In the Chola dynasty, land gifted to temples was called:

In the Chola period, land gifted to temples was called "tirunamattukkani" (also known by the general term "devadana").

About tirunamattukkani:

• It was land whose income was used to support temples: for daily worship, festivals, offerings, lamps, and the salaries of priests and other temple staff.
• NCERT lists tirunamattukkani as the land gifted to temples, among the different types of land mentioned in Chola inscriptions.

Temples in the Chola period:

• Temples were not only places of worship; they were also centres of economic, social and cultural life.
• NCERT explains that Chola temples often became the nuclei of settlements, which grew around them.
• They were centres of craft production; temples were endowed with land by rulers and others.
• The produce of this land went to maintain all the specialists who worked at the temple and very often lived near it: priests, garland makers, cooks, sweepers, musicians, dancers and others.
• Temples also acted as banks, lending money and receiving deposits.
• They ran schools, hospitals and feeding houses.
• The great temple at Thanjavur had hundreds of people attached to it, including dancers (devaradiyar), musicians, accountants and craftsmen, as recorded in its inscriptions.

Chola bronze images:

Chola temples were famous for their bronze images, which were carried in processions during festivals.

Types of land in Chola inscriptions (NCERT):

• Vellanvagai: land of non-Brahmana peasant proprietors.
• A type of land gifted to Brahmanas.
• A type of land for the maintenance of a school.
• Tirunamattukkani: land gifted to temples.

Temple economy:

• Temples received gifts of gold, cattle, sheep and land from kings, queens, merchants and ordinary people.
• Lamps were kept burning through donations of sheep or cattle, whose ghee was used for the lamps.

Why not the other options?

• ✗Brahmadeya and Pallichchhandam were other categories of land.
• ✗Vellanvagai was the land of non-Brahmana peasants.