Perspectives in Education and Education Policy · Chapter 1

Ancient (Pre-Vedic, Vedic, Buddhist) and Medieval Education in India

What to remember

Vedic education was oral, teacher-centred and lived in the guru's home (gurukula); Buddhist education was monastery-based, open to many classes and used Pali; medieval Muslim education ran in maktabs and madrasas.
The aims were moral, spiritual and vocational development: character, duty, knowledge and livelihood.
Great centres of learning such as Taxila, Nalanda and Vikramashila attracted students from many lands.

Pre-Vedic (Indus) period

The Indus (Harappan) civilisation was an urban culture with planned towns, standard weights and a script. The script has not been deciphered. So we know little about how teaching was organised. It is believed that skills such as trade, crafts, building and measuring were passed from elders to the young through family and guild-style apprenticeship. Seals and the use of writing suggest that some people were trained to read and keep records. Do not claim details about schools in this period.

Vedic education

Aims: development of character, devotion to God and duty (dharma), knowledge of the Vedas, preservation of culture, social and civic duty, and preparation for a livelihood.

System: the *gurukula*. The student lived with the teacher (guru) in his home, often in a forest setting, and served him. Education was free; the student offered *gurudakshina* (a gift) at the end.

Upanayana: the thread ceremony that marked the formal start of education. The student then became a *brahmachari* and followed a disciplined life of simple living, celibacy and service. Convocation at the end of study was called *samavartana*.

Method: mostly oral. The Vedas were called *Shruti* ("what is heard") and were memorised through listening and repetition. The three stages of learning were:

1. *Shravana* (listening to the teacher),
2. *Manana* (reflection and thinking),
3. *Nididhyasana* (deep meditation and realisation).

Debate, discussion, question-answer and the use of stories and examples were common. Older and brighter students helped teach younger ones (the monitorial idea).

Curriculum: the four Vedas, the Vedangas (phonetics, grammar, etc.), Upanishads, philosophy, logic, ethics, astronomy, mathematics, medicine, warfare for the Kshatriya, and skills for livelihood. Women such as Gargi and Maitreyi appear in the Upanishads as scholars, though access was limited.

Teacher and student: the teacher was respected as a moral guide; the student showed humility, obedience and discipline. Teachers took responsibility for a student's overall development, not only for lessons.

Weakness: later the system became limited largely to higher classes, and women and some groups were excluded.

Buddhist education

Buddhist education grew around the *viharas* (monasteries) and the *Sangha* (the Buddhist community). It started from about the 6th century BCE and spread widely under Ashoka and later rulers.

Entry stages:

*Pabbajja* ("going forth"): the entry ritual of a novice, at about the age of eight; the child took the three refuges (Buddha, Dhamma, Sangha) and shaved his head.
*Upasampada:* higher ordination as a full monk, after about twenty years of age.

Teacher: the *upajjhaya* (preceptor) and *acariya* (teacher) guided the novice, who lived and served in the monastery with a close teacher-pupil bond.

Medium: Pali, the language of the people, was used, so learning reached beyond Sanskrit-knowing groups. Later Sanskrit was also used.

Aims: moral and spiritual growth, liberation from suffering (nirvana), all-round development, and the spread of the Dhamma.

Curriculum: Buddhist scriptures (Tripitaka), logic, philosophy, grammar, medicine, arts, crafts and some vocational skills; in later universities also Vedic and secular subjects.

Method: oral teaching, discussion, debate, question-answer; later written manuscripts. Education was open to people of all castes, and women were admitted to the order of nuns.

Famous centres: Taxila (Takshashila), Nalanda, Vikramashila, Valabhi, Odantapuri and Jagaddala. In Andhra, Buddhist centres such as Amaravati and Nagarjunakonda were famous for learning and art.

*Taxila:* an old centre of higher studies in the north-west, known for medicine, law and military science.
*Nalanda:* a great monastic university in Bihar, known for Mahayana learning and a large library; it attracted foreign students such as Xuanzang and Yijing, who left accounts of it.
*Vikramashila:* a university in Bihar linked with the Pala king Dharmapala.

