“KANDALUR SALAI in Kerala was the Takshashila of the South”, eSamskruti, 27 Aug 2026.
“There were a dozen prominent universities in ancient India.
Side by side with the formation of state and the establishment of monarchical absolutism, there emerged educational institutions in places like Kasi (Benares), Videha and Panchalam. Similarly, at Rajagriha, Mithila, Ujjain, Kosala and Kuru, there sprang up centers of higher learning. After Takshashila, Varanasi was important according to the late scholar epigraphist V. R. Parameswaran Pillai, who after his excavations at Mohenjo-daro along with Sir Mortimer Wheeler and B. B. Lal, made ‘Takshashila’ the name of his residence. Only 500 students were admitted to Takshashila where law, ayurveda, astrology, astronomy, sciences etc. were taught.
Vikramshila became a centre of learning only after the decline of Nalanda which was revitalised as an international university by Nobel laureate Dr. Amartya Sen (Economics) under the UNESCO scheme. In Nalanda there was only one gopuram whereas Vikramshila had six. Under each gopuram there existed a centre of learning, each had one dvarapala who interviewed and admitted students.
To the south of the Narmada there existed universities in Madurai, Kanchi, Thanjavoor and Kandalur. Three wings were there in Madurai, the first managed by Sage Agastya. Tolkappiyar was in charge of the second and Nakkirar was the head in the third. In Malabar, places like Thirunavaya (on the banks of the river Bharatapuzha) Trissur Thrikkannamathilakam and Kadavalloor happened to be centers of mahabrahmanayogam where education was imparted………………….”
Read the full article at eSamskruti.
