Ancient Indian Education: An Inquiry into its Origin, Development, and Ideals c5.27

c5.27

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.