Temples of Munnur (Historical Study)

by R. Muthuraman | 2016 | 67,784 words

This essay represents a historical study of the Temples in and around Munnur, situated in the Dakshina Kannada district in the state Karnataka (India). Munnur is regarded as an important religious city for the followers of both Shaivism and Vaishnavism. The ancient history of Munnur traces to the reign of the Chola, from whom the city derives it's ...

Munnur temple Property

The Munnur temple property can be divided into two divisions: (viz.,) immovable property, comprising the cultivable lands both wet land and dry land and movable property comprising offerings of gold, livestock and other precious metals, and offerings of various kinds of food grains and other material for the worship, etc.

Villages

The lithic records state that several villages were donated to the temples. These gifts of villages formed the basis of income of the Munnur temples. This practice was followed throughout in the early medieval period. Apart from this the village donations form an important source of revenue to the temples. Three inscriptions of Adavalleswarar temple refer to the donations of villages for maintenance of the temple for burning perpetual lamps to presiding deity. These villages were known as devadana villages. The income from the villages helped substantially to conduct special Pujas, worship, celebrations of annual festivals, renovation works and other special provisions of the temple.

From the copper plate of Bahur and other sources we came know that the ancient educational institution enjoyed the revenue of three villages in the present union territory of Pudhucherry. Probably an equal number might have been attached to the educational centre,[1] viz., Thirubhuvanai, Ennayiram sect during the Chola period. These famous ancient educational institutions namely Bahur, Thirubhuvanai and Ennayiram had been enjoyed the income from these villages[2] were donated by various rulers[3] of Pallava and Chola monarchs. Likewise the king rulers and chieftains made grants of villages for specific and general promotion of an advance educational institution which added to the wealth of the temple treasuries and enhance the prestige of the village Munnur in education.

In addition to these land donations several tax-exemptions were also given to the donated lands to the upkeep of temple expanses. For instance a record[4] issued in the 12th regnal year (A.D.1147) of Kulottunga II reveals that Sri Pallavandan Ethirili Chola Sambuvaraya, registers the gift of village namely siruvadi alias Kulottungacholanallur was given as tax-free to the presiding deity Adavallan for conducting the ritualistic services viz., daily pujas, food offerings and worship in this temple. The record further states that gift was given by the request of Gangyarayan and Bangalarayan.[5] Besides the royal order was recorded by one Menavan Muvenda Vallalan a Perundaram[6] official knows as Thirumandira Olai and he sent the same royal order to his assistant for execution. From this is clear that during the Chola period the village donation were proclaimed by the rulers and the same was first recorded by Thirumandira Olai and executed by subsequent officials in a systematic Manner. Besides, a village Kulottunga Chola Nallur was given a gift to the Presiding deity. The old name Dina Sinthamani Nallur[7] was replaced and its total income was given to the Presiding deity.

Land

The land donations to the temple were made either by the ruling monarchs[8] or the royal clan or the queen[9] or the chieftains or their officials or servants[10] or by private individuals[11] and trade guilds for obtaining religious merit of the Presiding deity or other deities of the temple. It was a practice followed during the medieval period. In several cases, the lands were first purchased[12] which were already donated and then granted or reallotted to the temples.

The wide prevalent practice of purchasing lands for religious donations was a common phenomenon in the Tamil Country.[13] The lithic records make mention the purchase of a certain amount of land either for burning a perpetual lamp or maintenance of pujas or with the object of giving a livelihood to same communal groups. A record of Kulottunga II dated A.D.1146, registers a gift of one ma and half kani of land for the daily offerings to the presiding deity. For instance a record of Udaya Pillaiyar subshrine in the Prakara of the Adavalleswarar temple. In an another instance a record of Kulottunga II dated A.D. 1146 registers a gift of land donated by one Gnana Murthy Bhattan for burning a perpetual lamp to the presiding deity Sri Mulasthana Mudaiya Mahadevar.

