Ancient Indian Education: An Inquiry into its Origin, Development, and Ideals c4.150

c4.150

As the materials for the study of the subjects included in the six *Angas* increased and accumulated, such an enormous amount of matter would have to be worked through by intending students that it evidently became impossible for one student to acquire a mastery of all subjects, and so special schools arose for the study of special subjects.¹ In the Vedic schools the chief object was to acquire a complete mastery of the sacred text, and this in itself was a huge task even if only one Veda were attempted. At first the *Angas* were no doubt short treatises, but in course of time they grew enormously in bulk. Grammar, for example, was developed by Pāṇini and others, and their works became in themselves voluminous. Other sciences also came to be developed. If a student aimed at committing all the Vedic texts to memory, together with the accompanying *Angas*, he might succeed in his task, but he could hardly have gained a real understanding of the subject-matter. He became simply a kind of walking library.