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

94 EDUCATION IN ANCIENT INDIA [Ch. for their children and permit the villagers also to send their wards to study under him. Sometimes they used to take the lion's share in meeting the expenses of the local school. They used to offer substantial help to graduates collecting subscription for paying honorarium to their teachers. Very often they used to defray the expenses of copying books with a view to present them to scholars or schools. In an age in which there existed neither press nor paper, gifts of books were very badly needed.¹ Very rich persons sometimes used to found free feeding houses for the poor in general and the students in particular ;² sometimes they would construct college buildings either as a matter of charity³ or in commemoration of some departed relation.⁴ Others would often endow chairs⁵ 1 These have been recommended by Purāṇas ; cf. शास्त्रे यस्माज्जगत्सर्वं संश्रितं च शुभाशुभम् । तस्माच्छास्त्रं प्रयत्नेन दातव्यं शुभकर्मणा ॥ Quoted by Aparārka on Yāj I. 212. Both Nālandā and Valabhī used to get grants for books ; see Chap. VI. 2 These, for instance, existed at Kolagalli, Managoli, Nilgund, Nes- rage, Bagewadi, Belgamve, Dambal, Gadag and Behati in Karnatak and at Kharepatan in Konkan during 1000-1400 A. D. See, I. M. P., Bellary No. 82 ; E. I., V. p. 22 ; Ibid, III, p. 208 ; J. B. B. R. A, S., X, p. 256 ; I. A , VII, p. 307 ; Ibid, V, p. 49; Ibid, X, p. 188 ; Ibid, I, p. 30 ; Ibid, IV, p. 274 ; E. I, IV, p. 355 respectively. 3 Nārāyaṇa, a Rāshtrakūṭa minister, had done this in 945 A. D for the college at Salotgi ; E. I. IV. p. 180. 4 For instance a Brahmana landlord at Kudarkot had erected a building for a Vedic school in memory of his son killed in war ; E I., l. p. 180. 5 These were known as Adhyayanavrittis and Vedavrittis and their holders were also required to recite and expound Vedas and Purāṇas for the benefit of the public. At a single village named Kuttalam in Trichinopoly district sixteen endowments were made for this purpose within the short interval of 150 years during the Vijayanagara rule ; see S. I. E. R., for 1917, nos. 481 and 487 of 1917.

IV] EDUCATIONAL ORGANISATION AND FINANCE 95 or make grants of land to meet some recurring expenses. This was a combination of Vidyādāna and Bhumidāna, and was very popular.¹ Those who were extremely rich would often found and endow schools and colleges.² Sometimes village communities³ and trade guilds⁴ also would organise and finance educational institutions from their own resources. The Example of the Punjab: That the tradition to help the cause of education was deep-rooted in society would become quite clear from what we know about the state of the Punjab on the eve of the British conquest. Dr. Leitner, its first Educational Commissioner, observes. “Respect for learning has always been the redeeming feature of the East. To this the Punjab formed no exception. Torn by invasions and civil war, it ever preserved and added to educational institutions. The most unscrupulous chief, the avaricious money-lender and even the free-booter vied with the small money- lender in making peace with his consciene by founding schools and rewarding the learned. There was not a 1 A local magnate had given a gift of 200 nivartanas of land to the college at Salotgi; E. I. IV, p. 60. See also I. A., XII, p. 258 and XIII, p. 94 for similar gifts given at Soratur and Dharwar. 2 Chāngadeva, for instance, a grandson of Bhāskarāchārya, the famous astronomer, had founded a college at Pātan; see E. I., I. p. 30; Perumal, a Hoysal minister, had founded a college at Metugi in Karnatak in 1290 A. D. where Vedas, Śāstras, Canarese and Marathi were taught; see E. C III, Tiru-Narspur, No. 27 3 The Sanskrit college at Ennayiram was endowed by the local village community; S. I. E. R., 1918, p. 145; the village commu- nity at Belur had made a grant of land for meeting part of the expenses of a local institution; see I. A., XVIII, p. 273. 4 A guild at Dambaḷ in Dharwar district was maintaining a Sanskrit college in the 12th century; I. A., VIII, p. 185. 5. A History of Indigenous Education in the Punjab, p. 1; Indian Education Commission, 1882.