Comparison of Vedic and Buddhist education

Point	Vedic	Buddhist
Place	Gurukula (teacher's home)	Vihara (monastery)
Language	Sanskrit	Pali (later also Sanskrit)
Entry rite	Upanayana	Pabbajja and Upasampada
Access	Mainly upper classes	Open to all castes and also women (in the nun's order)
Aim	Dharma, knowledge, social duty	Nirvana, moral discipline, spread of Dhamma
Method	Oral (Shruti), shravana-manana-nididhyasana	Oral, debate, later written
Expenses	Free; gurudakshina	Free; lodging in monastery

Medieval education (Muslim period)

Education in the medieval period continued in two streams: Hindu pathshalas and tols (in Sanskrit or the local language) and Muslim maktabs and madrasas.

Maktab: the elementary school, usually attached to a mosque. Children began with a ceremony called *Bismillah* (at about four years, four months and four days in the tradition). They learnt reading, writing, the Quran and basic arithmetic.

Madrasa: higher institution. Subjects included Arabic, Persian, theology, law, logic, literature, history, astronomy and medicine (Unani). Many madrasas were supported by rulers, nobles and charity endowments (waqf).

Language and aims: Persian was the court language and the key to government jobs. The aims were religious knowledge, preparing administrators and spreading culture.

Rulers and education:

Firoz Shah Tughlaq founded many madrasas and gave support to scholars.
Akbar was a great patron of learning: he added subjects such as mathematics, history, geography, agriculture and moral science, and encouraged translation of Sanskrit works into Persian. His court had a translation department.
Other rulers also supported libraries and colleges.

Method: memorisation and reciting, individual attention, learning of calligraphy; the teacher (*maulvi* or *ustad*) held high respect. Education was mostly free; students from poorer families were helped.

Women's education: mostly limited to home, with some women from royal families becoming scholars.

Hindu education in this period: pathshalas and tols continued teaching grammar, literature, philosophy and arithmetic; in the south, temples and mathas were centres of learning. Education in local languages grew along with the bhakti movement.

Comparison of maktab and madrasa

Point	Maktab	Madrasa
Level	Elementary	Higher
Content	Quran, reading, writing, arithmetic	Theology, law, logic, literature, medicine, mathematics
Place	Often within a mosque	Separate college

Teacher-education angle

The ideas of respect for the teacher, learning by listening and discussion, teaching in the learner's language (Pali), and the use of senior students as helpers (monitors) are still seen in modern pedagogy. The Buddhist stress on local language fits the present-day emphasis on mother-tongue teaching.

Features common to ancient Indian education

Education was seen as a sacred duty and not as a trade; teachers were paid by society and gifts, not by fixed fees.
Close teacher-student relationship, with the teacher caring for the child like a parent.
Stress on discipline, self-control, service and the moral life, together with knowledge.
Individual attention: classes were small and each student progressed at his own speed.
Learning by listening, memory, discussion and practice; later also written manuscripts and libraries.
Support from kings, merchants and the community through land grants and gifts to teachers and monasteries.
Education in vocations was often passed within the family or guild (craft and trade learning).

Why this history matters for a teacher

Ancient and medieval systems show that India valued the teacher, the language of the learner and moral growth long before modern schools. Pali teaching in the Buddhist period opened learning to common people. The monitorial help of senior students, the debate method and individual attention are ideas a classroom teacher can still use. At the same time, the exclusion of women and many social groups in some periods reminds us why equal access is central in modern education policy.

Exam traps

Shruti vs Smriti: Shruti = heard (Vedas); Smriti = remembered texts.
Upanayana vs Pabbajja: upanayana = Vedic start of study; pabbajja = Buddhist novice entry.
Pabbajja vs Upasampada: pabbajja = going forth as novice; upasampada = higher ordination.
Samavartana: the end-of-study ceremony in Vedic education, not the beginning.
Gurukula vs vihara: the teacher's home vs the monastery.
Pali vs Sanskrit: Pali was the medium of early Buddhist teaching; Sanskrit was used in Vedic education.
Maktab vs madrasa: elementary vs higher.
Nalanda vs Taxila: Nalanda is in Bihar and Buddhist; Taxila was in the north-west and older.

