Sanskrit and Vedic learning
| General details | |
|---|---|
| Primary languages | Sanskrit |
| System type | Gurukula |
| Established | Vedic period |
Sanskrit learning, also called Brahminic learning,[1] Sanskrit education,[2] and Sanskrit culture, is the traditional study and transmission of Indian religious and secular knowledge preserved in Sanskrit texts. Vedic learning (svādhyāya) is specifically the tradition of oral transmission and learning by heart of the Vedic mantras as preserved in the Vedas and the post-Vedic smriti and shastra,[3] and auxiliary traditions (vedanga) which concern the proper understanding and interpretation of Sanskrit, and the proper execution of the Vedic rituals.
Etymology and context
[edit]"Sanskrit learning" is a broad category, referring to the study and transmission of religious and secular knowledge preserved in Sanskrit texts. "Vedic learning" (svādhyāya) concerns the correct recitation, and the understanding of their sacred meaning,[4] of the Vedic mantras, liturgical hymns of the Vedic people. These were composed in the early Vedic period (ca. 1500–900 BCE) by the Vedic people, and expanded with a vast corpus of explanatory and philosophical texts in the late Vedic period (900–500 BCE). Vedanga are six auxiliary disciplines of Vedic studies, namely phonetics, meter, grammar, etymology, ritual instructions, 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.[citation needed]
Gurukula
[edit]A student's training began with the upanayana ritual, traditionally performed between four[citation needed] and nine years of age by an acharya, marking the admittance of a student into Gurukula.[5] 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.[6] After the upanayana ritual, the students were supposed to maintain strict celibacy, which was helpful in controlling the senses and the mind.[6] 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.[6]
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]
Major centres of learning
[edit]Major important centres of Sanskrit and 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 twelfth 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.[7]
Decline and resurgence
[edit]The colonisation of South Asia, and the prestige of western science introduced by them, led to a decline of interest in Sanskrit studies, and a subsequent loss of prestige,[1] a development described by Sheldon Pollock in The Death of Sanskrit.[8]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ a b Vaidik 2021, p. 37.
- ^ Singh 2017, p. 98.
- ^ Mookerji 1947.
- ^ Mookerji 1947, p. 35-36.
- ^ Sharma & Sharma 1996, p. 35.
- ^ a b c Sharma & Sharma 1996.
- ^ Singh 2017.
- ^ Pollock, Sheldon (2001). "The Death of Sanskrit". Comparative Studies in Society and History. 43 (2): 392–426. doi:10.1017/S001041750100353X. ISSN 1475-2999.
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.
- Vaidik, Aparna (2021). Waiting for Swaraj: Inner Lives of Indian Revolutionaries. Cambridge University Press.