96 EDUCATION IN ANCIENT INDIA [Ch. mosque, a temple or a Dharmashālā that had not a school attached to it, to which the youths flocked chiefly for religious education. There were few wealthy men who did not entertain a Maulavi, a Pandit or a Guru to teach their sons, and along with them, the sons of their friends and dependents. There were hundreds of religious men who gratuitously taught their coreligionists, and sometimes all comers, for the sake of God. There was not a single villager who did not take pride in devoting a portion of his produce to a respected teacher." For obvious reasons the reverence for education in other parts of India in the ancient period could not have been less sincere and deep than it was in the Punjab at the advent of the British rule. Government’s Contribution, Direct Form : Let us now see how the governments used to help the cause of education in ancient India. Governments usually reflect the views of society and cannot much lag behind it in helping the causes cherished by it. This happened in ancient India also. There is no Smṛiti which does not recognise patronage of education as one of the most important duties of kings ;¹ and as a general rule, rulers in ancient times used to vie with one another in dis- charging it. This they did both directly and indirectly. Sometimes they used to found or endow colleges, as was, for instance, done by the Guptas at Nālandā. On auspi- cious occasions like coronation they used to invite learned 1 See Manu, VII, 82 ; Yāj. I, 130 ; Sukra, I, 369 ; Arathasāstra, II, 1 and 20. Bhishma pointedly draws the attention of Dharma to this duty ; see Mbh. XIII, chaps. 59 and 60. Though extending patronage, kings were not to assume a patroni- sing attitude to learned men. King Raghu treats Kautsa very courteously ; Dushyanta leaves behind his army when approaching the hermitage of Kaṇva.

IV] EDUCATIONAL ORGANISATION AND FINANCE 97 Brahmanas and found a colony of theirs, endowing villages to meet the expenses of the new settlers. This was tantamount to founding a new college, for these Brahmana colonies used to develop into famous centres of education. Governments used also to grant lands or pensions to most of the learned Brahmanas that used to come to their courts. Liberality of kings like Kanishka, Chandragupta II, Harsha and Bhoja is well known to history and tradition¹. Scores of copper-plate grants published so far show that kings were generally in the habit of giving land grants to learned and pious Brahmanas. These latter in their turn used to offer free tuition and thus help the cause of education. But for royal patronage poets and authors like Kālidāsa, Bāṇa Bhavabhūti, Vākpati, Rājaśekhara and Śrīharsha could not have done as much literary work as they did. The tradition of giving direct monetary help to learned Brahmanas promoting the cause of education continued down to Some of the kings, who had extended patronage to famous scholars, may be mentioned here:—

1. Aśvaghosha and Charaka were the proteges of Kanishka. The Sātavāhanas of the Deccan were famous for their patronage of scholarship. Numerous are the stories still current of the liberality of Chandragupta Vikramāditya to men of letters. His successors Kumāragupta, Tathāgatagupta, Narasimhagupta and Budhagupta endowed a number of villages to Nālandā University. Emperor Harsha was not only a patron of letters, but himself a good poet and dramatist. Bhavabhūti and Vākapati belonged to the entourage of king Yaśovarman of Kanauj. King Mahendrapāla and Mahīpāla of the same city were the patrons of the famous dramatist Rājaśekhara. Kings Muñja, Sindhurāja and Bhoja of the Paramāra dynasty are subjects of numerous anecdotes illustrative of their love of learning. The last mentioned one was himself a great author. Vikramāditya VI of the Chālukya dynasty invited poet Bilhaṇa to his court from Kashmir and extended his patronage to Vijñāneśvara, whose Mitāksharā is still regarded as authoritative in law courts. Umāpati- deva, Dhoi, Govardhana and Jayadeva were living at the court of king Lakshmaṇasena of Bengal, Hemachandra at the court of king Kumārapāla of Gujarat and Śrīharsha, the author of Naishadha- charit, at the court of kings Vijayachandra and Jayachandra of Kanauj. 7

