THE UDAYAVAR TITTAM
The Koil Olugu describes at length the duties of each of the ten groups of temple servants, supposed to have been fixed by Udayavar, well known as the tittam or arrangement (of Udayavar), and also refers to the changes to which they were subjected in due course. It is said that from the days of Tirumangai Alvar the temple servants were divided into five groups, viz., Kovanavar, Kodavar, Koduvaleduppar, Paduvar and Talaiyiduvar and that these were expanded into ten groups.1 (KO., pp.46-48. In the Arulappadu of later times this five fold division was corrupted as Kovanavar, Kodavar, Koduppar, Eduppar, Paduvar and Talaiyiduvar) The word kovanavar (kaupinar) obviously refers to the ascetics or the vaisnava Acaryas, who from the days of Nathamuni had associated themselves, with the temple. Kovanavar, as forming one distinct group, is not mentioned under the scheme of Udayavar. Instead the word is used to refer to the family of Mudaliyandan, the Kandadais, who had a hereditary claim to the office of the Senapati durantara, from the days of Udayavar. Kodavar seems to be a corruption of kudavar or pot-bearers.1a (Ibid., pp.56-57) Koduvaleduppar means sword-bearers, Paduvar singers and Talaiyiduvar providers of leaves. The Olugu does not describe this fivefold classification but merely mentions it as a thing of the past. The functions of the ten groups or pattukkottu, as fixed by Udayavar, are described below.
The chief superintendent of all the temple services was the Senapatidurantara, i.e., the responsible chief of the temple servants. He was also called the Srikaryam. He had complete control over all the temple servants - brahmana and sudra - and the power to punish or reward as the case may be. Since all places were hereditary he had no power of appointment or dismissal. With meticulous details the Olugu describes his functions. “He would bathe himself and proceed to the foot of the flag-staff in the Aniyarangan courtyard and make his obeisance to it. While coming round along the kulasekharan enclosure he would inspect the kitchen and look into the containers, the usual provisions and (the items of) the cakes and curries and other eatables appropriate to the occasion and assign the head-cook and the ekangis to their respective duties. Then he would inspect the condiments stores and inquire into the state of ghee and such other liquid stuffs and assign the ekangis there to their appropriate duties ….. Near the strong room adjoining the storehouse, in the Rajamahendran enclosure, he would join the todavattituimaraiyor at the time of the prabanda recitations. From the box of perfumery he would direct his servant, an ekangi, to take sandal-paste, sandal, camphor, musk from Kashmir, collyrium, kasturi and tiruman, medicated camphor, etc., and hand them over to those brahmins (for puja purposes). He would also direct the ekangis to carry to the Nacciyar shrine at the proper times sealed parcels of robes, vestments and perfumery. Then entering the flower garden he would inspect the purple water lily, the campak the jasmine, the white lotus and other varieties of flowers agreeable to the divine frame and assign them to their respective uses. Appointing the tirukkaragakkaiyar to their respective duties he would proceed to offer worship at the feet of Senaimudaliar. With his permission he would enter the Alagiyamanavalan tirumantapa and worship Jaya and Vijaya. After this he would meet the Srivaisnava parivaras of the ten groups, the ekangis, the sattadamudalis and the vettirapanis and the ten groups of the sudra parijanas and ask them to do their respective duties with vigilance. Then entering the sanctum he would arrange for commencing the puja.1b (89 of 1938-39) In the afternoon he once again took up his job of supervision and stayed in the temple upto midday puja and offerings in the temple.
