Education in Ancient India c10.s4.2

c10.s4.2

Attitude towards Arts and Crafts : Early Period :—It will be convenient at the outset to consider the general attitude of society towards arts and crafts. In the early period they were held in high esteem. Agriculture was the general profession for the average Aryan. There are prayers both in the *Rigveda* and the *Atharvaveda* for success in agricultural processes and operations. It was not therefore a profession held in low esteem as in later times. The carpenter was so important a member of the Vedic society that the chief of his guild was included among the twelve courtiers to whose houses the king had to repair in person for offering oblations at the time of his coronation. Ribhus, originally human beings, were deified as a reward for their extraordinary skill in manual arts. The same was the case with Aśvins, who though originally human princes, were later raised to the pantheon on account of their medical skill.