One-liners

1. The Vedic school was the gurukula.
2. Upanayana began Vedic study.
3. The Vedas were learnt by hearing and memory (Shruti).
4. The three steps of learning were shravana, manana and nididhyasana.
5. A Vedic student was called a brahmachari.
6. Samavartana was the convocation at the end of study.
7. Buddhist education centred on viharas.
8. Pabbajja was the novice's entry into the Sangha.
9. Pali was the language of early Buddhist teaching.
10. Nalanda was a famous Buddhist university in Bihar.
11. The maktab was the elementary school of the medieval period.
12. Akbar added subjects such as mathematics, history and agriculture to the curriculum.

Practice questions

The Vedic system of education in which the student lived with the teacher was called:
1. Vihara
2. Maktab
3. Gurukula
4. Madrasa
Answer
C. Gurukula
The gurukula was the teacher's home-school.
The thread ceremony that marked the start of Vedic education was:
1. Pabbajja
2. Bismillah
3. Samavartana
4. Upanayana
Answer
D. Upanayana
Upanayana began formal Vedic study.
The convocation at the end of Vedic education was called:
1. Pabbajja
2. Samavartana
3. Upanayana
4. Upasampada
Answer
B. Samavartana
Samavartana marked the return home after study.
The word 'Shruti' for the Vedas means:
1. What is remembered
2. What is heard
3. What is written
4. What is sung only
Answer
B. What is heard
The Vedas were learnt by hearing and passed orally.
Which is the correct order of the three stages of learning in Vedic education?
1. Shravana, manana, nididhyasana
2. Nididhyasana, shravana, manana
3. Manana, shravana, nididhyasana
4. Shravana, nididhyasana, manana
Answer
A. Shravana, manana, nididhyasana
Listening, then reflection, then deep meditation.
A Vedic student leading a disciplined life of study was known as a:
1. Maulvi
2. Shramana
3. Brahmachari
4. Bhikkhu
Answer
C. Brahmachari
Brahmachari is the student stage.
The gift offered by the student to the teacher at the end of study is:
1. Gurudakshina
2. Dana to the Sangha
3. Upasampada
4. Waqf
Answer
A. Gurudakshina
Gurudakshina was the traditional gift.
The Buddhist monastery that served as a centre of learning was the:
1. Gurukula
2. Maktab
3. Tol
4. Vihara
Answer
D. Vihara
Buddhist education centred on viharas.
The entry of a novice into the Buddhist Sangha was called:
1. Samavartana
2. Upasampada
3. Pabbajja
4. Upanayana
Answer
C. Pabbajja
Pabbajja means going forth.
Higher ordination as a full monk in Buddhism was called:
1. Upasampada
2. Samavartana
3. Pabbajja
4. Upanayana
Answer
A. Upasampada
Upasampada followed pabbajja after about twenty years of age.
The language used for early Buddhist teaching to reach common people was:
1. Arabic
2. Pali
3. English
4. Persian
Answer
B. Pali
Pali was the language of the people.
Nalanda, a great Buddhist centre of learning, was located in:
1. Gujarat
2. Kerala
3. Punjab
4. Bihar
Answer
D. Bihar
Nalanda was a monastic university in Bihar.
The Chinese travellers Xuanzang and Yijing are known for their accounts of:
1. Valabhi only
2. Nalanda
3. Amaravati only
4. Tanjore
Answer
B. Nalanda
They studied at and described Nalanda.
Which of the following was an ancient centre of higher studies known for medicine and law in the north-west?
1. Nalanda
2. Valabhi
3. Taxila
4. Vikramashila
Answer
C. Taxila
Taxila (Takshashila) was an old north-western centre.
Vikramashila university is linked with the Pala king:
1. Dharmapala
2. Harsha
3. Ashoka
4. Akbar
Answer
A. Dharmapala
Dharmapala of the Pala dynasty founded it.
Which Buddhist sites in Andhra were famous for learning and art?
1. Ajanta and Ellora
