Sangam Age: Administration

Sangam Age: Administration

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• The Sangam Age marks a landmark phase in the history of south India and forms the foundation of early Tamil political life — a core theme for UPSC History Optional aspirants studying south Indian polity.
• The word “Sangam” is the Tamil form of the Sanskrit word “sangha,” meaning an assembly or association of persons.
• The Tamil Sangams were academies of poets and bards that flourished across three successive periods, at different seats, under the patronage of the Pandyan kings.
  • The First Sangam, believed to have been attended by gods and legendary sages, was held at Then Madurai; none of its works have survived.
  • The Second Sangam was held at Kapatapuram, another Pandyan capital; of the large body of literature it produced, only the Tolkappiyam — the earliest Tamil grammar — survives today.
  • The Third Sangam was held at present-day Madurai. It too produced a vast body of literature, but only a fraction survives, and this surviving fraction constitutes what is known as Sangam literature.
• The Sangam Age refers to the period to which this surviving literature belongs. Sangam literature is a rich mine of information on the political, socio-economic, and cultural conditions of the Tamil country around the beginning of the Christian era, making it central to any study of Sangam Age administration.

Sangam Literature and Other Sources

• Sangam literature, dating from the 1st century CE onward, contains extensive references to Tamil kings and their kingdoms.
• According to Prof. K.A. Nilakanta Sastri, Sangam literature — combining idealism with realism and classical grace with indigenous vigour — rightly constitutes the “Augustan Age” of Tamil literature.
  • It deals with secular themes of public and social life, such as government, war, charity, trade, worship, and agriculture.
• Among the outstanding poets and thinkers of the age were Tolkappiyar, Tiruvalluvar, Ilango Adigal, Sittalai Sattanar, Nakkirar, Kapilar, Paranar, Auvvaiyar, and Mangudi Marudanar, who together enriched the history of south India through their literary works.
• Sangam literature comprises:
  • The earliest Tamil work, the Tolkappiyam (a grammar text)
  • The ten poems (Pattupattu)
  • The eight anthologies (Ettutogai)
  • The eighteen minor works (Padinenkilkanakku)
  • The five epics
• The chief merit of Sangam works lies in their strict adherence to literary conventions and standards. This literature offers a vivid picture of the political and social life of the early Tamils, and the synchronisms contained within it help historians fix several historical events.
  • V. Kanakasabhai Pillai, in his work The Tamils Eighteen Hundred Years Ago, noted that the Tolkappiyam provides valuable details on the lifestyle of the people of Tamilakam.
• The literature indicates frequent wars among ruling families, though this did not mean the absence of peace in the Tamil country — only those specially engaged in warfare fought, while others pursued agriculture, trade, commerce, art, literature, and other peaceful occupations.
• Beyond Sangam literature, other sources help reconstruct the cultural past of the early Tamils:
  • The Ashokan inscriptions, the earliest northern Indian reference to south India, mention the kingdoms of the Cholas, Pandyas, Satiyaputras, and Keralaputras, corresponding to the regions comprising modern Andhra Pradesh, Madras (Tamil Nadu), Mysore (Karnataka), and Kerala.
  • The Hathigumpha inscription of Kharavela of Kalinga speaks of defeating the Tamil confederacy, understood to be that of the “three crowned kings” — the Cheras, Cholas, and Pandyas — along with their feudatories.

Three Kingdoms of the Sangam Age

• During the Sangam Age, three principal powers — the Cheras, Cholas, and Pandyas — ruled over the Tamil country.
• Besides these three main powers, references are also found to a number of small chieftains in south Indian history.
• The king, at this stage, was essentially a war leader, primarily concerned with protecting his tribal kingdom; wars and tribal clashes were frequent among the rulers of the three kingdoms over dominion of states and territory.
  • Despite this constant warfare, all three dynasties were patrons of literature and other classical literary works, and their rule brought significant changes to the regional politics, socio-economic conditions, and cultural sphere of south Indian history.

