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

[IX] FEMALE EDUCATION 217 a great set-back during this period, it continued to receive attention in rich, cultured, aristocratic and royal families.¹ Girls in these families were given a fairly good literary education, though they were not allowed to study the Vedic literature. They could read and understand Sanskrit and Prakrit works and even detect mistakes accidentally committed by their male relations.² Special effort was made to give them a good grounding in domestic and culinary arts and fine arts like music, dancing, painting, garland-making and household decorations.³ Tutors were appointed in rich families to train girls in these arts and accomplishments, as is shown by the employment of Gaṇadāsa and Haradatta in the household of king Agnimitra. Most of this education was finished before the marriage ; but famous lady scholars of the age, to be mentioned in the next para, probably continued their education and reading even after their wedlock. Lady Authors of the Age : Educated ladies in cultured families continued to make their own contributions to literature, as was done by the lady scholars of the earlier period. During this age, there flourished several poetesses in south India, who

1. पुरुषवद्योषितोऽपि कवीभवेयुः ।••••। श्रूयन्ते दृश्यन्ते च राजपुत्र्यो महामात्रदुहितरो गणिकाः कौटुंबिकभार्याश्च शास्त्रप्रहितबुद्धयः कवयश्च । Kāvyamīmāṁsā, p. 53.
2. Stories are current in learned circles of how clever wives would bring milk to serve at the dining party when the order given was dadhimānaya ; they could at once see the blunder committed by the husband and in order to save him from the reproach of ungrammatical speech, would pretend to understand the order, not as dadhim ānaya bring curds (which would have been incorrect as dadhi is not a word in masculine gender), but as dadhi mā ānaya, ‘do not bring curds’
3. Vātsyāyana, (Kāmasūtra, 1. 3. 16.) lays down that girls should be trained in all the 64 arts and crafts.