Which one of the following was a corporation of merchants in ancient India ?

The Manigrama (Manigramam/Manigiramam) was a well-known corporation or guild of merchants in ancient and early medieval South India. Literary and inscriptional evidence records merchants forming organized bodies, and the book source explicitly states that merchants had their own organizations such as Manigramam, linking it to commercial activity in important trading centres during the Pallava period [1]. Epigraphic evidence further shows formal agreements involving the Manigramam guild, foreign traders and the king at ports like Quilon (Kollam), dealing with taxes, warehouses and protection of merchants and merchandise — confirming its corporate, institutional character in trade and port administration.

Sources

1. [1] History , class XI (Tamilnadu state board 2024 ed.) > Chapter 9: Cultural Development in South India > Trade > p. 125