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Ancient Indian Education: An Inquiry into its Origin, Development, and Ideals c5: Chapter II. The Education of Some Special Classes of the Community

Ancient Indian Education: An Inquiry into its Origin, Development, and Ideals c5

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English

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Chapter II. The Education of Some Special Classes of the Community

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THE early Vedic schools for the training of priests seem to have been confined to the youths of the priestly class, and the Brāhmans kept in their families the ancient literature which formed the basis of all higher education. Even in quite early times, however, it is evident that some of the non-Brāhmans attained to a high degree of notoriety as men of wisdom. There is, for example, a certain king Janaka, of Videha,¹ who is referred to in the *Brāhmaṇas* and the *Upanishads* as gaining distinction in debates with learned Brāhmans. Other royal sages also are mentioned, like Chitra Gāngyāyani ² and Ajātaśatru,³ who were able to give Brāhmans instruction on deep questions of philosophy. In early days such instruction as the young Kshatriyas and Vaiśyas received would presumably be given by their fathers and confined to teaching them the duties of their particular calling in life. It probably marks the growing power of the Brāhmans that at some time the training of the young Kshatriyas and Vaiśyas came into their hands, and it became the exclusive privilege of the Brāhman caste to give instruction. Even at the time when the hymns of the *Rigveda* were being composed it was the custom for the chieftains or nobles to have a Brāhman as a domestic priest or chaplain, called a *purohita*,¹ and it is easy to see how the instruction of the sons of his patron would come under his care, and that this system would gradually be extended to all the Aryan youth as the power of the Brāhman priesthood increased.

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¹ *Śatapatha Brāhmaṇa*, xi. 6, 2, 10.

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² *Kaushītaki Up.*, i.

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³ *Bṛih. Ār. Up.*, ii. 1

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¹ *Rigveda*, i. 1. ² Gautama, i.; Āpast., i. 1. ³ See pp. 28 ff.

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By the time that the earliest *Dharmasūtras* which are extant were composed (*circa* 500 B.C.) the system was in full working order, and it had become customary² for Kshatriyas and Vaiśyas, as well as for Brāhmans, to be initiated with the sacred thread as a preliminary to entering upon the period of school life under Brāhman teachers, which was to occupy at least twelve years. The difference in the time of initiation, and of dress to be worn by the three ‘twice-born’ castes, has already been referred to in the previous chapter.³ The later age at which the Kshatriyas and Vaiśyas were supposed to start their schooling must be taken to indicate that its character was for them somewhat different from the instruction which the young Brāhman received. The latter was at school to be prepared for his future vocation as a priest and a teacher, and much that he would require to know would not only be useless to the youths of the other castes, but it is not likely that the Brāhmans would wish to communicate all the mysteries of their priestly office to them. For the Kshatriyas and Vaiśyas, ‘studying the Veda’ must have meant much less than for the Brāhmans. It may have included the memorizing of the Vedic hymns, and an acquaintance with the philosophic teaching of the *Upanishads*, and certain parts of the six *Angas*, such as were necessary for the understanding of the Vedic texts, or for an acquaintance with duties to be performed in their subsequent life. It was also for them, as well as for the Brāhmans, regarded as a time of *āśrama* or discipline, and a stage in the preparation for the life after death.

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*Warriors.*—It seems most likely that as time went on the ‘study of the Veda’ for the Kshatriyas and Vaiśyas became still more attenuated, and that their education was more and more confined to those subjects which had a more direct bearing on their future calling. It has been shown in the previous chapter how the special schools of law, grammar, etc., began to grow out of the six Angas, somewhere about the fifth century B.C. The *Dharmasūtras* are connected with *kalpa*,¹ and they contain not only the beginnings of law afterwards developed in the *Dharmaśāstras*, but also instruction on the duties of the king. This was no doubt the germ of the science of politics which was afterwards developed in the works known as *Nītiśāstras* and *Arthaśāstras*.

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¹ *I.e.*, ‘ceremonial and religious practices’ (see p. 42).

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In the *Dharmasūtras* of Āpastamba, Baudhāyana, and Vasisṭha there is no mention of the subjects to be studied by the king, but in Gautama ² it is said that he shall be ‘fully instructed in the threefold sacred science and in logic’.³ It further says ⁴ that the administration of justice shall be by the Veda, the *Dharmaśāstra*,⁵ the Angas, and the *Purāṇa*,⁶ so that it may be presumed that the royal princes were expected to become acquainted with these also during their period of schooling. A knowledge of the use of arms and of military skill was, of course, necessary, and a great deal of the time of the young Kshatriyas must have been given to learning their duties as warriors. Already in the hymns of the *Rigveda* there is a passage ⁷ which appears to refer to military combats amongst young warriors, and as the Kshatriyas became marked off from the other castes as those whose function it was to fight for their protection, the practice of arms must have become more highly specialized. In the *Mahābhārata*¹ we read² how the young Pāṇḍu and Kuru princes were instructed in the various kinds of military skill. This included fighting on horseback and on elephants, in chariots and on the ground. The weapons used were the club, the sword, the lance, the spear, the dart, and above all the bow. The preceptor of these young princes in the use of arms is said to have been not, as we might have supposed, a Kshatriya warrior, but a learned Brāhman named Droṇa. The purpose of the author may have been to exalt the dignity of the Brāhman caste by showing how the Kshatriyas learned even their own special functions from the Brāhmans. In the *Rāmāyaṇa*³ of Vālmīki we read with regard to Rāma and his brothers⁴—

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² Gautama, xi. 1.

