23. UTTARAMĒRŪR INSCRIPTION RECORDING THE MODE OF ELECTION TO THE VILLAGE ASSEMBLIES, 10TH CENTURY C.E. Contents | Previous | Next | Academy ________________________________________ 23.1. Uttaramērūr Inscriptions This is the English translation of the famous Uttaramērūr inscription of the Cōḻā age, found on the wall of the central Sabha maṇḍapa of the village, recording the election to the village assembly, which is a written constitution. The record is precisely dated in 920 CE. The captions on the side were provided by me for easy understanding. King: King Parkēsarivarmaṉ who conquered Maturai Date: On the sixteenth day of the fourteenth year. Royal order: Whereas a royal letter of His Majesty, our lord, the glorious Parāntakadēva, Vīranārayaṇa, the illustrious the prosperous, was received and was shown to us, The village: We, the members of the assembly of Uttaramērūr-caturvedi-maṅgalam in its own sub-division of Kāliyūrkōṭṭam, Officer present: Karañjai Koṇḍaya-Kramavitta bhaṭṭaṉ alias Somāsiperumaṉ of Śri-vaṅganagar Puraṅi-garambai-nāṭu, a district of the Cōḻā country, Settlement: Sitting with us and convening the committee in accordance with the royal command, made a settlement as follows according to the terms of the royal letter for choosing once every year from this year forward members for the “Annual Committee”, “Garden Committee”, and “Tank Committee”, Wards: There shall be thirty wards, Qualifications: In these thirty wards, those that live in each ward shall assemble and shall choose for “pot-tickets” (Kuṭavōlai) anyone possessing the following qualifications: • He must own more than a quarter veli of tax-paying land; • He must live in a house built on his own site; • His age must be below 70 and above 35; • He must know the mantra Brāhmaṇa i.e., he must know it by teaching others; • Even if one owns only one-eighth vēli of land, he should have his name written on the pot-ticket to be put into the pot, in case he has learnt one Veda and one of the four bhaṣyas by explaining it to others. Among those possessing the foregoing ive qualifications: • Only such as are well conversant with business and are virtuous shall be taken and • One who possesses honest earnings, whose mind in pure and who has not been on any of the committees for the last three b years shall also be chosen. Disqualifications: • One who has been on any of the committees but has not submitted his accounts, and all his relations, specified below, shall not have their names written on the pot-tickets and put in the pot; • The sons of the younger and elder sisters of his mother, • The sons of his paternal aunt and maternal uncle, • The uterine brother of his mother, • The uterine brother of his father, • His uterine brother, • His father-in-law, • The uterine brother of his wife • The husband of his uterine sister, • The sons of his uterine sister, • The son-in-law, who has married his daughter, • His father, • His son; • One against whom incest (agamyāgamana) or the first four of the five great sins are recorded, • All his relations above specified shall not have their names written on the pot-tickets and put into the pot; • One who is fool-hardy; • One who has stolen the property of another; • One who hs taken forbidden dishes (?) of any kind and who has become pure by performing expiation; • One who has committed sins and has become pure by performing expiatory ceremonies; • One who is guilty of incest and has become pure by performing expiatory ceremonies. • All these thus specified shall not to the end of their-lives, have their names written on the pot-ticket to be put into the pot for any of the committees. Mode of Election: Excluding all these, thus specified, names shall be written for pot-tickets in the thirty wards and each of the wards in these twelve streets of Uttaramērūr shall prepare a separate covering ticket for each of the thirty wards bundled separately. These packets shall be put into a pot. When the pot-tickets have to be drawn, a full meeting of the Great Assembly (mahā-sabha), including the young and old members, shall be convened. All the temple priests, (Numbimar) who happen to be in the village on that day, shall, without any exception whatever, be caused to be seated in the inner hall, where the great assembly meets. In the midest of the temple priests, one of them, who happens to be the eldest, shall stand up and lift that pot, looking up-wards so as to be seen by all people. One ward, i.e., the packet representing it, shall be taken out by any young boy standing close, who does not know what is inside, and shall be transferred to another empty pot and shaken. From this pot one ticket shall be drawn by the young boy and made over to the arbitrator (madhyastha). While taking charge of the ticket thus given to him, the arbitrator shall receive it on the palm of his hand with the five fingers open. He shall read out the name in the ticket thus received. The ticket read by him shall also be read out by all the priests present in the inner hall. The name thus read out shall be put down (and accepted). Similarly one man shall be chosen for each of the thirty wards.
