Question

The historical sources of the Chola period confirms that there were four types of farmland. Match the following types of farmland.
A) Brahmadeya - 1) The land donated to temples
B) Devadana ----2) The land owned by peasants
C) Vellan vakai ---3) The land donated to Jain institutions
D) Pallichandam--4) The land received by Brahmans as donations

Answer 1

Hint: The word Devadana can be broken into Deva, meaning Gods and dana meaning Gifts. There were a total of 5 types of land grants that the Chola kings gave to their people.

Complete answer:
1. Brahmadeya – (D) The land received by Brahmans as donations. As the name suggests, these were the lands that were donated to the Brahmans. These were tax-free lands which were either given as plots of land or even as whole villages. This practice was done in Medieval India.
2. Devadana – (A) The land donated to temples. These were the lands that were made tax free and donated to the temples. The temples would then employ peasants to cultivate the land. They would then take these crops from the peasants and pay them for their work on the land.
3. Vellan vakai – (B) The land owned by peasants. The lands in Medieval India were owned by the kings. Sometimes, the kings would grant these lands to the non-Brahman peasants. These land grants were known as Vellan vakai.
4. Pallichandam – (C) The land donated to Jain institutions.

Thus the correct matches are; 1 – (A), 2 – (A), 3 – (B) and 4 – (C).

Note:
- The earliest evidence of granting Brahmadeya has been found in Royal inscriptions of King Jayavarman from the 3rd century C.E.
- Devadana was also known as tirunamattukkani.
- Other than the 4 types of land grants, there was also a fifth type of grant. It was known as Shalabhoga and it was the land that was meant for the maintenance of schools.