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³ *Ibid.*, xi. 3. The word translated ‘logic’ is *ānvīkshikī*, as in *Arthaśāstra*, ii. (see p. 63).

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⁴ Gautama, xi. 19.

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⁵ Bühler considers this word as probably an interpolation, for it was included in the Angas as part of *Kalpa*.

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⁶ *Purāṇa*, *i.e.* ancient legendary tales.

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⁷ *Rigveda*, iv. 42, 5.

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¹ The original germ of this epic dates from about the fifth century B.C., but it contains vast additions of post-Christian times.

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² M. N. Dutt’s translation, pp. 190 f.

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³ Original germ *circa* 500 B.C.

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⁴ M. N. Dutt’s translation, *Bālakāṇḍam*, pp. 51 f.

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‘And among all those princes, the eldest, Rāma, like unto Ketu, and the special delight of his father, became the object of general regard, even as the self-create Himself. And all of them were versed in the Vedas, and heroic, and intent upon the welfare of others. And all were accomplished in knowledge, and endowed with virtues, and among them all, the exceedingly puissant Rāma, having truth for prowess, was the desire of every one, and spotless like unto the Moon himself. He could ride on elephants and horses, and was an adept in managing cars (chariots), and he was ever engaged in the study of arms and aye occupied in ministering unto his sire. . . . Those best of men, ever engaged in the study of the Vedas, were accomplished in the art of archery, and always intent upon ministering unto their father.’

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This extract brings out what seem to be the chief aims of education in the case of the young Kshatriyas in early times, namely, the study of the Vedas, military skill, and right moral conduct. There is no mention of any other special training for the performance of their royal duties, but silence in a work of this kind is of little value as evidence.

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At some time, however, between 500 B.C. and the rise of the Mauryan dynasty (321 B.C.) there seems to have been a considerable development of Kshatriya education. The science of politics had grown up, and much more attention was given to fitting young princes for the duties of their high office. We have a valuable picture of this education in the Arthaśāstra of Kauṭilya. The number of authorities whose different opinions he quotes and sometimes refutes shows how the science of politics had developed, and amongst other things there was a considerable interest as to what was the best kind of education for a young prince to receive. It is not impossible that this development in royal education may have been a result of the desire of some Indian rulers to improve the efficiency of their kingdoms in view of the possibilities of Persian invasion from the west, for the Indus valley had been annexed and formed into a satrapy by Darius (521-485 B.C.), and the raid of Alexander (327-324 B.C.) would have stimulated this desire. But whether this was so or not, it seems certain that a considerable development of royal education took place about this period.

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The Arthaśāstra of Kauṭilya¹ is ascribed to Kauṭilya, also known as Chānakya, the Brāhman who overthrew the Nanda dynasty and placed Chandragupta Maurya on the throne. If he was the author, the work would be dated somewhere between 321 and 296 B.C. The authenticity,² however, has been disputed, and the book may have been based on the teaching of Kauṭilya, although not by his hand, and belong in its present form perhaps to the first century B.C., while incorporating older matter. In any case it is a remarkable document, and throws a most valuable light on the system of administration and social life at the time of the Mauryan Empire. It is a manual of political science, Machiavellian in its principles, for the use of kings, and amongst other things outlines an educational programme for royal princes.

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¹ Translated by Mr. R. Shāmaśāstry.

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² For authenticity, see *Journal of Royal Asiatic Society*, 1916, p. 130.

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Kauṭilya holds ¹ that there are four sciences which should be included in the royal education. These are Ānvīkṣikī, the triple Vedas, Vārta, and Daṇḍanīti. Ānvīkṣikī is defined as comprising the Sāṅkhya, Yoga, and Lokāyata philosophies. Vārta includes a knowledge of agriculture, cattle-breeding, and trade. Daṇḍanīti is the science of government, including a knowledge of criminal law. It seems, however, that the authorities were not agreed as to the number of the sciences to be taught, and though Kauṭilya holds that the four sciences mentioned above should be studied, he says that others held different opinions. The school of Manu (Mānava) held that philosophy was only a special branch of Vedic study, and that, therefore, there were only three sciences to be studied. The school of Bṛhaspati held that there were only two sciences, Vārta and Daṇḍanīti, for Veda study, they said, was ‘only an abridgment for a man experienced in temporal affairs’, which means, presumably, that a young prince or Kshatriya would not have the time to obtain more than a very casual acquaintance with the Vedas. The school of Uśanas declared that there was only one science, the science of Daṇḍanīti, all others having their beginning in that.

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¹ Arthaśāstra, ch. ii.

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Having thus outlined the curriculum, Kauṭilya in another chapter ² gives some further particulars with regard to his scheme of education. Although he admits four sciences as enumerated above, he says that the first three are dependent on *Daṇḍanīti*, for *Daṇḍa* (punishment), which alone can procure safety and security of life, is, in its turn, dependent on discipline.

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² Ibid., ch. v.

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‘Discipline,’ he says, ‘is of two kinds: artificial and natural; for instruction can render only a docile being conformable to the rules of discipline, and not an undocile being. The study of sciences can tame only those who are possessed of such mental faculties as obedience, hearing, grasping, retentive memory, discrimination, inference, and deliberation, but not others devoid of such faculties.’ By natural discipline he means, it would seem, the discipline which arises from the docility of the pupil; for those who have not this there is the artificial discipline of punishment.