The Senapati-durantara was assisted by a few deputies. One was the Perum-ulturai-adikari or the Superintendent of the Inner Organisation. He was to supply without fail the personal requirements of the deity, particularly the dishes or the prasadams at the proper times, e.g., rice, boiled milk, ghee, spices, betel, etc. Another was the Head of the Storehouse. He had to send to the kitchen specific quantities of rice and other cereals, vegetables, tamarind, etc. He had to keep an account of the umbrellas used in processions and the materials for the display of fireworks. The Keeper of Miscellaneous stores was entrusted with the task of maintaining the numerous flowergardens of the temple, keep the daily requirements of flowers for puja in readiness and similarly the greens and vegetables to be supplied to the kitchen. One of his duties was to prevent theft or misuse of stores. A fourth was the Supervisor of Reconstruction and Repairs to the temple. In addition to his main function of masonry work he had to keep a routine check on the growth of parasitic plants on the walls and gopuras and erect pandals, water sheds, etc., and decorate them on festive occasions. The Superintendent of the Temple Lands was in charge of the agricultural operations and despatch of grains, fruits, sugar cane, cocoanuts, ginger, turmeric, etc., to the storehouse. He was also to supply labourers from the villages for service during the festivals. There was also a Supervisor of the cowshed. Each of these six superintendents was assisted by one or two ekangis.
The first holder of the office of the administrative chief under the Udayavar tittam was Mudaliyandan. For nearly two centuries the office was exercised by the members of his family. After the Muslim invasions of 1311 and 1323 this family lost its control over the office as they seem to have left Srirangam and did not return in time to claim the office when things became normal. The Koil Olugu says, “Since the Muhammadan occupation the office of the administrative chief is being exercised by diverse persons known as Sriranga Narayana Jiyar, Bhattar, Uttamanambi, Cakrarayar, Kandadai Ramanuja Aiyangar, Korattu Maniyam (Superintendent with his station on the verandah), Elam Elam
Udayavar laid down the duties of the following groups of Brahmana servants.
These were outsiders, i.e.; those not belonging to Srirangam but who became the disciples of Udayavar and settled down there and were assigned duties in the temple by the acarya. These were assistants to the arcakas or priests and their main function was the lighting and maintenance of lamps in the main and subsidiary shrines in the first three enclosures. They brought flour and ghee from the storehouse, made suitable wick holders out of the dough, placed the wicks in them and handed them over to the arcakas during worship. Similarly they prepared other kinds of lamps like kumbalatti or pot lamp and gave them to the arcakas. For the Tirukkartikai festival they prepared thousand large wicks and brought lighted lamps from the kitchen for worship. Besides attending to the lamps they had a few other duties like announcing the arrival of the taligai or cooked rice offering, screening the sanctum, heaping the rice over the cloth called pavadai and holding torches during the divine meal. After the reconstruction of the Dhanvantri shrine, referred to by inscriptions and the Olugu as the Arogyasala in 1493 they took in procession every night milk and medicinal decoction (kasaya) from the shrine to Garudavahana Pandita for being offered to the Perumal.
The duties of the temple servants passed on from father to son and were looked upon, in course of time, as rights and privileges. Some of these were parted under various circumstances, e.g., “of the seven lamps which they (the Tiruppatiyar) used to bring from the kitchen one was given to Uttamanambi as gift and the rest was disposed off independently.”5 (Ibid., p.68) Often they were sold away.