98 EDUCATION IN ANCIENT INDIA [Ch. the times of the Peshwas in the 19th century. Bajirao II, the last of the Peshwas, used to spend 5,00,000 of rupees in giving charity to learned Brahmanas. 'But' says Elphinstone, 'the Dakshiṇā formed only a small portion of his largesses to Brahmanas and the number of persons devoted to Hindu learning and religion who were supported by him exceeded what would be readily supposed'.¹ Government help in indirect Forms : Governments used to help the cause of education in many indirect ways also. They used to offer scholarships to students to enable them to complete their education.² Often they used to hold literary tournaments and offer rich rewards to successful scholars.³ In making appoint- ments they used to show preference to men of learning ; it is well known that many of the officers of the Guptas were good poets or students of politics.⁴ Of course it was not possible for governments to absorb all graduates in their service ; those who could not be employed in administrative posts used to get some monetary help to enable them to start their lives.⁵

1. Elphinstone's minute quoted at p. 5 of the Report of the Bombay Provincial Committee, Education Commission, 1882.
2. सर्वविद्याकलाभ्यासे शिक्षयेद्भृतिपोषितान् । समाप्तविद्यं तं दृष्ट्वा तत्कार्ये तं नियोजयेत् ॥ Śukra, I. 368 Some of the Taxila students were state scholars ; J. No, 522
3. Kings Janaka of Mithilā and Ajātaśatru of Benares are, for instance, known to have done this ; Br. Up. II. 1. 1 Vikramāditya and Harsha are also famous for inviting learned men for literary affrays.
4. Harisheṇa, the author of the Allahabad praśasti was holding the post of a judge; Śāba, a minister of Chandragupta, II, was a poet and an expert in Nītiśāstra. See Gupta Inscriptions, Nos. 1 and 5.
5. This practice, for instance, prevailed at the court of Valabhi in the 7th century A. D. ; see I-tsing, p. 177-8

[IV] EDUCATIONAL ORGANISATION AND FINANCE 99 Failure to help liberally a student, collecting money to pay his teacher's honorarium was regarded as the greatest slur on a king's reputation.¹ Further indirect help to the cause of education was given by the state by exempting students and learned but poor Brahmanas from taxation.² The treasure trove laws were so framed as to help the cause of learning.³ The law of limitation was relaxed in favour of the student engaged in prosecuting studies at a college (Gurukula).⁴ Government Help without Government Control : A recent Soviet writer on education has averred that schools and colleges can never be free from political control as long as the state exists. His statement appears to be perfectly true when we cast a glance at the educational organisations in modern times; for all states are at present very anxious to control educational institutions and curricula as soon as they proceed to give government grants. In totalitarian states, education has become a means of propaganda

1. Cf. Raghu's remark to Kautsa when he wanted to go away, unsuccessful in his mission to get Gurudakshiṇā :— गुर्वर्थमर्थी श्रुतपारदृश्वा रघोः सकाशादनवाप्य कामम् । गतो वदान्यान्तरमित्ययं मे मा भूतपरीवादनवावतारः ॥ V. 24
2. Cf. अकरः श्रोत्रियः ।.......ये च विद्यार्थिनः सन्ति । Ā. D. S. II. 10. 26. 14-17 ; see also V. Dh. S., XIX. 15
3. If a king found a treasure trove, he was required to give half of it to learned Brahmanas; if the latter found it, they could retain the whole. Others had to refund 16 per cent to the state. Manu, VIII. 35-9; Yāj. II. 34-5
4. Cf :—ब्रह्मचारी चरेत्कश्चिद्व्रतं षट्त्रिंशदाब्दिकम् । समावृत्तो व्रती कुर्याद्धमस्यान्वेषणं ततः । पञ्चाशदाब्दिको भोगस्तद्धनस्यापहारकः ॥ Nārada in SCS, quoted at S. B. E., 38, pp. 248-4.

