Taxation in Medieval Telangana

Insights from Epigraphia Telanganica

📜 Inscriptions across all four volumes | Western Chalukya & Kakatiya dynasties | Compiled from Vol-I to Vol-IV

The inscriptions across all four volumes of Epigraphia Telanganica provide a detailed view of the complex taxation and revenue systems of medieval Telangana, particularly under the Western Chalukya and Kakatiya dynasties. Taxes were categorized as land revenue, trade and customs duties, professional levies, and miscellaneous social fees

1. Major Tax Categories

The sources distinguish between several primary types of revenue:

• Siddaya: A fixed land tax or revenue assessment.
  📖 Siddaya was a fixed land tax assessed as a consolidated cash payment per unit of land, not a percentage of the harvest. Unlike ari (which could be ad valorem or produce-based), siddaya remained constant regardless of crop yield — predictable for the state but burdensome for farmers in poor harvest years.
• Ari: A general term for tax, often applied to land.
  📖 Ari could be ad valorem (a percentage of crop value) or produce-based (a fixed share of the harvest, e.g., 1/6th). Unlike fixed siddaya, ari fluctuated with agricultural output, making it more responsive to conditions but harder for the state to predict.
• Pannu: A common term for taxes or levies on all professions in a village.
  📖 Broadly defined as occupational cesses on all village professions (weavers, potters, blacksmiths, etc.). However, in certain Kakatiya records, pannu specifically refers to the village headman's share of local levies collected before royal collection — meaning the headman kept a portion and forwarded the rest to the king's treasury.
• Sumka (Sunkam): Customs duties or tolls levied on the sale and transport of merchandise.
  📖 Sumka was collected as a percentage of goods' value or a fixed toll per head of cattle, cartload, or boat. It applied to both sale transactions (market tax) and transport across trade routes, river crossings, and town entry points — a major non-agricultural revenue source.
• Pamga: The government's share of agricultural produce, usually paid in kind or coin.
  📖 Pamga represents the royal entitlement to a portion of the harvest — the oldest form of land revenue in South India. Typically 1/6th to 1/10th of gross produce, paid mostly in kind (grain, pulses). Unlike fixed siddaya, pamga fluctuated with harvest size.

2. The Kandukuru Inscription (A.D. 1316)

This is one of the most comprehensive records of taxation, listing 25 specific items of revenue that the local village assembly (Ashtadasa-praja) and accountants (Karanas) diverted to a local temple with royal consent:

• Land Levies: One chinna (gold coin) on each maruturu of wetland, including temple lands and Brahmana-owned fields (vrittis).
  📖 A chinna was a small denomination gold coin, likely a fraction of the gadyana (standard gold coin ~3.4–3.6g). A maruturu of wetland was approximately 0.5 to 0.75 acres, depending on local measurement. Wetland was taxed more heavily than dry land because it could produce multiple crops per year (often rice).
• Industrial Taxes: Taxes on hand-looms (magga), wool-blanket looms (mala-magga), and oil mills (ganugu).
• Professional Taxes: Fixed fees from warriors (bantus), merchants (komatis), washermen, smiths, barbers, and potters (taxed per wheel) .
• Agricultural Services: Levies on those who managed irrigation tanks (niruvidis) and the village watchmen (chopparis).

3. Trade and Customs Duties

Trade was a vital source of revenue, often managed through complex toll systems:

• Vaddaravula: An extensive customs duty collected on diverse merchandise, including areca-nuts, horses, camphor, sandalwood, silk thread, salt, and spices
• Motupalli Edict (A.D. 1244): King Ganapatideva issued an abhaya-sasana (edict of safety) at the port of Motupalli, fixing customs duties for sea-traders at a rate of 1 in 30 for all exports and imports, replacing the earlier practice of confiscating the entire cargo of shipwrecked vessels.
  📖 The 1-in-30 rate was approximately 3.33% — remarkably low for medieval India (internal tolls often exceeded 10%). The edict explicitly protected nanadesis (foreign/long-distance merchants) from the earlier practice of confiscating entire cargoes of shipwrecked vessels. This made Motupalli a safe and attractive port, boosting Kakatiya customs revenue through increased trade volume rather than punitive rates.
• Addavatta-sumka: A tax or toll levied on sales within market yards.

📜 Motupalli Edict (1244 CE): “King Ganapatideva fixed customs duties for sea-traders at a rate of 1 in 30 for all exports and imports, granting safety to foreign merchants.”

4. Social and Miscellaneous Fees

• Pullari: A grazing tax paid by cattle-breeders for use of pastures or forest lands.
  📖 Pullari was levied on cattle-owning communities (especially pastoralists like gollas and kurumas) for access to common pastures, forest grazing grounds, or wastelands. It reflects the importance of pastoral economy alongside agriculture.
• Kanika: The king's share of village taxes paid by a village holder or feudal lord .
• Talari-kanika: A fee levied on villagers to pay for authorized watchmen.
• Darisena-kanika: A tribute or fee paid when a villager went to see the king or his representative.
• Tappu: A fine imposed for adultery or other civil offenses.

5. Tax Exemptions and Revenue Sharing

Inscriptions frequently record the remission of taxes to support religious institutions. For example, Queen Rudramadevi remitted income taxes (aya-sunka) due from temple servants [Vol-III, 1116]. In other cases, a portion of the tax was diverted; the Salakalavidu inscription (1317 A.D.) records the grant of a village including all its pamga, tappu, pullari, and sunkamu to the Srirangam temple.

Revenue Sharing for Public Works (A.D. 1529)

In the post-Kakatiya period, revenue-sharing systems were used for public works. For tank construction in A.D. 1529, the produce was shared as follows:

1 share State (Diwan) — Royal revenue

2 shares Farmers (Kampus) — Producers' share

1 share Builder — Often dedicated to a free-kitchen (langar)

Qutb Shahi Revenue Division

Under the Qutb Shahis, shares from irrigated lands were sometimes divided as follows:

• 🏛️ 1 share — The King
• 👥 1.5 shares — The Subjects
• 🕌 2 shares — Religious and Educational Endowments

6. Summary of Key Terms

SiddayaFixed cash land tax per unit of land (not harvest-based).

AriGeneral tax — could be ad valorem or produce-based.

PannuProfessional tax OR village headman's pre-royal share (Kakatiya context).

Sumka (Sunkam)Customs duties on sale and transport of goods.

PamgaGovernment's crop share (1/6th to 1/10th of harvest, in kind).

ChinnaSmall gold coin (fraction of a gadyana).

MaruturuWetland unit (~0.5–0.75 acres).

1-in-30 rate (Motupalli)~3.33% customs duty on seaborne trade.

NanadesisForeign/long-distance merchants protected from cargo seizure.

📚 Source: Epigraphia Telanganica, Volumes I–IV (Government of Telangana). References cited as per original inscription notations.