Constitution of the Committee: Of the thirty men thus chosen, those who had previously been on the Garden Committee and on the Tank Committee, those who are advanced in learning, and those who are advanced in age shall be chosen for the Annual Committee. Of the rest, twelve shall be taken for the Garden Committee and the remaining six shall form the Tank Committee. These last two committees shall be chosen by showing the karai. Committee: The great men of these three committees thus chosen for them shall hold office for a full three hundred and sixty days and then retire. Removal of Persons Found Guilty: When one who is on the committee is found guilty of any offense, he shall be removed at once: for appointing the committees after these have retired, the members of the Committee “for Supervision of Justice” in the twelve streets of Uttaramērūr shall convene an assembly kuri with the help of the arbitrator. The committees shall be appointed by drawing pot-tickets according to this order of settlement. Pañcavāra and Gold Committees: For the Pañcavāra and the Gold committees, names shall be written for pot-tickets in the thirty wards. Thirty packets with covering tickets shall be deposited in a pot and thirty pot-tickets shall be drawn as previously described. From these thirty tickets, the chosen 24 shall be for the Gold committee and the remaining six for the Pañcavāra committee. When drawing pot-tickets for these two committee in the folowing year, the wards which have been already represented during the current year in question on these committees shall be excluded and the reduction made from the remaining wards by drawing the kaṟai. One who has ridden on an ass and one who has committed forgery shall not have his name written on the pot-ticket to be put into the pot. Qualification of the Accountant: Any arbitrator who possesses honest earnings shall write the accounts of the village. No accountant shall be appointed to that office again before he submits his accounts for the period during which he was in office to the great men of the big committee and is declared to have been honest. The accounts which one has been writing, he shall submit himself and to another accountant shall be chosen to close his accounts. King’s order: Thus, from that year onwards, as long as the moon and the sun endure, committees shall always be appointed by pot-tickets alone. To this effect was the royal letter received and shown to us graciously issued by lord of Lords, the Emperor, one who is fond of learned men, the wrestler with elephants, the crest jewel of heroes, whose acts i.e., gifts, resemble those of the celestial tree, the glorious Parakēsarivarmaṉ. Officer present: At the royal command, Karañjai Koṇḍaya Kramavitta-bhaṭṭaṉ alias Somāsiperumāṉ of Śrivaṅganagar in Puraṅgarambai-naṭu, a district of the Cōḻā country, sat with us and thus caused this settlement to be made. Villager's decision: We, the members of the assembly of Uttaramērūr-caturvedi-maṅgalam, made this settlement for the prosperity of our village in order that wicked men may perish and the rest may prosper. The scribe: At the order of the great men, sitting in the assembly, I, the arbitrator Kadadippōttaṉ Śivakkuri Rājamalla maṅgaḷapriyaṉ, thus wrote this settlement. 24. JUDGES' TENURE IN ANCIENT INDIA ________________________________________ The Judges of the High court were transferred from one place to another. This attracted the attention of the public from different angles. The transfers were effected, according to the authorities, to maintain the highest standards of the judiciary and improve its efficiency. Others questioned this stand and imputed motive. Even one of the judges expressed his disappointment over the transfers. In this connection an ancient lithic (epigraphic) record dated over one thousand years ago, regarding limitation of service tenure of the Judges, would come as a revelation to those interested in the history of Ancient Indian Judiciary. The record is dated 930 CE, in the reign of the Cōḻa King Parāntaka, and is found on a ceiling slab of the Bhaktavatsala temple of Tiruniṉṟavūr near Madras, Tamiḻnāṭu. It is engraved in Tamiḻ letters and relates to the constitution of Judiciary and the limitation of their service. Before the inscription is studied, it is necessary to note that the Cōḻa emperors, aimed at superlative efficiency in all walks of public administration and did achieve splendid standards, which even modern administrators would envy. The famous Uttaramērūr inscription, relating to the qualifications, dis-qualifications, and process of election to the village assembly is an instant, well-known. Two important records from Tamiḻnāṭu, give a vivid picture of the constitution of judiciary in ancient times. One is an 8th century record that comes from the Pāṇḍyā country