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

I, B] UPANAYANA RITUAL 281
**Medhajanana Ritual :—**For three days after the
Upanayana, the student was said to remain in an
embryonic condition ; it was on the fourth day that
his spiritual birth took place. The preceptor, who
was now in the position of the father, then performed
the Medhājanana ritual for sharpening the memory,
intellect and grasping power of the student. Prayer
was offered that the student should be favoured with
an intelligence as attractive as cows, as vigorous as
studs and as brilliant as the solar rays ; it should be
equally effective in mechanical, material and spiritual
spheres.¹ Medhājanana ritual marked the termination
of the Upanayana ceremony.
**Significance of the ritual :—**At the time when the
significance of the Upanayana ritual and Mantras was
perfectly grasped, a very powerful impression must have
been produced on the mind of all the parties partici-
pating in the ceremony through the various suggestions
conveyed to them by the different elements in the ritual.
The ritual heralded the beginning of a new epoch in the
student's life, characterised by dignity, decorum and
discipline. The scholar was to regard himself as a
self-reliant traveller bound for the realm of knowledge;
the journey was to be long and arduous, but if there
was singleness of purpose, devotion to. studies and
perfect accord between him and his teachers, he would

1. त्वं नो मेधे प्रथमा गोभिरश्वेभिरागहि ।
   त्वं सूर्यस्य रश्मिभिस्त्वं नो असि यज्ञिया ॥
   यां मेधामृभवो विदुर्यां मेधामसुरा विदुः ।
   ऋषयो भद्रां मेधां यां विदुस्तां मय्या वेशयामसि ॥
   A. V., VI 108, 1, 3.
   Ribhus were famous for their mechanical skill and Asuras for
   their material civilization.

282 EDUCATION IN ANCIENT INDIA [App.
surely reach his goal. For, divine help and co-operation
were enlisted on his behalf; even death could not touch
him if he properly followed the rules of his order
(S. Br., XI. 2. 6; B. D. S., I. 3). His personality will
develop like that of Indra and his intelligence will
glow up like the refulgent flame of God Fire. He will
find nothing relating to his literary goal impossible if
he worked with faith, assiduousness and determination.
What better ideas can be conveyed to a young scholar
at the beginning of his education?
SECTION C
RITUALS DURING THE COLLEGE SESSION
Introduction :—Rituals were naturally prescribed
at the beginning and at the end of the annual school
session, as they were at the beginning and at the end of
the educational course. In pre-historic times the annual
session of schools and colleges began soon after the
commencement of the rainy season. when the sowing
operations were over and crops had began to sprout.
This usually happened by the full moon day of
Śrāvaṇa¹ (August); so the ritual of Chhandasām-
upākarman i. e. of 'gathering the Vedic knowledge',
was performed on that day. Later on it began to be
described as Śrāvaṇī². In pre-historic times Vedic
literature was not extensive; so a college term of

1. The full moon days of Āshāḍha, Śrāvaṇa and Bhādrapada
   are mentioned by different authorities as appropriate days for
   Upākarma. (Cf. Bau. Gr. S., III. 1. 2-3; Kh. Gr. S., III, 2, 14; Hi.
   Gr. S., II, 18, 1). Rainy season is receding back every century and
   it commences in different months in different provinces of India.
   Hence this divergence about the appropriate season for Upākarma.
2. Śrāvaṇī is a relatively modern name for the ritual. In early
   times it denoted the Nāga worship ritual performed on the full moon
   day of Śrāvaṇa; when this ritual went out of vogue, the name was
   transferred to the Chhandasām-Upākarma ritual, because that too
   was usually performed on the same day.

I, C] UPĀKARMA RITUAL 283
about five or six months was found to be sufficient for
mastering it. The ritual of Chhandasām-utsarjana, i. e.
the cessation of Vedic studies, was therefore performed
on the full moon day of Pausha or Māgha (February-
March). In later times when the Vedic literature
became very extensive, and more branches of learning
were developed like grammar, philology, logic,
philosophy and Dharmaśāstra, the duration of the
annual term was extended over practically the whole
year. Curiously enough, owing to the force of the
established tradition, the Utsarjana ceremony still
continued to be performed in February or March,
though the college studies did not cease at that time.
At present the ritual is not performed at its proper
time but combined with the Upākarma ritual. This
practice goes back to medieval times.
**Upakarma or Sravani; its Significance :—**The
statement that Śrāvaṇī denotes a ritual performed at
the beginning of the college session may appear fanciful
to the modern Hindu, who is accustomed to associate
it with the annual replacement of the sacred thread,
but there is ample and clear evidence to justify it.
Our authorities declare that the ritual was to be
performed only by the teacher along with his students
when they had reassembled at the beginning of the
session¹. It was believed that the presiding teacher
would get in the course of time as many students as
was the number of sesasums offered as oblations in
this ritual²; some texts lay down special formulas to be

