Ancient Indian Education (Brahmanical and Buddhist) c18.31

c18.31

**The Sixty-four Arts and Crafts (Kalās) in Literature.**¹ Many works of Sanskrit Literature, as well as Buddhist and Jain, contain references to the ancient Indian Arts and Crafts making up a traditional number of 64. These references, for instance, are found in the Rāmāyaṇa [i, 9, 5], Bhāgavata-Purāṇa [x, 45, 36], Mahābhāshya [i, 1, 57], Daśakumāracharita [ii, 21], Kādambarī, Vātsyāyana's Kāmasūtra, and also in the works of Vāmana, Māgha, Bhavabhūti, and others. Among Buddhist and Jain works containing these references may be mentioned Lalitavistara, Jātakamālā (p. 105), Kalpasūtra, Aupapātika- Sūtra, or Praśnavyākaraṇa-Sūtra. Some works mention more than 64 *Kalās*, Jain works mentioning 72, while Lalitavistara gives 86. But the most ancient and established number is 64.