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‘Sciences,’ he continues, ‘shall be studied, and their precepts strictly observed under the authority of specialist teachers. Having undergone the ceremony of tonsure, the student shall learn the alphabet and arithmetic. After investiture with the sacred thread, he shall study the triple Vedas, the science of *Ānvīkṣikī* under teachers of acknowledged authority, the science of *Vārta* under Government superintendents, and the science of *Daṇḍanīti* under theoretical and practical politicians.’

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It would seem from this that the last two studies were to be learnt in very close contact with their practice in actual life.

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With regard to the length of the course we are told that ‘the prince shall observe celibacy till he becomes sixteen years old. Then he shall observe the ceremony of tonsure and marry’. If the investiture with the sacred thread took place in accordance with the regulations given in the *Dharmasūtras* in the eleventh year after conception, the course would thus last six years, which is much shorter than the twelve years prescribed as necessary for the *Brahmachārī* to learn one Veda. It is, of course not impossible that the study, of Vārta and Daṇḍanīti at least may have been continued even after marriage.

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During the period of study the young prince was to be placed under the strict supervision of his teachers. ‘In maintaining efficient discipline he shall ever and invariably keep company with aged professors of sciences in whom alone discipline has its firm root.’

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The hours of study were thus planned out. ‘He shall spend the forenoon in receiving lessons in military arts concerning elephants, horses, chariots, and weapons, and the afternoon in hearing the Itihāsa’. Itihāsa is said to include Purāṇa, Itivṛtta (history), Ākhyāyika (tales), Udāharaṇa (illustrative stories), Dharmaśāstra, and Arthaśāstra. The first four would include mythological and epic tales, and those moral fables and stories such as were collected (afterwards) in the Pañchatantra and the Hitopadeśa.¹ The last two include what would now be termed law and political science, and would cover the theoretical parts of Vārta and Daṇḍanīti.

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¹ See p. 68.

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‘During the rest of the day and nights he shall not only receive new lessons and revise old lessons, but also hear over and again what has not been clearly understood.’

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It is curious that in this outline of the day’s work there is no mention of the study of the Veda or philosophy. One cannot help wondering, in spite of the opinion of Kauṭilya that they should be included in the programme of studies, whether they received very serious attention in the case of the young princes.

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Kauṭilya goes on to say that ‘from hearing ensues knowledge; from knowledge steady application (yoga) is possible; and from application, self-possession (ātmavattā) is possible. This is what is meant by efficiency in learning (vidyāsāmarthyam). The king who is well educated and disciplined in sciences, devoted to good government of his subjects, and bent on doing good to all people, will enjoy the earth unopposed’.

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The programme of education thus outlined is by no means an unworthy scheme for the education of a young prince. It shows the wonderful powers which these early Brāhman educators had of adapting their system to the needs of the pupils, and of devising a vocational training for the sons of noble families. It is not clear whether this education was confined to those who were the scions of ruling houses or whether other young Kshatriyas shared in its advantages, but it would seem not unlikely that noble families would seek to give their sons an education at least approximating to that which princes received.

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In the Law of Manu, which is considered to date, in its present form, from about 200 A.D., though based on an older Mānava Dharma Sūtra, it is said with regard to the education of a king,¹ ‘From those versed in the three Vedas let him learn the threefold sacred science, the primeval science of government, the science of dialectics, and the knowledge of the supreme Soul, from the people the theory of the various trades and professions’. According to the Arthaśāstra² the school of Mānava held that there were three sciences to be studied, namely, the Vedas and the philosophy based on them, the science of government (Daṇḍanīti), and agriculture and trade (Vārta), so that these three are presumably covered by the subjects mentioned in the Law of Manu.

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¹ Manu, vii. 43.

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² See p. 63.

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It is to be presumed that, as in the ordinary Brāhmanic study, the work was based on a knowledge of the grammar of the Sanskrit language. The story contained in the Kathā-sarit-sāgara³ of the king who did not know his Sanskrit grammar seems to show that some royal pupils did not always find it easy to master all its intricacies.

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³ Kathā-sarit-sāgara, Tar. vi, 108-164.

