Ancient Indian Education

This work is intended to fill up a gap in the literature on the history of Education, which has not taken adequate account of the unique contributions made by Hindu thought to both educational theory and practice.

The work is divided into Two Parts. Part I (Chs. 1-12) deals with the concepts and practices of Brahmanical Education on the authority of Veda, Astadhyayi, Arthasastra of Kautilya, Sutra literature, and Epics. It discusses the problems of Legal, Industrial, and Vocational Education as well as the typical educational institutions and centres. Part I (Chs. 13-24) deals with Buddhist Education and discusses among other topics the Background, System, Discipline, and Centres of Instruction as well as the accounts of education derived from the Jatakas, Milinda Panha as also those rendered by Fa-Hien, Hiuen Tsang, I-tsing and others. With 26 illustrations.

About the Author

Dr. Radha Kumud Mookerji, M.A., Ph. D., D. Litt, F.A.S.B., started life as a Professor of History in the Bengal National College under the Principalship of the late Sri Aurobindo. Subsequently, he joined Mysore University where he was a Professor of History from 1917 to 1921. Thereafter, he became a Professor and Head of the Department of History at Lucknow University and remained there for an unbroken period of twenty-five years. Afterwards, he continued to be an Emeritus Professor of History at the same University where his friends had endowed a Lectureship in his name.

On the political side, he served as a Member of the Bengal Legislative Council for six years (1937-43) as Leader of the Opposition (Congress) and had been a Member of the Floud Commission for a year and a half in 1939-40. In 1946-47, he was appointed a Member of the Indian delegation to the F.A.O. Preparatory Commission at Washington. He was nominated by India's President as a Member of the Council of States in 1952 and decorated by him with the award of Padma-Bhushana in 1956. He is the author of about 15 books on different aspects of ancient India.

The present work is intended to fill up a gap in the literature on the history of Education, which has not taken adequate account of the unique contributions made by Hindu Thought to both educational Theory and Practice.

The work has been long in the making. The bulk of it was written in 1918—1920, but its completion has been delayed by writings on other subjects in response to the needs of my teaching work and research at the University. Parts of the work have, however, been published from time to time as articles in various Periodicals since 1920, such as Asutosh and Malaviya Commemoration Volumes; the Journals of the Universities of Lucknow, Allahabad, and Benares; of the United Provinces Historical Society, Mythic Society of Bangalore, Visvabharati, Santiniketana; the Indian Antiquary and the Aryan Path; and Dr. B.C. Law’s Buddhistic Studies. Some of these articles have been drawn upon in some recent publications on the subject, and this has stimulated the completion of the work. It will now form a companion volume to my work on Hindu Civilization recently published.

The work brings together for the first time the representations of educational scenes and figures to be found in old Indian sculpture and painting. For purposes of Illustration, Line Drawings have been preferred to photographs as the only means of restoring as far as possible defaced or mutilated originals.

My special obligations are due to my learned colleague (and whilom pupil), Dr. Narendra Nath Sengupta, Professor of Philosophy at the University, for his valuable suggestions and notes on several philosophical points and problems, which it is alike my pleasure and duty to gratefully acknowledge. I am deeply grateful to my esteemed friend, Dr. Bimala Churn Law, for his kind subvention in aid of the publication of the work. I owe to Mr. O.C. Gangoly, the renowned art critic, the suggestion to include the Illustrations shown in Plates III, VII, XIV, Plates I, IV, VI, VIII, XI—XIII, XVIII, XIX—XXII are based on photos prints supplied by the Archaeological Department of the Government of India to whom belongs their copyright. Plate XVI is based on the photo print supplied by the Archaeological Department of H.E.H. the Nizam’s Government to whom belongs its copyright.

A simplified system of transliteration of Sanskrit and Prakrit words has been adopted in this work and may be understood from the following examples: Krishna, Satyayana, Lichchhavi, Anga, and Purva-Mimamsa. The vast amount of transliteration involved may have left some mistakes, in spite of best efforts to correct them, which, I hope, will be overlooked.

The printing of the work was completed as far back as but its publication has been delayed so long by conditions created by the War.

I am grateful to my friend, Professor G.C. Raychaudhuri, M.A., for kindly helping to expedite the publication by passing me the final proofs on the spot in London where I met him at the School of Oriental Studies of the London University, and thus obviating the delay of my doing it from India.