and the other 10th century record, from a place near Madras, as mentioned above. The judiciary was by and large in the hands of elected village elders, and only in exceptional cases went to the territorial assemblies or ultimately to the King’s council. The village courts served as the main backbone of the judicial system in ancient India. Called the Pañchāyat system in modern times, the village judiciary is mostly misunderstood, as the collective decision of the elders, without the application of any legal procedures known to present times. Most historians held that the legal-judicial system came to be introduced and learned only after the advent of European rule in India. The 8th century record from Pāṇḍyaṉ country, disproves this assumption emphatically. This record comes from Mānūr, in Tirunelvēli district, and is virtually a written constitution of the Village Judiciary regarding the election of judges to the village court. The entire village assembly met and drafted the constitution for electing Judges. The first qualification prescribed was that a person to be elected as a judge should be a master of at least one legal treatise. The legal treatises are known as Dharma-śāstra and there were many schools of Dharma-śāstra such as the Manu, Yājñavalkya, Brhaspati, Parāsara and others. The one who was to be elected as a Judge, should be a master of at the least one Dharma-śāstra, which means that the village courts were presided over legal experts and not by casual elders, as is commonly understood. There were strict legal procedures to be adopted, before any case is taken to the village court. The Mānūr record also specifies that the person to be elected to the court should be one, known for his sterling conduct (suvṛttarāy iruppār). The village assembly should accept the person to be of good conduct to be elected. Since this village was a Brahmin settlement, it further prescribed that a person to be elected should be a master of one Veda and one Brāhmaṇā text. It is not a mere knowledge, but he should have appeared for an examination in one Veda and one Brāhmaṇā, and passed the test. There are other aspects mentioned in the record with which we are not concerned here. Thus the above record, stipulates, virtuous conduct, a pass in the stipulated examination and mastery of one law book as basic requirements for being elected to the court. This record does not, however, stipulate the duration for which he can serve or if he has served once the interval that was required for re-election.
This gap is filled up by the Tiruniṉṟavūr record of 10th century mentioned earlier. It mainly addresses itself to the interval that is absolutely essential to serve in the same court. The Tiruniṉṟavūr record is also a written constitution of the village judiciary drafted by the entire Village Assembly which met for the purpose in 929 CE is clear that the village judiciary and administrative committees were elected to serve for one duration.
Once the elected judges have served for one year duration, they should not be elected for another five years to serve as judges, Not only as judges but also in other administrative committees, they could not get any place. The restriction of five year interval was reduced to two years in the case of relatives such as fathers, brothers or sons of those who had served once. It was thus made obligatory on the part of the judges not to serve in the same court for five years, once he has served in the court. His close relatives could not also aspire to become Judges within two years of his service. It is pertinent to recall the qualification stipulated for a Judge of the village court as a pass in the prescribed exam/nation, mastery of legal text and above all noble conduct. The Dharma-śāstra insist on the sanctity of judicial pronouncement, failing which, the judge is not only liable for punishment but also would incur a sin and his emancipation was in danger. Inspite of such strict standards, like upright judgements, good conduct, and high qualifications, his tenure was limited, and that he could not serve in the same court for five years. This would indicate the height to which the standards of judicial administration was taken in the Cōḻa period in the 10th and 11th cent., C.E Whether this system could be applied in modern times is not the concern here. The standards are different now. But, it does focus attention on the history of ancient Indian Judiciary, often labelled Pañcāyat system which is brushed aside as a collective conventional decision, rather than based on written constitution and legal system. The ancient Indian Judiciary functioned only with due legal procedures and written constitution (called lekhya pramāṇam) In view of the importance of Tiruniṉṟavūr constitution, the English rendering of the record is given below1.
