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

XI] ACHIEVEMENTS AND FAILURES 255 and as a result we find remarkable creative activity in the domain of theology, philosophy, philology, grammar, logic, astronomy, mathematics, medicine, etc., down to about 500 A.D. Indian achievements in many of these fields were remarkable, judged either by the contem- porary or by the absolute standard Scholars from China, Korea, Tibet and Arabia used to visit India in order to learn what she had to teach in the realms of religion, medicine, mathematics and astronomy. It Becomes Receptive and Imitative later : To- wards the beginning of the 9th century A.D., the creative vein in the Indian intellect got fatigued after an intense activity of more than 2,000 years.¹ Hindu intellect had probably become old and no longer possess- ed the energy necessary to open out new paths of thought and action. Probably the heritage of the past became so great that all the ability of scholars was engrossed in preserving it. As also was the case in Europe down to the 16th century A.D., the habit of looking back to the past for inspiration and guidance became quite common ; it began to be instinctively felt that not much could be expected from the present. The golden age of inspiration had gone, no new achieve- ments were possible, the best that the age could do was to preserve, expound or comment upon the masterpieces of the past. Hindu educational system was unable to create minds powerful enough to rise above the influence of these theories. For the last one thousand years and more, the Hindus have been writing only digests and commentaries on the works of earlier periods. Creative activity has come to a practical standstill. Similar Condition in Europe : Here also we have to add that the spirit of the times was unfavourable for the formation of independent minds and intellects both

1. The creative phase of the Greek or the Roman intellect lasted for about 1,000 years only.

256 EDUCATION IN ANCIENT INDIA [Ch. in the West and in the East. In Europe too the Middle Ages were a period of intellectual repression. Jesuitical education also produced not creative or original but receptive and imitative minds. The Renaissance and Reformation movements, however, eventually succeed- ed in establishing an era of intellectual independence and originality in Europe; in India, on the other hand the foreign rule and its natural consequences continued the spirit of the Middle Ages down to the time of the na- tional reawakening towards the end of the 19th century. Intellect ceases to be assimilative :—Owing to its excessive reverence for the past, the Hindu intellect ceased to be assimilative from about 800 A. D. Hindu sculptors assimilated Greek methods and enriched Indian art. Early astronomers like Āryabhaṭa and Varāhamihira were keeping themselves in touch with the activities and achievements of the workers in the same field outside India. Varāhamihira (c. 500 A. D.) pays even a handsome compliment to Greek astronomers and observes “The Greeks are no doubt Mlechhas (impure), but they are well grounded in astronomy and are therefore worshipped and honoured like the Ṛishis.”¹ A remarkable change for the worse took place in the Hindu attitude towards foreign scholarship within a couple of centuries or so after Varāhamihira’s death. Implicit faith in the past and in the correctness of its canonised tradition made the Hindu scholar narrow, bigotted and conceited. Of the Hindu men of letters of the 11th century A. D., Alberuni observes, “They are haughty, foolish, vain, stolid and self-conceited. According to their belief, there is no country on the earth but theirs, no other race of men but theirs, and no created beings beside them that have any knowledge

1. म्लेच्छा हि यवनास्तेषु सम्यक्शास्त्रमिदं स्थितम् । ऋषिवत्तेऽपि पूज्यन्ते······॥ Brihatsamhitā, II 14.

XI] ACHIEVEMENTS AND FAILURES 257 or science whatever. Their haughtiness is such that if you tell them of any science or scholar in Khūrāsān or Persia, they will think you to be both an ignoramus and a liar. If they travelled and mixed with other nations, they would soon change their mind, for their ancestors were not so narrow-minded as the present generation is¹". In proof of the last assertion Alberuni quotes the tribute of Varāhamihira to Greek astronomers, quoted above. Hindus in Alberuni's time had very good reason to feel a very deep prejudice against Muslim scholarship; Alberuni's picture may have been to some extent overdrawn. But the contemporary Hindu attitude towards the Śrutis, Smṛitis and Purānas and other works of the past, which has been discussed above, would show that Alberuni's account of the mentality of the contemporary Hindu scholar is substantially true. Hindu education had ceased to remove prejudices, explode superstitions and broaden the mind, so as to keep it capable of receiving instruc- tions from all quarters by the beginning of the 9th century A. D. Hindu colonising activity, necessitating travel abroad, had also come to an end by this time. Some Hindu doctors are no doubt known to have proceeded to Baghdad at the invitation of Khalifa Harun (786 A.D.—808 A.D.) to act as chief physicians in his hospitals²; we however do not know whether public opinion approved of their conduct, whether they returned home and were readmitted to Hindu society. Foreign travel for the purpose of education and the broadening of views became impossible when the sea voyage was prohibited. Whether it was undertaken in earlier days also for these objects is doubtful. There are no books in Sanskrit literature descriptive of geography, manners and climate of the countries adjacent to India. Nor do the Pauranic geographers seem to have been in touch with

