Redefining India

Editor
Rahul Kumar Mohanta

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Redefining _India

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 Contents

Introduction V
Note s on Contributors
xv
Ack now ledg eme nts ..
xvn
1. Islam ll1 Colonial Beng al and Mir Mos harr af
Hos ain' s Literary Ven ture · 1
_;_ ·Dr. A!fZit Dey
2. Vidy asag ar and Wom en's Mov eme nt in Early
Nine teen th Cen tury Bengal ··.· 21
-Dr. Sekhar Sil
3. How the Global Interacts With the Local: .
The Hist ory of Bengali Raw Silk (175~ c.~1830 c.) 38
-Dr.Roberto Davini
4. Hist ory of Benaras Dur ing The 18th and
19th Cen tury , Peop le's Mem orie s, and

I .
,. .. ·

i'·
Forgotte~ .'Hero_es': A Historicql Assessment
-Dr.. G.irish Chandra Pand.ey .·
5. Sym bol of Mig ht and Pow er: An Ove rvie w
58

of the Srira ngap atna m Fort 75

-Dr.P.S. Harish
6. Mul ti-Fa cete d Role of Tem ples in Med ieva l
Sou th Indi a 84
· -Dr. K. Ma'Qali Rajan
· 7. Tran scen ding Medical Boundaries:
Socio-Political Manifestations of Late
 6

Multi-Faceted Role of Tempi

in Medieval South lnd~s
- la
- -Dr. K Mavai1. n .
~'"Jan
=-
Emergence of Te mp le Culture
The ~emple came t~ be ~o re im p? rta nt in
the lives of Indian
people since early pe no d, 1s reefogn1zed
as centuries old, and
tha t each of the tho us an ds o tem ple
s ha s a separate p
Bu rto n Ste in in his wOrk'"South Ind
ian Teinples: An Analy::i
Reconstruction" attest tha t the pa st of the
temple begins with
its being one sacred place (tirtha) am on
g numerous others, a
place of sac red pe rfo rm an ces , vo ws (vr
atas) an d plea for local
people as well as, in ma ny cases, for pe
rsons of distant places
of those sacred places, so me sei ze d the
interest of a powerful
local pa tro na ge wi th the res ou rce s to
bui~d a modest or even
magnificent sh elt er or pla ce for the de
ity of the people.1
A detailed wo rk on the ori gin of temple
in south India by
N. Venkata Ra ma na yy a, say s tha t "th
e so uth Indian temple
ha d, at the be gin nin g, no co nn ec tio
n wi th worship of any
dei ty. The va rio us go ds an d go dd ess
es wh om the indigenous
po pu lat ion of the so uth Ind ia wo rsh ipp
ed wa s no t accustomed
 eted Role of Temples in Med·1eva1 South
Jti--faC .
Nft! 11 in the secluded2 M atmosphere Of h India 85
· " t e te
we
to d·f ·n the open air . eanwhile th lllple; they I
y soo~ed
the 11 ;.~ped nature (iyarkkai Valipaa~P)p le in earl staciety
r
wars t 1·rnages of dei.ties and Worsh·1Ppeud' thand late rtect
king esque atmos h hk . e~, Pla ced th
o1a b autiful and picI tur em
. a e i) an poo anks (kulanth p kaere . e river hanks
d b
irt kara an raz) f .le groves
ttrar z
(fl i·laikal), tree shadows (marattadi) , caves' (kerti 'k
(neern laces. The peop1e also worsh1'p ped ~e ugaz al) and
0 ~er P they beli' d es, symbols
. als and other forms which eve tha t th '
a111Jll th . - e natu re
te ct them from e.evils. Initially only natu re worsh 1·
Pro. ted there was no image worship in south Ind'1a. In P Was
ex1s·rtie' they rais . . to the di'v• ·. .
. ed th e build course
mg ine nna ges .
of tl • • •

ge worship of th
1.LL '

The typical deity or nna e south Indian

d hr - h h rsh ip of gra mad ev d
villages emerge t oug t e wo a a orh the
d ·ty h erally lod
• ged in a sm .
~illage god or e1 , w. o. .gen . a11 s nne
. shrine, however,
construction on a. prn.rutive pattern. The . .
of cult of th
marks a late sta ge 1n the dev elo pm ent
evadahav:
gramadevada. In a large number of villages, gramad
in the shadow
no temples at all, they are lodged ih the open air
sidered as the
of a big tree. In many of villages only tree is con
sacred and it
embodiment of the deity, which is considered
the deity. 3 ·
receives all acts of worship which are ineant for
d the stone
The Hindus and Jains of south India adopte
ples and rock-
medium and started erecting rock-cut cave tem
a times temple
cut monoli~c temple forms. From the Pallav
an to flourish
building in both rock-cut and structural forms beg
itical power,
and those temples tended to became centres of pol
ly cave temple
having a share in local administrations. The ear
to the reign of
. of Tamil Nadu is Mandagapattu, belonging
liest structural
Mahendravarman I, the Pallava ruler. The ear
uram in the ·
temples in south Ind ia are those at Mahabalip
as the 'Seven
Chingleput district which are generally known
yet artistically
Pagodas'. During the Chola period massive
. Under !he
ornate and elegant stru ctu res were developed
s with attractive
Vijayanagar and Nayak rule enormous temple
m) and large
mandapas, huge pillars soaring towers (gopura4
Manyof tbe
temple tanks (teppakula~) continued to be built.
 /