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With regard to text-books those used in the ordinary Brāhman schools for Vedic study would serve also for the Kshatriyas in so far as they studied the same subjects, but there were two developments which arose to meet the needs of the special training required by them. We have already referred to the *Nītiśāstra* or *Arthaśāstra* as a manual of political science. The *Arthaśāstra* of Kauṭilya, from which we have quoted above, is an example, and there were probably many which have not survived. This *Arthaśāstra* contains a detailed account of the duties of the king and of his officials, and of the way the administration was carried on, and in connection with the work of the superintendents of different departments contains a good deal of information with regard to agriculture and trade, and thus included probably what was to be taught to the princes under the heading of *Vārta*. It also contains several chapters on the military science of those days. The *Nītisāra*, or *Essence of Conduct*, is a metrical treatise by an author named Kāmandaka. It is evidently based on the teaching of the *Arthaśāstra* of Kauṭilya, and contains in a condensed form many of the principles of policy taught in the *Arthaśāstra*. It belongs to about the third century A.D., or perhaps later. But the Brāhman preceptors, finding perhaps that their royal or noble pupils did not always take kindly to the effort of studying the political wisdom of the *Arthaśāstra*, devised the plan of using fables and stories as a vehicle for the teaching of this science. ‘It¹ is a combination highly characteristic of a civilization of which the two most important features were the intellectual passion and subtlety of the Brāhman Schools on the one hand, and the village life of a humorous people on the other.’ The *Pañchatantra* existed in the first half of the sixth century A.D., but the *Tantrākhyāyikā*, which is considered to be its most original and earliest form, was composed many centuries earlier.¹ It is introduced with the story of a certain king who had three particularly idle and stupid sons. He wished to find a teacher for them, and at last met with a certain Brāhman, who promised in six months to give the young princes such instruction that they should surpass all others in the knowledge of right conduct. For the accomplishment of his object he composed the *Panchatantra*. It consists of a series of fables which illustrate various points of moral conduct, and expose many human vices, like the intriguing of courtiers and the faithlessness of women. The Brāhmans themselves do not escape satire, which is levelled, for example, against their avarice and hypocrisy. The *Hitopadeśa* is a similar collection of fables, later than the *Panchatantra*, on which it is based, but the date of which is quite uncertain.² There are also other collections of fables like them, as, for instance, the *Kathā-sarit-sāgara*. The *Mahābhārata* contains a great deal of didactic material embedded in the story, and this may also have been used in the instruction of young nobles. For stories of heroes they had the epic poems like the *Mahābhārata* and the *Rāmāyaṇa*, and at a later date there were in Rājasthān many bards who wrote in verse chronicles of the deeds of heroes. These bardic chronicles begin about 700 A.D., and were composed in the vernacular.

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¹ *J.R.A.S.*, 1910, pp. 966 ff.

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¹ *J.R.A.S.*, 1910, pp. 966 ff. Dr. Hertel thinks between 300 B.C. and 570 A.D., and nearer the earlier limit. Dr. F. W. Thomas says at least as old as 300 A.D.

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² Before 1400 A.D.

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This education was kept by the Brāhmans closely in their hands, and the various *Sūtras* and *Śāstras*, which have come down to us, written, of course, by Brāhmans, again and again insist on the duty of the Kshatriyas to protect and give honour to the Brāhmans. It was forbidden to a Kshatriya to teach,³ and though the injunction in Manu that the king should learn¹ ‘from the people the theory of the various trades and professions’ seems to imply that in the subject of *Vārta* others besides Brāhmans might be called in to give instruction to the young princes, and this would seem probable also in the matter of military skill, yet Brāhman control dominated throughout. The king was in fact practically enjoined to regard himself as a pupil even after he had assumed his position as a ruler. Thus in Kauṭilya’s *Arthaśāstra*² we are told--

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³ Manu, x. 77.

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¹ Manu, vii. 43.

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² *Arthaśāstra*, ch. ix. p. 17.

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‘Him whose family and character are highly spoken of, who is well educated in the Vedas and the six Angas, is skilful in reading portents providential or accidental, is well versed in the science of government, and who is obedient, and who can prevent calamities providential or human by performing such expiatory rites as are prescribed in the *Atharvaveda*, the king shall employ as high priest. As a student his teacher, a son his father, and a servant his master, the king shall follow him. That Kshatriya breed which is brought up by Brāhmans, is charmed with the counsels of good councillors, and which faithfully follows the precepts of the *Śāstras*, becomes invincible, and attains success though unaided with weapons.’

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The important position and authority thus claimed for the preceptor of the prince was no doubt influenced and intensified by the tendency in the Brāhmanic schools, which we have noticed in a previous chapter,³ to exalt the teacher to such a position that he was regarded as an object of worship. It is quite possible that some rulers may have shaken themselves free from such a position, but the institution of the *purohita*, to whom was entrusted the religious, moral, and intellectual education of the young princes and nobles, continued down to very recent times. Tod, in his accounts of *Rājasthān*,¹ in referring to these *purohitas* gives rather a bad opinion of them, as men who took advantage of their position to get gain for themselves by working on the superstition of their employers. There were, no doubt, many such, who made use of their office to get wealth and honours from the king, or nobleman, who employed them. But we need not suppose that this was generally the case, and probably many of them were men of high character, whose moral influence on their pupils was distinctly good. India has had many famous rulers, who were educated under this system, and many who attained also to literary merit. Among the latter we must mention King Harsha (606 to 648 A.D.), to whom several plays and verse compositions have been ascribed.² As, however, in the case of the Brāhmanic education, the system of training the young Kshatriyas tended to become stereotyped, and to look too much to the authority of the past for its ideals and practice, and thus it failed to preserve its vitality as an educational force.

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³ P. 50.

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¹ Tod’s *Rājasthān*, 407.

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² V. A. Smith, *Early Hist. of India* (2nd ed.), p. 316; Macdonell’s *Sanskrit Literature*, pp. 361 f.

