State, Taxation and Fiscal Oppression in Early Medieval Odisha

• Published in: Indian historical review 2016-12, Vol.43 (2), p.207-233
• Main Author: Acharya, Subrata Kumar
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: 10th century; 12th century; Bureaucracy; Extraction; Land; Military mobilization; Oppression; Peasants; Resentment; Revenue; State formation; Taxation; Temples; Trade
• ISSN: 0376-9836; 0975-5977
• DOI: 10.1177/0376983616663386

This article attempts at reviewing the taxation system in early medieval Odisha. The period covered is roughly from the fourth to the twelfth century CE. It is found that in the beginning, the rulers of the small kingdoms of early medieval Odisha did not impose many taxes on the subjects. Land revenue was the mainstay of state economy. The rulers could manage to run the administration of their small kingdoms with the resources from land and land-related activities. Revenue from trade and commerce and artisanal products to some extent replenished the state treasury. But in due course of time with the increase in the size of the kingdoms, the rulers demanded more and more revenue to meet the cost of ruling and maintaining the army and bureaucracy. The maximum number of taxes were imposed by the Somavamsis from the closing decades of the tenth century. This exigency has been explained in the context of army mobilisation to defend the kingdom from enemies. In addition, the construction of temples necessitated the extraction of product rent and labour rent. This was particularly true in the coastal tracts of Odisha. The collection of revenue was exploitative and there was resentment of not only the peasants but also the brāhmaṇas. This might have resulted in the large-scale exodus of population from the coastal tracts of Odisha to the neighbouring kingdoms. When the Gaṅga ruler Anantavarman Coḍagaṅgadeva annexed a major part of Odisha in the early decades of the twelfth century, he tried to pacify the subjects by waiving the heavy burden of taxation. This together with other ritualistic measures in the cult practices finally paved the way for a regional state formation in Odisha.