The Cheras

• Among the three kingdoms of the Sangam Age, the Cheras were prominent, ruling over parts of modern Kerala, situated west and north of the Pandya country.
  • Their territory included the narrow strip of land between the sea and the mountains, covering portions of both Kerala and Tamil Nadu.
• Their capital was Vanji, and their important sea ports were Tondi and Musiri. Their emblem was the Palmyra flower garland, and their royal symbol was the bow and arrow.
• The Cheras were known by several titles, such as Vanavar, Villavar, and Malaiyar.
  • In the early centuries of the Christian era, the Chera country was as important as the Chola and Pandya kingdoms, owing its significance largely to trade with the Romans.
• The Pugalur inscription (1st century CE) refers to three generations of Chera rulers, while the Sangam work Padirruppattu also provides information on Chera kings and their political achievements.
• Udhayan Cheralathan, Imayavaramban Nedum Cheralathan, and Cheran Senguttuvan were the most famous rulers of this dynasty.
  • Udhayan Cheralathan, the earliest Chera king, ruled from the capital Vanji. A great warrior, he is said to have defeated the Satavahana king Satakarni II.
  • Nedum Cheralathan, successor of Udhayan Cheralathan, was called “Imayavaramban” — “he who had the Himalayas as his boundary.”
    • He fought a war with the contemporary Chola king in which both monarchs lost their lives, and their queens performed Sati.
    • He won a naval victory against a local chieftain on the Malabar Coast, and with the help of his large army, defeated the Yavanas and imprisoned many of them.
    • He built many temples and performed several sacrifices, indicating the influence of Brahmanism in the Chera kingdom.
  • According to Chera poets, their greatest king was Cheran Senguttuvan, the “Red or Good Chera,” who belonged to the 2nd century CE.
    • Among his military achievements, his expedition to the Himalayas was remarkable — he is said to have defeated several north Indian monarchs and crossed the Ganga, though this claim appears exaggerated.
    • His younger brother was Ilango Adigal, author of the Silappathikaram.
    • Senguttuvan introduced the Pattini cult, or worship of Kannagi as the ideal wife, in Tamil Nadu. The stone for Kannagi’s idol was brought by him after his Himalayan expedition, and the consecration ceremony was attended by many princes, including Gajabahu II from Sri Lanka.
    • He was succeeded by his half-brother Perunjeral Adan (180 CE), a contemporary of the great Chola monarch Karikalan.
      • According to the poems Puram and Aham, while fighting the Cholas at the Battle of Venni, Perunjeral Adan was wounded in the back and expiated the disgrace by starving himself to death on the battlefield.
• Chera power declined after the 2nd century CE, and little is known of its history until the 8th century CE.
  • The fame of the Cheras rests on their liberal patronage of Tamil poets and their promotion of trade with the Romans, aided by good ports along the western coast such as Tondi and Musiri (Muziris) — Muziris being a great centre of Indo-Roman trade.

