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

282 EDUCATION IN ANCIENT INDIA [App. surely reach his goal. For, divine help and co-operation were enlisted on his behalf; even death could not touch him if he properly followed the rules of his order (S. Br., XI. 2. 6; B. D. S., I. 3). His personality will develop like that of Indra and his intelligence will glow up like the refulgent flame of God Fire. He will find nothing relating to his literary goal impossible if he worked with faith, assiduousness and determination. What better ideas can be conveyed to a young scholar at the beginning of his education? SECTION C RITUALS DURING THE COLLEGE SESSION Introduction :—Rituals were naturally prescribed at the beginning and at the end of the annual school session, as they were at the beginning and at the end of the educational course. In pre-historic times the annual session of schools and colleges began soon after the commencement of the rainy season. when the sowing operations were over and crops had began to sprout. This usually happened by the full moon day of Śrāvaṇa¹ (August); so the ritual of Chhandasām- upākarman i. e. of 'gathering the Vedic knowledge', was performed on that day. Later on it began to be described as Śrāvaṇī². In pre-historic times Vedic literature was not extensive; so a college term of

1. The full moon days of Āshāḍha, Śrāvaṇa and Bhādrapada are mentioned by different authorities as appropriate days for Upākarma. (Cf. Bau. Gr. S., III. 1. 2-3; Kh. Gr. S., III, 2, 14; Hi. Gr. S., II, 18, 1). Rainy season is receding back every century and it commences in different months in different provinces of India. Hence this divergence about the appropriate season for Upākarma.
2. Śrāvaṇī is a relatively modern name for the ritual. In early times it denoted the Nāga worship ritual performed on the full moon day of Śrāvaṇa; when this ritual went out of vogue, the name was transferred to the Chhandasām-Upākarma ritual, because that too was usually performed on the same day.