Education in Ancient India c4.60

c4.60

**Non-Brahmanas as Vedic Teachers**: It is well-known that the Smṛitis have laid down that Brahmanas alone should impart Vedic education. In the earlier period however such was not the case. There is evidence to show that non-Brāhmaṇas also sometimes used to become Vedic teachers; rituals have been prescribed to enable them to shine in that line.¹ This need not cause any surprise, for some Kshatriyas figure among the composers of Vedic hymns also; the whole of the third book of the Ṛig-veda is a composition of the various members of the Kshatriya Viśvāmitra family. In the Upanishadic period Kshatriyas took an important part in the development of philosophy and were the exclusive custodians of many esoteric doctrines, which Brahmanas could learn only from them and not without some difficulty.¹ There are several cases of Brahmanas approaching renowned Kshatriya teachers like Aśvapati, Janaka and Pravāhaṇa Jaivali as humble students of philosophy and religion.² We should therefore note that the caste system succeeded in making Vedic and religious education a monopoly for the Brahmanas only at about 300 B. C. Nor was it a lucrative monopoly in practice; it was a monopoly to beg. The income of even the most famous Vedic teachers was a precarious one and compared very poorly with the gains of a successful merchant or a captain.