Education in Ancient India c14.s4.14

c14.s4.14

Presentation to the Assembly : Dressed in his new dress, the student would proceed to the assembly of the learned men of the locality in a chariot or on an elephant.⁴ He was there formally introduced as a competent scholar by his teacher. Returning home he would bid farewell to his teacher after paying him such honorarium (gurudakshiṇā) as he could afford. A critical survey of the Samāvartana ritual will show how high was the respect in which scholars who had completed their education were held by society. One authority asserts that they were the greatest force in society.⁵