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This is a study of state formation, religious institutions, and the economy in southern India during the Chola period (AD 849--1279). The author uses locational and statistical methodologies to analyse the relationship between ritual and administration in a dynamic empire. The authorinvestigates the processes that supported the efflorescence of temple art and architecture, the expansion of trade networkes, and the dominance of the Chola state.Discussions focus on the means and relations of agricultural production, including the construction of irrigation networks: the nature and role of urbanization in a pre-modern economy; the interaction between ritual and administration; the structure of the state; and the relationship betweengovernment and intermediate authorities.