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

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CONTENTS
PAGE
Preface ... ... ... ... iii
Abbreviations and Transliteration ... ... vii
Chap. I. The Conception and Ideals of
Education ... ... 1
Chap. II. Some Educational Principles and
Postulates ... ... ... 22
Chap. III. The Teacher and the Student ... 48
Chap. IV. Educational Organisation and
Finance ... ... ... 70
Chap. V. Some Educational Centres and
Institutions ... ... 103
Chap. VI. Higher Literary Education;
Curriculum, Method of Teaching
and Examinations ... ... 143
Chap. VII. Primary Education ... ... 170
Chap. VIII Professional & Useful Education ... 184
Chap. IX. Female Education ... ... 204
Chap. X. A General Resume ... ... 225
Section A, Buddhism and
Ancient Indian Education ... 225
Section B, Period-wise Survey ... 233
Chap. XI. Achievements and Failures ... 241

ii
APPENDICES
PAGE.
Appendix I. Educational rituals ... 265
IA Vidyārambha ... 265
IB Upanayana ... ... 268
" IC College Session Rituals ... 282
" ID Convocation Ritual ... 287
" IE Ayurvedic Upanayana ... 289
" IF Dhanurvedic Upanayana ... 291
" IG Dhanurvedic Convocation ... 292
Appendix II. Significance of the Sacred Thread 294
Appendix III. Convocation Addresses ... 300
Appendix IV. Four Vedas, Six Aṅgas, etc. ... 305
Appendix V. Technical Terms and Dates. ... 30
Select Bibliography ... ... ... 311
Index ... ... ... ... 314

PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION
Considerable changes have been made in
Education in Ancient India while presenting its second
edition to the public. The first edition was in the
form of a research work primarily intended for the
students of Ancient Indian History and Culture. The
reception that was given to it, however, showed that
the general public was also interested in the subject
and would welcome its presentation in a less technical
and more popular form. Several Universities prescribed
the work as one of the text books for the paper dealing
with the History of Indian Education at the B. T.
examination, and it appeared that the teachers and
students of the Training Colleges would welcome the
treatment of the subject matter of the book, not only
from the point of the orientalist but also from that
of the educationalist. Further thought given to the
subject also showed that a few more topics should be
included in the book in order to make the treatment
complete and comprehensive.
A considerable portion of the book has, therefore,
been entirely rewritten for the second edition. Tech-
nical and detailed discussions have been transferred
to foot-notes and appendices. A new appendix
(appendix V) has been added, which explains technical
terms and gives the dates of authors, works, kings and
travellers incidentally referred to in the work. It is
hoped that this appendix will give a proper chrono-
logical background to readers not acquainted with
ancient Indian political and cultural history.
While rewriting the book the view point of the
educationalist has also been constantly kept before
the mind. The treatment is more comparative than

iv
was the case in the first edition; the views and
theories of Greek and Roman thinkers and medieval and
modern educationalists have been referred to, wherever
necessary, for a comparative estimate. Particular
attention has been given to the method of teaching
and curricula that prevailed in the different periods
of Ancient Indian History.
The first edition began with the chapter on
Educational Rituals. As this topic is not of particular
interest either to the educationalist or to the general
reader, it has been transferred to the end of the book
as Appendix I. The book now opens with a
discussion of the Conception and Ideals of Education,
the section on the Conception of Education being
entirely new. The second chapter which deals with
Some Educational Principles and Postulates is
substantially new. It is hoped that students of
Education will find it to be a very useful back-ground
for the study of ancient Indian education. Its
concluding section, dealing with the caste system and
education, will give information about the social life
in ancient India sufficient to understand the educational
problems. The next chapter dealing with the Teacher
and the Student presents in a succinct form the
information given in chapters II and III of the first
edition. Chapter IV dealing with Educational
Organisation and Finance is to a great extent a new
addition, and it is hoped that the educationalist as well
as the orientalist will find here a good deal of new
and interesting information on the subject. The
concluding portion of this chapter dealing with the
Educational Finance is based upon the chapter on
Society, State and Education of the first edition. The
next five chapters dealing with Some Educational
Centres, Higher Education, Primary Education, Profes-