(ii) The Tiruppani-saivar or the Kodavar:
The main function of this group of servants was the inspection of the streets through which the deity was taken in procession during festivals. They accompanied the row of Srivaisnava hymnists, (tiruvolakkam) during such processions and on their behalf received the offerings made by the devotees, viz., coins, fruits, etc. They also offered the hymnists tirtam and prasadam. At the close of each festival they recited the Tiruppani-malai or Padippu. For this reason, says the Koil Olugu they were called Tiruppani-saivar.6 (Ibid., p.72) In the Vijayanagar period they parted with their rights connected with the inspection of the streets. They were done the honour of elephant ride as one of them had martyred himself in the boundary dispute with the Saivas of Jambukesvaram.7 (Ibid., pp.139-140)
Before the days of Udayavar, according to the Olugu, the Bhagavata Nambis installed the flag on the flag staff during the ceremony of dhvajarohanam, seated the images for a procession, offered the made of office to the Srikaryam, ascended the dipastamba or the great lampstand and offered diparadana to the god, during the Kartikai festival, read the ‘epistle to Nammalvar’ on the eve of the Tiruvaimoli festival and performed other miscellaneous duties. Udayavar is said to have raised their status by assigning to them some functions in the sanctum like offering incense during puja, arranging the ornaments of the utsava-beras, holding a mirror before the god at dawn during the ceremony of acamaniyam and when He is adorned with kasturi and tiruman, receiving panakam or sweet drink and offering it to the god, etc. They were generally to assist the Todavattittuimariyor in their performance of puja in the sanctum. The aged and the wise among them were expected to give instructions to pupils in the Paramesvara samhita. In course of time, according the Olugu, they lost all their rights outside the sanctum but “obtained the duty of holding the umbrealla (to the images in procession) from the back of the elephant (vehicle) as a gift from the Talaiyiduvar”.8(Ibid., p.75)
The first name means the pure (brahmins) wearing washed clothes and learned in the vedas. The second means natives of the town. These were the original Srivaisnava inhabitants of Srirangam with their duties mainly in the sanctum and connected with the pujas. They opened doorway of the sanctum, cleaned and kept ready the pancapatras and other vessels required for puja, kept in their custody the washed clothes for decorating the images, offered the amudu or the divine food (consisting of rice, etc.) mirror, jewels and ornaments, kasturi and tiruman whenever they were required, restoring the jewels carefully to the Sribhandara or treasury after use, honoured the Srikaryam with parivattam, sandal paste and prasadam during festivals, added scent to the water for abhisekam held during festivals, added scent to the water for abhisekam held chaures and pearl-umbrellas when the utsava heras were bathed, carried the Satakopan behind processions keeping it on their chests and offering it to those who deserved it, performed some duties when the deity was worshipped in mantapas outside the main shrine during festivals, brought pancakavyam from the kitchen, and performed puja on behalf of the Senapati durantara.
The Olugu says that after the Muslim invasions the Ullurar gave away to the Bhagavata Nambis their duties of bearing the Satakopan behind processions and attending to the pujas in the mantapas outside during festivals.
(v) The Vinnappam-saivar:
The Vinnappam-saivar or the Arayar were the musicians and choristers of the temple. Early in the morning they played on the vina in the mukhamantapa before the gates of the sanctum were opened, recited the appropriate verses from the prabandas during the morning, noon and night pujas and during tirumanjanam recited the prabandas, dramatising the divine deeds mentioned therein, during the Tirumoli and Tiruvaimoli festivals (i.e., the Adyayanotsava) recited the Tiruppalli-elucci and the Tiruppavai every day in the month of Margali, sang the swing song during the dolotsava and the festivals of Sriramanavami and Srijayanti, and carried on the dialogue between the god and the goddess on the occasion of pranaya kalaham in the Panguni-uttiram festival. They began their recitals when arulappadu or the divine commandent was issued to them. This mentioned their titles too. When the recitations were closed they were honoured with parivattams. These duties have continued more or less without break. The Arayars trace their descent from the nephews of Nathamuni, who first began the recitations of the prabandas under the guidance of the Acarya.9 (Ibid., pp.37-38)
(vi) The Tirukkaragakkaiyar:
The word means ‘holy water pot carriers’. It was their duty to fetch water from the Kaveri in silver pots or kudams placed on the back of an elephant, make a store of them and fill up the pancapatras and other vessels in the sanctum with the sacred water for all pujas beginning with that at dawn. They offered during the ceremony of washing the teeth of the utsavabera at dawn and for washing its mouth whenever panakam and betel were offered. They had a few duties connected with the supply of garlands called the vellai and the vagaccal. They made a chain of tulasi beads and offered it to the deity to be worn during the holy bath or tirumanjanam. They also supplied the Andal or pins and Arulmari or knives used in the decoration of the procession images and seating them on their vehicles. According to the Olugu the duties connected with the tulasi beads and the garlands were parted in favour of the Dasanambis and a few sudra servants for monetary considerations after the Muslim invasions.
