Question

This is an excerpt from the Silappadikaram, an epic written in Tamil: (When he visited the forest) people came down the mountain, singing and dancing … just as the defeated show respect to the victorious king, so did they bring gifts – ivory, fragrant wood, fans made of the hair of deer, honey, sandalwood, red ochre, antimony, turmeric, cardamom, pepper, etc. ... they brought coconuts, mangoes, medicinal plants, fruits, onions, sugarcane, flowers, areca nut, bananas, baby tigers, lions, elephants, monkeys, bear, deer, musk deer, fox, peacocks, musk cat, wild cocks, speaking parrots, etc. …

Why did people bring these gifts? What would the chief have used these for?

Answer 1

1. The people brought these gifts because, according to this excerpt from the Tamil epic Silappadikaram, the forest-dwelling people brought these varied gifts to show their deep respect, submission, and political allegiance to the visiting Pandya chief, Senguttuvan. As the text explicitly states, they approached the chief singing and dancing, bringing tributes “just as the defeated show respect to the victorious king.” In early Tamil societies (the Sangam age), chiefs did not collect regular, formalised taxes from distant forest or tribal regions; instead, they relied heavily on these voluntary or customary gifts given during royal tours. Bringing these valuable local items was a crucial social strategy for the forest communities to acknowledge the chief’s supreme authority, seek his long-term protection, and maintain peaceful relations with the ruling state.
2. The Pandya chief would have utilised these diverse forest gifts for a combination of personal consumption, military power, trade, and displaying political status. High-value luxury commodities like ivory, fragrant wood, musk, and premium spices (such as cardamom and pepper) were used for personal grooming within the royal palace, or used as highly valuable trade items to exchange with foreign merchants. Exotic animals like wild elephants were captured and integrated directly into the chief’s military forces, while rare animals like baby tigers, lions, and peacocks were kept as grand status symbols to showcase his imperial power over diverse ecological terrains. Finally, perishable items like honey, fresh fruits, coconuts, and sugarcane were used to feed the royal household or distributed during community feasts to win the loyalty of his subjects and soldiers.