The Colas c33.36

c33.36

One instance of a *maṭha* in which provision was made for the convenience of pilgrims deserves special mention. A record from Gōvindaputtūr dated a.d. 1248,⁷⁶ mentions that Subrahmaṇya Śiva of Cidambaram (Vyāghrapurī), a grandson of a certain well known Kandhābharaṇa, purchased land from several persons and created an endowment for certain specific services to be undertaken by the Tiruttoṇḍattogaiyān-tiru-maḍam situated in the temple of Tiruviśaiyamangai at Gōvindaputtūr. Among the services to be undertaken with the proceeds of the land were the supply of salt and castor oil to pilgrims, and medical help for those among the disciples who fell ill and had no one to look after them. It is also of interest to note that Subrahmaṇya Śiva, evidently also the head of the *maṭha*, laid it down that his successors duly appointed by him for the administration of the *maṭha* at the end of his life were to carry on this arrangement, and in case he died without choosing his successor, he was to be chosen by the head of another *maṭha* at Cidambaram (also called Tiruttoṇḍattogaiyān-tirumaḍam) and that the new head so chosen was to carry on the arrangements under that particular endowment. It is possible that similar provisions for general amenities, besides feeding and teaching, commonly undertaken by these institutions, obtained elsewhere; but we have no definite knowledge of them. It has been pointed out that sometimes even animals were attended to in similar institutions, and an instance from the Travancore country has been cited.⁷⁷