v
sional and Useful Education and Female Education
occurred in the first edition, but they have been revised,
rearranged and rewritten in a more succinct form for
this edition.
Chapter X, which gives a General Resume of
the subject, is a new addition. The line of
treatment so far followed in the book isolated
the different topics like Primary Education, Female
Education, etc., and traced their history and
development from age to age. This method of
treatment no doubt enables the reader to get a
clear idea of the development of each theme, but does
not give him the picture of the educational condition
as a whole of the different epochs of Indian History.
The new chapter seeks to meet this need. In its first
section it gives a resume of the contribution of the
Buddhism to Ancient Indian Education and in its
second section it gives a bird's-eye view of the general
educational condition and achievements of each of the
four succeeding epochs into which Ancient Indian
History has been divided for this purpose. It is hoped
that both the student and the general reader will find
this chapter very useful. This edition like the first
one concludes with a discussion of the achievements
and failures of Ancient Indian Education.
Appendix I deals with different educational
rituals discussed in Chapter I of the first edition.
Appendices II and III are identical with Appendices
A and B of the first edition. Appendices IV and V are
practically speaking new. They explain some technical
expressions and supply dates of kings, authors and
travellers, referred to in the work.

'vi
It is hoped that the second edition of 'Education
in Ancient India' will make a wide appeal not only to
the resarch workers in Indology, but also to the general
readers and the students of education, and succeed in
familiarising them with the main features, ideals and
achievements of the Ancient Indian Educational
System.
Benares Hindu University.
10-8-1944. A. S. ALTEKAR.

1] THE CONCEPTION AND IDEALS OF EDUCATION 9
inculcation of civic and social duties, promotion of social
efficiency and the preservation and spread of national cul-
ture may be described as the chief aims and ideals of ancient
Indian education. Let us now see what were the views
of our educationalists about each of them.
Infusion of Piety and Religiousness: Religion
played a large part in life in ancient India and teachers
were usually priests. It is therefore no wonder that
infusion of a spirit of piety and religiousness in the mind
of the rising generation should have been regarded as the
first and foremost aim of education. The rituals which
were performed at the beginning of both the literary and
professional education,—primary as well as higher,—the
religious observances (vratas), which the student had to
observe during the educational course, the daily prayers
which he offered morning and evening, the religious
festivals that were observed with eclat in the school or
the preceptor's house almost every month,—all these
tended to inspire piety and religiousness in the mind of
the young student. It was the spiritual background that
was thus provided which was expected to help the student
to withstand the temptations of life. The very atmosphere,
in which he lived and breathed, impressed upon him the
reality of the spiritual world and made him realise that
though his body may be a product of nature, his mind,
intellect and soul belong to the world of spirit, the laws
of which ought to govern his conduct, mould his character
and determine the ideals of his life.
Limitations on Religiousness: Though the edu-
cational system thus provided the background of piety
and religiousness, its aim was not to induce the student
to renounce the world and become a wanderer in the
quest of God like the Buddha or Tulsidas. Even in the
case of Vedic students, who intended to follow a religious

10 EDUCATION IN ANCIENT INDIA [Ch.
career, only a microscopic minority used to remain life-
long Brahmachārins, pursuing the spiritual quest: the
vast majority was expected to become and did become
householders. The direct aim of all education, whether
literary or professional, was to make the student fit to
become a useful and pious member of society.
Formation of Character: The illumination and
power, which men and women received from educa-
tion, was primarily intended to transform and ennoble
their nature. The formation of character by the proper
development of the moral feeling was therefore the
second aim of education. Like Locke, ancient Indian
thinkers held that mere intellectual attainments were of
less consequence than the development of a proper moral
feeling and character. The Vedas being held as revealed,
educationalists naturally regarded their preservation as
of utmost national importance; yet they unhesitatingly
declare that a person of good character with a mere
smattering of the Vedic knowledge is to be preferred
to a scholar, who though well versed in the Vedas, is
impure in his life, thoughts and habits.¹ Montaigne
has observed, "Cry out, 'there is a learned man' and
people will flock round him."; cry out 'there is a good
man', and people will not look at him." Indian thinkers
were aware of this natural human tendency and wanted
to counteract it by pointing out that character was more
important than learning. One thinker goes to the extent
of saying that he alone is learned who is righteous.²
This opinion tallies remarkably with that of Socrates,
who held that virtue is knowledge. Evil effects of
1 सावित्रीमात्रसारोपि, वरं विप्रः सुयन्त्रितः ।
नायन्त्रितस्त्रिवेदोपि सर्वाशी सर्वविक्रयी ॥ Manu, II. 118.
2 धर्मं हि यो वर्धयते स पण्डितः । Mbh., XII. 321.78.