100 EDUCATION IN ANCIENT INDIA [Ch. for government views and policies. The state in ancient India, however, did not attempt to control education, because it was liberally subsidising it. There were no Directors of Public Instruction and Inspectors and Deputy Inspectors of Schools to dictate and control educational policy. Even when grants were given to learned Brahmanas, there was no stipulation that they would be withdrawn if free education was not given by the donees. It was the king's duty to make such grants. It was the Brahmana's duty to teach, even when there were no grants. Each side was to perform its duty though there were no specific stipulations. Even when hundreds of villages were given to the Nālandā University by Hindu Gupta emperors, they did not stipulate that Buddhism should adopt a particular policy towards the religion of the donors. Monks at Nālandā declined to revise the traditional rules of seniority in order to show some courtesy concession to a royal donor, who desired to be regarded as the seniormost monk, when he had joined the church as a layman.² There was as perfect a toleration in education as there was in religion. Kings were giving grants to all institutions, without caring to control their policy or curricula. Of course this was not an unmixed blessing, as will be shown in the last chapter; but it cannot be denied that it helped the cause of free educational development. Government Help elsewhere : The failure to organise an educational department might appear to the modern reader as a blemish in the ancient

1. Pinkewitch, New Education in Soviet Russia.
2. Narasimhagupta Bālāditya wanted this concession, but it was refused. He was regarded as the seniormost only among lay followers. Waters, II, pp. 164-5.

IV] EDUCATIONAL ORGANISATION AND FINANCE 101 Indian state organisation. A glance at the contempo- rary history shows, however, that the states in the West also had not only no State Education Depart- ments, but were not accustomed to give any substantial grants to educational institutions started by private individuals. Schools in the Middle Ages in Europe were dependent not on the State but on the Church; it was the latter which provided for the expenses, sup- plied teachers and moulded aims and ideals.¹ Famous English Universities like Oxford and Cambridge grew out of no Order of Government or Resolution of Parliament: they were originally centres of scholars united by their zeal and aptitude for learning, and anxious to hand down the torch of learning to the next generation. Their sincerity and scho- larship attracted donors like Walter de Merton and Wykenham, who came forward to provide hostels and colleges for residence and study.² Down to the 19th century, education was financially dependent on the Church, private benefactors and corporations. In England, the state gave its first grant for primary education as late as 1832, and that was of £2000 only. In France the state took up the cause of education only after the great Revolution of 1788. It was in Germany that the state first began to zealously champion the cause of education; Martin Luther maintained that education ought to be supported by state and his advocacy proved effective. In India, however, the state recognised its responsibility to the cause of education since earliest times, as we have shown already. It believed in the spontaneous growth of education and so did not organise its own educational department.

1. Raymont, Principles o Education, p. 18.
2. Mayhew, p. 77.

102 EDUCATION IN ANCIENT INDIA [Ch. A Resume : By making Upanayana obligatory and professions hereditary, by showing encouragement to learning in a variety of ways, by securing ample patronage from rulers and landlords, by penalising any stipulation for fees and by laying down a very high code of conduct for the teaching profession, Hindu society tried to make fairly efficient arrange- ment and provision for the education of the rising generation. The results show that before the decay set in, these measures for the spread of education proved to be fairly successful. As will be shown in the Chapter VII, literacy was spread fairly widely among the higher classes ; its percentage among them was probably as high as 75% at the beginning of the Christian era. In contemporary times in no other country in the world was there so wide a spread of literacy. Hindu achievements in the realm of medicine, metallurgy, astronomy, chemistry, and spinning and weaving were also of a high order, if judged by contemporary standards. There was, undoubtedly a set back after about 800 A.D.; its causes will be discussed in the course of the concluding chapter.