These were the bearers of the procession images seated on the mounts or in the capra or palanquin. They bore on their shoulders the long poles to which the palanquin or the vehicle was tied. After the Muslim occupation, according to the Olugu, they gave away their function of bearing the images to sudra servants and kept to themselves the privilege of directing the procession, i.e., “stationing themselves at the head of the poles of the palanquin in order to secure evenness of motion”. They also had the privilege of holding the umbrella from behind the back of the elephant but this was given away to a Nambi by an agreement.11 (KO., p.83)
(viii) The Bhattal:
While the Arayar or the Vinnappam saivar recited the Tamil verses of the Nalayirapprabandam, the Bhattal recited mainly the Sanskrit pieces, selections, according to the Olugu, from “the itihasas, the Sriranga Mahatmyam the Asvalayana sutra, the Bodhayana sutra the Mimamsa sutra, the vyakarana, the Nalayira Prabandam, the Alavandar stotram, the Sribhasyam, the Gitabhasyam, the Gadyatrayam, and the paneangam”. These recitations were done by Periakoil Nambi before the coming of Udayavar. After the latter assumed control of the temple the former gave away his right of reading the puranas etc., as a gift to kurattalvan, a disciple of Udayavar, who distributed the right among his disciples. The vedas etc., were also included in the recitations besides the puranas. “Subsequent to the puja and the recitation of a verse from the Muvayiram by the Arayar and when arulappadu had been announced by the Ullurar, they (the Bhattar)”, says the Olugu, “would wash their hands with the pure water brought by the Tirukkaragakkaiyar in a huge cup. Then they would respect fully receive the prasadam from their hands and then recite the following one by one. Garudavahana Pandita would lead with the Rigveda, Periya Nambi would recite the yajur and the sama vedas, the Tiruppani-saivar the Atharvanaveda, the Bhagavata Nambis and Kurattalvan the Puranas, Tiruvarangattamudanar, Govinda Perumal, Accan, Pillan, Ciriyalvan, Nadadur Ammal and others from various sacred shrines along with their co-preceptors would one by one recite the itihasas”, etc.12 (Ibid., pp.84-85) They recited the purusa suktam during the tirumanjanam. On the Kaisika Dvadasi day they read the Kaisikapurana. The vedas, etc., were, obviously, recited during the Adyayanotsava and not daily. At the end of the prolonged recitations they were honoured, like the Arayars, with tirtam, sandal paste, parivattam, etc., and were taken to their homes in the Brahmarata13 (A raised plank tied to poles and carried by bearers) accompanied by all the temple servants. As the temple became pronouncedly Tenkalai in spirit the Sanskrit recitations were discontinued gradually.
These were the watchmen and guards of the temple. As their name indicates they seem to have come fromNorth India . The Koil Olugu says that a certain chieftain of Gaudadesa (Bengal ) came to Srirangam and offered a huge treasure to the god, who was not pleased to accept it. The chieftain is said to have appointed some brahmanas from the north to guard the treasure and returned. Since these brahmanas pleased the god by their single minded devotion and service, the latter not only accepted the treasure but also honoured them with the service of the temple watch. The Olugu gives the date Kali 3260 (A.D.159) for this incident, but almost all the Kali dates given by the Olugu are fanciful and unreliable. Hence it is not possible to say who this chieftain of Gaudadesa was. From inscriptions it is known that pilgrims from the north used to visit south Indian temples in the medieval period and make gifts.14(ARE.1928-29, pt.II, para 36) The earliest mention of Aryabhattal occurs in an epigraph of Srirangam dated in 39th year of Kulottunga I (1109). It registers sale of land by the temple authorities to a certain Ariyan Vasudevan Bhattan alias Rajaraja Brahmarayan of Anisthanam in Kasmira desam.14a (14 of 1936-37) This refers to the visit to the temple of a Kasmir brahman and his receipt of land, which indicates that he had settled in Srirangam and taken up some service in the temple. Visits by North Indians to the temple might have occurred even much earlier because, as testified to by Tirumangai Alvar, it had become in his days, i.e., the 8th century, famous both in the north and the south and attracted devotees from all sides. One such affluent pilgrim might have been the chieftain of Gaudadesa, mentioned by the Olugu who probably came not merely with treasure but with a set of brahmana servants with the avowed intention of dedicating them to the temple. These were accepted only after some hesitation. An inscription of Maravarman Sundara Pandya I, dated 1225 in Srirangam, specifically mentions the Ariyar among the various servants of the temple.14b (53 of 1892; SII IV.500) An inscription of Jatavarman Sundara Pandya I dated 1261 mentions Vasal-Ariyar.14c (89 of 1938-39)