The Cholas

• The Chola kingdom of the Sangam period extended from the modern Tiruchirappalli district of Tamil Nadu to southern Andhra Pradesh.
  • Known in early medieval times as Cholamandalam, it lay to the north-east of Pandya territory, between the Pennar and Vellar rivers.
• Their capital was Uraiyur, and their second capital, Puhar (also called Kaverippumpattinam), was the chief port of the Sangam Cholas.
• Their royal symbol was the tiger.
  • The Cholamandalam is also referred to in Sangam literature as Chonadu, Kaverinadu, Kaveri Cholanadu, Neernadu, and Punalnadu — names indicating the country’s rich water resources.
  • Chola rulers bore surnames such as Killi, Valavan, Senni, and Cholan.
• Ilamjet Senni, the first Chola king, ruled from Uraiyur; he possessed “many beautiful chariots” and had fabulous wealth.
• Karikala Cholan, the greatest Chola king of the Sangam Age, ruled in the 2nd century CE as the son of Ilamjet Senni.
  • His name means “the man with the charred leg.”
  • A contemporary of the Chera king Perunjeral Adan, Karikala was a very competent ruler and a great warrior.
  • The Sangam works Pattinappalai and Porunarruppadai portray his early life and military conquests.
    • Deposed and imprisoned early in life, he escaped and re-established himself on the throne — an episode well portrayed by the author of Pattinappalai, a long poem on the Chola capital Kaveripattinam in the Pattuppattu.
  • His major military achievements included:
    • The Battle of Venni (15 miles east of Tanjavur), where he defeated the mighty confederacy of the Cheras, Pandyas, and eleven minor chieftains — an event mentioned in many Sangam poems by different authors and one that marked a turning point in his career.
    • The battle of Vahaipparandalai, another important engagement in which nine enemy chieftains submitted before him.
  • These military achievements made him the overlord of the entire Tamil country.
  • Trade and commerce flourished during his reign; he reclaimed forest lands and brought them under cultivation, adding to the prosperity of the people.
    • He built the Kallanai dam across the river Kaveri and constructed several irrigation tanks.
    • He founded Puhar and built a 160-km embankment along the Kaveri, using the labour of 12,000 slaves brought as captives from Sri Lanka.
    • Puhar became a great centre of trade and commerce with a large dock, as revealed by excavations, and the Cholas maintained an efficient navy.
• Under Karikala’s successors, Chola power declined rapidly. Two of his sons ruled from separate capitals — the elder from Uraiyur and the younger from Puhar.
  • The fortunes of the Cholas suffered a serious setback when, according to a tradition recorded in the Manimekalai, a large part of the port town of Puhar was engulfed by the sea in tidal waves during the reign of the later Chola king Killivalavan. The family nevertheless survived for over a century, with varying fortunes.

The Pandyas

• The Pandyas ruled over present-day southern Tamil Nadu, roughly comprising the modern districts of Madurai, Tirunelveli, and Ramanathapuram.
• Their capital was Madurai, their chief port Korkai, and their royal symbol the fish.
• The Pandyas are rightly remembered for patronising the poets and scholars of the Tamil Sangams, and bore surnames such as Maran, Valudhi, and Cheliyan.
• The earliest kings of the Pandyan dynasty were Nediyon, Palyagasalai Mudukudumi Peruvaludhi, and Mudathirumaran.
  • Mudukudumi Peruvaludhi, a follower of Vedic religion, constructed many sacrificial altars. He appears to have been a capable soldier whose fame spread to the north — he may have defeated some petty rival tribes, though his achievements were also glorified by court poets.
• Neduncheliyan, the greatest Pandya king of the Sangam Age, is a title shared by two distinct rulers:
  • Aryappadai Kadantha Neduncheliyan (“one who won victories over the Aryan forces”) was responsible for the execution of Kovalan, an act for which Kannagi burnt Madurai.
  • Talaiyalanganattu Cheruvendra Neduncheliyan (“he who won the battle at Talaiyalanganam”) was the hero of the Maduraikkanchi, praised by Nakkirar and Mangudi Maruthanar.
    • He earned this title after defeating his enemies at the Battle of Talaiyalanganam in the Tanjore district, a victory that gave him control over the entire Tamil Nadu.
• The Maduraikkanchi, written by Mangudi Maruthanar, describes the political and socio-economic condition of the Pandya country, including its flourishing sea port of Korkai.
• Uggira Peruvaludhi was the last notable Pandyan king. Pandyan rule during the Sangam Age began to decline due to the invasion of the Kalabhras in the 3rd century CE.
• The Pandyan kings profited from trade with the Roman Empire and sent embassies to the Roman emperor Augustus.
  • Their port Korkai was a great centre of trade and commerce, and Saliyur was another important port.
• The Brahmins enjoyed considerable influence at the Pandyan court, and the kings performed Vedic sacrifices in the early centuries of the Christian era.

Local Chieftains

• Apart from the three major Tamil kingdoms, a number of local chieftains, known as Velirs, ruled different parts of the Tamil country during the Sangam Age.
• Sangam literature furnishes considerable information about these small chieftains. The most famous among them were called the “seven patrons” or “kadaiyelu vallalkal“: Pari, Ori, Malayan, Elini, Pegan, Aay, and Nalli.
  • Pari, who ruled over Parambu, was the greatest patron among them.
• These local chieftains extended patronage to Tamil poets such as Kapilar, Auvvaiyar, Nallathanar, and Perunchithiranar, who in turn praised them for their generosity.
  • They also extended their help in resolving disputes between rulers.
• Like the Chera, Chola, and Pandya rulers, these chieftains made generous donations to poets and bards as their patrons, and played a significant role in the political, social, and cultural domains of the Sangam Age.