Chapter V. SOME EDUCATIONAL CENTRES AND INSTITUTIONS. Different types of educational centres-Taxila-Effects of political vicissitudes on its educational system-Not a university of the modern type, but a cluster of private colleges-Strength of private colleges-Great fame of Taxila-Boarding and lodging arrangements- Subjects of study-Its later history and destruction-Benares-Its early educational activity-As a centre of Buddhist learning-As a centre of Hindu learning-Literary and educational activity under the Muslim rule-Nālandā University-Its rise in c. 400 A.D.-Lay-out of its campus-Buildings-Boarding and lodging arrangements- Number of scholars-High standard of scholarship and piety-Rush for admission from India and abroad-Library facilities-Lecture arrangements-Catholic and comprehensive curriculum-Adminis- trative machinery-Work in Tibet-Destruction of the University- Valabhi University-Vikramaśilā University-Other Buddhist centres of learning-Hindu temple colleges-At Salotgi, Ennayiram, Tirumuk- kudal, Tiruvorriyur and Malkapuram-Some other temple schools and colleges-Agrahāra villages as centres of higher education-Tols. Different Types of Educational Centres :—It has been already shown in the last chapter how educational institutions came into existence in ancient India rather late in her history. Education was for a long time imparted by private teachers on their own responsibility. These were no doubt scattered all over the country, but they used to congregate in large numbers in certain places on account of the facilities they received there in their work. Such places were usually capitals of kingdoms or famous holy places (tīrthas). Kings and feudal chiefs were as a rule patrons of learning, and so learned Brahmanas were naturally attracted to their courts. It was this circumstance that made cities like Taxila, Pātaliputra, Kanauj, Mithilā and Dharā in northern India and Malkhed, Kalyāṇī and Tanjore in southern India famous centres of education. Holy places have

104 EDUCATION IN ANCIENT INDIA [Ch. been since times immemorial famous centres of learning ; the pilgrim traffic supplied a subsidiary source of income to the famous teachers residing there. It is this circumstance that made Benares, Kāñchī, Nasik, Karhāṭaka, etc. famous centres of learning. Sometimes kings used to found colonies of learned Brahmanas by inviting them to settle in a new village and providing for their maintenance. Such villages were known as agrahāra villages and they naturally became centres of learning. Causes that led to the development of centres of education in monasteries and temples have been already explained in Chap. IV. It is proposed to give a short and succinct account of important centres and institutions of education in this chapter. The places have been arranged from the point of their importance and antiquity. TAXILA¹ Prehistoric Times :— Taxila, situated about 20 miles west of Rawalpindi, was undoubtedly the most important and ancient seat of learning in Ancient India. It was the capital of the important province of Gandhāra and its history goes back into hoary antiquity. It was founded by Bharata and named after his son Taksha, who was established there as its ruler². Janamejaya’s serpent sacrifice was perfomed at this very place.³ Not much is known of its early educational activities; but by the 7th century B. C., it was a famous seat of learning, attracting scholars from distant cities like Rājagṛiha, Benares, and Mithilā. It was famous for its philosophers in the days of Alexander the Great.

1. The correct ancient spelling of the city's name is Takshaśilā. The popular present-day spelling is used in the book.
2. Rāmāyaṇa VII, 101, 10-16
3. Mbh., I, 3, 20

