Ancient Indian Education (Brahmanical and Buddhist) c31.53

c31.53

**Measurement of time for regulating the day's duties.** As a large part of the daily life of the monks was regulated according to time, the monasteries had to provide themselves with the means of measuring time. This was done by means of sun-dials called *Velāchakras*, time-wheels. Since the rule fixing the time for meals could not be violated, monks were expected to take such a dial with them even when they were travelling, whether on land or by sea. Besides, clepsydræ were also installed in the larger monasteries. These were usually gifts from kings together with the boys who watched them. The regulation of the clepsydra was somewhat different in the monasteries of Mahābodhi and Kuśinagara, where it was arranged that the smaller bowl should be immersed in the larger water-vessel sixteen times between morn and midday, while at Nālanda there were to be only four such immersions during the same interval (p. 145).