Ancient Indian Education (Brahmanical and Buddhist) c30.143

c30.143

were also a marked characteristic of the Buddhist literary world. Hiuen Tsang has collected the more important traditions and facts on the subject from which we realize how these intellectual tournaments, by no means rare in their occurrence, brought together scholars from distant and different parts of India, promoted active intercourse between different monasteries representing different schools of thought, and created a broad brotherhood of letters in which were united the intellectuals of different provinces. We find that even the distant South, overcoming the many physical factors of isolation, won for itself an honoured place in the Indian intellectual system as centred in the northern parts of India like Nālandā in the Magadha country. For instance, we read of the South Indian Buddhist scholar, Deva, going with the permission of his master, the great Nāgārjuna, to a monastery called Kukkuṭārāma in distant Pāṭaliputra where in a twelve days' discussion he defeated the Tīrthikas of that place (ii, 100). Another academic victory achieved by one South Indian Buddhist scholar over another was commemorated in the Raktāmṛita Monastery in the country of Karṇasuvarṇa. The great Buddhist scholar of the south, Diṅnāga, a Brahman of Kāñchi by birth, made the buildings of the Nālandā monastery in Magadha resound with his victorious discussions with the exponents of various schools of thought of the times (ii, 209–212). A different Magadhan monastery commemorated the victory in debate of Śīlabhadra, a Brahman, and a prince by birth, who had renounced the world for the sake of Truth, over a South Indian Brahman scholar who came all the way to Magadha to challenge the learning of his Guru (ii, 110). Nor were these literary gatherings confined to the north. We read of the monks from Ceylon sojourning in Kāñchi, with whom our pilgrim has discussions on Yoga philosophy (p. 227). Among northern scholars again there are several notable discussions mentioned. A Magadhan monastery commemorated the victory achieved by Guṇamati, the Buddhist, over Mādhava, the Sāṁkhist (p. 108). We are told how Dharmapāla carried on a discussion for seven days with 100 Hīnayāna Śāstra-masters whom he utterly defeated in the end in a monastery in Viśoka (i, 374). We read of five monasteries in the Śrughna country built to commemorate the victories achieved by their Brethren who were experts in debate over the Tīrthikas and Brahmans (i, 319). The Brethren of these monasteries became so famous as "expert and lucid expounders of abstract doctrines" that "distinguished Brethren from other lands came to them to reason out their doubts (p. 318). Lastly, we may note how this phase of intellectual life was encouraged by the paramount Indian sovereign at the time of the pilgrim's visit, viz. Harsha, who used to bring the Brethren together for examination and discussion and rewarded the meritorious (p. 344).