History of Dharmashastra (Ancient and Mediaeval Religious and Civil Law in India) v2.c24.s1.233

v2.c24.s1.233

Teachers mostly confined themselves to one place. But we find that even in ancient times there were teachers who wandered from one country to another. In the Kauṣ. Br. Up. IV. 1 we find that the famous Bālāki Gārgya moved about in the countries of Uśīnara, Matsya, Kuru-Pañcāla and Kāśīvideha. In the Bṛ. Up. III. 3. 1 Bhujyu Lāhyāyani tells Yājñavalkya that he and others wandered about in the country of Madra for study. Students generally stuck to one teacher; but it appears that they sometimes flocked to renowned teachers as waters flow down a slope⁷⁹³ (Tai. Up. I. 4. 3). There were also students who wandered from teacher to teacher and were therefore derisively called 'tīrthakāka (crows at a sacred place),' as the Mahābhāṣya states.⁷⁹⁴