'
86 Rede fini
. h
that are obse rved 1n sout India had th n.g Ill.Qi
zs
1
great temp kti cult _had attai ned its impo rtanc e
after the B a ,
.
tir::~i~ i\

.;.,.· 5
n .I.l.lf\cill
re1iv1on.
h India duri ng the emer genc e o f Bhakti mo
In sout t·on of temp les and temp le relat ed insrvte~ent
the cons true 1
ious 1. d eas b ecam e prol'lh.Utio,...,"l<S_
. .
tion of relig
nd prop aga . b
a .
Parti cular Y1
the temp le cons truct ions ecam e very .&..1.Ll
8
nent
. • •
d V" Pinted
duri ng the Cho la, Pand ya and IJbayadnagar perio ds ..The
temp les incre ased ay Y a y and it attai·
num ber o f . d
pinnacle durin g the ~hol a peno1·; _wh'icdh.is hi hl ned
I g y significant
. db Oth for its witn ess to re 1gious eve opm ents and f
peno dm·ary artistic prod uctio n that shap ed the Sai,,.• or
its extraor . vlSn\
. hnav ism of later time s. Mos tly temp les were built
d
an ais V nif' . .
acts of devotion, to mark sig ican t v1cto as
:1es, to commemorate
the ancestors, and abov e all for the fulf1llment of the desires
of the people. An insc ripti on of the early med ieva l period
me n tions that king caus es the temp le to be mad e for the
fulfillment of the desir es of subje cts. 6

Temple as an Abode of God and Worship .

The temple held a place of supr eme importance in the socio-
religious life of the people. It cont inue d to be the main centre
of public worship among the Hind us and they were became
very familiar for their secta rian religious faiths.7 Amo ng the
various sects of Hind uism the Saivism is recq.gnized as the
most ancient form of worship, traces of whic h have been found
in Hara ppa and Mohenjo-Daro culture. The ·earliest form of
Saivism was nature worship. Later on this natu re worship
developed into sakti-puja whi ch call ed for obse rvan ce of
numerous tantric rites. Tantrism called for harn essin g hidden
powers of natu re by upli fting min d, soul and body . The
principal deity of Saivism Lord Siva was later occupied as
part of trinity by the Puranic writers. 8
· In othe r sect, the Vaishnavism refers to the form of worship
.ass~iate~ wit~ Vishnu as the mai n deity. From the later Vedic
peno~, Vish nu s position in the Hin du pan theo logy became
prom men t with each pass ing age. This is docu men ted in the
 . f ceted Role of Temples in Med·
M1.1ltl" a . ievaI South In .
a Brahmana, which has accord ed h'1 d1a 87
;1uereY n in the Bhagavad Gita, Lord I<· . hmnathew highest pl ace.
ter o ' . f v· h ris
. as reco0n· d
l) l ~ncarnation O . 1S nu. The Yaishnav1srn b 1· O"llZe
atl v•
as trine of incarnation or avatarvad. Vishnu. ~ 1eve8 in the
doc ·t·ested himse lf throug h ten av at ars ts believed to hav
a111 . (d e
1
1l . }1.navism believe d that salvati on could b asava tararn)
Va1s· . t , e attained thr .
I1 kti or devotio n o ones person al god 9 B ough
0th
B ad Vaishnavites stresse d the devoti on 1· the Saivites
an. •ts to the temp1e, recita .
. tion a aspect m h and
of th h , uc
v1s 1 . e ymns d
rshippi ng the image were the maJ·or p _ ~n also
wo re occupation of th
devotees. . e
Worship o~ ~illage gods, anc::_estral worshi and .
rimitive religious cults shoilld have been pp a ~umber
oPf d reva 1ent in thos
times. Kalarnuka an Pasupa tha cults were the tin . e
.. 1· . R con uation of
rinutive re 1g1ous sects. .Cham pakala.kshmi cons·d d th
P . ; d I ere ose
nf
sects as non-co orrmsts .an non-Ve dic traditio n 10 Th Bh .
. · e aktz
movement succee ded 1n mergi ng with it some of th
pr~itive cuJts and the little tr~di~~n. But the merge r;::
partial and even .today the pnm1t tve cults survive with
strength. · ·
The worship of deity is conceived as at1 evocation, reception
and entertainment with the divine..· There is also the belief,
which has been popula r in India, that the ruler's power is an
extension of the divine law. The practices of temple worship
are strictly laid down in a series of texts devoted to ritual,
some of which may be traced back to the Puranas and earlier.11
an
Temple ritual for ordina ry day consists of four celebrations .
which take place at Sun rise, noon, Sunset and midnight. The
ceremonies usually begin with the reverential opening of the
door of sanctuary, or 'womb-chamber', in which theimage of
the deity is housed. The power s guarding over the :door are
saluted and there is the sound ing of the bell to the ~ard any.
unwanted spirits and to attract the attention of th~ ~god ?r
goddess. The priest then expresses his intention of~orship
and asks the divinity for consent. Hymns -~e reci~ed
th
t:
persuade the deity to take visible form by inhabiting e unag
or.symbol and once this takes place the priest_is able to converse
With the divine.12 .
 Redefini
88 • • 1
.. to these daily cerem o_n1es there ng ndia
In add1t1o n
.. s for -,rivate wors h'ip int
. I I are al
1e temp e by indivi so
opportunttieft .. ~gs to the deity, recite prayer s and p dfttats
· ake o .1ell1
bulations. Such pnvate worshi•p usua1ier orll\
·
who 111, .
suitable c1rcun1amthe regula r cerem onies when the gy tdakes
betwee n • p • 0
o
p.1ace . ' udienc e' to the pnest. nvate worship r
ddess gives a f . d' . may
go k with the hope o securin g 1v1ne assistanc .
be underta en . . kn
or sic ess. e various ritue in
. bl danger, pain Th .
a tune of trou e,
. nitted an identI·t·icabon
. of the worsh'1pper and a1s
of wors h1P pen
d ineans of worshi·p wit ·h h
t e go dhead. Thos
the place abnl to ~chieve a unity of self and godhea d rituaie
who are a e ".
. ·t d access to the path t h at Iea d s to ultimate
gain men an
liberation. ·