1. Sachau, Alberuni, I, pp. 22-23. 2. Idid, Introduction, p. 81. 17

238 EDUCATION IN ANCIENT INDIA [Ch. the traders and colonisers, who were familiar with Babylon, Arabia. Ceylon, Java, Sumatra, Burma and Borneo. Arts and Crafts become plebian Professions : Skill in manual training and industrial arts was highly appreciated in early times. Liberal and useful education was usually combined among high class workers. Brahmanas used to be skilled in mining and metallurgy, medical and military sciences. Weavers were often amateur students of literature, folk lore, astronomy and the art of war. This combination of liberal and useful education began to become progressively rare after the Gupta age. The status of the Vaishya became assimilated to that of the Śūdra as early as the 1st century A.D. and talented persons among the intellectual classes began to think it below their dignity to follow useful and industrial arts. Like European classical scholars of the Renaissance period, Indian scholars became fascinated by the charms of the classical literature. Absorbed in the beauty of words and ideas, they neglected the world of Nature. Mathematics and astronomy, sculpture and architecture ceased to attract them. The level of intelligence among the industrial classes therefore became lowered down when their education became rigidly confined to the technique and processes of their own professions from about the 9th century A. D. As a natural consequence of such a state of affairs, the growth and development of the fine, useful and industrial arts became arrested in India from about the 8th century A.D. No advance is to be seen after that date in the realms of sculpture, painting, mining, surgery, etc. The old type of learning became stereotyped and it soon began to degenerate. It is true that India continued to retain her dominating position in the weaving industry down to the beginning of the last century; but

XI] ACHIEVEMENTS AND FAILURES 259 it is doubtful whether any progress was made in the technique or processes of manufacture during the last one thousand years. Education of Masses neglected in later Times: At the time when India was making rapid strides in the different domains of knowledge, her education was broad-based. In ancient Athens one in ten and in ancient Sparta one in twenty five received education,¹ and women's education was altogether neglected. The case was much different in India down to the com- mencement of the Christian era. Literacy among the Aryans was probably as high as 60 per cent in the days of Aśoka. Anxious thought and care were also bestowed on female education. Things, however, gradually changed for the worse in the first millennium of the Christian era. The education of women began to be neglected. Kshatriyas and Vaishyas began to become progressively illiterate. It is true that in Europe also the masses were little more than barbarous and took more naturally to warfare than to schooling down to the end of the Middle Ages.² We can, however, hardly derive any consolation from this comparison, for the prevalent illiteracy in India was due to degeneration from a more creditable condition, obtaining in earlier centuries. The neglect of Vernaculars : Hindu educational system was unable to promote the education of the masses, probably because of its concentration on Sanskrit and the neglect of the vernaculars. The revival of Sanskrit that took place early in the first millennium was un- doubtedly productive of much good; it immensely enriched the different branches of Sanskrit literature which began to reflect the ideals and ideas of the individual and the race. But owing to the deep fascina- 1 Monroe, A Text Book, pp. 26, 29. 2 Ibid, p. 261.

