8/4/2019 Vedic Education Editorial PB September 2010

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Vedic Education

he prose romanceKadambarimakes delightul exclusive specication o the eatures Rii Jbli , w t illig

shkun w d t t Mbt; t x-pressions o wind, vayu-pralapitam, to the Puranas;tt, vj, ll [ly] i ld g; itivity,jy,was seen among sandalwood trees in the woods;t ,gnn, [l] td t t; [ly]the deer, enakah, were addicted to music; peacocks,shikhandinah, were in avour o dancing; snakeswere possessed o hoods, bhoga; monkeys were ondo bel ruitssriphala, Lakshmis ruitandt d dwwd u,hogt.

Playing on the multiple meanings o Sanskrittermsvultures are called shakuni, a name alsob by t ig Kuv ul; vyu i bta deity and the humour responsible or nervous

disorders; dvija reers both to teeth and to initi-atesBanabhatta paints a picturesque image o idt ylv ttig wit diilidinmates, healthy in body and mind, living in har-mony with nature and its creatures, and pursuingu-ud gl.

Tis ctional account is probably not very arrom the actual realities o the ashramas o Vedicd t-Vdi ti tt w t education and culture, both spiritual and secular.

T itg u ii Su, Vy,and Kanva were virtually orest universitiesa

whole concourse o ashramas teaching numerousdisciplines. Tese ar-amed hermitages attractedscholars, brahmacharins, and rishis rom ar andnear and were the sites o great intellectual and spir-itul t.

Pursuit o knowledge and wisdom was acili-ttd by tguukul yt, w t dashramas o rishis and scholars were open to stu-

dents or residential study. Te mandatory nature oupnyn, ivtitu wit d td guu, wit it ttdt tudy, ud tt t ltamong the brahamanas, kshatriyas, and vaishyasbt by d gil ivd lty duti.

A undamental principle o Vedic educationw t. Ctl d tti id dsenses was considered the highest tapas. Concentra-ti, wv, i ly t i t ti-ing o the will. Te other, and equally importantaspect, is detachment. Te Vedic student had therst lesson in detachment in leaving home to live with the gurus amily. Te brahmacharya code,wi vy tudt bidd by, utd it.

Strict adherence to satya, truth, was another vitalacet o Vedic tapas. According to Satyavacha Ratha-tari o the Taittiriya Upanishad, truth is all that

needs to be cultivated. Te great delity with whichVdi txt w lly tittd d ti -tibutig ii itully wldgd i vi-d t i t lid u tutuland integrity. Honesty in mundane dealings wasgizd t t wi t uuit ig tut d ivitbly t b bd u.

Vedic study was almost exclusively oral. Buttig t vt u Vdi txt d -itd littu w t ly t y.

Regular recitation with stress on correct intonationd ti d til uy vidd tu-dents with early deep insights into linguistic lawsd gtiv g, wi i bt tud iPaninis remarkably comprehensive and succinct

workAshtadhyayi. Diverse ways o recitation o thesame textthepada,krama,jata, andghanapathas,d t lit ly ud uy t-mission o texts rom teacher to student but alsoaided concentration and assisted grasp o metre and

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ldy. Evy Vdi tudt w tu t. ButVedic poetry was no ordinary poetry, and the man-t t ly ul witut ig. Big t

product o the deep insights o Vedic rishis into thenature o Reality, they provided students with an

orientation to Reality that made values meaninguld li iu d gl-ditd.

Vdi tudy izd lv lig. NMaudgalya o the Taittiriya Upanishadassertedthat learning and teaching indeed constitutedt. Ay S lbt: Lig dtig tid i ll t txt i dto imply that these two are to be careully practisedv by w i ggd i ll t duti [a householder]; or the comprehension o mean-ing is dependent on study, and the supreme goal[emancipation] is dependent on the understanding ig.

Tis love o learning took students great dis-tances in search o suitable teachers and institu-ti tudy, diui, d dbt. T uto kings like Janaka o Mithila, Ajatashatru oVaranasi, and Pravahana Jaivali o Panchala wereabuzz with discussions on topics ranging rom pro-

cedures o daily ritual to the knowledge o supremeBrahman. Bhujyu Lahyayani, one o the reputedl t J ut, d tvlld lg witellow students to the ar-o country o the Madrasin north-west India. Jivaka, the most reputed In-dian physician o Buddhas time, also undertooka similar journey rom Rajagriha to akshashilat tudy dii ud wld-wd y-ician. Afer having studied or seven years Jivakaasked his teacher when his studies might be re-

garded as completed. Te teacher said, ake thisspade and seek round about akshashila a yojana vy id, d wtv lt yu wi inot medicinal, bring it to me. Jivaka went aboutt t wit dilig, but uld t d igl

plant that lacked all medicinal properties. When hementioned this to his teacher, the latter certied hisligibility iddt ti.

Medical practitioners o Jivakas time were ex-td t b wll-d i t txt t dil

Shastras (adhita-shastra); well up in the importso the texts studied; skilled in practical work orsurgical operations (like cheda andsneha); ull ouul d igility (svykt); -d ligt tu d wif d (lghu-hst);

clean; o an optimistic temperament or cheeruliit (shu vshht); dy wit ll -i d til ttt (sjjopsk-heshj); uul id; itllt;possessed o proessional experience (vyavasayi);learned in theory; and devoted to truth and moral-ity. Tat Jivaka amply met all these requirements isattested by the anecdotes o his remarkable med-il, ugil, d uiti lit.

Te variety o disciplines available or study isindicated by the many departments present in a ull-dgd dutil itituti t Mbtti. T iludd: (i) Agi-t, w-ship and prayers; (ii) Brahma-sthana, or Vedicstudies; (iii) Vishnu-sthana, or study oraja-niti,

politics,artha-niti, economics, and varta, agricultured td; (iv) Vivvt-t, ty; (v)Soma-sthana, or botany; (vi) Garuda-sthana, ortraining in transport and communications; and (vii)

Md-t d Ktiy-t, viuaspects o military training. Primary education inthe late and post-Vedic period was comprehensive.

Xuanzang noted that afer being ormally acquaintedwith the Sanskrit language through the Siddhamild w itdud t t g v t tgt St t Fiv Si, viz, vykn(grammar),shilpasthana-vidya (the science o artsand crafs), chikitsa-vidya (science o medicine),hetu-vy (Nyy, lgi, i ig), d

hyt-vy (i i [iitulity]).H i itu ity tt vlud w-

ldg. T gtt Vdi tu w, u,t wldg B, wig wi ll li w, giig wi td w, b-comes perectly contented, goes beyond ear, andattains immortality. For providing him with thisknowledge, King Janaka gave his entire kingdomlg wit il t Yjvly, i t. Vdi

wid w il. It i v tdy. P