The Economic Function of a Medieval South Indian Temple

Abstract

The economic importance of Hindu temples in medieval South India has been commented upon by most students of South Indian history. Without exception, the temple is seen to have had a central place in the dominantly agrarian economy of South India prior to the extension of British control in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. However, beyond recognition of the significant economic functions of medieval South Indian temples, little attention has been given to the matter.

The Archaeology of South Asian Cities

“…Sharma's (1991, p. 17) observation that there has been no study of rural habitations associated with Medieval cities is contradicted by only one well-published example, that of the extensive survey of the Vijayanagara region (Morrison, 1990(Morrison, , 2000Sinopoli and Morrison, 1995). Textual sources are abundant, including numerous inscriptions related to temple donations that provide detailed evidence for economic configurations (e.g., Heitzman, 1997;Stein, 1960). Unlike Early Historic texts that tend to be prescriptive and generalizing about political economy and social interactions, Medieval texts provide information about specific events, often with precise dates that enable us to evaluate changes over time.…”

Ritual as a Mode of Production: Ethnoarchaeology and Creative Practice in Hindu Temple Arts

“…temple lands) and social rank (as encoded for instance in the form of temple honors). 27 In addition to these dimensions, it is also useful to consider how sacrifice functions as an economic system. In order to efficiently maximize the spiritual, as opposed to the material or social, fruit of the sacrifice, temples and images are mostly produced in materially inefficient ways.…”

Hindu Temples and Development of Localities in Tamil Nadu (South India)

“…Temples were also among the most important agencies for agricultural development during the Chola and Vijayanagar periods (900-1610 AD), especially in what concerns irrigation (Stein 1960(Stein , 1961Heitzman 1987). Indeed, neither the Chola nor Vijayanagar empires had a department of irrigation nor public works to deal with agricultural improvements, and irrigation programmes were frequently carried out by temples.…”

“…Without exception, the temple is seen as a central place in the agrarian economy of south India, before the extension of British control in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Historians emphasised the variegated economic functions of many medieval temples, which were landholders, employers, banks and consumers of goods and services (Nilakanta Sastri 1937;Stein 1960Stein , 1961Karashima 1984;Dayalan 1992). Most importantly, temples were strongly connected with the expansion of south Indian urbanism and the development of irrigation.…”