Besides, some registers the land donations either to religious bodies at the request of high officials of his own state or to educational institutions and its maintenance. Moreover, inscriptions show that these grants were also made by donors of private individuals[14] throughout the Chola period.

During medieval Tamil Country certain common procedures were followed in making land grants while certain ceremonies took place, at the time of the land grants. The declaration of the gift was made known to village assemblies headmen of the villages, Brahmanas and Sthanathars of the temple through the royal official, Thirumandira Olai[15] and their subordinate officials of the local area. The observance of the formalities we reoccurred in the presence of responsible local revenue officials, village assembly members, village elders and public. This practice was obvious intended to ensure that geninune no in justice was done in the execution of royal order.

Land donations were made for certain specific religious purposes and to enhance the public beliefs on the religious merits of the presiding deity. Most of records state that Lands were donated by ruling monarchs to increase their religious merit and strength, the Primal deity. Here it is interesting to know land donations, its significance and it is capable of absolving the donor of all sins which committed earlier. For instance an inscription[16] of Rajaraja II in his 7thregnal year (A.D.1156) mentions the gift of 500 Kuli of land by Meekamp Pallavaraya of Thirukovilur, a chieftain for his son in law Setherayan for his Kaipizhai pattan[17] meaning a mistake, perhaps caused a death to a person. Thus the land gift was made to relieve his son in law from the sin.

Besides on the grounds of communal it was believed that the land donations made to the temples.[18] For instance a record[19] of Rajaraja III issued in his 13thregnal year (A.D.1230) refers to a land donation by one Ammaiyappan Ponthaman alias Narpathonnayiram[20] Vaniyar (Traders) community for the welfare of the Vaniyars of Munnjur. The 224 Kuli[21] land was purchased from the Brahmanas for laying a Vaniyar street on the west side of the Adavalleswarar temple. They were given for the maintenance, burning perpetual lamp and food offerings to the deity. Moved by different considerations, the royal clan both the rulers and chieftains granted lands on a liberal scale, which made the temples[22] some of the biggest land owners of this period.

The value of the land granted varied with the status of the donors namely the ruler, the chieftain, the official, the community or private individuals. Grants might include large amount of lands or only a small amount of land, which is enough for their services. Usually they entrusted these lands to temple authorities or priests.

These land grants fall into two major categories. The first category comprised the grants which transferred only the fiscal rights to the temple, but rights over the possession of the land were reclaimed by the grantor. Many royal grants were made in this category. They transferred to the temple the royal share of the produce which did not affect the landed rights of the village landholders, permanent cultivators, village officials, previous donors and others.[23]

Conferred proprietorship of the land upon the donors forms the second category. The grantor would acquire proprietorship by inheritance, purchase or exchange,[24] and then hand it over to the temple Sthanathars or temple authorities or the priests,[25] or Private individuals, officials and members of village assembly, purchased it and donated it to the temple. However, temple lands were found in several places. Therefore, temple donated lands were mentioned with boundaries.

Temple Land grants caused the rise to special tenures. The circumstances viz., the abundance of land and the scarcity of money, the immobility of the people and their attachment to the cultivation served the growth of special tenures,[26] The land grants and its terms and conditions made to the temples differed according to the time, the place, the grantor, the donor, the benefits or the services to be rendered in their lieu. But broadly these tenures can be divided into two major divisions viz., beneficial and service. Usually the beneficial grants were made to the temples by the donors not in return for any material service. It was believed that the grants would bring spiritual benefit to the donors.

Service tenures again fall under two broad categories: lands given for services to the village and for services to be rendered to the temple. Services in temples were both occasional and continuous,[27] Conducting some festival or offering a Puja or doing some repair can be regarded as occasional services.