1] THE CONCEPTION AND IDEALS OF EDUCATION 11
divorcing power from virtue, intellectual and scientific
progress from moral and spiritual values, which are
being so vividly illustrated in the west in the modern
age, were well realised by ancient Indians; they have
therefore insisted that, while a man is being educated,
his regard for morality ought to be developed, his feeling
of good will towards human beings ought to be strength-
ened and his control over his mind ought to be perfected,
so that he can follow the beacon light of his conscience.¹
In other words, education ought to develop man's ideal
nature by giving him a sure moral feeling and by
enabling him to control his original animal nature. The
tree of education ought to flower in wisdom as well as
in virtue, in knowledge as well as in manners.
How Character was to be Formed: Direct
injunctions to develop a sense of moral rectitude were
scattered over almost every page of books intended for
students; they were also orally given to them by their
teachers every now and then. Apart from them, how-
ever, the very atmosphere in which students lived, was
calculated to give a proper turn to their character. They
were under the direct and personal supervision of their
teacher, who was to watch not only over their intellectual
progress but also over their moral behaviour. Ancient
Indians held that good character cannot be divorced
from good manners; the teacher was to see that in their
every day life students followed the rules of etiquette
and good manners towards their seniors, equals and
inferiors. These rules afforded an imperceptible but
effective help in the formation of character. The rituals
¹ Compare the view of Herbert: The aim of education should
be to instill such ideas as will develop both the understanding of the
moral order and a conscientious spirit in carrying it out. Great
Educationalists, pp, 175-6.

12 EDUCATION IN ANCIENT INDIA [Ch.
which students occasionally performed and the prayers
which they regularly offered every day were calculated to
emphasise upon their mind the fact that the student-life
was a consecrated one and that its ideals could be realised
only by those who did not swerve from the strict and
narrow path of duty. Examples of national heroes and
heroines like Hariśchandra, Bhīshma, Rāma, Lakshmaṇa,
Hanumān, Sītā Sāvitrī and Draupadī, which were pro-
minently placed before students, also served to mould
their character in a powerful manner. Character was
thus built up partly by the influence of direct injunctions,
partly by the effect of continued discipline and partly
by the glorification of national heroes, held in the highest
reverence by society.
Personality not Repressed: There is a general
impression that Hindu educationalists suppressed persona-
lity by prescribing a uniform course of education and
enforcing it with an iron discipline. Such however was
not the case. The caste system had not become hidebound
down to c. 500 B.C. and till that time a free choice of
profession or career was possible both in theory and
practice. Later on when the system became rigid; the
theory no doubt was that everybody should follow his
hereditary profession, but the practice permitted consider-
able freedom to enterprising individuals, as will be
shown in the following chapter. It is wrong to conclude
from some stray passages that the whole of the Brahmana
community, if not the whole of the Aryan community,
was compelled to devote twelve years to the task of
memorising the Vedic texts.¹ Kshatriyas and Vaishyas
never took seriously to the Vedic learning; only a section
of the Brahmanas dedicated themselves to the Vedic
studies, while the rest of the community learnt only
¹ E. g., Manu, III. 1; II. 168.

1] THE CONCEPTION AND IDEALS OF EDUCATION 13
a few Vedic hymns necessary for their daily use, and
devoted their main energy to the study of the subjects
of their own choice like logic, philosophy, literature,
poetics or law. The educational curriculum of the
Smṛitis represents the Utopian idealism of the Brahmana
theologian and not the actual reality in society.
Development of Personality: The development of
personality was in fact the third aim of the educational
system. This was sought to be realised by eulogising the
feeling of self-respect, by encouraging the sense of self-
confidence, by inculcating the virtue of self-restraint and
by fostering the powers of discrimination and judgment.
The student was always to remember that he was the
custodian and the torch-bearer of the culture of the race.
Its welfare depended upon his proper discharge of his
duties. If the warrior shines on the battlefield, or if the
king is successful as a governor, it is all due to their proper
training and education (A. V., XI. 15. 17.). To support
the poor student was the sacred duty of society, the non-
performance of which would lead to dire spiritual cala-
mities. A well trained youth, who had finished his
education, was to be honoured more than the king himself.
It is but natural that such an atmosphere should develop
the student's self-respect in a remarkable manner.
Influence of Self-confidence: Self-confidence
was also fostered equally well. The Upanayana ritual,
as we shall see in Appendix I. B, used to foster self-
confidence by pointing out that divine powers would co-
operate with the student and help him on to the achieve-
ment of his goal, if he on his part did his duty well.
Poverty need not depress him; he was the ideal student
who would subsist by begging his daily food. If he was
willing to work in his spare time, he could demand and
get free education from any teacher or institution. Self-

