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

168 EDUCATION IN ANCIENT INDIA [Ch.
Literary Tournaments: Rājaśekhara describes
the examinations held in the royal court¹, and Charaka
refers to heated discussions held in learned assemblies
to test the relative merits of the contending physicians.²
These examinations were, however, fundamentally
different from modern degree examinations. Each
participant in these literary affrays was anxious to
prove, not that he possessed certain minimum quali-
fications, but that he was the best poet or physician in
the land, entitled to precedence, honour and annuities
from the royal court What Charaka or Rājaśekhara
have in contemplation is not a routine examination,
but an intellectual combat among the distinguished
physicians and scholars of the age.
No Degrees or Diplomas : Since there were no
degree examinations, there were naturally no degrees
or diplomas. From Tārānātha we learn that the Pāla
kings of Bengal, who were patrons and chancellors of
the Vikramaśīlā University, used to grant diplomas
to students in a convocation held at the end of their
education.³ In medieval Bengal also learned bodies
used to confer degrees like Tarkachakravartī and
Tarkālaṅkāra on very distinguished scholars like
Gadādhara and Jagadīśa. This practice of giving
degrees and titles seems to be a new innovation of
medieval times. Yuan Chwang informs us that
unscrupulous scholars in the seventh century used to
'steal the name of Nālandā' in order to gain more
respect⁴. This would not have been possible if the
Nālandā University were in the habit of granting
regular diplomas to those who had finished their
1 Kāvya-mīmāṁsā, p. 55.
2 Vimānasthāna, 8.
3 Bose, Indian Teachers of Buddhist Universities, p. 61
4 Watters, II, p. 165.