Ennayiram is a village in Vikravandi Taluk in Villuppuram District
of Tamil Nadu and it figures in the Chola records of the 11th
century AD. A strong center of Vaishnavism, the place was also known as
Rajaraja Chaturvedimangalam. It was a flourishing center of Vedic scholars and
had an important Vedic institution of the era. The place is around 18 km from
Villuppuram.
The name ‘Ennayiram"’has an interesting etymology. In
Tamil, it means ‘eight thousand’. According to local belief, 8,000 Jainas embraced
Brahmanism here. The Tamil poet, Kalamegam, famous for his puns, belonged to
Ennayiram.
A long inscription in Tamil, running to 28 lines and about
1,000 years old, was discovered in 2002
AD at the Alagiya Narasingaperumal temple here. The temple, originally called
Raja Raja Vinnagar Alwar, has a surfeit of inscriptions in Tamil. They belong
to the Chola and Vijayanagar dynasties. The earliest of these inscriptions
belong to the reign of Chola Rajendra I (1012 -1044 A.D.)
A record of Rajendra Chola I, engraved in the Vishnu Temple
here, gives graphic details of the Vedic institution maintained by the village
(sabha).
The record mentions the strength of the institution, the
different courses offered, the remuneration for the teachers, the different
grades of students and the expenditure incurred for maintaining them.
There were fourteen teachers to teach different subjects –
three each for Rig Veda and Yajur Veda, one each for Chandogya, Talavakara
Samas Vajasaneya, Baudhyaniya, Grihya, Kalpa, Kathaka, Vyakarana, Prabhakara,
Vedanta and Rupavatara.
There were 340 students overall, out of whom 270 were junior
students (Brahmacharin) and 70 were senior students (chatras).
Among the juniors, 40 studied grammar according to
Rupavatara, and the rest were learning Vedas.
The breakup of the classes is given as
70 students for Rig Veda
75 students for Yajur Veda
20 for Vajasaneya
20 for Chandogya
20 for Talavakara sama
Ten for Atharva
Ten for Baudhayaan Grihya
Ten for Kalpa
Ten for Gana.
The seventy senior students studied advanced subjects – 25 studied
Vyakarana, 35 studied Prabhakara Mimasa and ten studied Vedanta.
The record gives interesting details regarding the pay and
allowances given to the teachers and students.
Besides these, four persons were appointed to recite sacred
Tamil hymns, Tiruvaymoli, in the temple and to attend to the feeding of Sri
Vaishnavas in the matha attached to the temple, as well as for conducting
festivals and worship there.
Similar Vedic institutions flourished during the chola
period at other place such as Tribhuvanai near Puducherry and Tirumukkudal.
Notes Taken from - Encyclopedia of Hinduism Volume IV – India Heritage
Research Foundation – Page no 38.