260 EDUCATION IN ANCIENT INDIA [Ch. tion for Sanskrit, society began to identify the educated man with the classical scholar as was the case in the Europe of the Renaissance period. But when the best minds became engaged in expressing their thoughts in Sanskrit, Prakrits were naturally neglected. As long as Sanskrit was intelligible to the ordinary individual, this was not productive of much harm. But from about the 8th century A.D. Prakrits and vernaculars became widely differentiated from Sanskrit, and those who were using them began to find it difficult to understand the latter language. Hindu educationalists did not realise the importance of developing vernacular litera- tures in the interest of the man in the street. Alberuni observes, “The language in India is divided into a neglected vernacular one, only in use among the common people, and a classical one, only in use among the upper and educated classes, which is much cultivated.” 1 We no doubt come across a few cases from the 13th century onwards where provision was made for the teaching of Telugu, Canarese and Marathi in some of of the schools and colleges of South India, but the general impression produced by a survey of the edu- cational system and institutions is that society was not alive to the importance of the teaching and development of vernaculars in the interest of the spread of education among the masses. Things in India were however quite on a par with what they were in contemporary Europe, where Latin continued to be the medium of instruction down to the 17th century A.D. The classics dominated the curriculum of the Public Schools in England down to c. 1850 A.D., boys could write better Latin than English. In the 16th century school boys were punished for using the mother tongue, and its study could be started in Jesuitical schools only with the 1 Sachau, I, p. 18. Some poems and dramas were written in Prakrit, but their number was very small.

XI] ACHIEVEMENTS AND FAILURES 261 special permission of the Provincial.¹ India however could have been much in advance of the world ideas in this matter if the impetus that was given to the cultiva- tion of vernaculars by the two gifted Seers, Mahāvīra and the Buddha, had not died down owing to the revival of Sanskrit. Depth at the cost of Breadth : Hindu education was thorough, but it was not sufficiently broad. Each branch was thinking of its own problems. Education- alists do not seem to have bestowed much thought on the relative utility of the study of the different branches like grammar, literature, logic, philosophy, mathematics and fine arts for the development of the intellect, the mind and the imagination. Specialisation was started too early. A broad-based secondary course embracing a study of grammar, literature, mathematics, astronomy and history did not exist.² Subjects of æsthetic value like music and painting did not form part of the general course, as they did in ancient Greece. An undue emphasis was laid on grammar, literature and logic at the cost of history, mathematics and astronomy. Here again the impartial historian has to point out that this defect of the Hindu educational system was not peculiar to India, but was to be seen all over the civilised world. In Europe all the energies of teachers and students were concentrated on grammar, rhetoric and dialectics down to the 13th century ; only that much knowledge of arithmetic was given which was necessary to calculate Church festivals. Geography was ignored altogether till an incentive to its study was given by the discoveries of Columbus and Vasco de Gama. Natural sciences 1 Quick : The Essays, p. 81. 2. Many sided interests were not created probably because it was difficult to maintain them in after life in an age when cheap books were unknown. Crowded curriculum also has its own evils as . the Matriculation student knows to his cost.

262 EDUCATION IN ANCIENT INDIA [Ch. were introduced very reluctantly only by the middle of the last century.¹ An unfair Comparison : Some of the defects noted above like the neglect of the education of women and the masses crept into the Hindu Educational System only in later times; others like the non-existence of a broad-based secondary course and the neglect of the vernaculars were common to all the contemporary systems. The twentieth century critic often forgets that the West has gone on progressing rapidly during the last 300 years owing to the impetus it has received from the Renaissance, the Reformation and the Scientific Movement, while India has gone on deteriorating ever since 1000 A.D. owing to the almost continuous foreign rule and its natural consequences. The Muslim conquerors no doubt became domiciled in India, but they were on the whole unable to appreciate and encourage Hindu culture and education to any appreciable extent. The effects of the Muslim rule on the learning and scholarship of the Hindus can be described in the words of a Muslim himself. While describing the state of Hindu learning after the invasions of Mahmud of Ghazni, Alberuni observes, ‘The present times are not of this kind ; they are the very opposite, (because there is no royal support or encouragement to learning), and therefore it is quite impossible that a new science or any new kind of research should arise in our days. What we have of sciences is but the scanty remains of byegone better times'² Bernier, while describing the state of Hindu education in Benares

1. In Germany, science was introduced in secondary education in 1816 A.D. When the Royal Commission on Education apologeti- cally pleaded for the inclusion of science in the secondary courses in 1856, 10 or 12 lectures began to be given annually in some of the Public Schools in England. The Faculty of Science was established in the London University only in 1860.
2. Sachau, I, p. 252.