Nature of Sangam Polity

• The Sangam polity was tribal in nature. The Sangam king functioned as both the clan leader and its military commander.
• M.G.S. Narayanan views the Sangam monarch as essentially a tribal military chieftain in the process of developing into a regular king with an urban court, legal system, and bureaucratic apparatus.
  • The Sangam ruler organised wars not for territorial conquest, but for the plunder and destruction of the enemy’s fields and cattle. There are suggestions of some standardisation of inter-state relations through Brahmin ambassadors, but on the whole, the polity remained at a tribal stage of culture.
• Cattle raiding was an important part of inter-tribal warfare, accompanied by myths, legends, and superstitions surrounding military heroes and martyrdom.
• Sangam poems indicate that each king or chieftain had a totem tree and totem flower, guarded with great care and exhibited with pride.
  • Regular patrilineal succession is noted in all three kingdoms, and marriages between royal families are mentioned in the literature.
• Territorial sentiment or loyalty is not much in evidence, except in the case of cities and villages; instead, the tribal affinities of groups like the Ayes and Vels are celebrated throughout Sangam poetry.

Monarchy

• In the Sangam Age, monarchy was the institution of administrative mechanism among the ancient Tamils.
• There were two categories of rulers:
  • The muvendar, or “three crowned heads” — mentioned only among the Chera, Chola, and Pandya kings.
  • Other rulers, referred to as small chieftains or “kurunila mannar,” such as Pegan, Ori, Pari, Kari, and Adiyaman.
• Among the muvendar, the Cholas controlled the fully irrigated, fertile Kaveri basin and delta region; the Pandyas ruled the predominantly pastoral (Mullai) and littoral (Neytal) tracts; and the Cheras held the hilly Kurinji region in the west.
  • The extent of territory held by each of the three crowned monarchs was never constant.
• The Tamil classics make explicit reference to local chieftains as distinct from the muvendar — the chieftains ruled independently, and some were equal in power to the muvendar.
  • These chieftains were traditionally organised political entities with recognised rights and duties, not a product of monarchical weakness. Monarchy remained the standard form of government during the Sangam period.
• The king was the hereditary head of the state in ancient Tamil polity. However, he does not appear to have been an absolute monarch, as his powers were restricted by the existence of five councils or assemblies.
  • The eldest son of the reigning king generally succeeded his father, inheriting the throne by right — a succession called murai mudal kattil.
    • The younger princes were known by titles such as Ilango, Ilanjelian, Ilanjeral, Ilankosar, Ilaveliman, and Ilavichchikkon.
  • The right of succession was called “tayam” or “urimai,” and succession acquired by virtue of conquest was distinguished from succession acquired by birth.
• The king had certain basic functions: learning, performing sacrifices, giving presents, protecting subjects, and punishing the wicked and the guilty.
  • According to Nachinarkkiniar, the sacrifices prescribed for kings were the Rajasuya and the Ashvamedha. The Chola ruler Karikalan is said to have performed many such sacrifices, though his foremost duty remained the protection of his subjects.
• The king was equated with god — the garlands and royal umbrella represented his royal dignity, and people believed the ruler’s umbrella would guard them, reinforcing the effort to present the king as a man of extraordinary power and sacred virtue.
• The people expected the king to adhere to a certain decent code of royal behaviour, uphold the dignity of his office by looking after the welfare of the people, and maintain law and order.
  • He was also expected to be strong, since only a strong king could secure the peace of the land.

