Ancient Indian Education (Brahmanical and Buddhist) c12.s6.51

c12.s6.51

**A feat of memory in spreading Knowledge.** A remarkable example of a feat of memory and of the way in which this system of oral tradition could achieve the spread of learning from one province of India to another through her “moving libraries” is furnished by the history of the rise of the Navadvīpa school of Logic in Bengal. The founder of that school was Vāsudeva Sārvabhauma who, having completed his study of the Upanishads at Benares, sought the instruction of the renowned scholar Pakshadhara Miśra of Mithilā which was then (in the fifteenth century) the most important centre of learning in Northern India. It was a condition imposed by Pakshadhara Miśra upon his pupils that they were not to transcribe any copy of *Chintāmaṇi* by Gaṅgeśa Upādhyāya, the best work on Logic, of which the only MS. was in his possession, so that the college of Mithilā might enjoy its monopoly in regard to instruction of Logic. Equally valuable were also the interpretations and commentaries of Pakshadhara. This monopoly was, however, broken down by the memory of the pupil Vāsudeva who got by heart the four Parts of *Chintāmaṇi*, its annotations, and also a greater part of the famous work *Kusumāñjali*, and came to Nadia where he established a School which soon outrivalled Mithilā as a centre of learning. Thus the spread of learning overcame its physical barriers.