Ancient Indian Education (Brahmanical and Buddhist) c12.20

c12.20

Firstly, we shall consider the evidence of the Sūtras connected with the Rigveda. The *Āśvalāyana Śrauta Sūtra* gives us some particulars. The name Āśvalāyana is probably to be traced back to Aśvala, the Hotṛi priest of Janaka, king of Videha, of whom we have already given a notice. Again, the formation of the word by the affix *āyana* probably points to the time of established schools (*ayana* ?). Names formed in this way occur but seldom in the *Brāhmaṇas* and only in their later portions and may be taken to betoken a late period. Among the teachers quoted is an Āśmarathva referred to by the scholiast on Pāṇini [iv, 3, 105]. Another teacher quoted is Taulvali expressly mentioned by Pāṇini [ii, 4, 61] as belonging to the *prāñchas* or “dwellers in the east”. At the end, there is an interesting enumeration of the various Brāhmaṇa-families distributed among the family stems of Bhṛigu, Aṅgiras, Atri, Viśvāmitra, Kaśyapa, Vasishṭha, and Agastya. The sacrifices on the Sarasvatī are also briefly touched upon. Lastly, it may be noted that Āśvalāyana is the author of the fourth book of the *Aitareya Āraṇyaka*; that he was the pupil of Śaunaka who is stated to have destroyed his own Sūtra in favour of his pupil's work which he considered to be so good. According to Weber, the Sūtra of Āśvalāyana along with the *Aitareya Brāhmaṇa* belonged to the eastern part of Hindusthan.