Town Planning in Ancient India c14.s2: The Āśrama, Maṭha and the College

c14.s2.1

The ‘āśrama’ (hermitage) or the ‘maṭha’ (monastery) was another important centre in the civic life of ancient India. Though sometimes it was relegated to a sequestered part of the forest lying in the outskirts of the city, yet in many cases it was accorded an honoured location within it. It consisted of many buildings constructed for various purposes such as the debating hall and reading rooms, the quarters of the students and the professoriate. There were also a tank, a flower garden and a shrine of the tutelary deity within the compound. It was a university of the modern type. The famous Nālandā Vihāra and the maṭha of Taxila are illustrations in point. Even the house of a Brāhmaṇ Paṇḍit was a college in miniature, because he had not only to coach his students free, but also to provide them with board and lodge in his house.