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Among the noble warriors of India there grew up a spirit of chivalry, very much like that which prevailed in Europe in the Middle Ages. William Ward,³ referring to a work in Sanskrit on the military arts called *Dhanur Veda*, says, ‘It was contrary to the laws of war to smite a warrior overcome by another, or one who had turned his back, or who was running away; or one fearful, or he who had asked for quarter, or he who had declined further fighting, or one unarmed; or a single charioteer who had alone survived in the engagement; or one deranged; or females, children, or old men’. There were certain rules also with regard to combats. In fighting, for instance, with the club, it was unlawful to strike below the navel. Wrestling seems to have been popular in India, and still is at the present day. Many wrestling schools exist which have strict rules as to what is considered allowable. Tod¹ mentions that amongst the Rājput tribes, which were organized on a kind of feudal basis, youthful candidates were initiated to military fame in much the same way as young men in Europe in the Middle Ages became knights. The ceremony of initiation was called *kharg bandāī*, or binding of the sword, and took place when the young Rājput was considered fit to bear arms. At this ceremony the young warrior was presented with a lance, and his sword was buckled to his side. The spirit of chivalry thus inculcated must have set before these young nobles a high ideal of valour and virtue, and this is reflected in the epic stories and in the bardic chronicles of *Rājasthān*, which contain many stories of noble deeds and knightly heroism. The typical warrior hero of India is found in Rāma, whose story is told not only in the Sanskrit *Rāmāyaṇa* of Vālmīki, but in many vernacular imitations, of which the most famous is the Hindī *Rāmāyaṇa* of Tulsī Dās (or *Rām Charit Mānas*), which was written about 1600 A.D. Indian authors never tire of telling the story of this hero again and again, and although it is possible to criticize many points in Rāma’s character, it certainly holds forth a high ideal of life and virtue.

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³ Ward, ii. 461.

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¹ Tod, 63, 512.

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We may say that the education of the young Indian nobles was not inferior to that of the European knights in the times of chivalry, and was very much like it in many respects. The note of personal ambition and of adventure for adventure’s sake seems much less prominent in the Indian ideal than in the European, and perhaps hardly existed, and the gentler virtues such as patience and filial devotion were much more emphasized, as we see in the story of Rāma. The idea that the king and the nobles had a duty to perform to society in the protection of the weak, and that their position was not one so much of glory and of ease as of service to others, is very prominent. No doubt many of them failed to live up to this noble ideal, but in formulating it and holding it before the rising generation of young Kshatriyas, India has much of which to be proud.

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Agricultural and Trading Classes.—As in the case of the Kshatriyas, the control of the education of the Vaiśyas, or trading and agricultural class amongst the Aryans, early came under Brāhman control. Thus we find in the earliest extant Sūtras¹ that the Vaiśyas, as well as the Brāhmans and Kshatriyas, were expected to receive initiation as a preliminary to entering upon the study of the Veda; and in Manu it is said,² ‘Let the three twice-born castes, discharging their prescribed duties, study the Veda’. We have seen how in the case of the Kshatriyas the study of the Veda was attenuated, or perhaps we may say that it was developed by specialization in certain directions to meet the special needs of the young nobles and warriors. With regard to the Vaiśyas,³ trade, rearing cattle, and agriculture were regarded as their special pursuits, and in fitting themselves for these they would have less benefit from the Vedic schools than the Kshatriyas had for their future vocation. It would seem likely that the study of the Veda became more attenuated for them than even for the Kshatriyas, and that at a quite early date the majority of them ceased to avail themselves of their privilege of attending the Brāhmanic schools, except perhaps for a very short period. In the Law of Manu⁴ the functions of a Vaiśya are thus described: ‘A Vaiśya must never conceive this wish, “I will not keep cattle”, and if a Vaiśya is willing to keep them, they must never be kept by men of other castes.

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A Vaiśya must know the respective value of gems, of pearls, of corals, of metals, of cloth made of thread, of perfumes, and of condiments. He must be acquainted with the manner of sowing seeds, and of the good and bad qualities of fields, and he must perfectly know all measures and weights. Moreover, the excellence and defects of commodities, the advantages and disadvantages of different countries, the probable profit and loss on merchandise, and the means of properly rearing cattle. He must be acquainted with the proper wages of servants, with the various languages of men, with the manner of keeping goods, and the rules of purchase and sale’. The duties thus outlined would require that a young Vaiśya, besides a knowledge of agriculture, should also know the rudiments of commercial geography, arithmetic, and some languages, as well as the practical details of trade. With regard to these subjects it is probable that at first they were learnt by the boy from his father in the course of business, and probably amounted in most cases to little more than the minimum which would be necessary for the successful carrying on of the particular trade in which he was engaged.

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Thus a knowledge of ‘the various languages of men’ need not have meant more than a slight acquaintance with the speech of foreigners with whom trade brought him into touch, picked up in his intercourse with them, and a knowledge of ‘the advantages and disadvantages of different countries’ would be gathered in the same way. Thus the education of the young Vaiśya, apart from his study of the Veda, would at the earliest period, as a rule, be domestic, and he would learn from his father in the actual course of business. It is to be noted, however, that there exist in India at the present time what are called *mahājani* schools. These schools exist in several market towns where the *mahājans*, or traders, have combined to pay a teacher. They teach chiefly the special kind of writing used by the *mahājans* and arithmetic, and give sufficient education to enable a boy to help his father afterwards in trade. These schools are amongst the indigenous primary schools which will be referred to in a later chapter. They have probably existed from old times, but like so many things in India, it is difficult to say whether they are really very ancient or not. But whenever they started it must have been because the traders found it more satisfactory for a boy to have acquired some education before he began actual work in the shop. It is not impossible that the indigenous primary schools started in this way. Of this more will be said later.

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They are evidence that the Brāhmanic schools failed to supply the real needs of the community even in the matter of teaching reading and writing, and that other castes felt compelled to start more useful schools of their own.

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¹ Gautama, i.

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² Manu, x. 1.

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³ Ibid., x. 79.

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⁴ Ibid., ix. 328-332.

