Ancient Indian Education: An Inquiry into its Origin, Development, and Ideals c8.36

c8.36

The Brāhman authorities, like the Sūtras and the Code of Manu, have no reference to any form of literary education outside of the Brāhmanical schools. But silence in works of this kind is not certain evidence that facilities for primary education did not exist, and the Brāhmans may have had reasons for wishing to ignore any forms of education which were not in their own hands. The duties of Vaiśyas, as outlined in Manu, included, as we have noticed,¹ such things as a knowledge of measures and weights, of probable profit and loss on merchandise, of the languages of men, of the manner of keeping goods, and the rules of purchase and sale. Part of this knowledge at least was probably learnt in the course of business, being passed on from father to son, but it is quite conceivable that even in very early times some merchants or others may have employed a teacher, or founded a small school, for the instruction of their sons in the elements of these subjects.² There is, at any rate, evidence to show that the knowledge of reading and writing was fairly widespread in India long before the time of Manu.