Minor Majesties

Minor Majesties studies the small ancient kingdom of Paluvur, a town located on the northern bank of the Kaveri river, about 30 kilometers north of Tanjavur. Between the ninth and the eleventh centuries C.E., Paluvur was the capital of the dynasty of the Paluve??araiyars, a minor dynasty of "little kings" who swore allegiance to the Cola dynasty. Today, Paluvur is divided in two distinct villages, Kilappaluvur and Melappaluvur, and four temples dedicated to the god Siva built during the reign of the little kings remain standing. In Minor Majesties, author Valérie Gillet surveys, translates, and analyzes 136 Tamil transcriptions spread across these temples, scrutinizing in depth each one's materiality, location, and epigraphy for the first time. Through these analyses, Gillet brings forth a better understanding of the functioning of the minor dynasty of the Paluve??araiyars whose little kings often appear in the inscriptions of the temples, as well as the interactions between the temples and their patronizing communities. The small size of Paluvur with its hub of still-standing monuments permits an exceptionally clear overview of the possible relations between distinct temples, allowing readers to unpick complexities related to temple sponsorship, organisation, and functioning. The study of Paluvur also reveals how these religious monuments-accruing wealth but, in exchange, enabling donors to accrue merit and power-became a place for the fabrication of political discourses and powers, specific social configurations, and religious practices.Â