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Craftsmen.—As time went on the original four castes of early times became very greatly divided and subdivided. The Brāhman and Kshatriya castes still held their position, but the Vaiśyas became mingled with the masses of the surrounding population. In course of ages the number of castes became very numerous, and specially all those engaged in particular occupations became separated from others as castes. There came to be, for example, castes of carpenters, tailors, goldsmiths, and large numbers of others similar. In modern times a man does not always follow the profession or trade of his particular caste, but in ancient times probably all, or almost all, did so. The technical and professional skill developed in each caste was passed on from generation to generation.

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India is a land of villages, and even at the present day with a growing commercial activity it is said that nine-tenths of the population live in villages. Each village is usually an agricultural community¹ more or less self-contained. But craftsmen are needed by the husbandman, so besides the farmers and agricultural labourers there dwell in each village certain artisans and others. In addition to the Brāhman priest and *jyotishi*, or astrologer, there may be carpenter, blacksmith, potter, and washerman. Others who are present may be the barber (who also performs some surgical operations), the scavenger, the tailor, the leather worker, the goldsmith, and so on. These craftsmen have certain privileges, and are entitled to certain payments in grain from the farmer for their services. The position of these persons and the manner of their payment varies in different parts of India, but the same features are everywhere found.

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¹ See *The Indian Craftsman*, A. K. Coomaraswamy, ch. i.

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Some of the occupations are very ancient. In the *Ṛigveda Saṃhitā*¹ the following are mentioned: carpenter, physician, priest, blacksmith, poet, female grinder of corn. The construction of chariots is often alluded to, and the Ṛibhus are mentioned as celebrated workers in wood and metal. Weaving, boat-building, leather-working, agriculture, and irrigation are also referred to.

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¹ Muir, *Original Sanskrit Texts*, v. 464; *Ṛigveda*, ix. 112; i. 110, 3; i. 111, 1.

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It was the villages which were the strongholds of the traditionary arts and crafts of India, but many of the craftsmen also lived in towns.² Here those employed in the same occupation were drawn together in trade guilds. Sometimes the craftsmen of a particular trade all belong to one caste, in which case the bonds which unite them are very strong indeed, and no outsider would be admitted. But where the same trade is pursued by men of different castes the guild may bring them together, and, though membership is hereditary, newcomers can be admitted by paying a fee, but no unqualified person is allowed to remain in the guild, or to become a member of it. There are no indentures of apprenticeship, but a boy born in one of the castes learns the particular craft from his father, and eventually takes the place of his father as a member of the guild. The guild raises funds, chiefly by fines, which are spent mostly in charities. The hours of work are regulated, and also the amount to be done, and in old times the guild also controlled the standard of quality both of material and design. The guild is also a kind of mutual assurance society. Each guild is managed by its *mahājans* (i.e. ‘great men’) or *seths*. In large cities the guilds command great influence.

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² See *The Industrial Arts of India*, Sir Geo. Birdwood, pp. 131 ff.; Coomaraswamy, ch. ii.

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The origin and age of these trade guilds is uncertain, but in the *Rāmāyaṇa* in the account of Bharata going out in procession to seek Rāma, the craftsmen are mentioned¹ as accompanying him as well as the ‘foremost merchants’:—

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¹ *Rāmāyaṇa* of Vālmīki, Griffith’s translation, p. 417; see also Birdwood, p. 131.

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‘And all others, and the foremost merchants as well as all the principal classes, joyfully went in quest of Rāma, and a number of gem-cutters, and goodly potters, weavers, and armourers, and peacock-dancers, sawers, and perforators of gems, glass-makers, and workers in ivory, cooks, incense-sellers, well-known goldsmiths, and wool manufacturers, bathers in tepid water, shampooers, physicians, makers of *dhūpas*, and wine-sellers, washermen, and tailors and actors.’

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This may imply the existence of some organization of the craftsmen into guilds before the time of Vālmīki, and guilds of artisans are also referred to in Kauṭilya’s *Arthaśāstra*.²

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² *Arthaśāstra*, iv. 1.

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In modern times their influence has weakened from various causes, but they still exist, and the account of the guilds of Āhmadābād, as given in the *Imperial Gazetteer of India*,³ is a good illustration of the system:—

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³ *I.G.I.*, vol. v. 101.

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‘In consequence of the importance of its manufactures in silk and cotton, the system of caste or trade unions is more fully developed in Āhmadābād than in any other part of Gujarāt. Each of the different castes of traders, manufacturers,

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and artisans forms its own trade guild, to which all heads of households belong. Every member has a right to vote, and decisions are passed by a majority. In cases where one industry has many distinct branches there are several guilds. Thus among potters, the makers of bricks, of tiles, and of earthen jars are for trade purposes distinct; and in the great weaving trade, those who prepare the different articles of silk and cotton form distinct associations. The object of the guilds is to regulate competition among the members, e.g. by prescribing days or hours during which work shall not be done. The decisions of the guilds are enforced by fines. If the offender refuses to pay, and the members of the guild all belong to one caste, the offender is put out of the caste. If the guild contains men of different castes, the guild uses its influence with other guilds to prevent the recusant member from getting work. Besides the amount received from fines, the different guilds draw an income by levying fees on any person beginning to practise his craft. This custom prevails in the cloth and other industries, but no fee is paid by potters, carpenters, and other inferior artisans. An exception is also made in the case of a son succeeding his father, when nothing has to be paid. In other cases the amount varies in proportion to the importance of the trade from Rs.50 to Rs.500. The revenue derived from these fees, and from fines, is expended in feasts to the members of the guild, and in charity. Charitable institutions or sadāvart, where beggars are fed daily, are maintained in Ahmadābād at the expense of the trade guilds.’