This is the resolution passed for the prosperity of our village, with effect from the month of Kumbha in the 23rd year, by us the members of the great assembly, which include • the Judicial Assembly, • the Tank maintenance committee (ēri vāriya perumakkaḷ). • the Garden maintenance committee (tōtta vāriya perumakkaḷ), • the exponents of Sastras (bhaṭṭas) and • the great men (visiṣṭha perumakkaḷ). and who assembled in full, inclusive of the young and the old, in the great hall of our village on this day : When the Judicial Assembly and the (various) committees are to be constituted from this year onwards, the great assembly (mahasabhā) should assemble in full in the brahmasthāna of our village, and select only those who are acceptable to the mahāsabha. Those who are so selected should not have served in the judicial capacity or in the (administrative) committees within five years prior (to the date of election), The brothers, fathers and sons of those who served (within) two years prior (to the date of selection), should be excluded. One who is so elected, should not be demanded to do (other) obligatory services, while serving in the mahāsabha.
Those who demand other obligatory services from such selected persons, contrary to this resolution, are proclaimed offenders of the village. They (the selected) will receive one kunṟi of gold per duration? Those who complete their service, in the Judicial Assembly, and the (other) cormnittees, should, settle and hand over accounts to the assembly. We the members of the great assembly resolved thus. Those who act contrary to this resolution, should pay twenty five Kaḻañcu of gold as fine at the court (dharmāsana) at the request of the shareholders of śravaṇai of our village. This resolution (may be) inscribed on stone. 1. Tiruvaḷḷuvar Māvaṭṭa Kalveṭṭkkaḷ, Tamil Nadu Department of Archaeology, 2011.
25. VILLAGE COURTS IN ANCIENT TIMES ________________________________________ There is a growing disillusionment among our villagers that our judicial system is not able to cope up with the increasing demands for justice especially at the rural areas for the courts are fewer in number and the number of pending cases in thousands are swelling year after year with no sign of any conclusion. Both the contending parties are either exhausted or disappear without seeing any end to the disputes. The villagers also feel that complaints to the Official machinery or police will not elicit justice as they are too occupied with serving their political masters and their interest. It is interesting to note in this connection what happened thousand years ago. Four records coming from Tamiḻnāṭu ranging from 8th to 13th century show that the ancient paid main attention to village courts which could dispose off many cases at the level of village itself. Every village had a court with judges appointed from among the permanent residents of the village and necessary administrative staff were provided for their effective functioning. The village judiciary was far wide spread than what it is today. There are records to show that in addition to the existing villages and their courts when ever a new village or colony was established, a village court was established along with it by the King. In some instances the Village assembly itself created necessary posts of judges and made appointments for them from among the residents. There are two inscriptions that could be cited to illustrate the point from the Koṅgu country, near Coimbatore, in the time of the Koṅgu Cōḻa rulers in the 13th century. In both the instances the then ruling king created two new villages and specified in his order the constitution of village court. Both the inscriptions are in Pērūr Śiva temple. In the first instance, the king issued an order to the chiefs of the nearby villages establishing a new village detailing its four boundaries. The king created seven posts of Judges for the new village appointing four Brahmins to four posts and for the remaining three, he appointed three cultivators (Veḷḷāḷars- Kauṇḍers) in the court. The Court was called “manṟu”, the judges posts were called “manṟādu” and the judges “manṟādiīs” in the inscriptions. The King also also appointed separately village chiefs who were called “ūrali”. Quite late in history the manṟādis were considered the Chiefs of villages as well but this was not the case till the end of 14th century. This inscription makes it clear that the village chiefs were different from the judges of the village courts. The king also issued orders that no Royal Officer or (Government servant) should enquire or interfere with the works like Judgment (manṟupādu), punishments of offences (daṇḍa-kuṟṟam) or any other function of the judiciary (eppēr paṭṭavaiyum nam karmikaḷ ārāya kadavar allavakavum). This ensured independence of the judiciary and freedom from Governmental interference in any form. The participation of both Brahmins and Cultivating Agriculturists show that all sections were represented in the court. This has not been appreciated or recognized by the historians so far.
