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No. 4.)
A NOTE ON THE PANCHAVARA COMMITTEE.
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23 däga ittu variyilār eluttitta uļvariyum nam õ[lai]yun=tara-chchongõm [*] kaikkondu ippadi cha ndră]dityavat selvadāga=kka[l*]lilum sembilum vet[ti]kkolgavepru tiruväymo[li]ndaruļinar Ell*]
TRANSLATION In respect of payment of taxes of this village, the lands shall be measured by the rod Sundara-Pandyan köl of twenty-four feet length, the crops examined, and on lands on which crops had been realised, for antarāya and viniyoga, for achchu, kāriyavārāchchi, vettipātam, pañchupili, sandu(sandhi)vigrahappēru and for all other payable dues, there shall be paid from this year one-fourth kāśu and three kalam of paddy as measured by Vira-Pandyan (-kal) during Kār on each mā of land ; one-half of this rate shall be paid on lands sown in Tulā and crops raised; two tiranam shall be paid on each ma of land in which el, varagu, tinaippul and irungu had been harvested ; and that this same rate shall be (levied) for pasānam also: and that a copy of the tax register signed by the variyslāt as well as a copy of our order shall be issued. Thus receiving (it), let the same be engraved on stone and copper so that it may remain in force as long as the moon and the sun last.
NOTE.-This inscription is dated in the 8th year and 988th day of the reign of Märavarman Sundara-Pandya II and is of importance in several ways. In the first place it lets us know that arrangements existed for the periodical inspection of crops and land ; that assessment was charged only on such of the lands as had been sown and crops realised ; that this assessment was paid both in kind and in money, which included a number of fees, small and great. The following are stated to be the rates, viz., 3 kalam of paddy and kābu on each mā for Kār, half of this rate for Tulā cultivation, 2 tiramam (drammas) on each mā for the cultivation of el, varagu, etc.; for pašānam also, the above rates prevailed. The information would have been complete and left nothing to be desired, had the inscription specified the quantity to be paid for each item separately. Even as it is, it serves a very useful purpose as we shall see presently. From the rate given for mā, the assessment for a vēli works out to 60 kalam of paddy and 5 kātu. This covered all the taxes payable on land, antarāya and others, mentioned and unmentioned as the inscription puts it, some of which were given in kind and others in money. We have already shown that one of the items included in the antarāya was pañchavāra and it was 50 kalam for a vēli. Therefore, deducting this 50 kalam, the balance of 10 kalam and 5 kāśu should have been the charge for all the other items put together. Thus, the single item of pañchavāra, amounting to as much as 50 kalam out of 60 paid in paddy, seems to be the prime source of the state income from lands. The proportion of this item of pañchavāra to the entire income in paddy being five-sixths, an explanation of the connotation of this term is furnished. The duty of the Pafichavāra committee may therefore be taken to be the realisation of this important revenue. Here we may note also that a few Sanskrit charters make mention of committee889emblies and that one in particular has reference evidently to the Panchavāra committee. Verse 6 of the Kolavennu platest of Chālukya-Bhim II, in describing the donee of the grant, has “yat-putra-pautrāh patavo vațavo väragoshthishu." The Masulipatam plates of the same king, besides employing the term vāragoshthi, refer to pañchavāri. The verse in question runs as follows:
yat-putra-pautrā vai vāragoshthishu vägminah pafchavärin samāpayya sampujyantë mahājanaih ||
18. I. I., Vol. I, p. 45. • Above, VOL V, p. 137, v. 8; see also p. 138, n. 7.