14 EDUCATION IN ANCIENT INDIA [Ch.
reliance is the mother of self-confidence, and the Hindu
educational system seeks to develop it in a variety of
ways, as we shall see in the following pages. Uncertainty
of the future prospect did not damp the student's self-con-
fidence. If he was following a professional course, his
career was already determined. There was no overcrowd-
ing or cut-throat competition in professions. If he
was taking religious and liberal education, poverty was
to be the ideal of his life. His needs ought to be, and
as a matter of fact were, few, and the state and society
supplied them well.
Influence of Self-restraint: The element of
self-restraint, that was emphasised by the educational
system, further served to enrich the student's personality.
Self-restraint that was emphasised was distinctly different
from self-repression. Simplicity in life and habits was
all that was insisted upon. The student was to have a
full meal, only it was to be a simple one. The student
was to have sufficient clothing, only it was not to be
foppish. The student was to have his recreations, only
they were not to be frivolous. He was to lead a life of
perfect chastity, but that was only to enable him to be an
efficient and healthy householder when he married. It will
be thus seen that what the educationalists aimed at did not
result in self-repression, but only promoted self-restraint
that was so essential for the development of a proper
personality. Nor was this self-restraint enforced by
Spartan ways of correction and punishment. The teacher
was required to use persuasion and spare the rod as far
as possible. He was liable to be prosecuted if he used
undue force. Self-discipline was developed mainly by
the formation of proper habits during the educational
course.
Discrimination and Judgment Developed: It may

1] THE CONCEPTION AND IDEALS OF EDUCATION 15
be further pointed out that the powers of discrimination and
judgment, so necessary for the development of proper
personality, were well developed in students taking liberal
education and specialising in logic, law, philosophy,
poetics or literature. These branches of study bristled
with controversies and the student had to understand both
the sides, form his own judgment and defend his position
in literary debates. It was only with the Vedic students
that education became mechanical training of memory.
This became inevitable in later times when the literature
to be preserved became very extensive and the modern
means for its preservation in the form of paper and print-
ing were unavailable. In earlier days even Vedic students
were trained in interpreting the hymns they used to
commit to memory.
Stress on Social Duties: The inculcation of civic
and social duties, which was the fourth aim of the
educational system, was particularly emphasised. The
graduate was not to lead a self-centred life. He must
teach his lore to the rising generation even when there
was no prospect of a fee. He was enjoined perpetuation
of race and culture by raising and educating progeny.
He was to perform his duties as a son, a husband, and
a father conscientiously and efficiently. His wealth was
not to be utilised solely for his own or his family's wants ;
he must be hospitable and charitable. Particularly
emphatic are the words in the convocation address,
emphasising these duties.¹ Professions had their own
codes of honour. which laid stress on the civic responsi-
bilities of their members. The physician was required to
relieve disease and distress even at the cost of his life.
The warrior had his own high code of honour, and could
Tai. Up., I, 11.

