Ancient Indian Education (Brahmanical and Buddhist) c12.s6.4

c12.s6.4

**Holidays.** The academic session is punctuated by numerous holidays. Interruptions of study were allowed for a variety of causes and circumstances. The *first* cause of such interruption is the occurrence of certain natural phenomena. These include the following: wind whirling up dust in the day-time (dust-storm) or audible at night; sky flaming red; rainbow; hoar frost settling on the ground; clouds out of season; thunder, rain (sufficiently heavy to cause dripping of water from the edge of roof) and lightning out of season or in season (in which case the study is to stop for the remaining hours of the day or night); Jupiter, Venus, Sun, and Moon surrounded by a halo; thunder, earthquake, eclipse, and fall of meteors (to stop study until the same time next day, i.e. for 24 hours); simultaneous rain, thunder and lightning (to stop study for three days). *Secondly*, the standing list of holidays included the following: new moon (two days' leave); full moon days of the months of Kārttika, Phālguna, and Āshāḍha; eighth and fourteenth days of each half-month and full-moon days of every month [Manu, iv, 113]; certain other days set apart for religious ceremonies, e.g. three Ashṭakas (involving three days' leave for each); Upākarma and Utsarjana (with three days' leave for each); spring festival (which, according to Haradatta, falls on the thirteenth of the first half of Chaitra), and the festival of Indra in the month of Āshāḍha (when the study of an Anuvāka ¹ is forbidden, according to Āpastamba); and, lastly, festive days (the day of the initiation and the like) [Gaut., xvi, 43]. *Thirdly*, study is forbidden in the case of certain political or other events taking place, e.g. invasion of the village [Gautama, xvi, 34; Manu, iv, 118]; when the cows are prevented from leaving the village due to cattle-lifting by robbers and the like [*Āp.*, i, 3, 9, 25]; or during a battle [Vishṇu, xxx, 11]; if outcasts ["robbers such as Ugras and Nishādas" (Haradatta on *Āp.*, i, 3, 9, 18)] have entered the village or *if good men have come*) or when a king or a learned Brahmin (who has mastered one Veda; or a cow, or a Brahmin in general has met with an accident; if there is an outbreak of fire in the village; or when the king of the country has died [Gautama, xvi, 32] or has become impure through birth or death in his family (cf. modern "court mourning") [Manu, iv, 110]. *Fourthly*, study is to be stopped when certain sounds are heard, e.g. howling of jackals, barking of dogs, braying of donkeys, grunting of camels, cry of a wolf, screeching of an owl; the sound of an arrow, of a large or small drum; the noise of a chariot; the wail of a person in pain or weeping.