Education in Ancient India c12.s2.2

c12.s2.2

Four Historical Periods : We now proceed to take a bird’s eye view of the general condition of education in the different periods of ancient Indian history. We shall divide it into four periods for the purpose of our survey. The first period will be from pre-historic times to *c.* 1000 B.C. It may be conveniently described as the Vedic age, as most of the Vedic literature was composed during this period. The second period will extend from *c.* 1000 B.C. to *c.* 200 B.C. It may be described as the age of the Upanishads, the Sutras and the epics, as these works can be asigned to this period. The Bārhadrathas, the Śiśunāgas, the Nandas and the Mauryas were the leading political powers of this period. and so the age may be conveniently described as the age of the Nandas and Mauryas. The third period will extend from c. 200 B.C. to c. 500 A.D. It may be described as the age of the Dharmaśāstra, as most of the leading works on this subject were written during this period. It can also be described as the age of the Śuṅgas and the Sātavāhanas, the Vākāṭakas and the Guptas, as these were the leading political powers of the period. The fourth period will extend from c. 500 A.D. to c. 1200 A.D. It may be described as the age of the Purāṇas and digests (Nibandhas), as society was guided mainly by the theories and practices recommended in these works. Politically India was divided into many small kingdoms during this age. Kings Harsha and Bhoja were the most prominent rulers during this period. The age therefore may be described as the age of Harsha and Bhoja. We shall now proceed to describe the condition of education as a whole in each of these four periods.