ABSTRACT
Medieval Tamil temple inscriptions record the gifts of a variety of different kinds of patrons, for a range of purposes. This chapter surveys inscriptions of the 13th to 16th century in southernmost Tamilnadu, focusing on the establishment of daily worship services named after donors or rulers and of birthday celebrations that were part of temple festivals. This phenomenon became prevalent in the 13th century, when Pandya kings were prominent as temple patrons, but it was not exclusively a royal prerogative and continued as a donative practice in succeeding centuries and changing political circumstances.
This was clearly an important means by which donors could shape the ritual life of the temple, but also it was a means of forging a relationship between the donor and the deity—as well as a variety of other actors, including temple servants and royal officials. By examining the inscriptions that record such gifts, featuring both royal and non-royal patrons, I will seek to discover what these relationships consisted of and how they might have differed in various periods or political contexts. Shifting power relations and sectarian developments from Srivilliputtur to Tenkasi to Tirunelveli and further to the south and east made for a dynamic network within which such relationships were forged, with temple deities themselves frequently issuing commands.
