Education in Ancient India c14.s4.10

c14.s4.10

The Procedure. The student came out of his room at the midday, cleansed his mouth and shaved his head and beard. He then relinquished his girdle (mekhalā), deer-skin (ajina) etc., which were the insignia of the student's order. The period of strict discipline was now over and the teacher himself, who had sternly refused him the use of a number of luxuries, now came forward to offer them to him. He himself gave him a bath in fragrant water. It was followed by an offer of new clothes. Ornaments, garland, collyrium, turban, umbrella and shoes, the use of which was taboo to him in the Brahmacharya period, were now to be formally and officially offered to him by his teacher with the recitation of proper Mantras. It was expected that the guardians, who were well off, would furnish a double set of the above articles, one for the teacher and the other for the ward.¹ A Homa followed and the hope was expressed that the young graduate would get plenty of students to teach.² The teacher then offered him Madhuparka,³ an honour reserved for the very select few like the king, Guru, and son-in-law.