Ancient Indian Education: An Inquiry into its Origin, Development, and Ideals c4.70

c4.70

In the early Vedic schools it seems that instruction was confined to young Brāhmans, and was regarded mainly as a preparation for their future vocation as priests, but at some time before 500 B.C. the education of the young Kshatriyas and Vaiśyas had also come under Brāhman control, and in their case was an opportunity of inculcating in their minds the necessary directions for all their future life. It became also the exclusive privilege of the Brāhmans to give this instruction, and this marks the growing influence of the priesthood. The ceremony of initiation and investiture with the sacred thread came to be regarded for all the Aryan youth as the preliminary to school life. The three castes which had this privilege, namely, the Brāhmans, Kshatriyas, and Vaiśyas, were called dvija, or ‘twice-born’, because the ceremony of initiation was looked upon as a second birth.