Tetnple Patronage
The temple as a religious institu tion ':as ~atron ized by
the state as well as other ownin g groups m _d ifferen t ways.
The patronage includes gifts of subst~ntial resour~es inc_lud~ng
land and gold, and other kind of services. The main motivation
for a numbe r of endow ments to the temple s was to earn
spiritual merit from others. 13 Often the motiva tion was to avoid
the consequence of crimes which were not disting uished from
sins. Property confiscated from criminals was also assigned
to temple. 14 The donations and ·endow ments to temple were
mostly of volunt ary in nature . All these e~dow ments
strengthened the ritual and secular activities of the. temple.
In most cases lands were donate d to ten1ples for their
maintenance. We find frequent references to land endow ments
in South Indian Inscriptions. 15 The endow ments of land could
be classified as devadana 16 (land donati on to Siva temple ),
tiruvidaiatta1_n 17 (to V~ishnava temple), tirunamattukani (in the
name of deity), pallichandam (to Jain te1nple), madappuram 18
(to Mathas), brahmadeya bhattavritti19 (to Brahm in priests ), etc.
As a re_sul t of nu~ero us land endow ments made to the temple
on various oc~as1on~, the temple became a landed magna te of
the early medreva! ti.me and acquire d the central place in the
realm of the . agraria . n economy an· d socio-r . •.
.• e11g1ous 11"fe..Th.ese
 ted Role of Temples in Mediev 1
Jti--face a South Ind· \
~o d lands to the temple were placed . . ia 89
Jollat:e adlllinistr ato~s who were virt:~~er th~ charge of \
I

tell1f' ietar)' rights on it. A large numb~r of~ e~Joying the

s1
prof'r dependent on the temple as function ~ dents, Who
111ade t rs of the temple land. aries and tenant
JtiVa O ..
ctl pie off1c1als were also received land _
relll~r services direct
. I f
y rom the donor T
as remu .
neration
f r thel-1- · emp1e also ·
o of revenue from the land owned and controlled b _ell]oyed
tot ues reached the temple by way of du . Yit. These
reven ff d h 1 es exacted for th
rotection, it o ere to t e ocal people (raksabho :
P sed on the defaulter s (dandam) and other ways. gam), 1t
iI11Po . 20 The
ontlc strength of the temple was commen ·d bl ·
econ . h 1 1 . a e enough
easily orgamze t e oca society into a. stable system of
to .
·nstitut1ons , groups, caste and communi ties. and r ea I ti
1 b d . ons
suitable for etter pro uction and management of temples. 21
Multi-faceted Function of Temples
Temple is_an acti~e cen~e of religious life in villages and .
township besides bemg an importan t social institution. The
temples were the custodian s of religious beliefs and exercised
almost complete control over their devotees. They were the
centres of the socio-cultural and educational activities of the
people. The temple was closely associated with the territorial
and communal bodies in the administr ation of the local area.
It was landlord as it owned property which was always tax-
free (irai-ili). It was an employe r as it employed a large
bureaucracy of servants for running the day to day functions "··
of the temple. It served as a bank since it received deposits in
its treasury and lent money.to the people. It also contributed
much to the promotio n .of rural industrie s and handicrafts.
They also served as the tentres £or the propagation of the
religious values. In all these direction s, the Indian temple
contributed much to the social life of the common population..
s . .
ocial Role of Temples
. the focus· £or all aspects of· everyday life ind
The temple 1s
tbe Hindu community- religious, cultural, educational an
 Redefin·
90 h tng lt1cl'
1 5· also the place w ere one can t •a
social. The temp e IKesavan Veluthat in his work ,,;nscel\ct
the worl~/~;::;india" has highli?hted the socio-ec:n:ar~y
Medieval . I 5 22 According to him the temples rnaint .ll'tic
role of thel_tempf_;h~ society and religious faith of the p aU)ed
the mora 1ty O · . .. , h· h eople
. also holds the sunilar views t at t e temples 8 ·
Burton Ste1n . . ·. .d h . erve
I order of medieval and mo ern sout Indian society
the mora . . ,· d f d ·
The temple, as a religi?~s institul tion, w
_ tr~bs tesdme. to beco:rne
f social activity. It a so con -1 u e to its econom
the centre o f h _. . . y
·and in turn by the ben_evolence o -.,t e sp1ntua1society.23
4
M. G. s. Narayanan and Kesavan_ Velu~hat2 in their study
summarized the role of the t_emples 1n society.
• The temple served a~ an agen.cy_ for easier and more
efficie~t extraction of surplus from the peasants in the
-agrarian economy an9 ~ - c?n~o_u ted to the extension
1

of agriculture in the tri~al :f1r~as_~d the c9nsolidation

of the landlord domination. ·· -.
• In the course •of- such extension,· the temple accelerated
the process oi the disinte~ation of tribal society and
its reorganization as a caste society.
· • In the newly "formed caste society, the temple served
as an integrating factor linking the high and low in
servi~e and dre:1wing t~wards itself as clients the
different castes and sub-castes. . ·
• Such integrated role· paved the way for Brahmin-
inspired and Brahmin supported state power in the
regional monarchies of south India. The temple put its
•imprimatur of legitimacy on the new polity and this in
turn guaranteed state patronage for the temple.
• In this process, the Brahmanical Varnashrama ideology
strengthen_ed its grip on society, its latest weapon being
the Bhakhtt movement for which the temple served. as
an institutional base. ·
• In course of time,_the prosperous temple, which was a .
!anded magnate from the •beginning, also developed
mto a storehouse of gold ~nd silver and precious Jewels

