Education in Ancient India c5.44

c5.44

**Duty of Personal Service :** Both in Buddhist monasteries and Hindu Gurukulas, the student was expected to do personal service to the teacher ‘like a son, suppliant or slave.’¹ He was to give him water and tooth stick, carry his seat and supply him bath water (*M. V.*, I. 25, 11-12). If necessary, he was to cleanse his utensils and wash his clothes.² He was further to do all sundry work in his monastery or his teacher's house, like cleansing the rooms etc., bringing fuel or guarding cattle. This custom existed in the Vedic age³ and was widely prevalent in later times also. Tradition asserts that even great personages like Śrī-Kṛṣṇa had deemed it an honour to do all kind of menial work in their preceptor's house during their student days. It was held that no progress in knowledge was possible without service in the teacher's house.⁴