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

I, B] UPANAYANA RITUAL 277
student from harm, disease and death¹. When this
presentation was over, the teacher assured his pupil
that he was thenceforward under divine protection²;
fortified by that consciousness, he should push forth
his studies without any apprehensions.
Standing on Stone : The next element in the
ritual is a symbolical one; the boy was asked to stand
on a stone and enjoined to be steadfast in the pursuit
of his studies³. Firm determination and singleness
of purpose are most essential for a successful
educational career and the necessity of cultivating them
was emphasised on the scholar's mind by this element
in the ritual.
Acceptance by the Teacher : The scholar was then
brought before his teacher who asked him whose Braha-
chārin⁴ (student) he was. The young boy naturally
replied to the preceptor that he was the latter's disciple.
The preceptor then used to correct him and asked
him to note that he was the pupil of gods Indra and
Agni, the most popular and powerful among the Vedic
deities⁵. When formally taking charge of the pupil
by seizing his right hand, the teacher used to announce
that he was doing so with the command and concur-
rence of God Savitṛi.⁶ The teacher then touched the

1. Cf. देव सवितेरेष ते ब्रह्मचारी स मा मृत । Aś. Gr. S., I, 20, 6
2. Śat Br., XI. 5, 4, 3.
3. Mā. Gr. S., I. 22. 12. Stone was also symbolical of strength:
   Bh. G. S. held that the significance of the ritual was to
   make the boy invulnerable. I. 8.
4. Brahma originally meant prayer; the original meaning
   of Brahmacharya was thus the period of study of the sacred prayers
   or the Vedic Mantras. Since chastity was usually observed in this
   period, the term came to acquire the secondary sense of a period of
   chastity as well. Brahmachārin was one who followed Brahmacharya
   discipline.
5. Cf. कस्य त्वं ब्रह्मचार्यसि । भवत इत्युच्यमाने इन्द्रस्य ब्रह्मचार्यसि
   अग्निरचार्यस्तव अहमाचार्यस्तव । Pā. Gr. S., II, 3.
6. Aś. Gr. S., I. 20, 4.