113992242-Dravidian-Settlements-in-Ceylon-and-the-Beginnings-of-the-Kingdom-of-Jaffna-By-Karthigesu-Indrapala-Complete-Phd-Thesis-University-of-London-1965

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the term Dem4-kblla to mean 'an allotment of land in a village,
set apart for the Tamils'. In his o4nion, they seem 'to have
been set apart for the maintenance of Tamil soldiers in the
king's service and must have been administered by royal officers'
On an examination of the different occurrences of this term in
the published inscriptions, it appears that the abpve interpretation
does not always yield a satisfactory meaning. It is difficult
to arrive at the exact meaning of this term; it appears to be
an allotment of land enjoying privileges different from those
of lands classified as paniunu But certainly it is not always
an allotment from the royal household. For instance, in the
Polonnaruva Council Chamber inscription, a Tamil allotment occurs
as the private property of an individual In this record the
allotment was granted immunities as a pamunu on condition of
paying annual'y oie pla of dried ginger to a hospital. There
is no reference in this record, or for that matter in any of the
records where the term Dem4-kbfla occurs, to any share of the
revenue being allocated for the maintenance of the Tamil soldiers.
., III, p. 273.
2. A pamunu was 'an estate possessed in perpetuity by a family
in hereditary succession, or by an institution like a monastery
pr a hospital', U.C.H.C.., I, pt. 1, p. 375.
3. ., IV, p. 36.