The Royal Court and Council

• The royal court was the seat of the highest and supreme administration, with the king and his council forming its members.
  • The council was constituted by representatives of the people — the chief priest, physicians, and astrologers — who safeguarded the rights and privileges of the people.
  • The priest looked after religious ceremonies, the physicians were in charge of the health of the ruler and his subjects, and the astrologers fixed auspicious hours for public ceremonies and predicted important events.
• The king’s court was called Avai, also known as irukkai, olakkam, or vettavai; it was also called arasavai.
  • The king and queen appeared in court amid pompous customs and costly ornaments. The sceptre, white umbrella, and throne kept the king separate and in an elevated position in the court.
• Council members, in theory, advised the king, but in practice received orders from him — yet they never failed to offer advice when needed.
  • There are several instances in Sangam literature of learned men warning the king when he taxed the people excessively or dragged the country into endless warfare.
• The royal court was not a law-making body. Every command of the king was law, though the king respected established conventions and usages — he was the guardian of law rather than its maker. The royal court generally sat in the capital city of the kingdom.
• During the post-Sangam period, the king was assisted by councils called Aimperunkulu and Enperayam, described in the post-Sangam texts Silappathikaram and Manimekalai, which give a detailed account of their constitution, functions, and powers.
  • According to Nachinarkkiniar, the Aimperunkulu consisted of the Amaichchar (Ministers), Purohitar (Chief Priests), Senapati (Army Chiefs), Dutar (Envoys), and Orrar (Spies).
  • As for the Enperayam, Nachinarkkiniar names Karanathiyalvar, Karumakarar, Kanakasutram, Kadaikappalar, Nagaramandar, Padaitalaivar, Yanai Veerar, and Ivuli Maravar.
  • The Maduraikkanchi also refers to the Narperumkulu, the “four great groups.”

Administration during the Sangam Age

Central Administration

• The king was the very centre and embodiment of administration, addressed by titles such as Ko, Mannan, Vendan, Korravan, or Iraivan.
  • Though hereditary monarchy was the prevailing form of government, disputed successions and civil wars were not unknown.
  • The ideal of the “conquering king” was widely accepted and acted upon, and the king’s birthday (Perunal) was celebrated every year.
• As the fountain head of the central administrative machinery, the king was assisted by a large body of officials organised into five assemblies (Aimperumkulu), namely:
  • Amaichchar (Minister)
  • Purohitar (Priest)
  • Senapatiyar (Army Chief)
  • Dutar (Envoy)
  • Orrar (Spies)

Amaichchar

• The Amaichchar, or minister, was a very important official responsible for overseeing various administrative units of the state.
  • The king employed many ministers, and their duties were primarily advisory. They were present at court and advised the king on matters referred to them.
• Thiruvalluvar, in the Thirukkural, calls ministers Amaichchar and Ulai Irundar, while Kadiyalur Uruthiram Kannanar calls them Amaichchar and Sutram.
  • The post-Sangam works Silappathikaram and Thirukkural also make reference to ministers of various administrative units.
• Ministers were famed for being “strangers to falsehood,” and it was their nature to give good and wise advice to kings.
  • There was no definite requirement that ministers be selected from any particular community.

Purohitar

• The Purohitar of the king’s court were called Asan, Karuma Vinainanor, or Andanars. All rulers of the Sangam period maintained Purohitars in their courts.
• The kings respected them and sought their advice in emergency situations.
  • A Chola king who once so far forgot himself as to offend such a Purohitar promptly expressed his regret, and the poet had the good grace to appreciate the character of the prince.

Senapatiyar

• The Senapatiyar, or Senapati, was an important official who controlled and administered the state’s army.
  • Under his command, the infantry, cavalry, elephantry, and chariotry actively participated in warfare for the safeguard of the state.
• The Senapati rallied the army around the royal banner and continued the fight under his own leadership.
  • The Senapatis were so brave that they did not fear even when arrows fell on them or when elephants attacked — these army chiefs were noted for this great quality and were highly courageous on the battlefield.

Dutar

• The Dutar, or ambassadors, were representatives of one king at the court of another.
  • The chief qualifications of an ideal Dutar included pleasing manners, high birth, kindness, expressiveness, a good and stately figure, sound education, the ability to deliver his message without betraying fear or showing favour, and courage in the face of certain death.
• While diplomatic activity (dutu) was a normal part of political life, ambassadors were especially busy during wartime.
  • Nachinarkkiniar notes that “the ministers, the priests, the generals, the envoys, and the spies are the five great advisors” busy in the execution of the central administration.
  • Sangam literature offers several instances of Dutar activity — the most familiar being Auvvaiyar’s mission to Adiyaman Neduman Anji.
  • The Purananuru gives many instances of Kovurkilar’s attempts to subdue royal anger and bring about reconciliation between rulers.
• Ambassadors do not appear to have been permanently assigned to foreign courts as part of a regular routine — rather, they were chosen and employed only when the need arose.