1. अध्येष्यमाणाः अध्याप्यैरन्वारब्ध..........। Āś. Gr. S., 3.4.10.
   समारब्धेष्वन्तेवासिषु.... ...उपाकर्म कुर्वीत । सहान्तेवासिभिः
   ग्रामादभिनिष्क्रम्य........उत्सर्जनविधिः । Bau. Gr. S., III. 1. 3. ff.
2. स यावन्तं गणमिच्छेत्तावन्तस्तिलानातर्थफलेन जुहुयात् ।
   P. Gr. S., II. 10.

284 EDUCATION IN ANCIENT INDIA [App.
performed by teachers ambitious to have a large
number of scholars¹. In some places there was the
custom requiring the teacher to give a feast to his
students on the day of Śrāvaṇī². It would thus be
clear that the ritual of Śrāvaṇī was originally confined
only to teachers and students and was performed on
the opening day of the annual session.
Prevention of Wastage in Education :—Later on,
however, it came to be prescribed for the whole
community primarily to prevent wastage in education.
We are all aware how a large number of students
lose their study habits and forget a good deal of what
they had learnt in their schools and colleges, when
they settle down as householders pursuing their own
professions. The same thing happened in the past.
It was however regarded as a serious disaster in ancient
times, as the modern facilities of books and libraries
were then non-existent. In the course of time there-
fore educationalists began to feel that steps must be
taken to ensure that even householders would set apart
some time in the year for revising their studies. Some
of them, like Śvetaketu, advocated that they should
be asked to spend two months every year in their old
colleges for this purpose. The majority however felt
that it is impracticable to suggest to householders that
they should give up their professions for two months
every year in order to keep themselves in touch with
their studies³. They therefore proposed that the

1. अन्तेवासिनां योगमिच्छञ्जपं जपति....। Vā. Gr. S., 7.
2. सब्रह्मचारिणश्च उपसमेतान्भोजयेदाचार्यः J. Gr. S., I. 14.
3. निवेशे वृत्ते संवत्सरे द्वौ द्वौ मासौ समाहितः आचार्यकुले वसेद्भूयः
   श्रुतमिच्छन्निति श्वेतकेतुः । एतेन ह्यहं योगेन भूयः पूर्वस्माच्छ्रुतमकरव-
   मिति । तच्छास्त्रैर्विप्रतिषिद्धम् । निवेशे हि वृत्ते नैयमिकानि श्रूयन्ते ।
   Ā. D. S., I. 1. 2. 12.

I, C] UPĀKARMA RITUAL 285.
monsoon time should be devoted to the task of revising
their studies. They could easily do this at home, if
they only would set apart a little time for the work
every day. It was therefore decided to lay it down
that householders also should join the students in the
Srāvaṇī ritual and take a vow to revise their studies.
Students performing the Śrāvaṇī were to prosecute
their studies at their schools and colleges; householders
taking part in it were to revise them at home, devoting
special time for the purpose and observing the rules
of the student-life as far as practicable¹.
**Sravani Ritual; Its Critical Survey :—**When it is
remembered that Śrāvaṇī was a ritual performed by
teachers and students at the beginning of the college
session, and by others at the onset of the
monsoon when the annual period of revision of
studies commenced, we can well anticipate its nature
and details. The ritual differed with different Vedic
schools,² but there is one central idea common to them
all, viz., on the opening day, Vedic and sacrificial
deities should be offered oblations, presiding deities
over intellect, memory and imagination should be
propitiated, and a tribute of gratefulness should be

