111

TABLE 3: Tank Maintenance under the Pallavas

S. No. Tank Name of the ruler Date Reference

1 Sattamangalam tank Nandivarman II 764 ce Mahalingam 1988: 277–8

2 Paadi eri Nandivarman II 764–5 ce Mahalingam 1988: 261–76
3 Nesalar paandi eri Nandivarman II 764–5 ce Mahalingam 1988: 261–76
4 Pereri Nandivarman II 768 ce Mahalingam 1988: 279–80
5 Tank at Agalur Nandivarman II 781 ce Mahalingam 1988: 281
6 Vayiramega tataaka Dantivarma 805 ce Mahalingam 1988: 342–3
7 Vayiramega tataaka Dantivarma 817–18 ce Mahalingam 1988: 352–3
8 Velleri Dantivarma 845 ce Mahalingam 1988: 354–7
9 Malaivellapperunkulam- Kampavarman 871 ce Mahalingam 1988: 529–30

10 Vayiramega tataaka- Kampavarman 877 ce Mahalingam 1988: 545–6

11 Vayiramega tataaka- Kampavarman 879 ce Mahalingam 1988: 553

12 Tank at Utkar Kampavarman 884 ce Mahalingam 1988: 559

13 Vayiramega tataaka- Kampavarman 884 ce Mahalingam 1988: 562

14 Vayiramega tataaka- Kampavarman 884 ce Mahalingam 1988: 564–5

15 Palaeri tank Kampavarman 892 ce Boopalan 2011

of the tank too. In the rule of Kampavarman,
it is interesting to note that from 877 ce to
884 ce for the seven years alone there are four
inscriptions that mention about endowment of
land, paddy, and gold for raising the bunds of the
tank, removing the silt, deepening the bed and
strengthening the bund of Vayiramegatataaka
(Mahalingam 1988). The tank was used by even
the Cholas who succeeded the Pallavas as known
from the inscriptions (Minakshi 1938).
Tank managing committees
From an analysis of the inscriptions, we come
to know that the local bodies such as sabha and
ur were responsible for the maintenance of
tanks. Only in the later Pallava period, the Eri
variyam, Samvatsaravariyam (the committees on
tanks), took up the responsibility for maintaining
the tanks as known from the inscriptions of
Dantivarma. The committee members were
probably selected from the village once a year
(Minakshi 1938).
Wells and other water bodies
The Pallankoil plates of Simhavarman of
sixth century ce refers to two wells called as
Vel-VaduganKeni and Murukkankeni as the
boundaries of the village Amancerkai which was
given as Pallichandam to Vajranandi (Epigraphia
Indica XI: 154–8). An inscription of Dantivarma
mentions about the construction of a well called
Marpidugu Perunginaru at Tennur in 800 ce.
The maintenance of this well was assigned
to the Moovaiyarattu Ezunuttravar (3700). It
112 S . B . DA R S A N A
could be a body of traders (Mahalingam 1988:
89–93). Minakshi (1938: 102) pointed out that
the swastika shaped well could have been used
for providing water supply to the temple as well
as irrigating the field near the temple and she
recorded that the well was relatively in good
state. Currently it is closed.
The same inscription refers to the picotahs called
ViladanKurrettam and Mummulaimavettam.
The picotahs are traditional devices of irrigating
the land. It is a device by which a bucket is
placed on a vertical plane and water was drawn
from the tank or well with the force of the
pressure applied by the person operating it and
deliver the water to the lands (Minakshi 1938:
103–4). The inscriptions of the later Pallavas
refer to the lands that were irrigated one/
two or four times by picotahs (Minakshi 1938:
104). The interesting reference to Jal Yantra in
Udayendram copperplates of Nandivarman
II (Mahalingam 1988: 227–39) is an evidence
of water technology adopted by the Pallavas,
though the exact meaning of the term jal yantra
is unknown, it could mean a water device or the
picotah to irrigate land.
Discussion
The Pallavas, unlike the Cholas who succeeded
them, did not leave much inscriptional evidence
about various aspects of their rule. However a
general analysis of the available inscriptions
clearly points out that the Pallavas sought to
organize water management in an efficient way.
It can be inferred that nearly 40 tanks were built
during their rule mainly in Tondaimandalam
and not all are built by the royal household. The
ministers, commanders, and the villagers gave
their whole hearted support not only for the
construction of tanks, sluices, and wells but also
for the periodic maintenance of them. This is the
lesson we have to learn from them.
With limited resources in a dry and hot zone,
the Pallavas established an effective method to
handle the issue of water. We come to know
that the tanks and wells were built not only for
drinking purpose but also for irrigation purpose.
The rulers took many efforts to involve the local
people in the management of the water bodies.
They encouraged the sabha, the assembly of the
Brahmin villages and the Ur, the assembly of
other villages to get involved in the construction
of tanks. The Kaasakudi plates of Nandivarma
II (753–4 ce) state that the lands were given as
brahmadeyas to the Brahmanas and they were
given permission to dig wells and tanks and
digging implements were provided by the state
(Minakshi 1938: 110).
The state made sure that the participation
of the local people is important for the periodic
maintenance and management of water bodies.
Though a few tanks were built by the kings,
majority was built by the local villagers and
the administration of the tanks was vested with
village communities. As tanks cannot be built in
all the villages, at times, a tank was constructed to
give water supply and irrigation facility to more
than one village. This led to sharing of water
as known from Pullur plates of Nandivarma II
(Mahalingam 1988: 261–76, Saghar 2015: 8).
The Pallavas could control the dry region of
Tondaimandalam for more than 300 years due
to the policy of collective responsibility. The
local villagers were encouraged to donate for
the maintenance of the tanks and the donation
of land, paddy or gold was managed by the
village assemblies effectively as known from
many Pallava inscriptions. The state intervened
only when there was absolute necessity. It hardly
happened as there was no evidence for inter
village water disputes as pointed by Saghar
(2015). The collective responsibility is the key to
success of tank irrigation in Tondaimandalam.
Conclusion
There is a common belief that the past teaches
us many lessons. One such lesson which is useful
for all of us is the water management which
was done effectively and efficiently in the past.
The Pallavas have showed the way by which a
state can sustain only through the collective
responsibility of the people. The region of
Tondaimandalam has nearly 10,000 tanks and
 Water Management under the Pallavas as Gleaned from Inscriptions
many of them are in disuse (Mukundan 2005).
A few practical strategies can be adopted to
manage water in a sustainable manner so that
water can be conserved. One should not be
dependent on the State for all the facilities, and
the local bodies need to take initiative to revive
the tanks. The stakeholders should pool their
resources for effective management of water
bodies. If not all, at least 10 per cent of the tanks
can be maintained. It is interesting to note that
the tanks at Uttaramerur and Tenneri still have
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