The second illustration is also from the same village Pērūr in which the same king issued an order creating a new village. According to the record the king captured the modern town of Coimbatore, worshipped at the Śiva temple of Pērūr and created a new village and gifted it as a temple village. He settled a number of cultivators in the new village and permitted them to create the required number of judges for the new village and appoint those who were acceptable to them. All those appointed as manṟādi for the posts were agricultural veḷḷālars. There was no Brahmin among the appointees shows the judiciary went beyond any upper caste prejudice in such administration. In the first illustration, it was the king who created the posts and made the appointments and in the second the same king gave the freedom to the village to create and appoint the judges. There are several inscriptions which refer to the village manṟādīs in the sense of judges in the Koṅgu country until the end of 14th century. The post of manṟādiyār gradually became a family tradition and the presence of a number of manṟādiyār family in Koṅgu country is rooted in this tradition. This is also mentioned by some as the Pañchāyat system in a vague manner.
One of the important questions that arise in this system is whether a village judge who is not conversant with intricate legal points could serve properly and do justice to the disputes. There are some records that indicate clearly that no one without adequate knowledge of legal system could serve in the village court. An 8th cent record from Mānūr in the Pāṇḍyā country illustrates this point in unequivocal terms. There were many legal texts called Dharma-śāstra. A candidate to be appointed as a judge must have mastered at least one law text thoroughly besides a knowledge of general qualification. The Mānūr village was a Brahmin habitation and so any one to be appointed should have learned one Veda at least and one Brāhmaṇā text and should have mastered one Dharma-śāstra text. In the case of new settler who become a permanent inhabitant of that village was expected to pass an examination in the legal text conducted for that purpose. A pass in the required educational qualification is thus a pre-requisite for the post thus ensuring proper legal proceedings. For example, it was the duty of the parents to get their daughter of marriageable age to get her married at the appropriate age but if they fail the girl had the right to chose a husband of her own and that it is perfectly legal and no one can interfere with her decision. If a group of villagers join together and say that it is the village decision it was not considered valid in ancient times. The villagers had to abide by the written law code and not take law into their own hands. Another stipulation was that the candidate to be appointed as a judge should in addition to qualification should be one of proven integrity and conduct to the satisfaction of the villagers (su-vṛttarāy iruppār). One can not be appointed because he belongs to one section of the village or party as sometimes complained in modern times. While enough freedom was assured for the judiciary, the judges could also be tried for bribery or abetment to obstruction of justice. Further, there were many sub committees in villages to look after their secular administration, such as irrigation, fields and gardens, transport, maintenance of tanks, taxation etc., as part of the Village Assemblies. It is specifically mentioned in the Coimbatore record that those appointed for judiciary should not be appointed for any other committee. There were also appeal courts like the territorial courts where one could appeal against a judgment and if not satisfied can appeal to the king assisted by highly learned judges who served as the Supreme court in ancient times. Besides these was another important factor that contributed to the efficient functioning of the village courts. It is known that the society set before itself highest ideals in matters of justice like the historic judgment of the Cōḻa King, Manu-nīthi Cōḻa who punished his own son, a crown prince, who caused the death of a calf. There were also the great legend of king Harischandra who stood for truth at all cost and refused to tell even a single lie when he lost every thing of this world. These ideals which were the by words of everyone in the society, there were many legal texts which were in Sanskrit, like the Manu’s Dharma-śāstra that were available through readable, lucid translations so that all villagers could follow. Ancient translations of Manu are available which narrowed the gap between the villagers and their judicial system. This close acquaintance with the traditional law was very active till the end of 14th cent and gradually faded with incursion of alien rule and faiths. With the establishment of Colonial rule and thrusting of Western judicial system, the villagers lost contact with their own legal system both due to the foreign language and the play of intermediaries. The colonial system was not done away with, even after the advent of Independence but seemed to have got further strengthened. The native studies dwindled. But, simultaneously the village court lost their place and no attempt was made to get lucid translations of existing laws reache the villages. The transition from Independence to modern time has created a vacuum. Only some attention is being made now to come to grip with the situation. With the explosion of population, inadequate number of courts at village level and the rapid migration of intellectuals from the rural to urban areas and with no incentives for law students to serve in the village level, leaves a great gap in the concept of village judiciary. A rethinking towards Village court is perhaps required for establishment of more village courts suitably strengthened to cater to modern times.