1. न मांसमश्रीयान्न श्राद्धम्। न लोमानि संहारयेत्।
   न स्त्रियमुपेयादृ तौ जायामुपेयात्। J. Gr. S., Upākarma section.
   2 Thus the followers of the Rigveda used to recite the opening
   and concluding verses of each of the ten books of their Veda. The
   followers of the Yajurveda used to offer oblations to all the Vedas,
   Itihāsa and Purāṇa and pay tribute to the celebrated scholars of
   their own school like Kṛishṇa Dvaipāyana, Vaiśampāyana, and Tittiri
   (the authors of the Veda), Ātreya, the author of the Pada-pāṭha,
   Kauṇḍinya, the vṛittikāra, Baudhāyana, the pravachanakāra,
   Āpastamba the Sūtrakāra and to other celebrities like Satyāshāḍha,
   Hiraṇyakeśin, Vājasaneya, Yājñavalkya, Bhāradvāja and Agniveśya
   [Bau. Gr. S., III. 1]. The followers of the Sāmaveda invoked the
   memory of their own doctors like Jaimini, Tālavakāra, Râṇāyani,
   Bhāguri, etc.

286 EDUCATION IN ANCIENT INDIA [App.
paid to the intellectual giants of the past, who have
enriched the national literature. It was a very happy
idea indeed to remind the students of the deep debt
of gratitude they all owed to the literary celebrities
of the past on the very opening day of the session.
When they paid tribute to them, their ambition was
naturally fired into imitating their glorious example.
They thus commenced their annual studies with zest,
vigour and ambition, hoping one day to equal the
ancients in their achievements. When the ritual
was extended to householders in later times, it
reminded them of their duty to be up-to-date in
their own branches of learning. It is a pity indeed
that the modern educational system has not got a
ceremony of similar import.
Sravani and the Sacred Thread :—The critical
reader may now naturally enquire as to the causes
that have led to the close association of Śrāvaṇī with
the change of the sacred thread. The renewal of the
sacred thread was a minor element in the ritual ; most
of our authorities do not even refer to it. At the time
of most of the Vratas (vows) and Sanskāras, a new
sacred thread, staff, girdle, etc., were to be worn by
students. Śrāvaṇī was no exception ; on this occasion
also they discarded their old sacred threads, staffs,
girdles, etc., and substituted them by new ones,—a pro-
cedure somewhat similar to that of the modern
student, who usually gets new clothes prepared when
he leaves home for joining his college. By a strange
irony of fate, the most insignificant element in this
ritual has now assumed an altogether disproportionate
importance and its real nature and significance have
been forgotten altogether.
Utsarjana Ritual : This was performed at the end
of the college term sometime in February or March.

I, D] SAMĀVARTANA RITUAL 287
The procedure was more or less the same as that on
the opening day. Respectful homage was once more
paid to the Vedic deities, mental and intellectual
powers and the literary giants of the past before the
students dispersed home from their schools or colleges.
SECTION D.
SAMĀVARTANA¹ OR CONVOCATION RITUAL
Who were eligible? Samāvartana or Snāna²
ceremony was performed at the end of the Brahma-
charya period to mark the termination of the education
course³. When however in the course of time, the origi-
nal nature and purport of the ritual were forgotten and
the Upanayana began to be regarded as an obligatory
and bodily Sanskāra, this ritual also came to be
performed in all cases, irrespective of the consideration
as to whether any educational course was followed by
the youth or not. In early times it was performed
when the education of the youth was over; marriage
usually followed, but by no means immediately. In
later times the ritual came to be performed as
a kind of necessary formality just before the
marriage, when it was settled.⁴ (VMS. p. 575)

1. Samāvartana literally means 'returning'; it refers to the
   return of the student to his home after finishing the course at the
   teacher's home.
2. This term refers to the bath given to the student on the
   occasion.
3. Some held that it should not be performed in the case of
   those who were not able to interpret the Vedic texts committed to
   memory by them; Cf. अन्यो वेदपाठी । न तस्य ज्ञानम् ।
   M. Gr. S., I. 2. 8.
4. In northern India, the custom was introduced to perform it
   immediately after Upanayana.

