Ancient Indian Education: An Inquiry into its Origin, Development, and Ideals c4.169

c4.169

This would be specially the case in some places where a large number of Brāhman teachers were gathered together, like towns or monastic institutions. An instance of an early Brāhmanic intellectual centre is Takshaśilā (or Taxilā). This was the capital of Gandhāra in North-West India, the native land of Pāṇini, the grammarian, and its site is not far from the modern Rawalpindi. It was a stronghold of Brāhmanic learning as early as the fourth or fifth century B.C. and perhaps earlier. Here at the time of Alexander's invasion the Greeks first came into contact with the Brāhman philosophers, and were astonished at their asceticism and strange doctrines. Many other centres of learning, as, for example, Benares, and Naḍiā, became famous in later times. In the Buddhist system of education it was the monastery, as will be shown, which was the centre of learning. Monasteries have never had such an important place in Hinduism as in Buddhism, but they have existed, and are still to be found. Among the most famous are the monasteries or *maṭhas* founded by the great Vedāntist scholar Śaṅkarāchārya¹ (born *circ.* 788 A.D.) at Sringeri, Badari, Dwaraka, and Puri. These institutions are still in existence.² The most celebrated of them is Sringeri in the Mysore state. Though primarily religious institutions they give attention to the study of Sanskrit and of logic and the Vedānta philosophy.