Education in Ancient India c7.s7.t3: Tirumukkudal Temple College
Education in Ancient India c7.s7.t3
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Tirumukkudal Temple College
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¹ E. I., XXI, No. 220.
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General Organisation: During the 11th century, Venkatesh Perumal Temple at Tirumukkudal in Chingleput district was a very interesting institution, for it was running a college, a hostel and a hospital. The college was a smaller institution than the one at Ennāyiram, for arrangement was here made for the free boarding and lodging of 60 students only. Out of the 60 seats in the hostel, 10 were reserved for the students of the Rigveda, 10 for those of the Yajurveda, 20 for those of grammar, 10 for those of the Pañcha-rātra system, 3 for those of Śaivāgama and 7 for Vānaprasthas and Sanyāsins. All the students in the hostel were provided with oil for bath every Saturday.
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Teachers' Salaries : The teachers' salaries in this institution were lower than those in the Ennāyiram college. Vedic teachers used to receive only about three seers of rice every day; their salary was thus about one sixth the salary that was paid in the Ennāyiram college. Vedic teachers of this institution were apparently part-time teachers; for their salary is seen to be practically the same as the wages of the servant appointed in the temple hospital for fetching medicinal herbs and preparing medicines. The grammar teacher was apparently a full time employee, for he received about eight seers of rice every day. His pay was thus half the pay of the teacher at Ennāyiram. In ancient as in modern times, salaries of teachers varied with the financial condition of educational institutions.