288 EDUCATION IN ANCIENT INDIA [App.
This of course was not the original idea. The
ritual was intended to correspond in a very great
degree to the modern convocation function. Only
those who have passed their examination are at present
admitted to the convocation ; only those who had
finished their education were in the beginning honoured
with the privilege of Samāvartana. Our authorities
prescribe no definite age for this ritual. The duration
of the student-life varied with different courses and
students, as has been already shown in Chapter IV ;
and so no fixed age could be prescribed for this ritual.
An interesting Preliminary : Samāvartana cere-
mony is as simple as it is significant. An auspicious
day was selected and the student was required to shut
himself up in a room throughout the morning. This
appears to be a queer procedure, but it was due to the
desire to save the sun the humiliation of being con-
fronted with a superior lustre. The belief was that
the sun can shine only with the lustre he borrows from
the Snātakas (graduates), who have completed their
education$^1$. What better compliment can be
conceived for edudation ?
The Procedure . The student came out of his room
at the midday, cleansed his mouth and shaved his
head and beard. He then relinquished his girdle
(mekhalā), deer-skin (ajina) etc., which were the
insignia of the student's order. The period of strict
discipline was now over and the teacher himself,
who had sternly refused him the use of a number
of luxuries, now came forward to offer them to him.
He himself gave him a bath in fragrant water. It
was followed by an offer of new clothes. Ornaments,

1. Cf. एतदहःस्नातानां ह वा एष एतत्तेजसा तपति तस्मादेनमेतद-
   हर्नाभितपेत्। Bh. G. S., II. 1. 8.

I, E] AYURVEDIC UPANAYANA 289
garland, collyrium, turban, umbrella and shoes, the
use of which was taboo to him in the Brahmacharya
period, were now to be formally and officially offered
to him by his teacher with the recitation of proper
Mantras. It was expected that the guardians, who
were well off, would furnish a double set of the
above articles, one for the teacher and the other for
the ward.¹ A Homa followed and the hope was
expressed that the young graduate would get plenty
of students to teach.² The teacher then offered him
Madhuparka,³ an honour reserved for the very select
few like the king, Guru, and son-in-law.
Presentation to the Assembly : Dressed in his
new dress, the student would proceed to the assembly
of the learned men of the locality in a chariot or on
an elephant.⁴ He was there formally introduced as
a competent scholar by his teacher. Returning
home he would bid farewell to his teacher after
paying him such honorarium (gurudakshiṇā) as he
could afford. A critical survey of the Samāvartana
ritual will show how high was the respect in which
scholars who had completed their education were
held by society. One authority asserts that they
were the greatest force in society.⁵
SECTION E.
AYURVEDIC UPANAYANA
Rituals in Useful Education : When we consider

1. Āś. Gr. S. III, 8. 2. Bau. Gr. S., II, 6.
2. Madhuparka denotes an offering of ghee, honey, etc. presented
   by the householder to a respectable guest on his arrival home.
3. Dr. Gr. S., III, 1, 26; Āp. Gr. S. I, 11, 5.
4. Cf. महद्वै एतद् भूतं यः स्नातकः ।
   19

290 EDUCATION IN ANCIENT INDIA [App.
the great hold which religion possesses over the Hindu
mind, it is natural to expect some rituals in useful
and professional education also. We proceed to
describe some of them in sections E to G.
All Castes eligible : Upanayana or Initiation
was primarily intended for Vedic education, but very
soon its principle was extended to useful education
also. Early writers on Āyurveda, like Charaka and
Suśruta, lay down a special Upanayana ceremony for
students seeking admission to the medical course.
The medical profession was not like the Vedic
scholarship an exclusive monopoly, in theory or
practice, of any particular caste ; so Suśruta holds
that a Kshatriya or a Vaishya physician also can
play the role of the teacher for boys of his own
caste.¹ It is quite probable that even Brahmana
boys may have been initiated by non-Brahmana
medical teachers, though our texts do not attest to
this practice. The surgical school of Suśruta was
in favour of the admission of even Shudra boys,
though formal Upanayana with the recitation of the
Mantras was prohibited in their case.² It is quite
probable that Kshatriya and Shudra surgeons may
have been, by tradition and environment, better
adepts in the use of the knife than their Brahmana
and Vaishya compeers.³
Survey of the Ritual : Ayurvedic Upanayana was
a short ritual modelled largely upon the Vedic proto-

1. Sūtra-sthāna, II, 5.
2. Ibid.
3. Such minor surgical operations as were performed before
   the introduction of the modern surgery were usually attempted by
   barbers both in India and Europe.