Continuous services rendered to the temple meant looking after its administrations, or accounts, or its religious routine works. Certain commodities like food offerings, and other flowers and other things had supplied at the time of temple rituals and festivities.[28]

Beneficial tenures held by the temple were known as Tiruvidaiyattam,[29] devadana,[30] devagrahara,[31] devabhoga[32] and talavritti.[33] Grants made to educational institutions and hospitals attached to the temple were called salabhoga[34] oraraccalai.[35]

Commonly beneficial tenures were also granted either to individual Brahmanas or to Brahmin community or to a Brahmin family and were known as brahmadeya. The brahmadeya was given to individual Brahmana or Brahmin community for Brahmin support and for the furtherance of their learned activities, whereas the devadana was meant for the proper maintenance of the temples, for services and ceremonies. For instance a record of Rajendra I register a gift of certain amount of land for providing the mid-day meal to both the teachers and the students living in the salai of the Munnjur Adavalleswarar temple. From this record we can surmise that the income from this land tenure was to be used to meet out the mid-day meal of the Brahmana teachers were taught the Vedas and Sudras in Sanskrit language. This service tenure for the services to be rendered to meet out the basic need of the Brahmanas both the teaching community and the young budding scholars in the Salai, the educational institution of the Adavalleswarar temple at Munnjur. More over the record further states that the importance given to Munnjur Salai similar to other famous institutions existed at Bahur, Thirubhuvanai and Ennairam in and around the Villupuram District.

The donated lands appear to be the primary wealth of the temples. These land donations were mostly from the monarchs or chieftains or officials and private individuals. It was a common belief that the land donations were given to the temple to fulfill their vows by conducting pujas and festivals. Thus the lands of the villages given to a temple were popularly known as devadana which means both God's gift and gift to God. The lithic records refer to the possession of such devadana land by the Saiva temple as Tirunamattukkani[36] and those of Vaishnava temple as Tiruvidaiyattam.[37] These were held under the absolute ownership of the temples.[38] The Agricultural production from these lands and its revenue filled the temple treasury which lessened the financial strain of the temples. Whenever such donations were made, their purpose was also clearly specified.

It is thus understood that proper care was taken in utilizing the charity by the temple authorities. Several records state that land endowments were made for various purposes. Similar instances are found in other records. Ministers, officials, generals and servants also made endowments to the temples. On many occasions these officials instituted new images and provided for their worship independently.

When land was donated for such special services, the donors carefully watched whether the temple servants could obtain the required amount from the gifted property or not, failing which, the donors used the restoration of grant of tax-free lands permanently.

Land was also donated for the purpose of burning the lamps of the temple. Such lands were called as Thiruvilakkuppuram. In addition, several inscriptions refer to the grant of land to maintain temple gardens which were called Tirunandavanam.[39] The temples got the flowers required for worship and vegetables needed for cooking purposes. By maintaining temple gardens, the temples got the necessary or required quantity of flowers, fruits, vegetables, coconuts, areca nut, betel leaves, plantain fruits and leaves which were required for offerings. The surplus was sold out. This greatly enhanced the temple economy.

Land was donated for undertaking construction and renovation work of the temples. Land was endowed to the temples for the maintenance of different temple staff. The gift of land served as a permanent source of income to the temples.[40] Once the land was donated, the whole yield of the land could be used by the temple. However, the actual yielding capacity of the land largely depended upon the fertility of the soil and the size of the plot.[41] As land formed the major source of income to the temples, utmost care was taken before transferring it to the temples. To avoid rift, the rights of the previous occupants or tenants known as kudi of the donated land were protected. The occupants of the endowed lands, except in some cases, were not evicted. Those villages or the lands from where the occupants were not evicted were known in the records as kudiningadevadana.[42]

The majority of the inscriptions refer to the gifts of plots of land and sometimes the whole village. This affected the internal administration and gave them feudal dimensions. The feudal character of a temple in the medieval period owes a great deal to devadana gifts of land. The temples thus became rich land-owning institutions. But they could not have cultivated all their lands directly which perhaps led to the practice of leasing them to tenants. The tenants were to follow various conditions. They were not to alienate the lands without getting prior permission. Melvaram or Meladi and Keezhvaram or Keezhadi were also fixed according to the fertility of the land. This gave rise to feudal agrarian relations leading in turn to the depression of the peasantry.