The Aryabhattal kept watch from the southern and northern gateways of the third enclosure, which are known after them, slept in the nights between this pair of gateways and the next inner pair, opened these gateways at dawn when the Tirukkarasakkaiyar came to take the water pots, and kept watch carefully with torches in their hands” over “the incoming and outgoing of articles throughout the day and night in the first two enclosures and outside the gateway of the sanctum, with the store house excepted”. According to the Olugu they were honoured with arulappadu when the god, taken in procession, reached the third gateway. The divine commandment referred to both the Aryabhattal and the lord of Gaudadesa.15 (KO., pp.7, 86)
These were the providers of flowers and flower garlands. They laid out flower-gardens, made varieties of flower garlands and bunches called vagaccal, killimalai, kiliccendu, tandaimalai, kottumalai, kudamalai, etc., decorated the palanquins with the flowers for processions, held the torches in the divine presence near the doorway of the sanctum, and bore the Sanaimudaliar and the Dasamurtis in procession during festivals. For these services they were honoured with tirtam, prasadam, parivattam and a single garland.
The above ten groups of brahmana servants are popularly associated with the organisation of Udayavar, but there were others too. The Olugu itself gives different lists.16 (Ibid., pp.48-50, p.90) The Vettirapanis or mace-holders were the orderlies of the temple. With the aid of two gold rods, two silver rods and two canes, which were also the symbols of their office, they kept order in and near the sanctum during the starting of the procession, went in advance and made way for it in the streets, kept watch outside the tirumantapas whenever the Perumal was stationed there during festivals, admitted the Srivaisnavas according to their qualifications to the presence of the deity to receive tirtam, prasadams etc., made triumphal shouts accompanied by clapping of hands when the procession started and shouted ‘silence’ on the special occasions of the Tiruvandik-kappu and the commencement of the prabanda recitations.
The duties of drawing on the cloth screen during food offering or nivedanam and drawing it off when it is over, keeping watch at the doorway during puja, acting as the guard of the deity in the tirumantapa in the night, fetching provisions like ghee, jaggery, cardamum, frankincense, camphor, sandal paste and kumkum from the store house, etc., were done by the Ekangis, who were brahmana bachelor servants (i.e., unencumbered by families.17 (Now the term is applied to non-brahman servants with duties outside the sanctum)
(i) The Vellalas:
The Koil Olugu refers to the Kalalappan and says that his duty was to measure the grain in the granary with the marakkal and supply the required quantity for daily use in the temple. Another Vellala by name Koil-katta Perumal guarded the gateway of the Rajamahendran enclosure. The temple accountant was also a Vellala and was called Vilupparaiyan. The term Vellala commonly refers to cultivators and the Olugu obviously has not included the cultivators of the temple lands in the villages, far and near, among the temple servants. According to this chronicle Udayavar wanted to entrust the accounts to a Brahmana but was pursuaded by the local dignitaries to let the Vellala remain. However he created another post called Stala-samprati and appointed a vellala, Vansatakopadasan, to it. The two officials came to be known as Pallavan Vilupparaiyan and Pandyan Vansatakopadasan respectively.18 (Pallavan and Pandyan are said to be names given by the respective kings to perpetuate their memory in the temple) “Of these the duties of Pallavan Vilupparaiyan were writing epistles to the Alvar, writing down documents of the Senapati and carving inscriptions on stone. The duties of Vansatakopadasan were writing the lease deeds and mortgage deeds and taking copies of the documents of the Senapati and the stone inscriptions. Both had equal jurisdictions with regard to the accounts of the store house and the temple lands including the day-book.”19 (KO., p.91)
According to the chronicle the first office became extinct for want of successor. The accountant appointed in his place was called Sriranganarayanapiran. Both the offices carried a few honours and the Olugu refers to quarrels over precedence.