I, F] DHANURVEDIC UPANAYANA 291
type. An auspicious day was selected for the purpose.
Darbha, Samidhs (sacred fuel), flowers, etc. were
collected, an altar was specially prepared, and
oblations of ghee and honey were offered to various
deities and sages, first by the teacher and then by the
student. Naturally Dhanvantari, Aśvins, Indra,
Prajāpati and the Sūtrakāras intimately connected
with the development of the medical science occupied
the place of honour in this sacrifice. Both the teacher
and the student circumambulated the fire on the altar.
Brahmanas and celebrated physicians were then
worshipped by the pupil. Then in the presence of the
sacred fire the Guru charged the student to follow the
well known rules of the student life and refrain from
lust, anger, covetousness, laziness, pride, untruth and
cruelty.¹ The student was specially required to be
always industrious and engaged in the pursuit of fresh
knowledge. He ought to have faith in his teacher,
who was required to teach him all that he knew.
SECTION F.
DHANURVEDIC OR MILITARY UPANAYANA²
Ritual described : The ritual was to be performed
on an auspicious day at the beginning of the military
education. The student, who was required to observe
a fast on that day, used to offer oblations to gods at
the outset. Brahmanas were then fed and presents
were offered to the teacher. The most important part
of the ritual was the offering of a weapon to the youth

1. Suśruta, Sūtra-sthāna, chap. 2.
2. Described only in Dhanurveda-Saṁhitā of Vasiṣṭhra, which
   is a very late work.

292 EDUCATION IN ANCIENT INDIA [App.
along with the recitation of a Vedic Mantra.¹
Military training was no monopoly of the Kshatriyas
in early times, and Vasiṣhṭha therefore lays down that
a Brahmana was to be invested with a bow, the
Kshatriya with a sword, the Vaishya with a lance
and the Shudra with a mace. The Guru, who could
initiate the youths, was himself expected to be an
expert in the use of these and other weapons.
Not common in early Times : How far this
Dhanurvedic Upanayana was common among the
Kshatriyas or those classes of the community, who
received the military training, we do not know. The
ritual is not mentioned by any early authority, and the
epic heroes are not stated to have performed it. The
Mantra recited at the time of offering the weapon
to the student has no connection with the occasion,
as shown in the foot-note below¹. It is therefore very
doubtful whether the ritual was in general vogue.
Probably it was a later invention and confined to a
small section of the Kshatriya community.
SECTION G
CHHURIKĀ-BANDHA OR MILITARY CONVOCATION
Chhurika-bandha :—This ceremony corresponds to
Brahmanical Samāvartana and was performed at the

1. The Mantra laid down by Vasiṣṭha is as follows :—
   काण्डात्काण्डं प्ररोहन्ती परुषस्परुषस्परि ।
   एवा नो दूर्वे प्रतनु सहस्रेण शतेन च ॥
   या शतेन प्ररोहसि सहस्रेण विरोहसि ।
   तस्मै ते देवीष्टके विधेम हविषा वयम् ॥ V.S., XIII, 20-1.
   The stanzas, however, refer to Dūrvâ grass and have no connection
   with the bow or arrow.

I, G] CHHURIKĀBANDHA 293
end of the military training. The central and essential
part of the ritual was, as the name itself would
suggest, the investiture of the budding hero with a
dagger in token of his having completed his military
training.¹ This ceremony is mentioned by Nārada
alone, but it was fairly common in Rajputana among
Rajput families at the beginning.of the 19th century,
and was known as kharg bandhāi (tying of the sword),
which is the vernacular rendering of the chhurikā-
bandha of Nārada. This ceremony, which was per-
formed before the marriage, may have been common
in higher aristocratic families.

1. Cf. छुरिकाबन्धनं वक्ष्ये नृपाणां प्राक्करग्रहात् ।
   विवाहोक्तेषु मासेषु शुक्लपक्षेप्यनस्तगे ॥
   छुरिकाबंधनं कार्यं अर्चयित्वामरान्पितॄन् ।
   अर्चयेच्छुरिकां नित्यं देवतानां च संनिधौ ॥
   व्रतलग्ने च बध्नीयात्कट्यां लक्षणसंयुताम् ।
   नारद in VMS., p. 580.

