Explanation:

The Chola empire known as Rajyam or Rastrayam was divided into a number of provinces or Mandalam. The most important Mandalams were placed under the charges of the Viceroys who were generally the Princes of the royal blood or of noble families. We came to know that Rajaraja, the great, divided his empire into about eight Mandalams. Chola Princes were in the charges of the provinces of Vengi and Madura. Some of the provinces were formed of such principalities as had been annexed by the Chola imperialists. Besides there were the territories of the vassal princes, who paid tribute and rendered service to the Crown in times of needs. The provinces or Mandalams were subdivided into number of divisions known as Kottams or Valanadus. The next administrative subdivisions of Cholas were the districts (Nadus), each of which again consisted of a number of autonomous villages, unions or groups of villages, playing a vital part in the Chola administration system.
Though there was corporate activity in the economic and religious life and in the territorial divisions like Nadus and Nagarams or towns, there is ample evidence to show that these divisions had their own popular assemblies during the period of Chola ascendancy which exhibited the greatest and most comprehensive group activity. First we hear of the assembly of the people of the whole Mandalam in connection with the remission of certain taxes on land under its jurisdiction. Next the inscriptions refer to the ‘Nattar’ assembly of the people of a Nadu or district, and ‘Nagarattar’ or assembly of the mercantile groups which went by the generic name ‘Nagaram’. These two terms perhaps corresponded to the Janapada and Paura respectively. Unfortunately the details or their constitution and working are unknown. Besides local administration was greatly facilitated by the existence of guilds or ‘Srenis’, ‘Pugas’ and such other autonomous corporate organisations in which persons followed the same craft or calling binding themselves together.
The Chola village administration was very systematic and well developed. As regards the assemblies of the villages, the Chola inscriptions mention the assemblies called the ‘Ur’ and the ‘Sabha’ or ‘Mahasabha’ which were the gatherings of the adult male members of the Community.
The ‘Ur’ was the gatherings of the local residents to discuss matters without any formal rule or procedure. But the Sabha or Mahasabha was the assembly of the Brahmin Settlement (Agrahara) and it is this type about which our information’s are copious indeed from the inscriptions of the period.