This paper explores the role of these pāṭaśālā-s through the ages, and lessons we can draw for modern pedagogy from this unique system
Dr. Deepa Duraiswamy holds degrees in engineering and management from the University of Pune and IIM Calcutta respectively. Her desire to understand the Agamas and make them more accessible for modern audiences led her to an interdisciplinary PhD on Temple Management in the Agamas at the Department of Sanskrit, University of Madras, that is now published as a book by IndicA Academy. She has taught the same as an online course on the IndicA Courses platform. She hopes to continue exploring this ancient system that seems to be at the core of Sanatan Dharma in practice. Sambhavi Shanmugam I am Sambhavi Shanmugam, a student pursuing Master’s degree in Sanskrit at the century old Madras Sanskrit College, Mylapore, Chennai. I did my schooling at Adarsh Vidyalaya as a student of Statistics and completed my Bachelor’s degree in Sanskrit at Queen Marys College, Chennai. I am interested to learn the cultural values and as a daughter of an adisaiva priest, I was blessed to listen to my father’s explanations from my childhood days about different rituals practiced atthe temples for the welfare of the world. My passion is to understand about Aalaya, Archakas and how the prayers performed at the temple protects the world. I have undergone an online course under Padma Vibhushan Dr. R. Nagaswamy Sirin understanding the Art and Architecture. I have also studied under my mentor, Smt. Dr. Deepa Duraiswamy on Management of temples. This kindled the interest in me to study more about the temples and its relevance to the mundane world we live in. My presentation on the Sthala Vrukshas is just an attempt of expressing what I have understood through the above classes and my experience in visiting the temples personally.
