Penalty Practiced in Puzhal Kottam with Special Reference to Tiruvottiyur Temple

Abstract

This paper discusses the evolution of temple-based finance in Tiruvottiyur from the Pallava to the Chola period, tracing how the moral act of donation turned into a structured, interest-bearing institution of sacred credit. Based on a close reading of inscriptions, the study reconstructs the mechanisms of Poliyutu and Nilaippoliyutu, which formalized endowments into fixed deposits under the supervision of the Sabha and the Dharmasana. It shows how the temple's administration developed legal tools such as written agreements, fines, and fixed rates of return to regulate religious wealth. By the Chola period, the Tiruvottiyur temple had developed into a self-sustaining financial body that managed gold, land, paddy, and tax revenue under a codified legal system. These records show how law and faith came together to create a moral economy of trust in which religious merit and fiscal discipline were inseparable within the temple's sacred order.

DOI: 10.46700/asssr/2025/v7/i2/145