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

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.

I, B] UPANAYANA-RITUAL 275 and its occurrence at the Upanayana was obviously intended to indicate that the earlier period of unregulated childhood had come to an end and that serious and disciplined life was now to follow. Breakfast was followed by a shave,—an invariable element in most of the Hindu religious observances. The boy was then given a bath and offered a Kaupīna¹. This was to remind him that the Upanayana commenced a new epoch in his life from which dignity, decorum and self-restraint could never be separated. A girdle (mekhalā) was tied round his waist as a support for Kaupīna. It was made of triple cord, the symbolism being intended to foster the belief in the scholar that he was being continuously encircled by the three Vedas². The verses recited on the occasion of tying the girdle informed the boy that his belt was a daughter of Faith (Śraddhā) and a sister of the sages, possesed the power of protecting his purity and chastity and would keep him away from evil³. Hindu ideas of decorum required that when engaged in religious duties, the upper part of the body should be covered with a piece of cloth⁴. On the occasion of the Upanayana the young scholar was therefore offered an upper garment. In the earliest period, when spinning and weaving were

1. Kaupīna denotes the small strip of cloth used by childrer to cover their private parts. It was usually discontinued at about the age of 12 when the boy was required to wear the full dhoti. Cf. Aśvalāyana quoted in VMS., p. 432
2. वेदत्रयेणावृतोऽहमिति मन्येत स द्विजः । अश्वलायन in VMS., p. 432
3. श्रद्धाया दुहिता तपसोधिजाता स्वसा ऋषीणां भूतकृतां बभूव । A. V., VI. 138. 4. ऋतस्य गोप्त्री तपसश्चरित्री घ्नती रक्षांसि सहमानाऽरातीः । Vā. Gr. S. 5.
4. स्नानं दानं तपो होमः स्वाध्यायः पितृतर्पणम् । नैकवस्त्रो द्विजः कुर्याच्छ्राद्धभोजनसत्क्रियाः ॥ Yogayājñavalkya in SCS., p. 299

276 EDUCATION IN ANCIENT INDIA [App. probably unknown, a deer-skin was offered on the occasion. The youth was asked to remember that the lovely deerskin is symbolical of brahmavarchasam or spiritual and intellectual preeminence and that its constant use ought to urge him to attain reputation as a man of character and scholarship¹. When spinning and weaving became common, a piece of cloth was offered to the boy on this occasion, spun and woven in his own family just before the ceremony². A survey of the Gṛihya-sūtras, which describe the Upanayana ritual in detail, shows that the investiture with the Sacred Thread did not form part of the Upanayana ritual. The upper garment that was offered to the boy was in lieu of the Sacred Thread or rather its predecessor. This will be shown in the Appendix D, where the whole history of the Sacred Thread and its significance will be discussed in details. Presentation to Deities : Invested with the above paraphernalia, the boy was taken to the sacred fire, the earliest Indo-European deity known so far. He was asked to offer a samidh (a piece of sacred fuel) to the gleaming fire and the verses recited on the occasion prayed that God Fire should be auspicious to the young scholar and endow him with brilliance, intelligence and vigour³, so that his scholarship and strength should glow up like the resplendent flame of fire. In order to intensify his piety, the boy was then presented to a number of Vedic deities like Bhaga, Yama, Aryamā and Savitrī. The last mentioned god was charged with the special duty of protecting the

1. G. Br., I. 2. 1-3
2. वासः सद्यःकृत्वोतं । B. Gr. S., II. 5. 11
3. Cf. अयं ते इध्म आत्मा जातवेदः तेन वर्द्धस्व चेन्द्ध वर्द्धय चास्मान् । Bh. Gr. S., I. 5.

I, B] UPANAYANA RITUAL 277 student from harm, disease and death¹. When this presentation was over, the teacher assured his pupil that he was thenceforward under divine protection²; fortified by that consciousness, he should push forth his studies without any apprehensions. Standing on Stone : The next element in the ritual is a symbolical one; the boy was asked to stand on a stone and enjoined to be steadfast in the pursuit of his studies³. Firm determination and singleness of purpose are most essential for a successful educational career and the necessity of cultivating them was emphasised on the scholar's mind by this element in the ritual. Acceptance by the Teacher : The scholar was then brought before his teacher who asked him whose Braha- chārin⁴ (student) he was. The young boy naturally replied to the preceptor that he was the latter's disciple. The preceptor then used to correct him and asked him to note that he was the pupil of gods Indra and Agni, the most popular and powerful among the Vedic deities⁵. When formally taking charge of the pupil by seizing his right hand, the teacher used to announce that he was doing so with the command and concur- rence of God Savitṛi.⁶ The teacher then touched the

1. Cf. देव सवितेरेष ते ब्रह्मचारी स मा मृत । Aś. Gr. S., I, 20, 6
2. Śat Br., XI. 5, 4, 3.
3. Mā. Gr. S., I. 22. 12. Stone was also symbolical of strength: Bh. G. S. held that the significance of the ritual was to make the boy invulnerable. I. 8.
4. Brahma originally meant prayer; the original meaning of Brahmacharya was thus the period of study of the sacred prayers or the Vedic Mantras. Since chastity was usually observed in this period, the term came to acquire the secondary sense of a period of chastity as well. Brahmachārin was one who followed Brahmacharya discipline.
5. Cf. कस्य त्वं ब्रह्मचार्यसि । भवत इत्युच्यमाने इन्द्रस्य ब्रह्मचार्यसि अग्निरचार्यस्तव अहमाचार्यस्तव । Pā. Gr. S., II, 3.
6. Aś. Gr. S., I. 20, 4.

