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Education in Ancient India c8.s5: Examinations

Education in Ancient India c8.s5

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Examinations

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No Annual or Final Examinations: We have already seen that there were no annual or periodical examinations in ancient India. New lessons were given to students only when the teacher was satisfied after a searching oral examination that the old one was thoroughly mastered. The end of the education course was not marked by any lengthy and exhaustive examination, but by the pupil reciting and explaining the last lesson.² The modern practice to submit the student to what is known as *Śalākā-parīkṣā*, where he is asked to explain the problems discussed on a page opened at random, is not mentioned in ancient books. Even if it goes back to ancient times, it can hardly be compared to the modern system of examination. At the end of his education the scholar was presented to the local learned assembly, where occasionally some questions were asked.³ This presentation took place when the Samāvartana (convocation) ceremony was over.⁴ It is therefore clear that the eligibility of a student for Samāvartana or receiving the degree did not depend upon the opinion of the assembly, but upon the opinion of his teacher.

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² *Māl. Pan.* I, p. 18.

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³ *Br. U.*, VI, 2, 1 and 2.

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⁴ *Dr. Gr. S.*, III 1, 26; *Āp. Gr. S.*, I, 11, 5.

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Literary Tournaments: Rājaśekhara describes the examinations held in the royal court¹, and Charaka refers to heated discussions held in learned assemblies to test the relative merits of the contending physicians.² These examinations were, however, fundamentally different from modern degree examinations. Each participant in these literary affrays was anxious to prove, not that he possessed certain minimum qualifications, but that he was the best poet or physician in the land, entitled to precedence, honour and annuities from the royal court. What Charaka or Rājaśekhara have in contemplation is not a routine examination, but an intellectual combat among the distinguished physicians and scholars of the age.

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¹ *Kāvya-mīmāṁsā*, p. 55.

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² Vimānasthāna, 8.

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No Degrees or Diplomas: Since there were no degree examinations, there were naturally no degrees or diplomas. From Tārānātha we learn that the Pāla kings of Bengal, who were patrons and chancellors of the Vikramaśilā University, used to grant diplomas to students in a convocation held at the end of their education.³ In medieval Bengal also learned bodies used to confer degrees like *Tarkachakravartī* and *Tarkālaṅkāra* on very distinguished scholars like Gadādhara and Jagadīśa. This practice of giving degrees and titles seems to be a new innovation of medieval times. Yuan Chwang informs us that unscrupulous scholars in the seventh century used to ‘steal the name of Nālandā’ in order to gain more respect⁴. This would not have been possible if the Nālandā University were in the habit of granting regular diplomas to those who had finished their courses there. Passing examinations and getting degrees, which dominate the present system of education, played hardly any part in ancient India. It was not the allurement of the degrees or the prizes but the thirst of knowledge or the desire to preserve the national heritage which was the main spring of the educational effort and activity.

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³ Bose, Indian Teachers of Buddhist Universities, p. 61

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⁴ Watters, II, p. 165.

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Competition kept within Limits

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The absence of annual examinations with prizes and scholarships for the top boys naturally kept the element of competition within proper limits. Bright and promising students were however selected as monitors and entrusted with the teaching of lower classes. So they also got their reward. The absence of alluring prizes and scholarships however naturaly did not make them burn midnight oil, often to the great detriment of their health.

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No Degree to serve as a Shield

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Students in ancient India had not to pass through the fiery ordeal of examinations ; their lot, however, was by no means more enviable than that of the modern students. Armed with his irrevocable degree, the modern graduate can afford to forget all that he had learnt, and no one can question his competence. The scholar in ancient India could not take shelter behind the buttress of a degree. He had to keep his scholarship fresh and up-to-date, for he was liable to be challenged at any moment for a literary affray (Śāstrārtha), and society used to judge his merit by the way in which he aquitted himself in such discussions. All that he had learnt, he had to keep ready at the tip of his tongue ; he could neither point to his diploma nor ask for time to refer to his note-books.

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