'
 Medieval S .
. faceted Role of Te mp les in outh India
Mttlti- 91
as we11 as the regular place of assembl
Y for the ru1·mg
e1·te
t·
his pr od uc ed the need for exclusiv eness an d
• T ng eventua11 y to the develop•m protection
tem pl e to
leadi . ns w ith seve en t of the
l 'k prop or tio .
fortress 1 e d ar m ed
ra1 circles Of streets
within streets~ bazaars an
c
1orces.
the agent f
• Finally, the temt ple ac·ted· as or
in develop·ing,
.d t· m ith ng an d co nserv
conso1I a mg, ra ns g the legacy
of culture.

Temple as a Place of As se m bl y
to w n- ha ll wh
Temple se rv ed of ie n as th e hea~ th eerexepope~ple
co ns id er lo ca l af fa irs or to sition
ssembled .to . t
a riages w er e celebra ted ·
1n emp1es
of sacred literature. Mar . ed and Ved.IC·
nd s for the lea rn
They were also th e mee.tin. g gr ou
rta n t re I1g iou ~ tex ts, tre aties , and. epic covering
scholars.. Impo
of hu m an l~ e ~ d m yt ho logy ranging from
variou~ aspe cts
on an d ar t to re nu nc ia tio n an d god realization were
educati
cu sse d he re by th e sp ec ia lis ts in the fields. The kings and
dis
t th e citizens in temples and
nobles in those da ys us ed to m ee io ns of king were
tio ns an d vi ct or y ce le br at
even co ro na
in te m pl es . W ha te ve r de ed people considered
performed
d sa cr ed , th ey us ed to ex ec ut e it in the presence
noble an
of god. 25
s of se rv ic e activities.
Temples w er e al so th e ce nt er
sp ita ls w er e of te n lo ca te d in th e temple precincts. Th e
Ho
mh as or m on as te rie s at ta ch ed .to temple were almost canters
ma
fless se rv ice . Th e m on ks fe d the poor, tended the sick
of sel
the su ffe rin g, co ns ol ed th e afflicted an d set up schools
and .
ati ng ch ild re n an d yo un g pe ople.
for educ
as place of judgment. The
Sometimes temples w er e us ed
en ts in te m pl e ha ll or ma ndapa. · Sever~l . ·
k~ngs gave ju dg m y we re also se~led m · ·
th e pe op le of th e so ci et
disputes among ~ D un ng th~ .
th e temples, w hi ch w er e ac te d as a co ur t of law
d, pe op le us ed to ta ke sh el te r in th e temple ~andapa~
war pe rio
ce nt re fo r prie st an
us ed a pi lg rim ag e
The temple w as
 Redefini ·
92 le festivals w er e m ar ke d by llg ll\rl!
devotees. rt e;~ n !m flights, w · "'~
sports and pastimes an~stlit1.g
matches, coc ular entertainment for all clas
0 O
f
other form ~ P mple not on
short the Indian ee where th
s of peo ;very
ly served as a place of wp e.
ltJ.
e ve 0
ry socio-cultural 1•f~ship,
1 th
but a so e venu ,
reflected. In a w ord the temple was the nucleus of the V'ellwas
1

