Reconstructing Chola Agrarian History: Parvathi Menon Interviews Y. Subbarayalu

In the interview, Subbarayalu draws on inscriptions, the primary source material of this period, to discuss aspects of the agrarian history of Tamil Nadu, and particularly of the Cauvery delta, between 900 and 1279 CE. A great deal of what we know of modern Tamil Nadu’s ancient and medieval past, including its economic and agrarian history, lies inscribed on the walls of the numerous temples of South India. Subbarayalu discusses inscriptions as a historical source, the difficulties encountered in deciphering them and in drawing evidence-based conclusions from what they offer. The Epigraphy section of the Archeological Survey of India in Mysore holds nearly 50,000 inscriptions in the four south Indian languages. Of these, the Tamil inscriptions number 27,000, out of which only 11,000 have been published in properly edited volumes. Much history remains to be written from these, particularly the history of the Vijayanagar period.