A 1,000-year-old Tamil inscription records a Chola-era hospital: 15 beds, named physician
SumitGup · x · 2026-10-27
The Venkatesa Perumal temple at Tirumukkudal carries an 11th-century Tamil inscription detailing the budget of Virasolan, a hospital from Chola-era India: 15 in-patient beds, the physician's name (Kodandaraman Asvatthama-Bhattan of Alappakkam), staff wages, and even oil allocated for night lighting. Epigraphist K. V. Subrahmanya Ayyar copied the inscription—about 540 square feet, with lines running 55 feet—during his 1915-16 field season.
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