16 EDUCATION IN ANCIENT INDIA [Ch.
attack his opponent only when the latter was ready.
Social structure in ancient India was to a great extent
independent of government. Governments may come and
go, but social and village life and national culture were
not much affected by these changes. It was probably this
circumstance that was responsible for the non-inclusion of
patriotism among the civic duties, inculcated by the
Educational System.
Promotion of Social Efficiency and Happiness:
The promotion of social efficiency and happiness was the
fifth aim of the educational system. It was sought to be
realised by the proper training of the rising generation in
the different branches of knowledge, professions and
industries. Education was not imparted merely for the
sake of culture or for the purpose of developing mental
and intellectual powers and faculties. Indirectly, though
effectively, it no doubt promoted these aims, but primarily
it was imparted for the purpose of training every indivi-
dual for the calling which he was expected to follow.
Society had accepted the theory of division of work,
which was mainly governed in later times by the principle
of heredity. Exceptional talent could always select the
profession it liked; Brahmanas and Vaishyas as kings
and fighters, Kshatriyas and even Shudras as philosophers
and religious teachers, make their appearance throughout
the Indian history. It was however deemed to be in the
interest of the average man that he should follow his
family's calling. The educational system sought to
qualify the members of the rising generation for their
more or less pre-determined spheres of life. Each trade,
guild and family trained its children in its own profession.
This system may have sacrificed the individual inclinations
of a few, but it was undoubtedly in the interest of many.
Differentiation of functions and their specialisation in

I] THE CONCEPTION AND IDEALS OF EDUCATION 17
hereditary families naturally heightened the efficiency of
trades and professions, and thus contributed to social
efflciency. By thus promoting the progress of the different
branches of knowledge, arts and professions, and by
emphasising civic duties and responsibilities on the mind
of the rising generation, the educational system contributed
materially to the general efficiency and happiness of
society.
Preservation and Spread of Culture: The
preservation and spread of national heritage and culture
was the sixth and one of the most important aims of the
Ancient Indian System of Education. It is well recognised
that education is the chief means of social and cultural
continuity and that it will fail in its purpose if it did
not teach the rising generation to accept and maintain
the best traditions of thought and action and transmit the
heritage of the past to the future generations. Any
one who takes even a cursory view of Hindu writings
on the subject is impressed by the deep concern that
was felt for the preservation and transmission of the
entire literary, cultural and professional heritage of
the race. Members of the professions were to train their
children in their own lines, rendering available to the
rising generation at the outset of its career all the skill
and processess that were acquired after painful efforts of
the bygone generations. The services of the whole Aryan
community were conscripted for the purpose of the pre-
servation of the Vedic literature. Every Aryan must
learn at least a portion of his sacred literary heritage.
It was an incumbent duty on the priestly class to commit
the whole of the Vedic literature to memory in order to
ensure its transmission to unborn generations. It is true
that not all the Brahmanas obeyed this injunction, but
that was because they had the commonsense to realise that
2

18 EDUCATION IN ANCIENT INDIA [Ch.
the services of their entire class were not necessary for
the task. A section of the Brahmana community, however,
was always available to sacrifice its life and talents in
order to ensure the preservation of the sacred texts.
Theirs was a life-long and almost a tragic devotion to the
cause of learning. For, they consented to spend their life
in committing to memory what others and not they
could interpret. Secular benefits that they could expect
were few and not at all commensurate with the labour
involved. Remaining sections of the Brahmana commu-
nity were fostering the studies of the different branches
of liberal education, like grammar, literature, poetics,
law, philosophy and logic. They were not only preserving
the knowledge of the ancients in these branches, but
constantly increasing its boundaries by their own contri-
butions, which were being made down to the medieval
times. Specialisation became a natural consequence of
this tendency and it tended to make education deep rather
than broad.
The Theory of Three Debts : The interesting
theory of three debts, which has been advocated since the
Vedic age, has effectively served the purpose of inducing
the rising generation to accept and maintain the best
traditions of thought and action of the past generations
The theory maintains that the moment an individual is
born in this world, he incurs three debts, which he can
discharge only by performing certain duties. First of
all, he owes a debt to gods, and he can liquidate it only
by learning how to perform proper sacrifices and by
regularly offering them. Religious traditions of the race
were thus preserved. Secondly, he owes a debt to the
rishis or savants of the bygone ages and can discharge it
only by studying their works and continuing their literary
and professional traditions. The rising generation was