V] EDUCATIONAL CENTRES AND INSTITUTIONS 105 Unfortunately we know very little about its educational activities from non-Jātaka sources. **Political Vicissitudes :—**Taxila was conquered and occupied by the Persians in the 6th century B. C., by the Indo-Baktrians in the 2nd century B. C. by the Scythians in the 1st century B. C., by the Kushāṇas in the 1st century A. D. and by the Hūṇas in the 5th century A. D. We do not know what effects these political vicissitudes had over educational activity of the place. The ruins give traces of three different city sites occupied at the beginning of the Baktrian, Scythian and Kushāṇa periods. It is quite possible that these political vicissitudes may have told upon the city's prosperity, which may in turn have affected the cause of education. Every successive power, however, continued to maintain its provincial head- quarters at Taxila ; this circumstance must have soon obliterated the ravages of war. Their Effects on Education : The Persian and Greek occupation must have affected the curricula of schools and colleges ; we have, however, only circum- stantial evidence on the point. Epigraphical testimony shows conclusively that the Persian occupation resulted in the replacement of the national Brāhmī script by the foreign Kharoshṭrī alphabet. The Scythian and Kushāṇa conquerors had no culture or civilisation of their own, but the Indo-Baktrian rulers were the inheritors of the rich Greek civilisation. Their rule in Taxila extended over a century and a quarter, and must have made some impression on the educational system of the place. It is quite possible that a few of the ‘world renowned’ teachers of Taxila may have learnt and opened classes in Greek language and literature in order to facilitate the appointment of their students in government services under the Greek administration.

106 EDUCATION IN ANCIENT INDIA [Ch. Among the 'sippas' taught at Taxila may have been included a training in Greek processes of coinage and sculpture. There was as yet no prejudice against foreign culture. It is quite possible that Greek dramas may have been performed in the courts of some of the numerous Greek princes and princelings. Some Indians also may have read and appreciated Sophocles and Eurepedes. The working knowlege of Greek language may have been possessed by several classes of society, as it was the language of the conqueror.1 Greek orientation in Taxila studies could not however have been considerable. Indo-Greek rulers themselves were cut off from their mother country, and many of the conquerors soon succumbed to the culture and religion of the conquered. It is, however, a great pity that the historian of ancient Indian education should still be unable to supply authentic information about the precise extent of Greek influence on the system of education at Taxila. No organised Institutions:—It may be observed at the outset that Taxila did not possess any college or university in the modern sense of the term. It was simply a centre of education. It had many famous teachers to whom hundreds of students flocked for higher education from all parts of northern India. But these teachers were not members of any insti-

1. From the romantic history of Apollonius of Tyana by Philostratus we learn that in the 1st century A.D. Indians and Greeks at Taxila knew each other's philosophy and that the villagers around the Gandhāra capital could understand and speak Greek. There may be some exaggeration in this picture, but recent excavations at Taxila have confirmed some of the topographical details given by Philostratus (Guide to Taxila by Sir John Marshal, pp. 15 & 97). We may, therefore, conclude that his information about Indians' acquaintance with Greek language and literature may be at least partly true. Greek studies, therefore, must have figured in Taxila curriculum during the Greek rule.

V] EDUCATIONAL CENTRES AND INSTITUTIONS. 107 tutions like professors in a modern college, nor were they teaching any courses prescribed by any central body like a modern university. Every teacher, assisted by his advanced students, formed an institution by himself. He admitted as many students as he liked. He taught what his students were anxious to learn. Students terminated their courses according to their individual convenience. There were no degree examinations, and therefore no degrees or diplomas. Strength of private Schools : Jātakas usually state that the 'world renowned' teachers of Taxila used to have five hundred students under their charge. This figure seems to be more conventional than real, as has been shown at pp. 82-3. We get only one instance in the Sutasoma Jātaka¹ of what appears to be a real number of students reading under one teacher. Under the 'world renowned' teacher of this Jātaka, we are told that 103 princes from different parts of the country were learning archery. This teacher may have had very probably many assistants under him. Normally speaking, however, the number of students working under one teacher does not seem to have been more than 20 (ante, p. 82). The excavations at Taxila have not so far unearthed any extensive buildings, which can be taken to be big hostels or lecture halls, necessary for big colleges having 500 students on their rolls. The Fame of Taxila : As a centre of learning the fame of the city was unrivalled in the 6th century B. C. In those days communications were so difficult and dangerous that when their sons used to return home, parents used to congratulate themselves on

1. Vol. V, p. 457

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.