Orrar

• The spies, employed by the king in large numbers, were called Orrar, and espionage itself was termed “vevu” or “orru.”
  • The slight distinction between the two: vevu referred to the report of the spies, while orru referred to the act of espionage itself.
• Spies were mostly employed during wartime, though they were also employed during peace — espionage was a permanent institution in early Tamil society.
  • Nachinarkkiniar notes that spies who brought information from enemy ranks were liberally rewarded, and Dutar were sometimes also employed as Orrar.
  • Officially, the Dutar were considered superior to the Orrar: the king regarded the Dutar as part of his court, while the Orrar were considered part of his personal guard and intelligence service.

Administrative Division

• During the Sangam Age, each kingdom was divided into different administrative units: mandalam, nadu, valanadu, and ur.
• The entire kingdom was called the mandalam. The major mandalams were the Chola, Pandya, and Chera mandalams, indicating the geo-political divisions of the Sangam dynasties.
  • Nachinarkkiniar speaks of four divisions of the Tamil country: the Chera, Chola, Pandya, and Tondai mandalams.
• Below the mandalam was the nadu (province), whose administration was generally carried on by hereditary chiefs.
• The ur was a village, variously described as a big village (perur), a small village (sirrur), or an old village (mudur).
  • Pattinam was the name for a coastal town, and Puhar referred to the harbour area. Kaverippumpattinam, generally known simply as Pattinam, was the most popular coastal town, involved in export and import during the Chola period.
• Several commercial and political centres are mentioned in Sangam texts, namely Puhar, Uraiyur, Korkai, Madurai, Musiri, Vanji (or Karur), and Kanchipuram — with the most detailed accounts available for Puhar, Madurai, and Kanchipuram.
  • The accounts of Madurai in the Maduraikkanchi and of Puhar in the Pattinappalai are largely stereotyped and do not differ much from each other.

Village Administration

• The village was the fundamental unit of administration, generally managing its own affairs; the term “ur” stands for village.
• Village affairs were managed by the manram, podiyil, ambalam, and uravai.
  • The manram (general assembly), podiyil, and ambalam seem to be synonymous terms, referring to the place where villagers met to transact local business.
  • K.A. Nilakanta Sastri treats the manram as a hall and the podiyil as a common place.
    • Commentators describe the manram as the foot of the tree at the centre of the village, where people came to sit down, and equate the podiyil with the ambalam.
    • The word ambalam refers to a small building on a slightly raised platform, while podiyil is derived from “podu” and “il,” meaning “common place.”
    • Nachinarkkiniar further explains the podiyil as a place where anybody could worship; it was cleaned with cow-dung paste, and captive women were made to look after its maintenance.
  • This was typically a village site outside the settlement, usually under a tree, where people assembled to rest, converse informally, discuss local politics, and constitute the forum for village opinion on politico-judicial matters.
    • The foot of the Margosa tree, well known for its medicinal qualities, supplied an ideal venue for the manram.
• The village institutions of manram and podiyil were concerned mainly with the arbitration of petty disputes arising in the villages.
  • They exercised considerable power because there was no hierarchy of officials to whom appeals could be made, giving village elders ample authority.
  • The village elders were neither selected nor elected — being aged, influential, and often wealthy, they assumed this role by common consent, which others rarely challenged.