or town -life.26 I age

Economic. Functions o'I'the Temples

The Indian temples ha d/ ha
s re co gn iz ed as a main
• ce
economic ntre of the state. R en ow ne d historian K
Nilakanta Sastri in his popula , , . . •. A.
r work The Colas highlights the
temp l e' s ec onomic fu nc ti on as la nd
ho ld er , ~mployer .
· consumer of goods and as a 27 • •
banker, etc. Burton Stem m
,
article "The Economic Functio his
n of a Medieval South Indian
Temple" published in the Jour
nal of Asian Studies discusses the
economic function of Tirupa
thi temple of Andhra Prades
The analysis of the article mai h.
nly based on Tirupathi templ
inscriptions, deals essentially e
with endowments of land
money. The income from thos and
e lands was used to perform
rituals in the name of the
donors. Village and monet
endowments made to the te ary
mple were ·utilized to develo
irrigation facilities around Tiru p
pathi. The temple has holdin
28
number of land as the proper g
ty of the temples. The templ
an employer of large number e as
of persons may be seen in the
medieval Tamil inscriptions fr
om the temples of Tanjavur an
Madurai regions. For instance in d
the Chola temple of Tanjavur
609 temple servants are liste
d including the teachers an
prlncipal spiritual and secular d
officials. 29 Similar to the above
fact an inscription of the
Vijayanagara period referred
smallest temple with 370 tem to a
ple servants. 30
h_Temples were also major co
nsumers of local products
wof l~tuhalswere regularly purc
n hased and used for the perfor
feed th h an d sa ri£i mance
c ces. The temple granarie
to d • e ungry and those un s were used. to
JSease and irregulanty.31 able to earn their livelihood due
·
 edieval S
. f ceted Role of Temples in M outh India 93
~aJtt- a
le as a Landlord
fetttP
t, occupied th
The temple a·s a la nd ed magne an d . e ce~~al place
ealm of th e ag ra ria n ec on om y 80 c10-reho,40 us 11fe .
• the r e fr om th e d o .
ifl . yed a lo t of re ve nu . 1 an own and d
I ntrolled by it. The temples were endow liberall e
t en JO ed
se
em an d by ki ng s nobles nc . h y by tho an t8
co co ns trU cte d th , , m er ch
who . either w t
lan d owners w ith grants of lands e ord dry or
d f ·11
a!1 and O v1 ages, .w ose rents h an d pr od uc e w
. . . ere evoted
bo th f 1· mstttutions.
to the upkeep o re tgtous
m pl e la nd s ar e kn ow n as devadana wh.1ch are
The te .
,m on ly ex empt e d f ro m all ki nds of taxes otherw·1se ca11ed
,...
co1lL1.LL
. •
taxes were collected from
.
ny a.
32
In so m e ca se s no m m a1
sarvama w er e ·m os tly cul ti vated ·
. Th e de va da na la nd s
the temple land . h
t cu Itiv at or s or 1ea se ol ~e rs: who had the right of
by tenan
of th e la ~d un d~ ~- c~ lt~ va tion only. They had no
enjoyment_
al ie na te th et r ho ld in gs · by mortgage or sale. It was
right to
ry on th e pa rt of th e te m pl e land holders to do service,
obligato
pe rs on al w or k or to su pp ly the required materials
or to do
ich th e la nd w as in te nd ed . It is also on record that
for wh
va to rs co ul d cu lti va te th e la nd s according to their
culti
en ien ce w ith an y ty pe of gr ai n. But tpe only condition is
conv s an d measure out
e by th e sti pu la te d no rm
that he must abid
sp ec ifi ed qu an tit y of gr ai n or anything as laid do_wn in the
the
33
record without fail.
l ca se s th e te m pl e la nd s ·w er e mostly leased and
In severa
rm an en t te nu re s or on sh or t tenures. The tenant
either on pe
e · sp ec ifi ed an nu al re nt on a ·mutually agreed
was to pay th
in g to th e na tu re of cr op s ra ised. It is evident that
basis accord
ns fe rri ng a la nd on lea se~ de tailed agreements were
before tra
to be tw ee n pa rti es co nc er ne d regarding the type of
entered in
ra ise d an d th e sh ar e to be paid to the temple. The
crop to be
lan ds on a pe rm an en t ba sis might have been of much
lease of
·· ·
use to the temples.
e's re la tio n w ith th e so cie ty was fundamef t~lly
The templ tennedianes,
th e same as that of a landed chief to his landed in
0ther subordinates, an d tillers. The localliat
ion of agrarian
 . · Redefillin .
. . . . g ll\rlL
94 h •nsti tutio nal supe rv1s1 on of the ~
ctivities und er t eblis}
1
unen 1 b
t of an ea orate agrari;:\- Ple tell\
a d . the esta . f . I . ""-1.l Ord
resulte in dente d expa nsion o agnc u ture. 'l"L . er
unprece
and in an h temp le harn esse d Iand e d 1nter
. . ... ,ll'Ou_o-h
rnea · 1. o
trol t e · . ·
its Jand con d ctual tiller s into an mt~g rated Whol aties,
lease holders;
parts of the
01: can be grou ped as Brahmin and th:· n::'~
The formation of devadana mad e the t n...
Brahmin ° rd ers~ ndlord over the villages and initiated:Ple
importan 1a an,,.J
as an .c exchanges. 34 .
types of econonu

Temple as an Empl?yer
The temples had/ have give n emp loym ent to a lot of
they need ed peop le. for the cons truct ion
peop Ie, as
maintenance and day to day f.unction.. Th I
ey a so e~ployed
,
the architects for the construction of temples, the artisans for
the art and craft activities, sculptors and man y servants for
the engaging in various ac~ivities o~ ~e temple. To attest that
A.Appadorai writes that the posi tion ~f t~e temp le as an
employer providing work and _n:ea~s ?f l~velll_1ood for ~ large
number of people is the most striking thing m this connection" _35
According to D. Dayalan, the temple play ed an impo rtant role
in the socio-economic life as an insti tutio n prov iding ample
employment opportunity to a large num ber. of people.36 Thus
the temple became a major sour ce of emp loym ent for the
people, next only to the state.
The temp le cons truc tion and its main tena nce offered
employment to a num ber of architects and craf tsme n who vied
with each othe r in · bold plan ning and skilf ul execution.
Generally the big temp les gave cons tant emp loym ent to a
number of priests, musicians, danc ing girls , cook s and many
other classes of servants. As a wea lthy insti tutio n and as the
own er of vast land ed prop ertie s the tem ple was a large
emp loye r._Econ omic activ ities invo lvin g stone-mason_ry,
carpentry, Jewellary, gold-smith, icon -mak ing, garl and making
and num erou s othe r anci llary indu stria l activ ities cent ered on
the temp . le · Th~se m
· d ustri· · ty 0 f
es gave emp loym ent to a vane
people m t.lJ_e village or township. 37 The mak ing of icon s/ idols,
: . f ceted Role of. Temples in Medieval South Indi. a
~ altt- a 95
.
.:•rere noted for their high stat•e of eff.1c1e
i. •ch "'
ncy
w1•1 constant and profitable employm t f ' musskil t have
J_en Ior the led
given s The making of ornaments and d
· ewe s tO 0 rn the
f1safl · giv en gre at emp loym ent t a
ar 5 must hav e
ifllage segment of the society had something too gold -smiths.
Every do With the
temple. . .
work and the means of 1tye . .h
As temple provided t
11 ood for
f
rge number o person s, they wer e able
a Ia h . . lif f_the com - o exert great
•-t1uence upondt eheconorr.uc . e_o mun ity E.
. . . ven small
uu.1
mples neede t e services of priests,_garl and _ ak
te liers of can 1 1e utter, rm · and oil for dai·ly.· m
.f. db ·1k ~rs and
. ..38 Th.e
pUJas
,suPp . . _ . _ .. ,
als
authorities of the ternpleentered mt~ tracts _with individu
con
and
or groups who und~rtook to_ ~upply specified goods·
services at stated periods~ Cla rifie
. d butter for burning lamps,_.
.
the num ber vas t 1y u~c reas1ng wit h the ever-growing
r
endowments of devotees, flowers for garlands, rice for offe
al-
artd for the feeding of Brahmin, vegetables and fruits, sand
s
paste and incense. Securities were demanded and penaltie
39
enforced on defaulters. . _ .

