The Ayagararu in Kannada Inscriptions and Vachana Literature: A Historical, Social, and Economic Review

Abstract

The "Ayagararu" system served as a fundamental socioeconomic and administrative pillar of rural life in medieval Karnataka, functioning as a decentralized model of village governance and service. This research provides a comprehensive historical, social, and economic review by comparing the portrayal of Ayagararu in Kannada epigraphs with their representation in 12th-century Vachana literature. Inscriptional evidence from the Rashtrakuta and Hoysala periods, culminating in the formal institutionalization of the "Twelve Ayagaras" during the Vijayanagara Empire, highlights their role as hereditary officials—including the village head (Gramapati), accountant (Karanika), and various artisans—who maintained the rural infrastructure. Economically, the system operated on a mutual-obligation barter model where services were exchanged for a fixed share of the harvest (Aya), ensuring community stability in a currency-scarce environment. Parallel to this administrative reality, the Vachana movement, led by Basavanna and other contemporary Sharanas, transformed the perception of these occupations through the revolutionary philosophy of "Kayaka" (Work is Worship). By asserting that honest labor was a path to spiritual liberation and declaring that "conduct is caste," the Vachanakaras utilized the traditional Ayagar occupations to challenge the rigid Varna hierarchy and promote radical social egalitarianism. This study concludes that the Ayagararu were not merely functional cogs in the medieval economic machine but were also the ideological catalysts for a transformative social movement, bridging the gap between rigid administrative structures and a vision of an equitable society.

DOI: 10.46700/asssr/2025/v7/i2/146