प्राचीन भारत में शिक्षा (डॉ. ए.एस. अल्तेकर - गुरुकुल एवं बौद्ध विहार शिक्षण इतिहास)

108 EDUCATION IN ANCIENT INDIA [Ch. having seen them returning during their own life time.¹ And yet we find students flocking to Taxila from far off cities like Benares,² Rājagriha,³ Mithilā⁴ and Ujjayinī.⁵ Kuru and Kośala countries sent their own quota of students. One of the archery schools at Taxilā had on its muster roll, as we have seen already, 103 princes from different parts of India. Heir-apparents of Benares are usually seen being educated at the same place in the Jātakas. King Prasenajit of Kośala, a contemporary of the Buddha, was educated in the Gandhara capital.⁶ Prince Jīvaka, an illegitimate son of Bimbisāra, spent seven years at Taxila in learning medicine and surgery.⁷ As Pāṇini hailed from Śālātura near Attok, he also must have been an alumni of Taxila university. The same was the case with Kauṭilya, the author of the Arthaśāstra. Boarding and Lodging Arrangements :—Students used to go to Taxila only for higher education. They were usually 16 when they came to seek admission there. As a general rule, they stayed in the houses of their teachers. The well-to-do students used to pay their lodging and boarding expenses along with their fees, sometimes even at the beginning of their course. Some of them, who were very rich like prince Juṇha from Benares, used to engage special houses for their residence (Jā. No. 456). Poor students, who could not pay any fees, used to work in their

1. Jātaka No 456.
2. Tilamuṭṭhi Jātaka, No. 252.
3. Jātaka, No. 378.
4. Ibid, No. 489.
5. Ibid, No. 336.
6. M.V. chap. VIII.
7. Jātaka, No. 498.