V] EDUCATIONAL CENTRES AND INSTITUTIONS 109· teacher's house by day ; special classes were held for them at night. **Subjects of Study :—**As stated above, Taxila provided only higher education and students went there for specialisation only. Jīvaka had gone to the city for studying medicine and surgery and two youths from Benares had repaired there for studying archery and elephant lore. The three Vedas, grammar, philosophy and eighteen sippas were the principal subjects selected for specialisation at Taxila. Among the latter were included medicine, surgery, archery and allied military arts, astronomy, astrology, divination, accountancy, commerce, agriculture, conveyancing, magic, snake charming, the art of finding treasures, music, dancing, and painting. There were no caste restrictions on the choice of subjects ; Kshatriyas used to study the Vedas along with Brahmanas and the latter used to specialise in archery along with the Kshatriyas. A Brahmana royal priest of Benares had once sent his son to Taxila not to learn the Vedas but to specialise in archery (Jā. N. 522) Later History and Destruction : We know very little about the educational activities of Taxila subsequent to the beginning of the Christian era. But it is very probable that it continued to flourish down to the end of the Kushāṇa rule (c. 250 A. D.) The Little Yueh-chis, who succeeded the Kushāṇas in the government of Taxila, were barbarous chiefs, as their coins indicate, and the cause of education must have suffered under their unenlightened administration. At the beginning of the 5th century A. D. when Fa Hsien visited the place, there was nothing there of any educational importance.¹ Worse days, however, were in store for this Queen

1. Legge, Fa Hsien, p. 32

110 EDUCATION IN ANCIENT INDIA [Ch. of Learning. The Hūṇa avalanche came at the middle of the 5th century A. D. and ruined whatever was left after the Little Yueh-chi depradations. At the time when Yuan Chwang visited the city in the 7th century A. D., it had lost all its glory and importance. The famous monastery of Kumāralabdha, where that celebrated Sautrāntika scholar had composed his expository works, was in ruins and the condition of the vast majority of the remaining Buddhist establishments was no better.¹ When it is remembered that the inhabitants of Taxila at this time were plucky and devoted adherents of Buddhism, the sad plight of their monasteries will at once convince us that the city was completely wrecked by the Hūṇa invasions. Gone were the days of its former educational glory, never to return. BENARES² Early History. In early Vedic literature Benares does not figure either as a centre of pilgrimage or as a centre of learning. This is but natural, for it took centuries for the Vedic religion to penetrate to eastern United Provinces, Bihar and Bengal. The people of Benares accepted the new religion rather reluctantly and for a long time³ their loyalty to it was by no means unswerving. In the Upanishadic period however Benares became a centre of Aryan religion and culture. One of its kings, Ajātaśatru, figures as a philosopher in the Upanishads,

1. Watters, I, p. 240, p. 245
2. See Altekar, Benares : Past and present, for original sources of this section.
3. King Dhṛitarāshṭra of Benares is known to have given up sacrificial fires because his horse of the Aśvamedha sacrifice was carried away by the Bharata king Śatānīka Satrājīt. Ś. Br., XIII. 5. 4. 19.

V] EDUCATIONAL CENTRES AND INSTITUTIONS 111 anxious to emulate the example of king Janaka of Mithilā as a patron of learning. For a long time, however, Taxila was a more famous centre of learning than Benares. Kings of Benares itself used to send their sons to far-off Taxila, and many of the teachers of this city that figure in the Jātakas are seen to be past students of the Taxila University.¹ In the course of time, however, they began to attract scholars from far and wide (Jā. Nos. 480 and 438). Benares as a Centre of Buddhist Learning : In the 7th century B. C., Benares was probably the most famous centre of education in eastern India; that seems to have been one of the reasons for its being selected by the Buddha as the place for the first promulgation of his gospel. With the imperial patronage under Aśoka, the Sarnath monastery on the outskirts of Benares must have become a famous centre of learning. It went on continuously prospering; in the 7th century A.D., it possessed resplendant and beautiful buildings with tiers of balconies and rows of halls.² Unfortunately Yuan Chwang does not state anything about the educational activity of the Sarnath monastery, but there can be no doubt that it must have emulated the glorious example of neighbouring Nālandā. It had 1500 monk-students. There is ample evidence to show that it continued to be a flourishing centre of Buddhist learning and pilgrimage down to the 12th century A. D.³

