The University of Nalanda c13.137

c13.137

Writers of Hindu *Dharmaśāstras* and *Smṛtis* would have us believe that students of yore had no craving for any kind of games, save gambling with dice. Gautama¹, while speaking about the duties of a student, lays down the rule that a student should always keep away from gambling, etc. In one whole chapter devoted to the life of the student this is the only reference he makes to an amusement out of so many amusements that we know of. Since Gautama does not tell us of the games that the student used to play, it follows that the students indulged in no other sport but gambling. Gautama, however, strictly forbids gambling. We are, therefore, compelled to arrive at the conclusion to which Rashdall arrived, in the case of the Mediaeval European Universities, viz., that "a very striking feature of medieval University life is the almost total absence of authorized or respectable amusements."² But as far as ancient India is concerned, there appears to be a total absence of authorised or respectable amusements.