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In ancient times the arts and crafts were encouraged by kings and great nobles, and many of them kept their own craftsmen who were organized on a semi-feudal¹ basis. Sometimes they were in the service of a temple or monastery. The position of such craftsmen was secure and hereditary.

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¹ Coomaraswamy, ch. iii. ; Birdwood, p. 141.

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Royal craftsmen are said to have been established even as early as King Aśoka. Many of the Muhammadan rulers were great patrons of the craftsmen. But the patronage of the rich was not always an unmixed blessing. Thus in mentioning the royal encouragement of the arts Bernier¹ complains that forced service was sometimes resorted to by rich patrons and also intimidation, and the Abbé Dubois² also in praising Indian craftsmen attributes their not having reached a higher standard of perfection to the cupidity of the rulers. If an artisan, he says, excelled in his craft he was carried off to the palace and confined there for the rest of his life, without remission of toil and little reward. Dubois believed that arts and manufactures would have made greater progress in India if the rulers had given them real encouragement.

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¹ Bernier's Travels, pp. 228-258.

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² Dubois, i. 35.

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But however this may be, one may certainly say that the spirit of fine art and of craftsmanship has existed in India for long centuries, and has still a future before it. In ancient times the caste system, with its many disadvantages, helped to keep up the standard of work, and the dexterity and skill of each particular trade was handed down from father to son.³ Each craftsman and each caste was considered as duty bound to perform his or its particular work for the good of society.

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³ Birdwood, p. 129; Coomaraswamy, ch. v.

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The system of education, then, for the lads of each particular trade was a domestic one.⁴ They had practically no choice in the matter, but were, as a matter of course, brought up to the same trade as their fathers. Where the father was living and in good health he would usually train up his own son, and the young craftsman was, from the beginning, trained in the actual workshop. Thus not only was there a most affectionate relation between teacher and pupil, but the training was free from the artificiality of the schoolroom. The boy was taught by observing and handling real things, and the father would take a great delight in passing on to his son the skill which he himself possessed. In the collection of jade at the Indian museum there is a large engraved bowl on which a family in the employ of the emperors of Delhi was engaged for three generations.¹

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⁴ Ibid., ch. vi.; see also Mediæval Sinhalese Art, by same author, p. 63.

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¹ Birdwood, p. 142. ² Coomaraswamy, Mediæval Sinhalese Art, p. 64. ³ Coomaraswamy, ch. vi. ⁴ Padfield, Hindu at Home, p. 3.

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It was not merely a question of actual teaching, but the boy would day by day absorb unconsciously the traditions and spirit of the particular craft which he was learning.

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In many arts and crafts drawings would be a necessary accomplishment. This was learnt² by the boy drawing first certain peculiar curves on a panel. After this came the drawing of certain traditional ornaments, and conventional figures of mythical animals and other forms. Drawing was not taught from nature.

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In the majority of occupations a knowledge of reading and writing would not be required for the direct purposes of the craft, and would not be learnt. But certain Sanskrit works would in some occupations be learnt by heart.³ These contained traditional rules relating to the particular craft, and would not only be learnt but also explained to the novice. The craftsman was thus taught to look to the past ages for the rules of his trade and even to regard it as having been revealed by the divine skill of Viśvakarman. Thus in South India there are persons generally of the goldsmith caste, who are called vastu śāstrīs, who know by heart the traditional rules regulating the building of houses, who must be consulted by those who wish to erect new houses as to all the necessary details prescribed by the ancient books.⁴

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Though persons other than the three ‘twice-born’ castes were excluded from the study of the Vedas they were not shut out from participation in all religious rites, and in common with others would in various ways come to know something of the mythology and doctrines of the Hindu religion. Muhammadan craftsmen would, of course, have the same opportunity as others to send their boys to the *maktab*, held at the mosque, and here something of the Muhammadan religion was taught. The work of the craftsman was also accompanied by many religious rites, and it is not unknown for Hindu workmen on certain occasions even to worship their tools.

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Thus the education of the young craftsman in India was entirely vocational, and even narrowly so. Though the religious side of the boy’s education was not neglected, on the literary side it was very defective, and except for any treatises he might have to commit to memory in connection with his craft, he would have nothing but such scraps of folk-lore, mythology, and epic and other stories that might be handed down in the family, or related as the villagers gathered for gossip and discussion in the evenings, or taught by some wandering mendicant or temple priest. Yet as a vocational education it was not lacking in elements that made it really valuable. The affectionate and family relationship between teacher and pupils, the absence of artificiality in the instruction, and the opportunity and encouragement to produce really good work which the protection of the guild or caste gave—these were not without their influence in helping to build up a spirit of good craftsmanship, which was responsible for the production of really fine work.

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*Women.*—The education of girls in India was, and still is, not unlike the education of the boys who were to be craftsmen, in that it was entirely domestic and vocational, in the sense that they were being prepared for that which was considered a woman's principal work the duties of the household.