I] THE CONCEPTION AND IDEALS OF EDUCATION 19
thus enabled to master and maintain the best literary and
professional traditions. The third debt was the debt to
the ancestors, which can be repaid only by raising progeny
and by imparting proper education to it₁ Steps were thus
take to see that the rising generation became an efficient
torch-bearer of the culture and traditions of the past.
Other Methods to Preserve Cultural Traditions:
The emphasis laid on obedience to parents, respect to
elders and teachers and gratitude to savants of the bygone
ages also helped to preserve the best traditions of the
past. Especially significant in this connection are the
rules about svādhyāya and ṛishitarpaṇa; the former
enjoin a daily recapitulation of at least a portion of what
was learnt during the student life and the latter require a
daily tribute of gratitude to be paid to the literary giants
of the past at the time of morning prayers. In later
times, when archaic Sanskrit ceased to be understood and
abstract and abstruse philosophy failed to appeal to
masses, a new type of literature, the Purāṇas, was
composed to popularise national culture and traditions
among the masses. It was daily expounded to the masses
in vernaculars, and as a consequence the best cultural
traditions of the past filtered down to and were preserved
by even illiterate' population. Devotional literature in
vernacular also served the same function.
Conclusion : Body, mind, intellect and spirit consti-
tute a human being; the aims and ideals of ancient
Indian education were to promote their simultaneous and
Harmonious development. Men are social beings ; ancient
Indian education not only emphasised social duties but
also promoted social happiness. No nation can be called
¹ जायमानो वै ब्राह्मणस्त्रिभिरृणैऋणवाञ्जायते ।
यज्ञेन देवेभ्यो ब्रह्मचर्येण ऋषिभ्यः प्रजया पितृभ्यः। T.S., see also S.Br., 1:5.5

20 EDUCATION IN ANCIENT INDIA [Ch.
educated which cannot preserve and expand its cultural
heritage. Our education enabled us to do this for
several centuries.
Aims of Education: Some Comparative Observa-
tions: It would be interesting to compare the aims and
ideals of ancient Indian education with those of some other
systems, both ancient and modern, both eastern and
western. We therefore now proceed to do so. In ANCIENT
CHINA, Confucian preached that the purpose of education
should be to train each individual in his path of duty,
wherein is to be prescribed most minutely every deatil of
life’s occupations and relationships. If we understand
duty in a sufficiently wide sense, this definition of the aim
of education would appear to be very similar to that of
ancient Indian educationalists. In ANCIENT GREECE as
well as in REFORMATION EUROPE, the ideal of personal
culture loomed large in the educational system. Ancient
Indians held that the individual exists more for society
than vice versa; it was therefore the function of education
to acquaint the individual with the culture of the race.
Personal culture was promoted by the educational system
only to the extent it was possible to do so by imparting
national culture. Music, painting and fine arts thus did
not become subjects of general education in ancient India
as they became in ancient Greece. THE SPARTAN EDUCA-
TION aimed at providing the state with as many faithful
and capable soldiers as possible, who would defend it
with the armed hand. The existence of the Aryans in
India was not a precarious one; they were not like the
Spartans threatened with a slave population about ten
times their own number; so their education was not
naturally dominated by the military ideal in any degree.
MEDIEVAL EUROPEAN EDUCATIONALISTS held that education
should be primarily for piety and wisdom; some writers

I] THE CONCEPTION AND IDEALS OF EDUCATION 21
like Montaigne also have advocated that it should develop
virtue, wisdom, good manners and learning. Ancient
Indians agree with this view but add that education must
also fit an individual for a useful profession. JESUITICAL
EDUCATION aimed at creating an army of faithful and
resolute servants of the Catholic Church. Brahmana
priests, who controlled and guided education in ancient
India did not have so narrow an aim; the youths they
trained very often questioned their traditional beliefs and
started new theories of religion and philosophy. The
system also provided for the needs of the laity. MILTON
held that educational system should qualify a youth to
perform skilfully, justly and magnanimously all the
offices, both private and public, of peace and war.
Ancient Indians held that all persons are not versatile
enough to be trained for this ideal; they believed in the
differentiation of functions and trained different classes
for their different duties. SOME MODERN AMERICAN
EDUCATIONALISTS hold that moral character and social
efficiency, and not mere erudition and culture, should be
the aims of education. Ancient Indians accept this view,
but add that the preservation of the ancient national
culture, which naturally does not loom large before a
young nation like America, must also figure prominently
as an aim of education. SOVIET EDUCATION concentrates
its activities on the training and upliftment of the
proletariate. There was no class war in ancient India;
educationalists therefore tried to provide education to
each class, suitable for its own needs and traditions.
MODERN INDIAN EDUCATION is dominated by the aim of
passing examinations with highest honours; this aim was
practically non-existent in ancient India. It will be
shown in Chapter VI how examinations played quite a
negligible part in ancient Indian education.