The inhabitants of the villages were attached to the temple

in various capacities. The Brahmins as ·priests,
peasants in
cultivating the temple lands, the merchants in supplying various
g
commodities to the temple and artisans and others renderin
various other works and this apart, _many persons wer
e also
hired by the temple temporarily or on part-time basis in
need.
Among the reg ula r employees the Brahmin priests,
tiruppadiyam paduvor, uvaccar, carpenter, watchman, pancacarya,
y
nattuvan, kanakkukaGi, (accounts, etc.) were important. The
were all granted land for their maintenance. The Japa
syas,
devaradiyar and dru mm ers who wer·e residing in the
tirumadaivilagam of the temple- also received lands from the
temple for their religio11:s services. Besides . ~he _regu
lar
employees, the temple also provided job opportunity to a
large
number of people indirectly.~0 _· .

South Indian Inscriptions suggest that the empl~yment

of
ce,
temple servants and assi gnm ent of land for ~ei r mam te:1
ary
n~mely, for cleaning the temple floor, keeping the san
 Redefin·
96 tng ll\ .
. ht keeping the temple yard clean, Pers clii\
lamp a1ig ' . h d . k" on.s Who
r for bathing t e e1ty, coo 1ng in th
fetche d wa te d d e te
kitchen, tending the temple gar en, rummers, conch~b1:Ple
s songsters, potters, carpenters bh Wer
stone-mas On ' . , att ,
. brahmanas, dancing girls,.dand goldsnuth,
Szva . .
was .verYrn,,c:i.rs,
1and,s to th t Ch
. es ass1gmng
. vogu e in sou th India. Bes1 4
m . e em
ages for their services, temples also pa·ct Pe1
servants as W · . 1 the
. of kind and money or both. The appointment ll\
m way 11 h d" 41 of the
temple servants was genera y ere itary.

Temple as a Banker
As each temple had a treasury, it served the purpos
. I f e of a
bank. The large endowments 1n t 1e orn:1 of land, gold anct
money bestowed on temple _by the_ va~1o~s donors of the
society made the temples a richest institution. Particular!
many donors, from royal family to the individuals, donat ~
42
in gold and money to the ten1ples. It is due to the availabil~
of enormous amount of money, the I~dian temples delivered
an economic function as a banker which had really helped th
agrarian society at the time. Regarding the economic functio~
of temples as a _bank, B.K.Pandeya argues that the temples
acted as a money lender but not .
a bank. He further states,
that "The temples of early penod served not as a modern
bank but a prototype of it" .43
The followings are the important functions of a temple as
a prototype of b3:f11<.
• It lent money to private bodies and village assemblies
with or without security. 44
• Cultivators borrowed money from the temple treasury
whenever they needed Jl'l.Oney for carrying on their
cultivation. 45
• Money was also lent to private persons for important
purposes. 46 Borrowers from the temple treasury, when
unable to repay the loan, sold a part of their lands to
wipe off debts. 47 Generally the loans were given by the
temple in cash or some specified items should be
 ieva l So uth India 97
d Role of Tem ples in M ed
. . .
ititi-facete
m ple m lieu of th e interest. From the
~ lied to the te
ose for which the
the purp
:!~est the temples fulfilled ·
donations were made.
an xi ~u s to m ar ry of f th eir daughters
• parents of girl~ d de sp er ate condition
a di stre ssed an
but who were m hters' marriage
m s to rp ee t th ei r da ug
borrowed su in de finite purpose
go t lo an s fo r ot he r
expenses. They
48

