Education in Ancient India c13.11

c13.11

Arab and Italian Testimony: Al Idrisi’s impressions of the Hindu character in western India during the 10th century A.D. are similar to those of Yuan Chwang’s. Though a Muslim, he says of the Hindus, ‘The Indians are naturally inclined to justice and never depart from it in their actions. Their good faith, honesty and fidelity to engagements are well known and they are so famous for these qualities that people flock to their country from every side; hence the country is flourishing and their conditon prosperous.² “In the thirteenth century Marco Polo also was impressed very highly by the character of the Brahmanas of Western India. “You must know” says he, “that these Brahmanas are the best merchants in the world and the most truthful, for they would never tell a lie for anything on the earth. If a foreign merchant, who does not know the ways of the country, applies to them and entrusts his goods to them, they would take charge of these and sell them in the most zealous manner, seeking zealously the profit of the foreigner and asking no commission except what he pleases to give.”³ When the morality of the trading classes is so high, the character of the average man must have been very noble. Ibn Batuta, another Muslim observer, describes the Marathas of Deogiri and Nandurbar of the 14th century as ‘upright, religious and trustworthy.’¹ The same was the view of Abul Fazl, the minister of Akbar.