XI] ACHIEVEMENTS AND FAILURES 263 towards the middle of the 17th century, observes,¹ "Students stay for ten or twelve years during which the work of instruction proceeds but slowly. Feeling no spirit of emulation and entertaining no hope that honour or emoluments may be the reward of extraordinary attainments as with us, the scholars pursue the studies slowly, without much to distract their attention." The Report of the Bengal Provincial Committee, Education Commission, 1882, observes, 'The Mahomaden conquest proved disastrous to all indigenous educational institu- tions. The proprietary rights in land changed hands. The language of the court was changed. Indigenous learning lost most of its support ; and after the classes had settled down, the well-to-do classes of the Hindus took gradually to the cultivation of foreign language, literature and manners. The tols were more and more deserted and left to those only, who wanted to learn the Hindu rituals. In course of time the Musalman teachers and schools drew off the largest portion of the upper and the middle classes of the community and the tols and the pathaśālās either died or barely managed to survive.'² A general Estimate : It is therefore hardly fair to compare 'the scanty remains of bye-gone better times' with the tremenodus advance the West has made during the last century and half under very favourable circumstances³. The impartial historian will have to note that in the heyday of her glorv. education in India was broad-based, women and a large section of the masses being admitted to its privileges and

1. Bernier, Travels in Moghul Empire, p. 334.
2. P. 2.
3. The historically correct procedure would be to compare Hindu Sanskrit learning at the advent of the British rule with the scholarship of the Christian monks who kept the lamp of learning burning during the Dark Ages. If such a comparison is instituted, India will have nothing to be afraid of.

264 EDUCATION IN ANCIENT INDIA advantages. It was able to develop character and personality, to inculcate civic virtues, and to turn out citizens well qualified to follow their professions and discharge their duties in life. It introduced a high standard of culture and emphasised the necessity of self-imposed discipline and stern regard for duty. It was not only able to preserve the heritage of the past, but also to enrich it from generation to generation. It produced a galaxy of able scholars and thinkers from age to age, who made important contributions to the advancement of knowledge in the spheres of philosophy, logic, mathematics, astronomy, medicine and chemistry. It enabled India to achieve high material prosperity by the excellent arrangements it made for training young men in commerce, industry and fine and useful arts. The general principles, which underlay the system,—e. g. intellectual freedom, individual attention to students, the monitorial system, gurukula ideal, plain living and high thinking, mass education, combination of useful and liberal education, the locating of educational institutions away from the din and dust of the city-life, etc.—are inherently sound and capable of yielding excellent results even in modern times, if applied with due regard to changed circumtances

APPENDIX I. EDUCATIONAL RITUALS. Religion has deeply saturated Hindu life in almost all its phases and the sphere of education is no exception. Rituals connected with the student’s life are many, and several aspects of educational theory and practice are illustrated by their study. For the benefit of advanced students of the subject, it is therefore proposed to devote this appendix to a critical survey and rationalistic interpretation of the important rituals connected with education. SECTION A. VIDYĀRAMBHA RITUAL (SAṄSKĀRA).¹ Its Time and Nature: Vidyārambha Saṁskāra, which is described by some authorities also as Aksharasvīkaraṇa, was performed, as the name would suggest, at the commencement of the primary education. Fifth year, which is usually regarded as suitable for the beginning of the primary education, was the time prescribed for it.² If the ritual had to be postponed on account of unavoidable difficulties, it had to be performed at least before the Upanayana (Initiation or Thread Ceremony).³ An auspicious day was selected for the purpose. The ritual was a simple

1. The original authorities for the information given in this section are the following:—Viramitrodaya, Saṁskāraprakāśa, pp. 321 ff; Aparārka on Yājñavalkya-smṛti, I, 13; Smṛtichandrikā, Saṁskārakāṇḍa, pp. 67 ff; Saṁskāra-ratna-mālā of Gopīnāthabhaṭṭa.
2. The Bismilla Khani ceremony, which the Muslims perform at the beginning of the primary education, is also performed in the 5th year, or to be more correct, on the 4th day of the fourth month of the fifth year. It was performed on this day in the case of Humayun; J.A.S.B., 1935, p. 249.
3. द्वितीयजन्मनः पूर्वमारभेताक्षरासुन्धीः । Brihaspati in VMS.