278 EDUCATION IN ANCIENT INDIA [App. heart of his pupil and prayed that there should be a perpetual and perfect accord between them.¹ All this was intended to emphasise that the relations between the teacher and the pupil were sacred and not mercenary and progress in education was possible only if there was complete harmony, sympathy and whole-hearted communion between the teacher and the taught. Teaching and Significance of the Savitri (Gayatri) Mantra: Then followed the actual initiation of the student in the Vedic studies, which was done by teaching him a prayer to the sun (Sāvitrī-mantra); this is popularly known as Gāyatrī-mantra on account of its metre. This prayer, which every student and householder had to recite morning and evening, runs as follows:— Tat savitur vareṇyām bhargo devasya dhīmahi Dhiyo *yo naḥ prachodayāt.*²

1. H Gr. S., 1. 5. 11.
2. Early authorities like Pā. Gr. S., II. 3. 10 prescribe the same prayer to the sun for the students of all the castes. Later writers begin to prescribe a different Mantra for the Kshatriyas and the Vaishyas, probably influenced by the theory that Trishtubh metre is appropriate for the Kshatriya and the Jagatī for the Vaishya. The tradition however is not unanimous about these Mantras and may be taken to be unreliable as far as the early period is concerned. The following Mantras are prescribed by different authorities for the Kshatriya:— आ कृष्णेन रजसा वर्तमानो निवेशयन्नमृतं मर्त्यं च । हिरण्येन सविता रथेन देवो याति भुवनानि पश्यन् ॥ (According to Medhātithi on Manu, II. 38) हिरण्यपाणिः सविता विचर्षणिुरुभे द्यावापृथिवी अंतरीयते । अपामीवां बाधते वेति सूर्यमभि कृष्णेन रजसा द्यामृणोति ॥ (According to Nārāyaṇa on S. Gr. S. II. 5) The Mantras for the Vaishyas are said to be the following:— विश्वा रूपाणि प्रतिमुंचते कविः प्रासावीद्भद्रं द्विपदे चतुष्पदे । वि नाकमख्यत्सविता वरेण्योऽनु प्रयाणमुषसो विराजति ॥ (According to Medhātithi on Manu II. 38, Śātātapa and Laugākshī quoted in VMS., p. 430 and Aparārka on Yāj I. 15) P. T. Q.

I, B] UPANAYANA RITUAL 279 The prayer made to the sun in this Mantra is quite appropriate for the student to whom it was first taught. For a successful and brilliant career, what is most essential for the student is the possession of an efficient intellect. Health, wealth, good memory are all desirable, but more important than them all is an energetic and stimulating intellect; it is the power conferred by the latter that has enabled man to establish his supremacy over the Nature. It is therefore quite appropriate that the prayer offered by every Aryan, morning and evening, should urge the sun to endow him with a brilliant intellect, and also to give a proper stimulus to it. Mere intellect is not (Continued from the last page) युंजते मन उत युंजते धियः विप्रा विप्रस्य बृहतो विपश्चितः । वि होत्रा दधे वयुनाविदेक इन्मही देवस्य सवितुः परिष्टुतिः ॥ (According to Aś. Gr. S., III. 7 and Vā. Gr. S., 6) हंसः शुचिषद्वसुरन्तरिक्षसद्धोता वेदिषदतिथिर्दुरोणसत् । नृषद्वरसद्दतसद्व्योमसदब्जा गोजा ऋतजा अद्रिजा ऋतम् ॥ (According to Nārāyaṇa on Manu, II. 38)

1. We have seen above how the Gāyatrī Mantra is naturally very appropriate for the student and the householder. It was later regarded as the very essence of the Vedas, and so quite mysterious meaning began to be read in it. Compare for instance the view of Bṛihat-Parāśara, IV 77-77 :— तत्प्रकृतिः स स्वांतं विकारो बुद्धिरेव च । तुरित्येतदहंकारं वशब्दं विद्धि पापहम् ॥ रेश्पर्शं तु णि रूपं च यं रसं गंधमत्र भम् । गो श्रोत्रं दे त्वचं वै त्र' चक्षुः स्य रसता तथा ॥ र्धी नासा च म वाचा च हि हस्तौ धि च पादद्वयम् । यो उपस्थ मुखं योऽन्यो नः खं प्रकारमारुतम् ॥ चो। तेजो द् जलं याक्ष्मा गायत्र्यास्तत्त्वचिंतनम् ॥ So also about the significance of the Vyāhṛiti letters, Kūrmapurāna, uttarārdha, 14, 53 and Ādi-Purāna, Adi, 53. 54-5 maintain that they denote Pradhāna, Purusha and Kāla ; or Vishṇu, Brahmā and Maheśa; or Satva, Rajas and Tamas respectively. Cf. प्रधानं पुरुषः कालो विष्णुर्ब्रह्मा महेश्वरः । सत्वं रजस्तमस्तिस्रः क्रमाद् व्याहृतयः स्मृताः ।