Temple Economies: How Ancient Indian Temples Ran Entire Towns

Ancient Indian temples were not just places of worship — they were powerful economic, social, and administrative institutions that sustained entire towns for centuries.

From the Gupta period to the Chola, Pallava, Rashtrakuta, and Vijayanagara empires, temples functioned as banks, employers, land managers, welfare centers, schools, and cultural hubs. Entire cities grew around temple complexes, with markets, farms, water systems, and artisan communities organized through temple administration.

In this documentary-style video, we explore:
• How temples controlled vast land grants and agricultural production
• Why farmers, artisans, dancers, musicians, and scholars depended on temples for livelihoods
• How temples acted as early banks, providing loans and managing resources
• The role of temples in education, healthcare, famine relief, and social welfare
• How inscriptions carved in stone functioned as transparent accounting records
• Why this sophisticated system eventually collapsed under invasions and colonial policies

This is the untold economic history of India, carved in stone and forgotten in textbooks.

In the video, we will see how temples once ran entire towns — watch till the end to understand what modern society can learn from this lost system.

If you are interested in Indian history, ancient economies, forgotten civilizations, or documentary storytelling, this video reveals a side of temples you have never seen before.

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