APPENDIX II.
YAJÑOPAVĪTA OR THE SO-CALLED SACRED THREAD.
**Introduction :—**Yajñopavīta is at present under-
stood to be the Sacred Thread, that is to be worn by
the twice-born classes from the time of the Upanayana
ceremony onwards. The popular belief is that the
Upanayana ceremony is primarily intended for
investing the boy with this mysterious thread, and the
Śrāvaṇī ritual for the purpose of renewing it annually.
We have already shown how both these conceptions
are wrong (App. I, B and C). Here we propose to trace
briefly the history of Yajñopavīta.
**Yajnopavita, the upper Garment :—**Later writers
explain Yajñopavīta thread as a symbol of the
Guṇamayī Māyā, as it was visualised by the Creator
at the time of creation ;¹ but its original significance
was entirely different. Grammatically, Yajñopavīta
is an adjective and refers to something that was
worn at the time of the sacrifice ; यज्ञाय उपवीतं यज्ञोपवीतम् ।
Hindu notion of decency required that the upper
part of the body should be properly covered when one
was engaged in sacred functions like sacrifices, charity

1. सिसृक्षुरेक एकाग्रे समासीनः शिवः स्वयम् ।
   दृष्ट्वा गुणमयीं मायां सूत्ररूपामिवाकरोत् ॥
   तया तदात्मकं विष्णुं स्पृष्ट्वा पालं दिवौकसाम् ।
   स्वयं ब्रह्माऽभवद्बुद्धो रुद्रश्चास्य ज्ञयाय सः ॥
   ज्ञानात्मकेन हरिणा ब्रह्मात्मनि शिवेऽव्यये ।
   तत्सूत्रमुपवीतत्वाद्ब्रह्मसूत्रमिदं कृतम् ॥
   Āśvalāyana quoted in VMS, p. 419.

II] YAJÑOPAVĪTA, THE SACRED THREAD 295
or svādhyāya.¹ Yajñopavīta denoted the upper
garment when it was worn in the proper manner
prescribed for sacred occasions. Taittirīya Saṁhitā is
explicit on the point; it says that Yajñopavīta means
wearing the garment in a particular manner; when
the garment is passed under the right and over the
left shoulder, it becomes Yajñopavīta according to the
authority of Brāhmaṇa works.² The same garment
was called Prāchīnāvīta when it was worn exactly in
the reverse way, and Nivīta when it was allowed to
hang down like a garland.
**Its prehistoric Form :—**The upper garment that
was thus used was normally a piece of cloth. But
in prehistoric times when the art of spinning and
weaving was not known, it was a piece of deer-skin.
Taittirīya Āraṇyaka states that it should be a piece
of deer-skin, rather than a piece of cloth.³ In the
course of time when clothes became common, the
upper garment also became a cotton product, but
earlier tradition of the deer-skin was in a way
preserved by continuing the use of a small patch of
deer-skin on such occasions. In later times when
Yajñopavīta as a piece of cloth was replaced by
Yajñopavīta in the form of the thread, this piece of
deer-skin was strung into it. This custom still
obtains at the time of Upanayana.

1. उत्तरं वासः कर्तव्यं पञ्चस्वेतेषु कर्मसु ।
   स्वाध्यायोत्सर्गदानेषु भुक्ताचमनयोस्तथा ॥
   Baudhāyana in SCS, p. 299.
2. वासो विन्यासविशेषो यज्ञोपवीतम् ।
   दक्षिणं बाहुमुद्धरतेऽवधत्ते सव्यमिति यज्ञोपवीतमिति ब्राह्मणम् ।
3. अजिनं वासो वा दक्षिणत उपवीय । I. II.

