Education in Ancient India c9.s1.2

c9.s1.2

Modern Primary Education Non-existent:— It is a moot point whether the art of writing was known in the early Vedic period. Even if it was known, we must remember that its use for the preservation of sacred literature was tabooed for a long time. The latter continued to live only in the memory of scholars for several centuries. Secular literature had not yet come into existence, grammar and arithmetic were yet to be developed and commerce was in a primitive condition not requiring any account keeping. Primary education in the sense of the knowledge of the 3 R's was thus impossible. It is significant to note that early times knew of no ritual to mark its commencement.¹