266 EDUCATION IN ANCIENT INDIA [App. one, requiring the young boy to worship Sarasvatī, the goddess of learning, Vināyaka, the god of learning, and the tutelary deities of his family. Some authorities prescribe a sacrifice, but probably it was not performed everywhere. The worship of the deities was followed by that of the primary teacher and the boy was then handed over to him. The teacher used to make the boy write on rice all the alphabets with the help of a specially prepared golden or silver pen. Suitable presents made to the teacher and the Brahmanas invited for the ceremony marked the termination of the ritual. The Ritual non-existent in early Times : Why : Vidyārambha is thus the earliest Sanskāra in the student's life, but is does not, like Upanayana, go back to hoary antiquity. The authorities, which prescribe and des- cribe this ritual, are as late as the second millenium of of the Christian era.¹ It appears indeed very strange that the earlier works like the Grihya-sūtras and the Dharma-sūtras, which have laid down rituals for such relatively insignificant occasions like Grihya-nishkramaṇa (when the child is first taken out from the house), and anna-prāśana (when it is first given food), should have failed to associate the commencement of the primary education with any religious ceremony. The reason, however, is not far to seek. Upanayana Sanskāra, which existed even in the Vedic age, marked the begin- ning of education in pre-historic times. There was thus no necessity to prescribe a different Sanskāra like aksharasvīkaraṇa (learning of the alphabet) for the simple reason that the alphabet was then probably unknown.²

1. Viśvāmitra, Bṛhaspati, Mārkaṇḍeya, etc., who are quoted by these authorities, cannot be much earlier, as would be clear from the astronomical details mentioned by them. Such details make their appearance only after the 7th or the 8th century A.D.
2. The view of Dr. Bühler and others that alphabet was un- known in India before c. 800 B.C. has now to be abandoned in view of P. T. O.

I, A] VIDYĀRAMBHA SAṄSKĀRA 267 The education of children therefore naturally commenc- ed not with the learning of the alphabets, but with the memorising of the sacred hymns, which were the most valued possession of the Aryans and constituted almost their entire literature. Under these circumstances, the Upanayana, which was prescribed at the commence- ment of the Vedic studies, could be the only ritual to be performed at the commencement of education. When and Why Evolved : In the course of time the Vedic Sanskrit ceased to be the spoken language, the sciences of exegesis and grammar were developed, and the art of writing was invented or became known. Even the memorising of the Vedic hymns required some previous elementary education. Upanayana could therefore no longer mark the beginning of educa- tion and a different ritual called Vidyārambha began to be recommended for the commencement of primary education. This must have taken place at a fairly early date; the fact that the ritual is recommended only by very late authorities is probably to be explained by the circumstance that it was for a long time combined with chaula or tonsure ceremony,¹ This combination was (Continued from the last page) the Indus Valley discoveries. There is clear cultural evidence to show that the art of writing was known in the later Saṁhitā period (c. 1600-1200 B.C.); see Ojha, Prāchīna-lipi-mālā, pp. 1-16. There is no evidence to show that the art of writing was known in the early Vedic period (2500-2000 B.C.). The Aryans were probably ignorant of that art when they entered India and it may be eventually proved that they learnt it from the "Indus people."

1. Cf. i वृत्तचौलकर्मा लिपिं संख्यानं चोपयुञ्जीत । Arthaśāstra, I. 2 [On prince's education]. ii स वृत्तचौलश्चलकाकपक्षकैरमात्यपुत्रैः सवयोभिरन्वितः । लिपेर्यथावद्ग्रहणेन वाङ्मयं नदीमुखेनेव समुद्रमाविशत् ॥ Raghu. III. 7. iii [ लवकुशयोः ] निवृत्तचौलकर्मणोश्च तयोस्त्रयीवर्जमितरास्त्रिसो विद्याःसावधानेन मनसा परिनिष्ठापिताः । Uttararāmacharit, Act II.