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There are not wanting evidences that women had a much higher status and more independence in early society than they came to have later. The position of the woman of the Aryan invaders of India was one of authority and honour, and marriage sometimes took place by free choice of man and maid. The customs of infant marriage and enforced widowhood were not prevalent among the Aryans of Vedic times. The authorship of some Vedic hymns¹ is ascribed to women, and in the deep discussions on philosophical truths which are related in the Upanishads, women are mentioned as taking part. Thus Gārgī Vāchaknavī² joins in the discussion, and Maitreyī,³ wife of Yājnavalkya, was 'conversant with Brahman', and heard from her husband philosophical doctrines. It is also described what a man should do⁴ if he wished 'that a learned daughter should be born to him'.

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¹ Viz. *Rigveda*, viii. 80; x. 39, 40.

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² *Brih. Ār. Up.*, iii. 6, 8.

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³ *Ibid.*, ii. 4; iv. 5.

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⁴ *Ibid.*, vi. 4, 17.

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But even in the *Rigveda* we find signs that women were coming to be regarded as inferior beings and unequal to man in intellect.

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Thus it is said,⁵ 'Indra himself hath said, The mind of woman brooks not discipline, her intellect hath little weight'. And again,⁶ 'With women there can be no lasting friendship; hearts of hyenas are the hearts of women'. By the time the code of Manu was drawn up her dependent position was fully established. It is there written:⁷ 'By a girl, by a young woman, or even by an aged one, nothing must be done independently, even in her own house. In childhood a female must be subject to her father, in youth to her husband, when her lord is dead to her sons; a woman must never be independent. She must not seek to separate herself from her father, husband, or sons; by leaving them she would make both her own and her husband’s families contemptible.’

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⁵ *Rigveda*, viii. 34, 17.

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⁶ *Ibid.*, x. 95, 15.

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⁷ Manu, v. 147-149.

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And again:¹ ‘Day and night must women be kept in dependence by the males of their families. . . Her father protects her in childhood, her husband protects her in youth, and her sons protect her in old age; a woman is never fit for independence.’

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¹ Manu, ix. 2, 3.

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There are many other passages also which show the low esteem in which women were held at the time when these regulations came into being. They were excluded also from the study of the Veda. Early marriage had already become the custom, and the only education a girl received was one which fitted her to fulfil her duties in the household of her husband. ‘Let the husband employ his wife in the collection and expenditure of his wealth, in keeping everything clean, in the fulfilment of religious duties, in the preparation of his food, and in looking after the household utensils.’² The training for this began in her own home under the supervision of her mother, and when she was married and went to live with her husband it would be continued, owing to the Indian custom of the non-separation of the family, by her mother-in-law. The injunction that she should be employed in the collection and expenditure of her husband’s wealth would seem to imply some knowledge of simple accounts, but this did not probably amount to much, and it is often the custom for a woman in India to-day who can neither read nor write to look after her husband’s money. Although shut out from the study of the Vedas and from performing a sacrifice, vow, or fast, apart from her husband, the performance of certain religious duties was specially enjoined for her, and in addition to receiving instruction in the rites and ceremonies in which she was expected to take part a woman would become acquainted with something of the vast heap of mythological stories and folk-lore which have been handed down and accumulated in India from ancient times. This indeed would in most cases be the only literary education she would receive.

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² Ibid., ix. 11.

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This was the state of the education of women in India for long centuries, but there were probably always some exceptions to the general rule. The education which certain Muhammadan princesses and other ladies of noble Muhammadan families received is referred to in the chapter on Muhammadan education. There were Hindu ladies also who received the same privileges, and amongst Hindu women who have taken a prominent and vigorous part in state affairs are Chānd Bībī of Ahmadnagar in the sixteenth century, Tārābāī among the Marāthas in the seventeenth, and Ahalya Bāī of Indore in the eighteenth. There have also been poetesses like Mīrā Bāī of the fifteenth century, and Bībī Ratan Kuar of the eighteenth century, both of whom wrote poems in the Hindī language.

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The daughters of wealthy landholders received sometimes some education from their fathers or family priests. There were also no doubt some women who broke through the barriers which shut them out from learning, and Ward¹ mentions one Hati Vidyālaṅkāra, a Kulīn Brāhman widow, who removed from Bengal to Benares and obtained many pupils there. Many female ascetics and mendicants also are said to know some Sanskrit and a still greater number to be conversant with the popular poems in the dialects of the country.

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¹ Ward, ii. 503.

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The dancing-girls who are often attached to temples and called *devadāsīs* (servants of the god) have in many cases been brought up from their infancy to lead immoral lives, but they have been famous in India for their wit and cleverness.

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They receive some education to enable them to perform their work of reciting and singing poems at certain festivals. Dubois¹ says, ‘These prostitutes are the only females in India who may learn to read, sing, and dance. Such accomplishments belong to them exclusively, and are, for that reason, held by the rest of the sex in such abhorrence, that every virtuous woman would consider the mention of them as an affront.’ The education of prostitutes is a very ancient custom in India. Thus with regard to them the *Arthaśāstra* of Kauṭilya says:² ‘Those who teach prostitutes, female slaves and actresses, arts such as singing, playing on musical instruments like *vīṇā*, pipe and drum, reading the thoughts of others, manufacture of scents and garlands, shampooing, and the art of attracting and captivating the mind of others shall be endowed with maintenance from the state.’ Their sons also were to be trained as actors, and many of the prostitutes were to be trained for the work of spies. ‘The wives of actors and others of similar profession who have been taught various languages and the use of signals shall, along with their relatives, be made use of in detecting the wicked and murdering or deluding foreign spies.’

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