296 EDUCATION IN ANCIENT INDIA [App.
When and How the Thread came in :—
In the early period, Yajñopavīta was normally in
the form of a full upper garment like the Dupaṭṭā of
northern India or the uparaṇe of Mahārāshṭra. Āpas-
tamba Dharma Sūtra states distinctly that Yajñopavīta
should be normally in the form of the upper garment ;
wearing a thread instead is only the second alternative.¹
Jātukarṇya quoted in the Smṛitichandrikā distinctly
declares that Yajñopavīta in the form of the thread is
permissible only when the upper garment of the normal
size is not available.² The view of Ṛishyaśṛiṅga is the
same.³ Yajñopavīta was to be worn on sacred occasions
like the sacrifice or the prayer. In the course of time
the conception of the sacrifice changed ; the whole life
came to be viewed as a kind of sacrifice when everything
that one does should be dedicated to the Creator. If
then the Yajñopavīta was to be continuously used
during the time one is engaged in sacred duties, it must
be worn all the twenty-four hours. This could be
feasible only if the Yajñopavīta assumed a more
manageable form. It was probably on this account
that Yajñopavīta was allowed to dwindle in form into
the modern Sacred Thread. The alternatives placed
before society were many. Some were in favour of the
continuance of the old custom ; they held that it was
sufficient if the Yajñopavīta was worn as long as prac-

1. नित्यमुत्तरं वासः कार्यम् । अपि वा सूत्रमेवोपवीतार्थे ।
   II, 2, 4, 21-22.
2. वस्त्रोत्तरीयाभावे द्वयंगुलं त्र्यंगुलं चतुरंगुलं वा सूत्रैर्वस्त्राकृति
   परिमण्डलं तदुत्तरीयं कुर्यात् । p. 84.
3. अपि वा वाससा यज्ञोपवीतार्थं कुर्यात्तदभावे त्रिवृता सूत्रेण ।
   Ibid, quoted in SCS., p. 84.

II] YAJÑOPAVITA, THE SACRED THREAD 297
ticable ; it need not be worn continuously for 24 hours¹.
Others were in favour of substituting a Kuśa rope for
the unmanageable upper garment². But Kuśa rope was
not pleasant in touch and so some others advocated
that cotton thread should be preferred for the purpose³.
The reason in recommending the new substitutes was
convenience and nothing else. For a long time they
were not popular ; hence we find that in the Upanayana
ceremony, as it is described in most of the Gṛihya-sutras,
there is no mention of the boy being invested with the
Sacred Thread. In stead, we have the description of
the boy being offered the dupaṭṭā or uparaṇe i. e. the
upper garment at one stage of the ritual,
The Number of Sacred Threads increases, why :—
In the course of time, however, owing to its obvious
convenience, the innovation of the Sacred Thread
became popular and its original significance was
gradually forgotten. Brahmachārī was to wear only one
Sacred Thread, but Snātaka was to wear two, one for
the under garment and the other for the upper garment⁴.
It was clearly forgotten by this time that Yajñopavīta
was intended to be the upper garment. If Snātaka
was to wear two Yajñopavītas, the Gṛihastha must
wear three, for he was one stage higher. The Gṛihyā-
saṅgraha however thinks that this third Sacred Thread

1. कार्पासक्षौमगोबालशणवल्कत्तृणोद्भवम् ।
   सदा संभवतो धार्यमुपवीतं द्विजातिभिः ॥
   Nigamaparisishṭa in SCS., p. 84.
2. यज्ञोपवीतं कुरुते सूत्रं वस्त्रं वापि कुशरज्जुमेव वा ।
   Go. Gr. S., I. 2. 1.
3. अपि वा सूत्रमेवोपवीतार्थे । Āp. Dh. S., II. 2. 4. 22.
4. स्नातकानां द्वितीयं स्यादन्तर्वासस्तथोत्तरम् ।
   Vasishṭha in VMS., p. 421.

298 EDUCATION IN ANCIENT INDIA [App.
was in lieu of the upper garment¹. Devala also holds
the same view; an upper garment, he says, is not
always at hand, hence the recommendation to wear the
third Sacred Thread².
**Mysterious efficacy of Yajnopavita:-**In the
course of time Yajñopavīta came to be invested
with mysterious efficacy. The Āditya Purāṇa
declares that it has the power of destroying demons.
When such notions began to prevail in society, it is
no wonder that the view began to be advocated that
the greater the number of Sacred Threads, the better
would be our spiritual and material welfare. Kāśyapa
would recommend 2, 3, 5, or 10 Sacred Threads for
the house-holder;³ an anonymous text quoted by
Mitramiśra is in favour of as many Sacred Threads as
possible.⁴ All this vividly shows how the original
significance of the Yajñopavīta was completely forgotten
by this time. When Yajñopavīta assumed the form of
the thread, the custom gained ground of making each
of its thread a constituent product of nine smaller
threads. Oṅkāra, Agni, Bhaga, Soma, Piṭris, Prajāpati,
Vasu, Dharma, and Sarva-devas were taken to be
the presiding deities of the nine threads of the Sacred
Thread.
Can Yajnopavita be removed? :- Even when the
Yajñopavīta dwindled into the Sacred-Thread, it
could be occasionally removed in the course of the
day. The Taittirīya, Kaṭha, Kāṇva, and Vājasaneya
schools were in favour of permitting the removal

