Latest / The Chola Empire: How South India Dominated the Indian Ocean — Fexingo History / Chola Empire's Temple Donors: The Inscriptions of Rajaraja
Transcript
- Lucas: So we've talked a lot about the big movers in the Chola Empire — kings, generals, merchant guilds. But there's a quieter source that tells us just as much about how this society actually worked: the inscriptions on temple walls. Luna: You mean the ones all over the Brihadeeswarar Temple? Lucas: Exactly. When Rajaraja Chola I completed the Brihadeeswarar Temple in Thanjavur around 1010 CE, he didn't just build a monument. He covered its walls with hundreds of inscriptions recording the names, villages, and donations of everyone who contributed to the temple's foundation and ongoing upkeep. These aren't just royal decrees — they include queens, military officers, merchants, even temple servants. Luna: So it's like a donor wall, but way more detailed. Lucas: Much more than a name on a plaque. Each inscription records exactly what was given — gold, land, livestock, oil for lamps — and what it was for. One queen, for example, donated a specific amount of gold to fund the daily offering of rice and curd to the deity. Another inscription lists a village that provided a steady supply of butter for the temple lamps. The level of detail is astonishing. Lucas: And it wasn't just charity. These donations were part of what's called the devadana system — land grants made to temples, often tax-free. The temple then used the income from that land to support its rituals, its staff, and even local schools and hospitals. So these inscriptions give us a direct window into the Chola economy. Luna: Did the king control all that, or were local communities involved? Lucas: Great question. The inscriptions show that local assemblies — called sabhas — played a huge role in managing temple lands. They would lease out the land, collect the revenue, and ensure the temple got its share. In fact, there's a famous inscription from Uttaramerur that lays out the rules for how sabhas should be elected. So the state wasn't micromanaging everything. There was real local autonomy. Lucas: This also tells us about social mobility. We see merchants and even some cultivators making substantial donations. By giving to the temple, they gained prestige and a kind of social capital. And the temple recorded their names forever — literally carved in stone. Luna: So it's a record of who mattered in Chola society. Lucas: Exactly. And it challenges the idea that this was a rigid, top-down state. You had the king at the top, sure, but there was this whole ecosystem of local elites, guilds, and village councils who were actively shaping the religious and economic landscape. The Tiruvalangadu plates, for instance, are a set of copper-plate inscriptions that list the genealogy of Rajaraja and his grants — but they also mention the names of the local officials who witnessed the transaction. Lucas: And these inscriptions weren't just in Tamil. Some are in Sanskrit, some in Grantha script. That shows the multilingual reality of the empire, where Sanskrit was used for formal declarations and Tamil for local records. Luna: I've heard that the Brihadeeswarar inscriptions also mention the temple's staff — like dancers and musicians. Lucas: Yes. There are detailed lists of the devadasis — temple dancers — and the musicians, and what they were paid. One inscription records that a certain number of women were employed to sing and dance before the deity, and they received a share of the temple's grain and cloth. So we even get a glimpse into the lives of performers. Lucas: And here's something that really brings it home: the inscriptions also record the names of the stone masons and the architects — the sthapatis. A guy named Kunjara Mallan is mentioned as the chief architect of the temple. He wasn't just anonymous labour. He had a name, and he was proud enough to have it recorded. Luna: That's incredible. It humanises the whole project. Lucas: Absolutely. And when you think about it, this is exactly what we try to do with this show — find the human stories behind the grand narrative. And if that kind of deep dive into the past is something you value, there's a small way you can help us keep making these episodes ad-free. If today felt like it was worth a coffee to you, you can find us at buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo. No pressure, just a way for listeners who appreciate the work to chip in. Luna: Yeah, it's a small gesture that makes a big difference for us. Lucas: So back to those inscriptions — one of my favourite details is that they record not just what was given, but also what the temple was supposed to do with it. For example, a gift of a hundred sheep might be for ghee to keep a lamp burning perpetually. And there are penalties for anyone who misuses the endowment — which shows they were serious about accountability. Luna: So these inscriptions are basically legal documents too. Lucas: Exactly. They're a combination of spiritual record, economic contract, and social register. And because so many of them survive — over a thousand just from Rajaraja's reign — they let us reconstruct the Chola world in remarkable detail. It's a history written not by chroniclers, but by the people themselves. Lucas: Next time, we might look at how this temple economy evolved under later Chola rulers, and whether the system eventually became a burden on the peasantry. But for now, it's worth sitting with the idea that a temple wall can be a history book. Luna: I'll never look at an inscription the same way again.