Revenue Administration

• In the Sangam Age, various kinds of taxes were known and collected, and the king met his private and public expenditures out of this revenue.
  • A number of officials were appointed by the king to look after revenue affairs. Taxes were levied according to established custom, and unjust or unusual taxation, including demands for forced gifts, were not approved of.
• Among the state’s sources of revenue, land revenue was the chief source of income.
  • The land tax was called irai or karai, though the exact share of agricultural produce claimed and collected by the king is not specified in the sources.
  • The land tax was paid in cash or kind; the ma and veli were units for measuring land, and the kalam was the measure of grain considered the legitimate share of the king.
  • A water charge was also levied on farmers to whom water was supplied from reservoirs or canals for irrigation.
• Other important sources of state income were tolls and customs duties, called ulgu or sungam, levied at all the sea ports and mainly collected on trunk roads and at the frontiers of the kingdom.
  • Additional income came from tributes paid by vassal chiefs and princes, the booty obtained during expeditions, and profits from the state’s forests, fisheries, and elephants.
  • Roads and highways were well maintained and guarded night and day to prevent robbery and smuggling.
• A well-known unit of territory yielding tax was the variyam (vari meaning tax), and the officer in charge of collecting tax from that unit of land was called a Variyar.
  • The Pattinappalai refers to customs officials employed at the seaport of Puhar.

Administration of Justice

• The king, as the repository of all secular power, was therefore the source of justice, dispensing it with the help of his ministers and Purohitars.
  • It appears that the courtyard of the palace, where the king’s official court met, also served as a court of justice, where complaints were heard, enquired into, and cases decided.
• The Tamils of the Sangam Age possessed most of the simple elements required to maintain a judicial system, reflecting a clear sense of justice and legal administration during the period.
  • There was a defined institution for the discharge of justice, known as arakkalam, the place of justice administration.
  • The king’s court, called avai, was the highest court of justice, where learned men assisted the king in judicial administration.
  • The village court of justice was the manram, where village-level problems were settled by the elders of society.
• A clear division was made between civil and criminal cases, with criminal cases decided with the aid of witnesses.
  • The procedure was simple, and justice was accessible to the entire population; the primitive system of trial by ordeal also existed, resting on firm faith in supernatural help or participation, even though it does not appeal to modern reasoning.
  • Punishments were very severe and disciplinary in nature — exclusion and similar punishments were very common, and the death penalty was given even for theft, while imprisonment and fines served as minor punishments.
    • Though cruel in nature, this system was effective in its results, since the threat of severe punishment stood as a standing warning where voluntary submission to law was scarce.

Warfare

• Warfare was a major occupation of the ruling classes of the Sangam period. Wars generally began with the well-known incident of cattle-fighting, which served as both a protest and a justification — there was no dearth of wars in the Sangam Age.
• Kings maintained armies and the weapons necessary for warfare, and the art of warfare was fairly advanced.
  • Methods of attack and defence were many, well-defined, well-understood, and well-practised; the army was the mainstay of royal power.
  • The king was an integral part of the army, and he spent most of his revenue on its maintenance.
  • Funded largely out of taxes collected from the peasantry and other sources, the state maintained a rudimentary army consisting of chariots drawn by oxen, elephants, cavalry, and infantry.
  • Elephants played an important part in war, while horses were imported by sea into the Pandyan kingdom.
• The institution of virakkal or nadukal (hero-stone) — the practice of erecting monuments for dead soldiers and worshipping them — was prevalent at this time.
• The institution of Kavalmaram or Kadimaram was also prevalent, under which each ruler kept a great tree in his palace as a symbol of power.

Summary

• The political history of ancient Tamilakam starts from the Sangam period. The three ancient Tamil dynasties — the Chera, Chola, and Pandya — ruled Tamilakam roughly from the 3rd century BCE to the 3rd century CE.
  • Together, they ruled over the Tamil land with a unique culture and language, contributing to the growth of some of the oldest extant literature in the world.
  • These three dynasties remained in constant struggle with one another, vying for hegemony over the land.
• The entry of the Kalabhras during the 3rd century CE disturbed the traditional order of the day by displacing the three ruling kingdoms.
  • From about 300 CE to 600 CE, there is an almost total lack of information regarding events in the Tamil land. The Kalabhras are described in later literature as “evil rulers” who overthrew the established Tamil kings and gained a strong hold over the country.
  • The tradition about the Kalabhra inroads has been interpreted as reflecting a social crisis, one that led to the disappearance of the characteristic institutions of the Sangam Age.