Education in Ancient India c4.67

c4.67

Caste System and Curriculum, Domination of Vedic Studies: Let us now find out the influence the caste system exercised on the curriculum. A perusal of the relevant rules of the Smṛitis produces the impression that Vedic studies must have dominated the course prescribed for the Brahmanas. It has been emphatically laid down that all Brahmanas should devote twelve years to Vedic studies after their Upanayana. Such, however, was not the case in actual practice. Only a small section of the Brahmana community,—possibly not more than its one-fifth,—used to devote itself to Vedic studies, when new branches of knowledge like grammar, philosophy, law and classical Sanskrit literature came to be developed. For the preservation of the Vedic literature, the services of only a small section of the community were necessary; the rest were required to memorise the few Vedic *Mantras* necessary for daily religious purposes and encouraged to devote their main energy to the development of new branches of knowledge like philosophy, grammar, and classical Sanskrit literature, where they were able to make substantial contributions, which still continue to be highly valued both in India and abroad.