Saraswathi mathas, centres of education in medieval Karnataka

Almost all major temple complexes of the period were attached with schools, commonly known as Saraswathi mathas. They were synonymous with education for all ages in the medieval period in Karnataka.

Saraswathi matha, Trikuteshwara temple, Gadag (Kalyan Chalukya period, late 11th–early 12th century). (Photo | Express)

Education plays an important part in everyone’s life. A good education should teach us about human values and life. It has been an important aspect of ancient Indian society. The establishments at Nalanda, Takshashila, Kanchipuram and many such universities in ancient India were known for multidisciplinary studies. In the present educational scenario, we do speak about the need for multidisciplinary studies, as can be seen in the National Education Policy 2020.

An image of the Goddess of
knowledge from the matha in
Gadag (Photo | Express)

From ancient times till even today, education has been associated with Goddess Saraswathi. She has been eulogised by many great scholars and seers. Interestingly, Saraswathi has been associated with the Goddess of Kashmir as can be seen from Adi Shankaracharya’s “Kashmira Pura Vaasini…”. One of the Vedic deities associated with knowledge, water and river, she is also the consort of Brahma. The Goddess has been depicted with a veena, book, rosary, pasha and ankusha in sculptures and paintings. Her vehicle is the swan. There are many sculptural depictions of Saraswathi and temples built for Her in medieval Karnataka.

Almost all major temple complexes of the period were attached with schools, commonly known as Saraswathi mathas. They were synonymous with education for all ages in the medieval period in Karnataka. There are many inscriptions referring to Saraswathi mathas and schools in the Kalyan Chalukya period. However the image of Saraswathi was developed as early as the 1st–2nd century CE in the Kushana period.

Saraswathi mathas in Karnataka were predominantly associated with Saiva temples and always situated on the southern side. They were the centres of education in those days. The schools were always attached to the temples of the village or agrahara. In the medieval period, education was given the utmost priority by almost all ruling families. Supporting the students was considered a noble work that would bring prosperity to the donor. The kings established the universities (ghatika sthala) and appointed knowledgeable teachers. These teachers were given grants of land and money to teach in the schools and impart their knowledge.

Open hall, Saraswathi matha, Gadag. (Photo | Express)

They were residential schools where the teachers would take care of the children and train them for a certain number of years. Mathas were developed during the period of Kalamukha Saivism in Karnataka. The Kalamukha teachers played a key role in running these institutes. They were well-read scholars and specialised in various streams. They were also temple administrators and served as sthanapadhipatis, i.e. they took care of the day-to-day administration of the temple.

Since 1000 CE, there have been plenty of inscriptions that mention grants given for feeding and clothing the students and for specialisation in various Vedas, Puranas, Mimamsa, Tarka, Shastra, Baudha literature, Prabhakara, Nyaya and other subjects. There were also residential schools—gurukulas—that were part of the temples. Ancient places like Kalgi and Nagayi in Gulbarga district, Mudnuru, Yevuru and Kulageri in Yadgir district, Itagi in Yelburga taluk of Koppal district, Belur in Badami Taluk of Bagalkot district, Lakkundi in Gadag taluk, Trikuteshwara temple in Gadag town and Balligavi in Shimoga district (late 11th-early 12th century) are some areas where a large number of students studied. Beside these, there are umpteen number of places associated with education. In the medieval period, many temples were built for the Tripurusha (trinity) divinities.

A Saraswathi sculpture from
Mallikarjuna Temple, Aghalaya
(Hoysala period, 1250 CE)
(Photo | Express)

An inscription dated to 1058 CE from Nagayi in Gulbarga district from the Kalyan Chalukya period furnishes detailed information about the subjects taught in the institute. It also calls the school Tripurusha Devara Shaale and the library was known as Saraswathi Bhandara. The teachers were given financial support and land grants for their work. Evening schools have also been mentioned in the inscriptions. An inscription from Belur in Badami taluk found at the Tripurusha temple, dateable to the Kalyan Chalukya period, refers to the donation of cloth to 500 students who were studying in a ghatika. There are interesting references to the people donating money for oil to help students in the school. Many of these schools were managed by the temples through public donations for Bhatta Vritti (teachers) and Chatta Vritti (students). All children were allowed to study irrespective of caste and creed.

The kings of the Kalyan Chalukya and Hoysala period greatly supported education. Wherever a Trikuteshwara/Tripurusha temple was built, a Saraswathi temple/matha was attached to it. Thus Saraswathi, the Goddess of eternal knowledge, became an institution in medieval Karnataka.

R H Kulkarni
Professor, Dept of Art History, College of Fine Arts, Karnataka Chitrakala Parishath

(rhkulkarniarthistory@gmail.com)