268 EDUCATION IN ANCIENT INDIA [App. facilitated by the fact that the time for the ritual, the 4th to the 7th year, was suitable also for the com- mencement of primary education. The number and nature of the locks of hair to be kept at the time of the tonsure ceremony had close connection with the Vedic sages with whom the family was believed to be connected¹; this may also have suggested a synchroni- sation of the commencement of primary education with the celebration of the chaula-karma. SECTION B. UPANAYANA (INITIATION²) RITUAL Upanayana, its Meaning and Significance Upanayana literally means taking a student to a teacher in order to hand him over to the latter for his education: The ritual was originally performed when a student commenced his Vedic education under the supervision of a teacher, with whom he usually lived. It was not an obligatory ritual ; if a student was unfit by character or calibre to receive the Vedic education, he was not admitted to its privillege.³ If, on the other hand, during the course of his education, he had to go to a different teacher, the ritual had to be repeated. Nay, it was felt that it should be performed again even in the case of

1. Cf. यथर्षि शिखां विदधाति । A. G. S., XVI, 6: दक्षिणेन कपर्दो वसिष्ठानां उभयतोऽत्रिभार्गवकाश्यपानां पंचचूडा आंगिरसाम् । V.G.S., section 4. 2 The popular English translation of the name of the ritual by 'Thread Ceremony' does not convey its real meaning at all. The wearing of the sacred thread was quite a minor element in the ritual.
2. अशूद्राणामदुष्टकर्मणामुपानयनम् । Ap. Gr. S., 1.1.5. विद्या ह वै ब्राह्मणमाजगाम गोपाय मां शेवधिष्टेऽहमस्मि । असूयकायानुजवेऽयताय न मा ब्रूया वीर्यवती तथा स्याम् ॥ Nirukta, II. 4.1.

I, B] UPANAYANA RITUAL 269 married men, if they wanted to prosecute further studies under a new teacher.¹ It was thus essentially an educational ritual and bore some resemblance to the formality of the admission procedure in modern schools and colleges. In the course of time, however its signi- ficance changed. It was felt necessary that the services of the whole Aryan community should be conscripted for the preservation of the Vedic literature which had grown to considerable dimensions in the course of centuries; Upanayana and Vedic studies were therefore made obligatory for all. If it was not performed in time, it was declared that the person would lose his Aryan status and become unfit for marriage and social intercourse. This threat no doubt helped the spread of Vedic learning and gave an impetus to primary education, which was in later times presupposed by Vedic studies; but it also tended to transform this educational function into a bodily (śārīrika) ritual. It began to be argued that it should be performed even in the case of dumb and deaf persons in order to render them eligible for marriage.² Some late Smṛiti writers felt that the ritual was primarily for the purification of the body; they have therefore recommended that it should be repeated in case the body is defiled by the bite of a 1 Ch. Up. V. II. Here, as a special case, King Aśvapati excu the formality of Upanayana before beginning to teach his distin- guished Brāhmaṇa pupils. The latter, however, had come ready for the Upanayana. Cf. :— ते ह समित्पाणयः पूर्वाह्णे प्रतिचक्रमिरे । तान्हानुपनीयैव एतदुवाच । 2. See VMS, p. 361. The difficulty created by the impossibility of the recitation of Vedic hymns by a deaf and dumb person was got over by the theory that they may be recited by the teacher on behalf of the dumb student. बटुपठनीयानां मंत्राणामाचार्य प्रत्येकं पाठो विधीयते । Ibid. Some writers like Śaṅkha-Likhita however did not agree with this view ; cf. नोन्मत्तमूकान्संस्कुर्यात् । Quoted in VMS., p. 406

270 EDUCATION IN ANCIENT INDIA [Ch. dog or a jackal.¹ And if the holy Brahmana can be rendered holier by this Saṁskāra, why should it fail to perform a similar miracle in the case of other inanimate objects ? In medieval times the custom therefore arose of performing this ceremony over the holy Pippal tree in order to make it holier.² All these, however, are later anomalies that crept into society when the original purpose of Upanayana was being gradually forgotten. Its Antiquity : The antiquity of this ritual goes back to prehistoric times. It existed in the Indo- Iranian period and is clearly presupposed by the Ṛigveda [X. 109, 5; III. 8. 4 and 5]. The Atharva- veda describes it in detail and attributes the proper functioning of society and nature to its mysterious efficacy.³ Details about the student's life and paraphernalia, more or less similar to those given in Smṛitis, are to be seen in several passages of the Brāhmaṇa literature.⁴ In the early period, the ritual was a simple one ; even a verbal acceptance by the teacher was sufficient.⁵ For a long time the father himself acted as the teacher (Br. Up., V. 2.1 ; VI. 2.9).

