Education in Ancient India c4.47

c4.47

Family and the Female Education: In the case of the education of girls, the family played an important part. We do come across rare cases of girls being educated at boarding schools or colleges; for instance, we read in the drama Mālatīmādhava how Kāmandakī was educated at a college along with Bhūrivasu and Devarāta (Act I). These cases were however exceptional, for there was a general prejudice against sending girls outside for their education. Dharmasūtras insist that they should be taught at home by their male guardians like the father, the brother or the uncle. This was of course possible only in well-to-do and cultured families. Home, of course, was the main centre of the education of girls in the domestic science.