தமிழ் முதுகுடியின் திறை முறையும் அளவீட்டு அலகுகளும் பற்றிய கல்வெட்டு சான்றுகள்

Epigraphic Evidences Regarding the Tax and Units of Measurement of the Ancient Tamil Lineage

Abstract

Literature and epigraphs serve as two powerful witnesses that aid us in understanding the greatness of the Tamil people. Recognizing the significance of these epigraphs, a wealth of information—including the names of the various taxes mentioned therein, the specific purposes for which they were collected from the peoples, the methods of their collection, the measurements used to determine their ratio, the reasons for tax exemptions, and the authorities empowered to impose them—has been compiled here. These taxes, which constituted the primary source of state revenue, are most abundantly documented in the epigraphs dating back to the Chola and Pandya periods.

Inscriptions reveal that our ancestors classified and administered a greater variety of taxes than those we pay today. Agriculture, industry, commerce, endowment functioned exceptionally well within every sphere of society. In all activities, including agriculture, they identified the specific category of the activity and collected taxes as a share, in accordance with its nature. Furthermore, tax rates were determined only after extensive studies encompassing various factors, such as the nature of the land, the quality of the yield, and the type of crops cultivated. Consequently, the methods for assessing the quantum of taxes to be collected were established across several categories, including counting, weighing, linear measurement, and volumetric measurement.

The available evidence has been presented sequentially, without being categorized by specific time periods, geographical regions, or rulers. Since current units of measurement, such as grams, litres, and cents have been presented in comparison with earlier measurement systems and an understanding of these taxes can be obtained at the end of this study.