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

270 EDUCATION IN ANCIENT INDIA [Ch.
dog or a jackal.¹ And if the holy Brahmana can be
rendered holier by this Saṁskāra, why should it fail
to perform a similar miracle in the case of other
inanimate objects ? In medieval times the custom
therefore arose of performing this ceremony over the
holy Pippal tree in order to make it holier.² All these,
however, are later anomalies that crept into society
when the original purpose of Upanayana was being
gradually forgotten.
Its Antiquity : The antiquity of this ritual goes
back to prehistoric times. It existed in the Indo-
Iranian period and is clearly presupposed by the
Ṛigveda [X. 109, 5; III. 8. 4 and 5]. The Atharva-
veda describes it in detail and attributes the
proper functioning of society and nature to its
mysterious efficacy.³ Details about the student's
life and paraphernalia, more or less similar to those
given in Smṛitis, are to be seen in several passages of
the Brāhmaṇa literature.⁴ In the early period, the
ritual was a simple one ; even a verbal acceptance by
the teacher was sufficient.⁵ For a long time the father
himself acted as the teacher (Br. Up., V. 2.1 ; VI. 2.9).

1. Cf. Śātātapa, Paiṭhīnasi and Yama quoted in VMS.,
   p. 545-7.
2. An inscription from Karnatak refers to a Brahmana, per-
   forming this ceremony on the four Aśvatha trees planted by him in
   a temple garden in 1358 A.D. E.C., III, Malavalli No. 28.
3. ब्रह्मचर्येणं तपसा राजा राष्ट्रं विरक्षति । XI. 5. 17.
   ब्रह्मचर्येण कन्या युवानं विन्दते पतिम् । XI. 5. 18.
   ब्रह्मचर्येण तपसा देवा मृत्युमपाघ्नत । XI. 5. 19.
   स दाधार पृथिवीं दिवं च ॥ XI. 5. 1.
   See also, VI. 138.
4. Tai. S., VI, 3, 10, 5; Sat. Br., XI, 5, 4, (here we have a
   detailed description of the Upanayana); Go. Br., I. 2, 1-8 (here we have
   several interesting reasons for the different rules of Brahmacharya).
5. वाचा ह स्मैव पूर्वमुपयति । Br. Up., VI. 2.7.