The Koil Olugu next mentions the duties of the group of servants called the Saluvar. They had miscellaneous functions like the ilanir kainkaryam or offering the water of the tender cocoanuts to the god, setting up the circular platform for the holy bath, adorning the horse vehicle of the god during brahmotsavas and fanning the deity with camaras stationed on either side of the vehicle, blowing the conch and the trumpets, offering clay for sealing the locks of doorways, removing the used fuel from the kitchen and bringing plantain leaves from the gardens. Later they acquired the function of climbing up the Karttikai dipastambha and setting alight the dipa.
The Emberumanadiyar or the Devadasis (‘Female servants of God’) were the dancing woman attached to the temple. The following were their duties: dancing the sporting in front of the decorated elephant carrying the sacred water to the temple from the Kaveri, performing the kinds of dances like malaippu, kelikkai, ulamadal, ammanai, etc., during the tinuandikkappu and the festive processions, enacting the appropriate episodes during the Vasantotsava, enacting the rasakrida on the day of Krisnajayanti and on special occasions, dancing in honour of each divine vehicle during the ritual of bheritatanam in the brahmotsavas and performing the malaippu from behind the Arayar. One of the Devadasis adorned herself after bath and stood in the Alagiyamanavalan tirumantapa “well in sight of the god” during the early morning service when the elephant, the cow, etc., were presented. They are said to have captivated the Muslim generals when they had occupied the temple and saved it from destruction. When any of them died her corpse was, for this reason, cremated by fire brought from the temple kitchen.
These were entrusted with the functions of watch and ward. They guarded the store house, the room containing the canopies, drums and umbrellas, the hall of the divine vehicles (vahanasala) etc., brought the grains, jaggery, and other provisions from the adjoining villages and deposited them in the granary or the store house and waited along with the parijanas when the procession started.
The sculptors, masons and metal workers were grouped under the artisan class called the Kammalas. The sculptor-mason called silpacari attended to masonry repairs of the gopuras, decorated the kalasa on the vimana, made images of stucco, carved out stone images and painted figures on the walls of the mantapas etc. The goldsmith repaired the jewels and ornaments of the deities, polished them frequently, made “the seven ornaments appropriate to the seven days of the week,” attended to the duties connected with the Jyestabhisekam and provided the divine vehicles with a covering of gold plates. The copper smith and the bell-metal worker made the plates and pots used in worship, cast lamp stands, bells and gongs and provided artistically decorated coverings for steps, stairs and pedestals. Casting of metal images was obviously an expert’s job and when a need arose skilled professionals were employed for the purpose.
The needle-workers or tailors, carpenters and silk-weavers formed one group. The first stitched a few items of the divine dress like the kabai or full frock and adorned them with pearls, prepared the ornamental and embroidered borders and pieces of cloth required in the decoration of the ceiling and stitched the canopy and the blankets. The second made the divine umbrellas, the huge round fans, the birudas or badges of honour and parts of the palanquins and decorated the dhwajastamba and the mantapas with tinsel. The last made garlands of silk thread, bunches of loose silks and tassels, all for the decoration of the vehicles of the god.
These washed and dried the divine garments, offered the cloth called the tiruppavadai for spreading the taligai or rice offering to the god and, whenever necessary, dyed the clothes used in the decoration of the ceilings of the mantapas.
As it was (and still is) the practice in the Srirangam temple to prepare the prasadams in fresh earthern vessels daily the potters made a daily supply of fresh cauldrons, vessels, etc., to the temple kitchen for the preparation of the taligai and other prasadams. They carried the pots in which a few kinds of cereals were sown for the ceremony of ankurarpanam and prepared the earthen lamps for display during the Tirukkattikai festival.
