Vedic Learning
| General details | |
|---|---|
| Primary languages | Sanskrit |
| System type | Gurukula |
| Established | Vedic period |
Vedic learning, also called Sanskrit learning and Sanskrit education,[1] is the tradition of oral transmission and study of the Vedic body of knowledge and texts and auxiliary traditions (vedanga), as preserved in the Vedas and the post-Vedic smriti and shastra.[2]
Vedas and vedanga
[edit]The Vedas, liturgical hymns of the Vedic people, were composed between in the early Vedic period (ca. 1500-900 BCE) by the Vedic people, and expanded with a vast corpus of explanatory and philosophical texts inthe late Vedic period (900-500 BCE). Vedanga are six auxiliary disciplines of Vedic studies, namely phonetics, meter, grammar, etymology, ritual instructiins, and astrology.
Centers of learning
[edit]Pathashala
[edit]In a pathasala, children are taught in Sanskrit by Brahmins. In India, the term pathasala has become synonymous with the term Vidyalaya which refers to school. Before British rule, along with gurukulas, pathasalas served as primary educational institutions in India. Pathasalas were non-residential in nature, where as gurukalas were residential.
Gurukula
[edit]The training of a student started from Upanayana ritual, which traditionally was performed between four[citation needed] and nine years of age by an acharya, marking the admittance of a student into Gurukula.[3] A gurukula is the household of a teacher (acharya), where young Brahmins studied the Vedic texts and traditions with their teacher. They had to leave their old names and paternity recognitions, and were given new names and recognitions according to the lineage of the Gurukul.[4] After the upanayana ritual, the students were supposed to maintain strict celibacy, which was helpful in controlling the senses and the mind.[4] The Acharya took care of his students like a father, and imparted proper education, training and guidance to them. The students had to study in the Gurukula for minimum of 12 years. The daily routine consisted of bathing, Yajna, Poojan, Bhiksha (going out for alms), serving the Guru (teacher ), reading Vedas.[4]
Some major examples of the Gurukul were Yajnavalkya Ashram, Kapil Ashram, Gautam Ashram, Pundrik Ashram, Shaunaka Mahashala Vishwamitra Ashram, Shandilya Ashram, and Vyasa Peetha.[citation needed]
Centres of learning
[edit]Major important centres of Vedic learning were Taxila, Sharada Peeth, Kashi, Mithila and Nabadwip, and a number of centres in South India.
Curriculum
[edit]According to Singh, citing Sukul (1974), Varanasi Down the Ages,
During eleventh and twelveth centuries A.D. Sanskrit education at Varanasi was divided into two sections. In traditional Vedic pathashala special knowledge of Vedas, sahitya, vyakaran, philosophy, Nyaya, Mimansa, Sankhya, Yoga, Vedanta Vaisheshika, and astronomy and astrology or Ayurveda was given. In other pathshalas students were taught eighteen sippas or arts.[5]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ Singh 2017, p. 98.
- ^ Mookerji 1947.
- ^ Sharma & Sharma 1996, p. 35.
- ^ a b c Sharma & Sharma 1996.
- ^ Singh 2017.
Sources
[edit]- Mookerji, Radha Kumud (1947). Ancient Indian education Brahmanical and Buddhist. London: Macmillan and Co.
- Sharma, Ram Nath; Sharma, Rajendra Kumar (1996). History of Education in India. Atlantic Publishers & Dist. ISBN 978-81-7156-599-3.
- Singh, Chandra Prakesh (2017). "Eductional System of Kashi: From Vedic period to the Beginning of the Modern Era" (PDF). Indian J. Soc. & Pol. 04(01):2017: 97-100.