The decline of the peasantry in early medieval South India may have been caused to a certain extent by the fiscal concessions, which accumulated the gifts of land and villages to temples. Since the pariharas indicate exemption from the payment of taxes originally payable to the state and the transfer of various land rights of the King an increase in their number suggests a correspondingly heavier burden of taxes, which the people may have found difficult to pay.

An inscription[43] dated during the 12th regnal year (A.D.1147) of Kulottunga II says that the village Kulottunga Chola Nallur was assessed and it total revenue of 1000 kalam of paddy was given for the maintenance of the temple and offerings of the Primal deity.

Individual Donors

We find all classes of people donating various commodities according to the need of the temples and to the best of their capacity. We can get a clear picture of it if we examine these donors according to their existing social divisions. Another important source of wealth to the temples was the donations and endowments coming from individual persons. Though small and meager in comparison with the gifts made by the merchant class, they were important because of their number and variety.

Footnotes and references:

[1]:

R.S. Sharma, Indian Feudalism, 300-1200 A.D., Calcutta, 1965, p. 43.

[2]:

Ibid.,

[3]:

J. Briggs, Tarikh -I-Ferishta, Eng., Trans., Vol. I, Calcutta, 1966, p. 73.

[4]:

A.R.E., 75 of 1919.

[5]:

Ibid.,

[6]:

Ibid.,

[7]:

A.R.E., 75 of 1919.

[8]:

S.I.I. Vol. II, Part I, No. 485.

[9]:

S.I.I. Vol. XIII, No.39, p. 17.

[10]:

S.I.I. No. 55, p. 25.

[11]:

S.I.I. Nos. 51 and 61, p.47.

[12]:

S.I.I. No. 167, p. 90.

[13]:

S.K. Maity, Economic Life of Northern India in the Gupta period, Delhi, 1947, p. 43.

[14]:

A.R.E., 65 of 1919.

[15]:

A.R.E., 73 of 1919.

[16]:

A.R.E., 67 of 1919.

[17]:

Ibid.,

[18]:

R.S. Sharma, Op.Cit.,p. 140.

[19]:

57 of 1919.

[20]:

Ibid.,

[21]:

Ibid.,

[22]:

S.K. Maity, Op.Cit.,p. 45.

[23]:

S.I.I., Vol. II, No. 76 and No. 22 also.

[24]:

T.A.S., Vol. III, 22, V. 25 and also SII, Vol. III, No.205.

[25]:

S.I.I., Vol. XIII, No. 51.

[26]:

A. Appadurai, Economic Conditions in Southern India, Vol. I, Madras, 1936, p. 156.

[27]:

A.R.E., 79 of 1919.

[28]:

E.I. Vol. V, pp. 142-50.

[29]:

I.A. Vol. XXIV, p. 57ff.

[30]:

A.R.E., 261 of 1926.

[31]:

A.R.E., 1926, Appendix ‘A’.

[32]:

S.I.I., Vol.III, No. 12; 538 of 1925.

[33]:

Ibid.,

[34]:

S.I.I., Vol. II, No. 5 and also S.I.I., Vol. III, No. 151.

[35]:

A.R.E., 159 of 1925.

[36]:

S.I.I., Vol. XVII, No. 144.

[37]:

I.P.S., No. 475.

[38]:

K.A. Nilakanta Sastri, The Colas, Madras, 1975, p.576.

[39]:

A.R.E., 57 of 1919.

[40]:

V.G. Ramakrishna Aiyer, The Economy of the South Indian Temple, Annamalai University, 1946, p.8.

[41]:

Burton stein, All the King’s Mana-papers on Medieval South Indian History, Madras, 1984, p.74.

[42]:

I.P.S., No. 515, 545, 549.

[43]:

A.R.E., 75 of 1919.

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