1. Cf. Śātātapa, Paiṭhīnasi and Yama quoted in VMS., p. 545-7.
2. An inscription from Karnatak refers to a Brahmana, per- forming this ceremony on the four Aśvatha trees planted by him in a temple garden in 1358 A.D. E.C., III, Malavalli No. 28.
3. ब्रह्मचर्येणं तपसा राजा राष्ट्रं विरक्षति । XI. 5. 17. ब्रह्मचर्येण कन्या युवानं विन्दते पतिम् । XI. 5. 18. ब्रह्मचर्येण तपसा देवा मृत्युमपाघ्नत । XI. 5. 19. स दाधार पृथिवीं दिवं च ॥ XI. 5. 1. See also, VI. 138.
4. Tai. S., VI, 3, 10, 5; Sat. Br., XI, 5, 4, (here we have a detailed description of the Upanayana); Go. Br., I. 2, 1-8 (here we have several interesting reasons for the different rules of Brahmacharya).
5. वाचा ह स्मैव पूर्वमुपयति । Br. Up., VI. 2.7.

I, B] UPANAYANA RITUAL 271 Who were eligible for it ? Brahmanas, Kshatriyas and Vaishyas were eligible for the Upanayana and Vedic study. They are collectively called Dvijas, because they were all believed to get a second birth, a spiritual one, at the time of the Upanayana. When the ritual became obligatory, it seems to have been regularly performed by all these castes for several centuries. Smritis give detailed rules about the different kinds of girdles, staffs, sacred threads, etc. which were prescribed for the members of the various castes. Details about these minor variations would not have been evolved if the ritual had not been a general one among the Kshatriyas and the Vaishyas. In the course of time, however, Vedic studies fell into background, partly owing to the setback which the Vedic religion received by the rise of the Upanishadic, Jain and Buddhist movements, and partly by the development of other branches of knowledge in the Hindu community itself. Upanayana then began to fall into disuetitude among the Kshatriyas and the Vaishyas, with whose professions in subsequent life Vedic studies were but remotely connected. This happened at about the beginning of the Christian era, when the theory that only the Brahmanas and Shudras exist in the Kali age seems to have gained ascendancy¹. Kshatriyas and Vaishyas

1. Bhāsa (3rd century A. D.) and Daṇḍin (7th century A. D.) regarded the sacred thread as an insignia of a Brahmana and not of a Dvija. Cf :— यज्ञोपवीतेन ब्राह्मणश्चीवरेण रक्तपटः । Avimāraka, Act V. भवदंसोपनीतं यज्ञोपवीतं भूसुरभावं द्योतयति । Daśakumāracharit, 2nd Chap. Cf also Raghuvamśa, XI, 64. An inscription however shows that the Upanayana of the Hoysala King Narasimha III, who was a Kshatriya, took place in his 9th year on 25-2-1255. It appears that even when the ritual had gone out of . vogue among the Kshatriyas in general, it continued among the royal families.

272 EDUCATION IN ANCIENT INDIA [App. were levelled down to the position of the Shudras, primarily because they were not performing the Upa- nayana ceremony and wearing the Sacred Thread. Probably in respectable Kshatriya ruling families, the ritual continued to be performed down to the 13th century, but their number was very small. The testi- mony of Alberuni (I, p. 125) shows that the Vedic education had practically died down among the Kshatriyas and the Vaishyas before the 11th century A.D. In the earlier centuries of the Christian era, the ritual was performed by these castes as an unmeaning formality, as is the case with the Brahmanas now. Later on it was discontinued. It may be noted in this connection that it was not without difficulty that Shivaji could succeed in getting a Brahmana Pandit from Benares, ready to perform the Upanayana for him at the age of 44. The Age at the Upanayana : The Upanayana marks the beginning of the Vedic education, which in several respects resembled the secondary education of modern times. Naturally therefore some age between 8 and 12 was regarded as suitable for it. Usually our texts prescribe that the Upanayana should be performed in the 8th year in the case of a Brahmana, in the 11th year in the case of a Kshatriya and in the 12th year in the case of a Vaishya. No particular sanctity was attached to these ages¹ ; for, some writers like Baudhāyana regard any age between 8 and 16 as suitable for the Upanayana². There was no idea of

1. The selection of these particular ages seems to have been due to the rather fortuitous circumstance of the syllables of each line of the Sāvitrī Mantras of these castes being 8, 11 and 12 respectively. Cf. ब्राह्मणादिवर्णसंबंधिनां छंदसां पादाक्षरसंख्यैरब्दैरुपनयनस्य विधेः ( कार्य- वात् ) । Medhātithi on Manu, II. 38. Cf. also VMS., p. 344.
2. अष्टमे आयुष्कामं नवमे तेजस्कामं••••त्रयोदशे मेधाकामं चतुर्दशे पुष्टिकामं••••षोडशे सर्वकामम् । Bau. Gr. S., II. 5. 5.

