प्राचीन भारत में शिक्षा (डॉ. ए.एस. अल्तेकर - गुरुकुल एवं बौद्ध विहार शिक्षण इतिहास)

154 EDUCATION IN ANCIENT INDIA [Ch
theories and practices could be ascertained only from
Smṛitis and Purāṇas, which therefore had to be
mastered even by the village priest. The courses in
these subjects prescribed a good mastery of Sanskrit
grammar and classical Sanskrit literature and a special
study of select Sūtras, Smṛitis and Purāṇas. More
emphasis was laid on understanding the meaning of the
works concerned than on committing them to memory.
Usually the students of Smṛitis and Purāṇas took the
help of a manuscript when expounding their contents ;
there was no prejudice against utilising the art of
writing for preserving them.
Courses in Logic and Philosophy : The age we
are reviewing was reverberating with controversies
among the followers of Hinduism, Buddhism and
Jainism. Within the fold of Hinduism itself, the
followers of Sāṅkhya, Yoga, Nyāya, Mīmāṁsā and
Vedānta were contending for supremacy. It was but
natural that these controversies should have given an
impetus to the study of metaphysics. After getting a
preliminary grounding in grammar and literature, the
students of the subject used to select one of the systems
of philosophy for specialisation and master its most
advanced and difficult works. The study of philo-
sophy presupposed a study of logic during this period ;
so students of philosophy used to devote considerable
time to the study of logic also. The young graduate
in philosophy was however expected not only to
expound and defend his own system but also to
attack and refute those of his opponents. The course
therefore included a comparative study of the
contending systems of metaphysics. Hindu philo-
sophers like Gauḍapāda and Śaṅkarāchārya and

1. Kāvyamīmāṁsā, pp. 49-50.