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THE INDIAN ANTIQUARY
[JUNE, 1915
and villages, so the Simai or Province of the Naik kingdom was divided into Nádus, and the Na us into grâmas or villages. The villages were distinguished by the various terminations of úr, pasti, kudi, kuruchchi, mangalam, etc. An aggregate of villages formed a Naju, and an aggregate of Nagus a Simai. At the head of each of these was a royal officer who looked after the collection of the revenue, watched perhaps the movements of the Polygars, and watched over the other local interests of the Karta. The revenue officer of the villages was under the control of the officer of the Nadu and the latter in his turn under the Provincial Governor. Most probably the Governor was under the direct control of the Pradhani, the finance minister. The head of each political division was not only a revenue officer, but had perhaps to look after other things,-for example the muster of the local levies at the instance of the governor, the supervision of temple affairs, the supervision of the police arrangements in the villages and roads made by the kávalgars or royal servants, and so on. At the bottom of the political divisions was of course the village. It was the smallest administrative unit, and was an independent, miniature state, leading an isolated, self-sufficient existence. The Karta's officers rarely interfered in it, except in times of wa, and of harvest, when the Ambalahâran collected the tax through the Kanakkupillai or Village Accountant. The officers of a Gråma-the Mâțiakár or Patel, the Accountant, the Talayâri, and others were elected by the agsembled people--the Mahajana assembly of the village which thus enjoyed a form of selfgovernment as simple as it was effective,
Just as a modern Presidency has in its midst, native states, the Naik Simai had, in the midst of government territory, indigenous kingdoms. The rulers of these paid their tribute either to the governor of the province or to the Karta direct. In the vast majority of cases they seem to have paid it to the Kanakkan, probably with Pradhâni's knowledge, at the time of the New-year, or the Mahâ navami 53 festival, when they had necessarily to attend the Karta's kolu, in the capital. The indigenous kings seem to have been, in military matters, entirely subordinate to the Governor. For it was at his instance that they had to muster their troops. They had to accompany him as his lieutenants during distant campaigns. In regard to their correspondence with the central government I am unable to say whether they had to proceed through the Governor, or had the power to send their despatches direct. But all the chronicles clearly say that they had Sthanapatis to repre. sent them in Madura or Trichinopoly, and it is not improbable that, in some matters at least, they dealt directly with the central government. Unfortunately we are unable to say, owing to want of materials, in what respects they had direct dealings with the government at Madura and in what respects with the provincial governors. As a whole, the relations between the Karta or his provincial representative and the vassal chiefs were cordial. The frequent mention of the Karta's grants in the territory of the latter, or of grants by the chief himself for the merit of the Karta, of hunting excursions in which both took part, and of similar events, proves that ordinarily there was a relation of harmony and mutual good-will
Next in dignity to the indigenous kings were the Polygars, whose duties and responsibili. ties have been already described. It is sufficient to say that they, so far as they had to do
53 This was at any rate the case in Vijayanagar. It is highly probable that the Naik kings of Madura adopted the same plan.