nt w ith or w ith ou t security. 49

also, and money was · le
su ry he lp ed th e ry ot s in ne ed by selling
• The temple trea
of th e te m pl e la nd an d utilizing the amount
a portion I .
nk s whenever it
pa ir of th e vi ll ag e ta
for the re
50
breached.
the .m aint en an ce of irr ig atio n works were
• The funds for an d as a quasi-private
ff er en t ag en ci es
coming from di w as obviously
ples ' sh ar e in th is re ga rd
bo dy the tem rp lu s fu nd s an d
te m pl es w hi ch ha d su
sizable. A ff lu en t or indirectly, to .
s un de rt oo k di re ct ly
la nd ed pr op er tie 51
va te ta nk s fo r th e pu blic use.
repair or re no to
e' s pr ac tic e of as si gn in g do na te d livestock
The te m pl st ment by the temple
ep he rd w as an in ve
the care of particular sh pr os perity of the agrarian
is re su lte d in th e
authorities an d th th us placed in a servic
e
Th e sh ep he rd s w er e
community. ed to
p to th e te m pl e. Su ch activities also se rv
relati~nshi su ch a way as to alleviate
ic re so ur ce s in
redist¼.bute econom
equities.
potentfally disruptive in
te m pl es al so ex te nd ed their helping ha nd to
The Indian sm all pe as an ts an d
lla ge as se m bl ie s,
the no n- B ra hm in vi s th e temples acquired the
ou gh in .m an y ca se
individuals. Th by th em , th e timely financial
m on ey le nt
lands in lieu of the e needy in times of drou
ght
ed by th e te m pl es to th
help render an y as sistance forthcoming
in th e ab se nc e of
and famines and
cannot be ignored.
from the state altogether
l In st it ut io n
Temple as E du ca tio na
em erge nc e of Bh ak ti m ovement and the spread
With the nsequence, the function of
ns tru ct io n as its co
of temple co
 . Redefin ing India
98
ducational institutions too were carried o~t by most of the
~ :emples of prominence. As no·oth er pu~l~c.agency including
the state had taken up the re~pons1btl_1ty of provid ing
education, temple became the main educat ional agency. The
numbe r of major temples provid ed adequ ate facilities to run
educational institutions in their own precincts. Such institutions
attached with the temples were variou sly known as ghatikas,
52
salais, guhais, and mathas.
Epigra phic and literary eviden ces give us glimps es of
educat ional ~ervices render ed by the temple . Beside s the
Buddh ist and Jaina monasteries, the Hindu temple also played
vital role in promo tion of educat ion, which is known as temple
schools (kovil padasalai). The pupils of the temple school learned
spiritu al educat ion from the religio us gurus. Those who well
versed in Vedic and Purani c traditi ons were appoin ted as _
religiou~ teache r in the temple colleges and they looked after
pupils and transm itted the sp.i ritual knowl edge to them. There
53
was a system of repeat ing storie s -like tiruvaymoli,
56
tiruvenbavai,54 Puranas 55 like the Mahabharata and Ramayana and
Bhakti literat ure like devaram, thiruvaasakam, naalayiradivya
prapandam57 within the temple precin cts. Apart from tlie
repeat ing the stories of the Puranas and Itihasas, the studen ts
of the temple school studied the Vedas, Sastras and grammar.
Hostel s for the studen ts were attache d to the temple school.
The studen ts were provid ed with food, bathin g oil on
Sat\rd ay and lamps for all. Some temple s had also a numbe r
of residen tial studen ts in boardi ng school s attache d to them
58

and provid ed facilities for the study of religio n, literatu re as

well as variou s secular subjects.
The chief aim of the 'Hindu educat ion system was the
trainin g of the mind as an instrum ent of knowl edge, and not
simply to fill i~ with the furnitu re of objecti ve knowl edge.
Apart fro1n the influence of the enviro nment , the real creativ e
force in educat ion came from the 'teache r (guru) as the m as t er
· d ct· • . .
mm irecting its entire course. Somet imes the teache r's home
was also the school. The school was thus .a natura l fo rma· ti on
.f. .
an d no t an arh 1c1a11y created institu tion. Becau se of this
 va l So uth India 99
m pl es in M ed ie
d Role of Te .
, facete
of ed uc at io na l in st it ut io ns in th e m od em
~ttJtl- nc ep t . H .1nd u society. 59
the co was no t pr es en t 1n
reasoJl,
5
e of term
se!l
note.r o f Fine Arts
Jis pro, er s of fi ne ar ts th e te m pl e
re , th e pr om ot
cultural ce nt
io n of di ff er en t sc ho ol s of art, ar ch ite ct ur e,
As aed the ev ol ut . .
witness ic an d da nc e m di ff er en t pa rt s of th e co un tr y'
. tm ·g mus . d
pain h br' gh t ou t a va ne ty of sy st em s in ho li st ic an
h' ou
, al th ou gh al l of th em st emmed from the same
w ;~rming arts in g fr om music an d
ul tu ra l ac tiv iti es ra ng
f;;ritual stock. C ke n pl ac e in te m pl e
as ha ve ta
bhajans to th ea tr e an d dr am ov id ed in sp ir at io n to a
The te m pl e ha d al so .pr
precincts. st s w ho ha ve ri ch ly
m po se rs an d ar ti
number of po et s, co an d dance.
60
ti lit er at ur e, m us ic
contributed to Bhak
ga ve en co ur ag em en t to th e th ea tr e an d
The te m pl e
w as in bi gg er te m pl es a hall ca lle d th e Ranga
dancing. There .
re us ua ll y da nc e pe rf or m an ce s w er e he ld
mandapa w he ce of theatres also. Mus
ic
as m ad e fo r m ai nt en an
Provision w s of .p op ul ar ta le s an d
al pr es en ta ti on
and da nc in g th ea tr ic ro ut in e 9£ th e temple.
of th e or di na ry
legends fo rm ed pa rt ec ia l attention. In temples
s th es e re ce iv ed sp
On festive occasion da nc e performance) w er61
e
(s ta ge fo r dr am a an d
Nataka salais .
ns tr uc te d fo r th e pu rp os e of st ag in g the dramas
specially co
e · al so a pl ac e of re lig ious co nv er sa tio n
The temples w er
di sc us si on s. A ll th es e ha ve fa ci li ta te d th e
and m us ic al nc e an d ot he r fine arts
in
n of re lig io n, m us ic , da
propagatio e ag en t for developing,
,al so ac te d as th
the society. Te m pl e is ns er vi ng th e le ga cy of
sm it ti ng an d co
co ns ol id at in g, tr an
·
culture.

