Administration and Social Life under Vijayanagar c15.22

c15.22

Apart from such private initiative, public institutions like the *matha* and the temple devoted themselves to the popularisation of education.¹⁵ We have seen in an earlier section how there are numerous instances to show that the *mathas* were so many educational institutions in India.¹⁶ But the temples appear to have encouraged the study of ancient literature only indirectly by making provision for the recitation of the Vedas and *prabandhams* in the temple. Thus in A.D. 1449-50 the village of Manattan alias Śirutampuram was given away to a servant of the temple of Poṇ Amarāvati (Pudukkoṭṭai State) for the service of singing the hymns of Śaḍagōpan.¹⁷