As Srirangam is skirted by the twin rivers, the Kaveri and the Coleroon, the service of the boatmen was necessary. When the rivers were in floods they brought to the temple milk and other provisions from the villages nearby. They served as rowers during the Teppotsavam or float festival and supplied, like leaves, stems, mats, baskets and floats and also fruits like oranges and lime, which were all grown on the river banks.
These were all instrumentalists like the pipers, the drummers, etc. The nattuvar or dance-masters were also included in this group. The former, said to belongs to the Alagiyamanavalan group, were “masters of the five kinds of musical instruments”, and they played to the tune of the Arayar during the ceremonies like the padiyerram and when dances were performed by the temple dancers. On these occasions they also played individually the five kinds of talam, “mattalam, suttalam, celli-mattalam, vagai and avijam.”20 (Ibid., pp.99-100)
Inscriptions found on the walls of the temple mostly register the donations made by different persons for specified purposes and hence they cannot be expected to throw light either on the administrative organisation of the temple or its authors; but there are indirect and hence valuable references in them to some of the services said to have been organised by Udayavar according to the traditional sources. They throw some fresh light too on administration, e.g., the Mahasabha of assembly of Srirangam and few of its committees are mentioned in an inscription of Kulottunga I, dated in his 18th year (1088).21 (62 of 1892; SII, III, 70) This records the provision of 6¼ kasu made by Arayan Garudavahan alias Kalingarayar for offerings on three nights when the text Tettarundiral (the 2nd ‘ten’ of Perumal Tirumoli by Alvar Kulasekhara) was recited. This epigraph is important because it gives a few authentic details regarding the organisation of the temple in the time of Ramanuja. By order of the manager of the temple (Srikaryam saigira adikarigal Nisadarajar, the last word being the proper name,)22 (Adhikari Nisadarajar is mentioned in other inscriptions of Kulottunga I, viz. 123 and 124 of 1938-39) the arcakas or pujaris (kanmi) entered into an agreement with the donor with regard to the administration of the endowment. The pujaris (i.e., the temple priests), themselves belonged to several groups. The following two are mentioned, (1) Srivaisnava variyam or members of the committee of Srivaisnavas, to which belonged Tiruvalndi-valanadu-dasar (valudi=Pandya), Vadamaduraippirandan Nambi, Iraiyurali Nambi and Narayana Nambi of Markkamangalam, and (2) Sribhandaravariyam of members of the committee of the treasury to which belonged Kurugaikkavalan, Aravamudu, Tiruvaikkulam-udaiyan Sriraghavan and Kesuvan Tani-ilanjingam. The last three are said to belong to the Harita gotra. An accountant of the assembly and an accountant of the Srivaisnavas are also mentioned. The administration of the endowment was to be supervised by the Mahasabha of Tiruvarangam. The grant provides for the supply of cereals ghee etc., for 100 cakes to be offered to God Ranganatha when He was hearing the recital of the Tettarundiral seated beneath the sacred Punnai tree, on the night of that day on which the bathing water of the idol was distributed among the devotees during the car festival in the month of Aippasi and the festival in Panguni. As far as we know Ramanuja was in Srirangam in 1088 and the absence of the mention in this inscription of Udayavar or Mudaliyandan, who were so intimately connected with the affairs of the temple according to literary tradition, is surprising. But happily the names of Garudavahana and Tiruvaludivalanadar are preserved by literary tradition and are associated with Udayavar as his disciples.
The inscription of Maravarman Sundara Pandya I, dated in his 9th year (1225), was considered in detail, in chapter V above, and its importance for the administrative history of the Srirangam temple pointed out. This inscription clearly refers to the ‘ten persons’, i.e., the chiefs of the ten groups of (Brahmana) temple servants and mentions five groups by name, viz., the Bhagavata Nambis, the Sripadamtanguvar (or the Stanattar Koil Olugu), the Vinnappamsaivar, the Aryabatta and the Bhattal-kottu. It also refers to the Srivaisnava devotees of Emperumanar (Udayavar), among those who took part in the deliberations, and to the Sribhandara or the temple treasury. The king ordered a fresh choice of the temple officials immediately by lot and then annually by election.
