out. A male, above but below , having a share of property and a house of his own, with knowledge of Vedas and bhasyas was considered eligible. The names of qualified candidates from each ward were written on the palm- leaf slips and put into a pot (kudavolai).The eldest of the assembly engaged a boy to pull out one slip and would read the name of the person selected. XI History - Lesson - - Later Cholas and Pandyas the state was drawing most of its revenue from agriculture, the Cholas focused their efforts on managing water resources.
Vativaykkal, a criss- cross channel, is a traditional way of harnessing rain water in the Kavery delta. Vati runs in the north–south direction while vaykkal runs in the east–west direction. Technically, vati is a drainage channel and a vaykkal is a supply channel. The water running through vaykkal to the field was to be drained out to vati and to another vaykkal.
Rain water would flow from where the natural canal started. Many irrigation canals are modifications of such natural canals. The harnessed water was utilised alternately through vati and vaykkal. Here the mechanism designed was such that water was distributed to the parcelled out lands in sequel.
Many canals were named after the kings, queens and gods. Some examples of the names are Uttamachola- vaykkal, Panca-vanamadevi-vaykkal and Ganavathy-vaykkal. Ur-vaykkal was owned jointly by the landowners. The nadu level vaykkal was referred to as nattu-vaykkal.
The turn system was practiced for distributing the water. Chola inscriptions list some big-size irrigation tanks such as Cholavaridhi, Kaliyaneri, Vairamegatataka created by the Pallavas, Bahur big tank and Rajendra Cholaperiyaeri. For the periodical or seasonal maintenance and repair of irrigation works, conscripted labour was used. as puravuvari-tinaikkalam, with its chief called 'puravuvari-tinaikkalanayagam'.
Land Revenue and Survey For the purposes of assessing tax, the Cholas undertook extensive land surveys and revenue settlements. Rajaraja I ( ), Kulotunga I ( ) and Kulotunga III ( ) appointed people for land survey so that the land could be classified and assessed for the purposes of taxation. Like other