1. Cf. तक्कसिलं गत्वा सब्बसिप्पाणि उग्गहित्वा वाराणसिय दिसापामोक्खो आचारियो हुत्वा पंचमाणवकसतानि सिप्पं वाचेति । No. 150. See also No. 80.
2. Watters, II, p. 48.
3. Kumāradevī, the Buddhist wife of the Hindu king Govinda- chandra, had given an endowment to the establishment in the latter half of the 12th century A. D. Excavations also show that the establishment continued to flourish down to c. 1200 A. D.

112 EDUCATION IN ANCIENT INDIA [Ch. Benares as a Centre of Hindu Learning : We do not possess much detailed information about Benares as a centre of Hindu learning during the first millennium of the Christian era. Only one Purāṇa casually observes that Benares will be a famons centre of scholarship;¹ the rest are content merely with describing its sanctity as a holy place. Nor have we so far found any inscriptions recording grants given to any educational institute at Benares. In spite of the example of neighbouring Nālandā, Hindu Benares does not seem to have organised any public educational institution. Its learned Brahmanas continued to promote individually the cause of educa- tion in the traditional manner. Their fame, however, was gradually reaching all the corners of India. Scholars and philosophers like Śaṅkarāchārya found it necessary to repair to the city to get their new theories recognised and published. In the 11th century A.D. Benares and Kashmir were the most famous centres of learning in India.² We may well presume that most of the learned donees of the Gahadwal grants were conducting efficient Sanskrit schools and colleges in the 12th century A.D. Benares Under Muslim Rule : When Benares passed under the Muslim rule in c. 1200 A. D., hundreds of its temples were razed to the ground by Kutb-ud-din Aibak. The iconoclastic and prosely- ting zeal of the new rulers drove away a number of learned Brāhmaṇa families to south India. We hear very little of any literary or educational activity of Benares during the period 1200 to 1500 A. D.

1. Bhavishya Pu., Brahmakhaṇḍa, Chap. 51. 2-3.
2. The exodus of learned families from the Punjab was responsible for an increase in the scholarly population of both Kashmir and Kāśī towards the beginning of the 11th century.

V] EDUCATIONAL CENTRES AND INSTITUTIONS 113 When however the Deccan also gradually passed under the Muslim rule, scholars in India seem to have made up their mind once more to repair to holy Benares and make it a centre of Hindu learning and scholarship by their united effort in spite of the Muslim rule prevailing there. A number of scholarly families from Maharashtra and Karnatak repaired to Benares in the 16th century and their descendants continued to dominate Benares scholarship for about three centuries. It is important to note that some Muslim rulers also like Akbar, Shah Jahan and Dara Shikoh extended their patronage to some of the famous scholars of Benares. The same was done by a few of their Hindu feudatories in the United Provinces and Central India. Royal patronage during this period however was on the whole more an exception than a rule; if the lamp of learning was kept burning at Benares in medieval times, the credit must on the whole be given to the great love of religion and scholarship of Benares Brahmanas. Education however continued to be imparted not in public institutions but through private teachers. While describing Benares as a centre of learning- during the 17th century A.D, Bernier says, 'Benares is a kind of University, but it has no college or regular classes as in our Universities; but it resembles rather the school of the ancients, the masters being spread over the different parts of the town in private houses.......Some teachers have four and some six disciples; the most eminent may have twelve or fifteen, but this is the largest number.¹ Literary Activity :— The literary activity of Benares was very remarkable during this period. A

1. Travels in India p. 341. 8