I, B] UPANAYANA RITUAL 273 emphasising the intellectual superiority of the Brahmanas¹, when a lower age was prescribed for their Upanayana. Family traditions in Brahmanical circles facilitated Vedic educatiou at an early age ; such was not the case with Kshatriyas and Vaishyas. Brahmana boys could very often begin their Vedic education at home ; Kshatriya and Vaishya boys had necessarily to leave their families and go to a Brahmana teacher for that purpose ; the age of 11 or 12, when boys are to some extent able to look after themselves, was there- fore found convenient for them. It is interesting to note that the Brahmana boy Śvetaketu also performed his Upanayana at the age 12 and immediately went to stay with his preceptor for prosecuting his education (Ch. Up. VI. 1-2). It would therefore appear that even in Brahmanical families, the Upanayana was post- poned to a later age when it was to be followed by the separation of the boy from his family. It is the similar necessity of sending the boys outside to a town or a city that compels villagers of our time to begin their wards' secondary education at about the age of 11 or 12. In cultured Brahmana families, which were very keen about the quick progress of their sons, the tradition was to perform the Upanayana and begin the Vedic studies even earlier than the 8th year². This practice is similar to that of many well-to-do and cultured city families, which begin the secondary or English education of their wards at about the age of 6 or 7. Smṛitis have therefore naturally given much latitude about the age at the Upanayana in order to suit the circumstances and convenience of the different

1. As supposed by Keay (p. 29) and Das (p. 72).
2. सप्तमे ब्राह्मणमुपनयीत पंचमे ब्रह्मवर्चसकामम् । J. Gr., S., I. 12. Cf. also G. D. S., 1. 1. 7; M. Gr. S., 1. 22. 1; Vâ. Gr. S., 6. 18

274 EDUCATION IN ANCIENT INDIA [App. types of families in society¹. They however felt that it ought to begin at about the age of 12, for the powers of mind that were required for the Vedic studies could be properly cultivated and developed only at an early age. The commencement of the Vedic studies after the age of 16 has been definitely discouraged by them,² for it was rightly apprehended that a boy who begins his studies at such an advanced age may find them too tedious, his mind having already become susceptible to sensuous attractions. Critical Survey of the Ritual: An educationalist will find the survey of the Upanayana ritual very interesting and instructive. The ritual opens with a breakfast (which precedes even the bath), during which it is the custom in many parts of the country for the boy to share food with his mother in the same dish. A breakfast before bath is unusual in Hindu rituals

1. A child of 6 or 7 could not recite with proper accent and pronunciation even the Sāvitrī verse; so it was recommended that in the cases of very early Upanayanas, the teaching of this Mantra should be postponed by about a year; Cf. तां ह स्मैतां पुरा संवत्सरे अन्वाहुः संवत्सरसंमिता वै गर्भाः । S. Br. XI. It may be noted in this connection that at a time when there was a prejudice against commit- ting the Vedic texts to writing and when grammar had not been evolved, not much preparation by way of primary education was necessary for commencing Vedic studies. They could therefore be begun even at the early age of 6 or 7. It is interesting to note that Smṛitis do not lay down any detailed rules about the astrological auspiciousness of the day of the Upanayana. These were introduced in medieval times.
2. नातिषोडशवर्षमुपनयीत प्रसृष्टवृषणो ह्येष वृषलीभूतो भवति । J. Gr. S., 1. 12. The upper limit of 22 and 24 permitted for the Kshatriyas and Vaishyas is due simply to the doubling of their normal age. The readiness of Mitramisra, a 17th century writer, to permit Upanayana upto the age of 24, 33 and 36 seems to be due to the exigencies of the age, when some persons like Shivaji were performing the ritual, when reminded about it, or when it became absolutely necessary. VMS., 351.