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

VIII] PROFESSIONAL AND USEFUL EDUCATION 203.
and the graceful as well as huge shrines of Orissa and
South India show that the Indian architect could solve
a number of difficulties, which we think it hardly
possible to overcome except with the help of the
modern machinary.
Was Professional Education narrow ? : Prima
facie the professional education as given by the
apprenticeship system seems to be narrow ; the
student seems to have been taught only what the
tradition and works of his profession had to teach.
There is, however, some historical evidence to show
that many of the artists and artisans of the age used to
possess a good amount of cultural and literary
education as well. Thus some of the members of the
weavers' guilds at Daśapura (in Malva) used to take
active interest in astronomy and folklore during the
5th century A. D. There is no evidence to prove or
disprove that what was true of this guild at Mandsore
was true of the average artisan of the period. The
conclusion may, however, be hazarded that down to the
8th or the 9th century A. D. artisans of the highest
grade used to receive a fair amount of liberal
education. Later on owing to the decline of
literacy and the low esteem in which arts and handi-
crafts began to be held, there was a setback and
artisans began to blindly follow the processes that were
handed down to them by tradition.