2. Konark and Puri
3. Hampi and Badami
4. Amaravati and Nagarjunakonda
Answer
D. Amaravati and Nagarjunakonda
Amaravati and Nagarjunakonda were major Buddhist centres in Andhra.
Elementary education in the medieval Muslim period was given in the:
1. Gurukula
2. Vihara
3. Maktab
4. Madrasa
Answer
C. Maktab
Maktabs were elementary schools, often near mosques.
Higher education in the Muslim period was given in the:
1. Madrasa
2. Pathshala
3. Maktab
4. Gurukula
Answer
A. Madrasa
Madrasas were higher institutions.
The ceremony that started a child's education in a maktab was the:
1. Pabbajja
2. Samavartana
3. Upanayana
4. Bismillah
Answer
D. Bismillah
The Bismillah ceremony began a child's schooling.
Which language was the court language and the key to government jobs in the medieval period?
1. Tamil
2. Persian
3. Prakrit
4. Pali
Answer
B. Persian
Persian was the administrative language.
Which ruler added subjects such as mathematics, history and agriculture to the curriculum and encouraged translations?
1. Akbar
2. Ashoka
3. Bimbisara
4. Aurangzeb
Answer
A. Akbar
Akbar widened the curriculum and supported translation work.
Which ruler founded many madrasas and supported scholars?
1. Ashoka
2. Harsha
3. Chandragupta
4. Firoz Shah Tughlaq
Answer
D. Firoz Shah Tughlaq
Firoz Shah Tughlaq is known as a patron of madrasas.
Women scholars named in the Upanishads include:
1. Mirabai and Rani Laxmibai
2. Savitribai and Ramabai
3. Gargi and Maitreyi
4. Razia and Noor Jahan
Answer
C. Gargi and Maitreyi
Gargi and Maitreyi appear as scholars in the Upanishads.
Which of the following was NOT an aim of Vedic education?
1. Character building
2. Training for government jobs through Persian
3. Knowledge of the Vedas
4. Preservation of culture
Answer
B. Training for government jobs through Persian
Persian-based job training belongs to the medieval period.
Statements: 1. Vedic education was mostly oral. 2. The Vedas were learnt by memory and listening. Which is/are correct?
1. 1 only
2. 2 only
3. Both 1 and 2
4. Neither 1 nor 2
Answer
C. Both 1 and 2
Both are true of Vedic teaching.
Statements: 1. Buddhist education was open to people of all castes. 2. Education in viharas was possible only for the Brahmin class. Which is/are correct?
1. 1 only
2. 2 only
3. Both 1 and 2
4. Neither 1 nor 2
Answer
A. 1 only
Buddhist education was open to all castes.
Statements: 1. Pali was the language of early Buddhist teaching. 2. Pali was the language of the Vedic gurukula. Which is/are correct?
1. 1 only
2. 2 only
3. Both 1 and 2
4. Neither 1 nor 2
Answer
A. 1 only
The Vedic gurukula used Sanskrit.
Statements: 1. The maktab was an elementary school. 2. The madrasa was a higher institution. Which is/are correct?
1. 1 only
2. 2 only
3. Both 1 and 2
4. Neither 1 nor 2
Answer
C. Both 1 and 2
Both are correct.
Statements: 1. Vedic education was free of fees. 2. The student could give a gift at the end. Which is/are correct?
1. 1 only
2. 2 only
3. Both 1 and 2
4. Neither 1 nor 2
Answer
C. Both 1 and 2
Education was free; gurudakshina was a gift.
Statements: 1. Samavartana marked the beginning of study. 2. Upanayana marked the beginning of study. Which is/are correct?
1. 1 only
2. 2 only
3. Both 1 and 2
4. Neither 1 nor 2
Answer
B. 2 only
Samavartana marked the end of study.
Statements: 1. Nalanda was a Buddhist centre. 2. Taxila was in the north-west. Which is/are correct?
1. 1 only
2. 2 only
3. Both 1 and 2
4. Neither 1 nor 2
Answer
C. Both 1 and 2
Both statements are correct.
Pabbajja in Buddhist education refers to:
1. The teacher's gift
2. Quran learning
3. End of Vedic study
