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

44 EDUCATION IN ANCIENT INDIA [Ch. Upanayana ritual began to fall into disuse in the case of the Kshatriyas and the Vaishyas and this naturally gave a great set back to their Vedic education.¹ Gradually they were reduced to the position of the Shudras and completely debarred from the Vedic education by about 1000 A. D. (Alberuni, II. p. 136) Vedic Education and the Shudras: Sacred texts have laid down in very emphatic terms that the Shudra should be rigorously excluded from the Vedic education and rituals. This injunction has been always carried out in practice.² The carpenter no doubt is declared to be eligible for Upanayana and Vedic studies in some early- texts. He however was at that early period a member of the Aryan and not the Shudra community. The exclusion of the Shudras from the Vedic studies undoubtedly ap- pears as unjustifiable to us at present, but there were peculiar circumstances that necessitated this step in early times. The art of writing was not utilised for the purpose of preserving the Vedic texts for a long time. The Aryan theologians believed that if there was the slightest mistake in the accent or the pronunciation of the Vedic Mantras, a disaster would inevitably issue.³ As the Vedic Sanskrit 1 Hence the observation of Dalhana, a medieval writer at, Suśruta, Śārīra, X, 52, यथावर्णमिति ब्राह्मणात्त्रयीं राजन्यो दण्डनीतिं वैश्यो वार्तामिति । 2 यथेमां वाचं कल्याणीमावदानि जनेभ्यः । ब्रह्मराजन्याभ्यां शूद्राय चार्याय च स्वाय चारणाय च ॥ Vaj. Sam. XXVI, 2 is taken by some as referring to the admission of the Shudras to the Vedic education. This, how- ever, is very questionable interpretation; कल्याणी वाक् refers to the preceding stanza, which it is prayed here, may be applicable to the whole of humanity. 3 Cf मंत्रो हीनः स्वरतो वर्णतो वा मिथ्याप्रयुक्तो न तमर्थमाह । स वाग्वज्रो यजमानं हिनस्ति यथेन्द्रशत्रुः स्वरतोऽपराधात् ॥ Pāṇinisikshā, v. 52.