Question

Was thanjavur a commercial as well as a temple town?

Answer 1

Different Towns

In the medieval times (between the 8th and the 18th centuries), there were temple towns, administrative centres, commercial towns famous for arts and crafts, and port towns. Moreover, some big towns and cities were famous for more than one of those things.

Administrative Centres, Temple Towns, Pilgrimage Centres

Thanjavur, situated on the banks of river Kaveri in Tamil-Nadu, was the capital of the Chola dynasty a thousand years ago.

It was a busy commercial town with markets for grains, spices, cloth, and jewellery. And water was supplied to its people and visitors from big wells and tanks.

Its architecture included different temples and palaces with 'mandapas' (pavallions) that were used by kings to hold courts and carry out their administrative affairs. But they were also used as prayer halls, and some even housed religious dancing and music concerts.

So Thanjavur is also an example of a temple town, where urbanisation (the process by which cities grow) happened as temples became central to society and economy.

Temples were built by rulers not only to show their devotion but also to unify different communities. And they were maintained through cash and land grants from rulers and merchants, as well as from donations made by pilgrims. Big temples also used surplus (extra) funds for businesses such as trade and banking.

To cater to the needs of the pilgrims and of the temples, priests, workers, artisans, traders, etc. started living in the areas around the temples. This led to the growth of temple towns such as Somnath in Gujarat, Kanchipuram and Madurai in Tamil Nadu, Tirupati in Andhra Pradesh, and towns around Bhillasvamin (Bhilsa or Vidisha in Madhya Pradesh).

Centres of pilgrimage also started turning into townships such as Vrindavan in Uttar Pradesh and Tiruvannamalai in Tamil Nadu. Ajmer, the city in Rajasthan that was both the capital of the Chauhans in the 12th century and the suba headquarters of the Mughals, is a great example of religious co-existence.