4. Entry of a novice into the order
Answer
D. Entry of a novice into the order
Pabbajja is the novice's going forth.
The Bismillah ceremony marked:
1. End of Vedic study
2. Start of a child's maktab education
3. The Vedic thread ceremony
4. Buddhist higher ordination
Answer
B. Start of a child's maktab education
Bismillah began schooling in a maktab.
Nididhyasana, the last stage of Vedic learning, means:
1. Listening
2. Reflection
3. Memorisation
4. Deep meditation and realisation
Answer
D. Deep meditation and realisation
It follows shravana and manana.
Our knowledge of schools in the Indus period is limited mainly because:
1. The script has not been deciphered
2. No cities existed
3. Trade was unknown
4. No crafts existed
Answer
A. The script has not been deciphered
Without a deciphered script, details about teaching are uncertain.
In the Vedic period, skills for a livelihood were often learnt by:
1. Correspondence courses
2. Apprenticeship in the family or craft group
3. Compulsory state exams
4. Printed textbooks
Answer
B. Apprenticeship in the family or craft group
Vocational skills passed on within the family or guild.
The Buddhist use of the people's language in teaching is most similar to the modern emphasis on:
1. English-only schools
2. Rote memorisation
3. Boarding schools only
4. Mother-tongue instruction
Answer
D. Mother-tongue instruction
Pali teaching and mother-tongue teaching both use the learner's language.
Senior students helping younger ones in Vedic schools resembles the modern idea of:
1. Peer or monitorial learning
2. Entrance tests
3. Corporal punishment
4. Distance education
Answer
A. Peer or monitorial learning
Senior students helped teach juniors.
Which pair is correctly matched?
1. Nalanda - Persian medium college
2. Taxila - ancient north-western centre of learning
3. Madrasa - elementary school
4. Gurukula - monastery
Answer
B. Taxila - ancient north-western centre of learning
Taxila was an old north-western centre; the other pairs are wrong.
Medieval madrasa education generally included:
1. Only craft training
2. Only Vedas
3. Theology, law, logic, literature and Unani medicine
4. Only English grammar
Answer
C. Theology, law, logic, literature and Unani medicine
Madrasas taught theology, law, logic and sciences such as medicine.
Which of the following were medieval centres of Hindu learning?
1. Pathshalas and tols
2. Madrasas
3. Maktabs
4. Viharas only
Answer
A. Pathshalas and tols
Pathshalas and tols continued Sanskrit and local learning.
In a Buddhist vihara the novice was guided by the:
1. Kazi
2. Maulvi
3. Munshi
4. Upajjhaya (preceptor)
Answer
D. Upajjhaya (preceptor)
The preceptor and teacher guided the novice.
Which statement best compares Vedic and Buddhist education?
1. Both used Persian
2. Vedic study was in gurukulas; Buddhist study was in viharas
3. Both were run by the British
4. Both used printed books
Answer
B. Vedic study was in gurukulas; Buddhist study was in viharas
Place and language differed.
The teacher caring for the pupil's moral growth as well as lessons shows that ancient education aimed at:
1. Examination success only
2. All-round development
3. Technical jobs only
4. Foreign trade
Answer
B. All-round development
Ancient education linked knowledge with character.
Statements: 1. Persian was the court language in the medieval period. 2. Hindu pathshalas and tols continued to function in that period. Which is/are correct?
1. 1 only
2. 2 only
3. Both 1 and 2
4. Neither 1 nor 2
Answer
C. Both 1 and 2
Both statements are correct.

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