History of the Pallavas of Kanchi c14.53

c14.53

*Educational Facilities.*—A glimpse into the educational grants of the period is obtained from the Bāhūr plates² which were issued in the eighth year of this king. This record has for its object the registering of the gift of three villages—Chēṭṭupākkam, Iraipuraichēri and Viḷangāṭṭangaḍuvanūr to the Vedic college at the village of Bāhūr³ near Pondicheri in Aruvāṇāḍu. The grant was made by a member of the Pūsāli family and a descendant of the Kuru race (*verse 18*). This chief was the minister of Tungavarman, that is, Nripatunga who issued the necessary order for the grant of the villages (*verse 21*). The college at Bāhūr consisted of fourteen *gaṇas*, and was controlled by the learned men of the village, being organized and maintained by them. The fourteen *gaṇas*⁴ are presumably the fourteen divisions of learning and consisted of—the Vedas (4), the Angas (6), Mīmāmsa (1), Nyāya (1), Purāṇa (1) and the Dharma-Śāstra (1).