neighbourhood. At the principal festivals they disperse for a few
days in quest of alms, when they collect enough to sustain them
till the next interval of leisure. The chief study at Nuddea is
nyayu or logic; there are also some establishments for tuition in
law, chiefly in the works of Raghunandana, a celebrated Nuddea
pundit, and in one or two places grammar is taught. Some of the
students, particularly several from the Dekhin, speak Sanscrit
with great fluency and correctness.
The account by Mr Wilson is the latest and probably the
most correct of the state of learning at Nuddea. The variations in
the number of colleges and students at the different periods are
deserving of attention. According to the respective authorities
there were in 1816 forty-six schools and 380 students; in 1818
thirty-one schools and 747 students; and in 1829 twenty-five
schools, containing from 5 to 600 students. It would thus appear
that, within the last twenty years, the number of schools has
diminished, and the number of scholars has upon the whole in-
creased. This would seem to support the inference that there is
now, in the class from which students are drawn, and increased
disposition to study Hindoo learning, accompanied by a
diminished ability or inclination in the class by which the
colleges are principally supported, to incur the expense of
encouraging new tols proportioned to the increased number of
students.
Several of those schools of Hindoo learning in Nuddea are
supported or aided by small annual allowances from the British
Government. Thus in 1813, Ramchandra Vidyalankara who
enjoyed an annual allowance of rupees 71, in consideration of
his keeping up a chaupari or seminary, died. Application was
shortly afterwards made to the Collector of the district, and by
him referred to the Revenue Board, for the assignment of his
allowance to a native who claimed it as the heir of Ramchandra
Vidyalankara, but the proofs of his right of succession or
qualifications not being satisfactory, it was not granted to him.
In 1818, Balanath Siromani preferred a claim to this allowance
as the son of Ramchandra Vidyalankara and his successor in
the chaupari. On reference of this claim to the Revenue Board,
the Collector was ordered to ascertain whether Balanath
Siromani did actually keep a seminary in Nuddea; and it
appearing on enquiry that he kept a chaupari in which he
educated eight pupils in the tarka or nyayu shastra, the
government determined in June 1820, that the pension of
rupees 71 should be continued to him and the arrears paid up.