1. तृतीयमुत्तरीयार्थे वस्त्राभावे तदिष्यते । Ibid, p. 21.
2. तृतीयमुत्तरीयार्थे वस्त्रालाभे तदिष्यते । SCS., p. 801.
3. त्रीणि चत्वारि पञ्चाष्ट मुनिभिः स्युर्दशापि वा ॥ VMS., p. 421.
4. आयुष्कामैः सदा धार्यं बहुयज्ञोपवीतकम् ॥ 'अन्यत्रापि' in Ibid.

II] YAJÑOPAVĪTA, THE SACRED THREAD 299
of the Sacred Thread at the time of the daily
bath;¹ the Ṛigvedins and the Sāmavedins, however,
advocated the doctrine that the Sacred Thread should
never be separated from one’s person. The latter view
eventually prevailed and still obtains in Hindu society,

1. तैत्तिरीयाः कठाः काण्वाश्चरका वाजसेयिनः ।
   कण्ठादुत्तार्य सूत्रं तु कुर्युर्वै क्षाळनं द्विजाः ॥
   बह्वृचाः सामगाश्चैव ये चान्ये यजुःशाखिनः ।
   कण्ठादुत्तार्य सूत्रं तु पुनरर्हन्ति संक्रियाम् ॥ भृगु in VMS., 421.

APPENDIX III.
CONVOCATION ADDRESSES.
Convocation address to Arts Graduates.
A specimen of what may be described as a convo-
cation address to Arts Graduates is to be found in
the Taittirīya Upanishad, I, 11. As the passage is
very interesting from several points of view, it is
given below along with its translation.
वेदमन्‌ूच्याचार्योऽन्तेवासिनमनुशास्ति । “सत्यं वद । धर्मं चर ।
स्वाध्यायान्मा प्रमदः । आचार्याय प्रियं धनमाहृत्य प्रजातन्तुं मा
व्यवच्छेत्सीः । सत्यान्न प्रमदितव्यम् । धर्म्मान्न प्रमदितव्यम् । कुशलान्न
प्रमदितव्यम् । भूत्यै न प्रमदितव्यम् । स्वाध्यायप्रवचनाभ्यां न प्रम-
दितव्यम् । देवपितृकार्याभ्यां न प्रमदितव्यम् । मातृदेवो भव । पितृदेवो
भव । आचार्य्यदेवो भव । अतिथिदेवो भव । यान्यनवद्यानि कर्म्माणि
तानि सेवितव्यानि नो इतराणि । यान्यस्माकं सुचरितानि तानि त्वयो-
पास्यानि नो इतराणि । ये के चास्मच्छ्रे यांसो ब्राह्मणाः तेषां त्वयाऽऽसनेन
प्रश्वसितव्यम् । श्रद्धया देयम् । संविदा देयम् । श्रिया देयम् । ह्रिया
देयम् । भिया देयम् । संविदा देयम् । अथ यदि ते कर्मविचिकित्सा वा
वृत्तविचिकित्सा वा स्यात् ये तत्र ब्राह्मणाः संमर्शिनः युक्ता आयुक्ता
अलूक्षा धर्म्मकामाः स्युः यथा ते तत्र वर्तेरन् तथा तत्र वर्तेथाः । अथाभ्या-
ख्यातेषु ये तत्र ब्राह्मणाः संमर्शिनः युक्ता आयुक्ता अलूक्षा धर्म्मकामाः स्युः
यथा ते तेषु वर्तेरन् तथा तेषु वर्तेथाः । एष आदेशः । एष उपदेशः । एषा
वेदोपनिषत् । एतदनुशासनम् । एवमुपासितव्यम् । एवमु चैतदुपास्यम् ।
TRANSLATION.
After the teaching of the Veda is over, the
preceptor exhorts the student :