Summary
di a es pe ci al ly in ea rly medieval so ut h In di a
~eople in In an
th at a pl ac e w ith ou t a temple is no t fit for hu m
considered th e la nd of so ut h In di a ha d
th e ho ar y pa st
habitation. From so u th In di a also bear witness
ar y te xt s of
its temple. Early liter lla ge s were the nerve-centre
e te m pl es of th e vi
to this £~ct. Th
 100 Redefining India
of Indian culture. Everywhere in _homes, streets, villages We
can find temple. All most every village of sou th India has its
temple, around which centres in a very large measure the
corporative civic life of the community which live in it. The
construction of temple is integral part of the social life of the
people. These institutions linked the people for the
maintenance, festivals and poojas. Thus the temple of India
played a very important role going far beyond a mere religious
institution. It had functions of a social, economic, political and
cultural nature and they were interrelated in a 1nulti-faceted
way.

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A.D.), Vol.I, Madras, 1990, pp. 275-76.
2. A.Appadorai, op.cit., p.275.
3. A.L.Basham, The Wonder that was India, (first published in 1954)
reprint, London, 2004, pp.302-309.
4. A.R.E., No. 506 of 1913.
5. A.R.E., No. 583 of 1963.
6. A.R.E., No.163 of 1901.
7. A.R.E., No.248 of 1906.
8. A.R.E., No.393 of 1916.
9. A.R.E., Nos. 157, 160 of 1940.
10. A.R.E., Nos.241, 251 of 19}6.
11. A.Sundaram and A.Chandrajothi, "A Study on the
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r , Jti. facett
d }tole 0
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nStell \ , The Journa l o.+ . , Vol.19, no 2
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17. rempl e , PP· . · . ·
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bing, D.D.
R,;~ Sharma (ed.), lndi'.111 Society: Historical Pro
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26. E.C., V.Belur 83.
p.447; S.I.I., Vol.VII,
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29. For more details see Burton Stein (ed.),
52.
An Analytical Reconstruction, Delhi, 1978, pp.1-1
The Early Medieval in
30. For more details see Kesavan Veluthat,
82.
South India, Oxford, New Delhi, 2009, pp.61-
31. George Michel, op.cit., pp.62,63.
32. George Michel, The Hindu Temple,Anlntr
oduction to itsMeaning
and Forms, Bombay, 1977, p.49.
33. Ibid.
34. Ibid.
35. Ibid.
36. Ibid., p.206.
37. Ibid., pp.192-205.
38. Ibid., pp.210-216.
 Red efin ing Indi a
102
4
_ Inscr iptions of Pudu kotta i StaJe (I.P.S.), No. 7S.
39
.A.N ilaka nta Sast ri, The Colas, Vol. ll, Part II, Mad ras, 1937,
40. K
p.504.
41 . K.M aval i Raja n (ed.) , Temple and Society in Sout h India
, New
Delhi, 2016, p.xiv, intro duct ion.
42 _ K.M aval i Rajan, "Ad min
istr~ tors , Artisands. ~ SeK rvMants:
Temple's Functionaries in Med ieva l Sou th~ 1a , rn .
avail
Raja n (ed.) , Temple and Society in South India, p.74 .
ety:
43. K.Mavali Rajan, "De vada sis in Earl y Med ieva l Tam il Soci
A Socio-religious Stud y'', in Proj it Kum ar Pali t (ed.) , Religion
and Literature: Indian Perspectives, New Delh i, 2010, pp.106-
114.
s in
44. K.M aval i Raja n, "Th e Role of Cas tes and Con tmu nitie
Temple Affairs duri ng the Pan dyas n, in A.M ahal inga m (ed .),
I.and, Society and Art in Tanzil Nadu iuitlz special reference to Vaigai
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45. K.T han gap and ian, "Te mpl es and Religiou s End owm
duri ng the Pan dya s", in K.M ava li Rajan, op.cit., p .134.
46. K.T hang apa ndian, op. cit., pp.1 32-1 33.
47. Kurra,n Copper Plate, PCM~ pp.45-53.
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Sou th India" l paper reild a·t tlie 5y,nposi urrz on the Svcio-Econorn
ic
role of Religious lnstituboris irt India, in the Indian History Congress,
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.J ,

52. . l·t·., p.27:>.

66; d . A.A.ppa dor~~ , op.C
. .ii, No.
SJ.I., Vol 1""'

53. SJ.I., Vol Ill, No.124

54. S.I.1 ., Vol. ID, No.43.
55. S.1.1 ., Vot V, No.223.
56. S.11~, VoLXlD~No.131.
 South India 103
d Role of Te mp les in Medieval
'f 1 W
. z.aceteshpalatha, "S~ience b eh.1n d em p e or sh ip ", in
M11JtJ-
57. s._:avali Rajan, op_,c1t., p.49.
J( i'ah op.cit., pp.223,224.. . ..
s.Ran1ana ' le oifSoutlt India, Ne w Delhi, 1989, pp.223,
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5 Raman 'by' K.Thangapand1a
· . ·ted n, "Temples and Religious
59. . K.Maval i Rajan, op.cit.,
2241 Cl
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Endo wm
. . ·
p.138. No.144.
South Indian Inscnptions (S.1.1.), Vol.XVII,
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v.Mahalingam, Economic Life in the
Vijayanagar Empire,
61
r.
· Madras, 1951. p.40.

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