EDUCATION IN ANCIENT INDIA

1. EDUCATION IN ANCIENT INDIA
By somu rajesh

3. WHAT IS EDUCATION?
• Education in its general sense is a form of learning in which
the knowledge, skills, values, beliefsand habits of agroupof peopleare
transferred from onegeneration to the next through storytelling, discussion,
teaching, training, orresearch
• Education mayalso include informal transmissionof such information from
one human being toanother. Education frequently takes place underthe
guidance of others, but learners mayalsoeducate themselves which is known
as autodidactic learning) Any experience that has a formativeeffecton the
way one thinks, feels, oracts may be considered educational.
• Education is commonlyand formallydivided into stagessuch
as preschool, primary school, secondaryschool and then college,
university orapprenticeship. The methodology of teaching is called pedagogy.

4. rd
EDUCATION OF ANCIENT INDIA
• The history of education in ancient India is fascinating and is
recorded and can be tracked to the ancientera.
• Education in ancient India began around the 3 century B.C
with elements of religious training and impart of traditional
knowledge.
• Sages and scholars imparted education orally .Palm leaves
and barks of trees were used forwriting.

6. THE EDUCATION IN DETAIL
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BDXIgqvJeY0

7. TOPICS TO BE DISCUSSED:
• GURUKULA SYSTEM
• BRAHMACHARYA
• SUBJECTS THAT WERE TAUGHT
• GURUDRAKSHINA

8. GURUKULA SYSTEM

9. INTRODUCTION
• Hewho brings up the student (śishya), brings him near unto
himself, and unto the Supreme Self, who invests him with
the sacred thread (the mark of the twice-born) and teaches
him the Sacred Scriptures (Vedas) with its secret meaning
and its practical working, he is the true Guru orācārya.
• Gurukulam has existed since the Vedicage.
• India has been known as the land of Gurus and Gurukulas .
Gurukulas weregreat centres of learning in the ancient India.
In the Gurukula Systemof Education,students lived in the
kula (family) of their Guru (teacher) and studied the Vedas
(Sacred Scriptures) and other subjects.

10. Objectives of Gurukuls
• Self Control
• Developmentof character
• Social Awareness
• Integral developmentof
personality
• Propagation of purity
• Preservation of knowledge and
culture

11. • Itwas believed that gurus were skilled in theart of warfare, in the know-
how of administration, or in the knowledge of the Scriptures.
• These Gurus were always men and almost always from the Brahmins(priestly
class).
• A young boy, either from the Brahmins or Kshatriyas (ruling class), was sent
to a Guru at the age of 12 for about 9 to 12 years of rigorous education in one
of these three areas–arts, administration orreligion.
• Then the boy returned back to marryor he took thevows of Sannyāsa, “one
who has fullyrenounced all ties with the world.”
• Those who belonged to theVaiśyas (merchantclass) and the Śūdras(working
class) apprenticed themselves undera skilled individual in their trade
orcraft.

12. BRAHMACHARYA

13. • There are two meanings of the word brahmacharya. The derivative
meaning of a brahmachari is “brahmani caratiti brahmacari ”.That
means,one who lives in Brahman(God) is a brahmachari .
• The word ‘Brahman’ is derived from the verb ‘brihi’ , meaning ‘great’
.
Yes, the one who is great is Brahman. Thus, brahmachari is one who
comes to the Guru with theaspiration of becoming great.
• In the Vedic Systemof Education, a student getting admitted to the
Gurukula was not merelycalled vidyārthi (one who aspires for
knowledge)but brahmachari . This stage of life has been traditionally
described as Brahmacharya Āshram.
• The students in the Gurukulawere subjected to rigorous discipline.
• They had to live in averyaustere environment, observe complete
celibacy, practiceyoga and meditation under the supervision of the
Guru and perform many menial jobs for the Guru’s household.
• The fundamental spiritof Āshram is shram(labour) and
tapas(austerity).

14. SUBJECTS THAT WERE TAUGHT
• Śikshā (Phonetics)
• Vyākarana (Grammar)
• Jyotisha(Astronomy)
• Arthaśāstra (Economics)
• Dharmaśāstra(Laws)
• Śastravidyā(Artof Warfare)
• Kalā(Fine Arts)

15. VEDAS
RIGVEDA
• The Rigveda, containing hymns to be recited
• The Yajurveda, containing formulas to be
recited by the adhvaryu orofficiating priest;
• The Samaveda, containing formulas to be
sung by the udgātṛ YAJURVEDA
VEDAS ATHARVEDA
• The Atharvaveda, a collectionof spells and
incantations, apotropaiccharms and
speculative hymns.
SAMVEDA

16. GURUDAKSHINA
• Education was free, but students from well-to-do
families paid "Gurudakshina," avoluntary
contribution after thecompletion of their
studies.

17. EDUCATION IN THE MEDEVIAL PERIOD
• To begin with the medieval age is defined as :
A period in the European history which was referred by the Italian
scholars and academics of the late fifteenth century.
Theywere basically stating that the society in which they now lived is
significantly more civilized and advanced in manyways, than that which
had existed during the previous thousand years.
Itcan also be described as the time in European history between
classical antiquityand the Renaissance, from the late 5th century to
about 1350.

18. WHAT IS THE MEDEVIAL PERIOD?
• Classical antiquity:
• It is a broad term fora long period of cultural history. It is the period in
which Greek and Roman society flourished and wielded great
influence throughout Europe, North Africaand the Middle East.
• The Renaissance :
• It is a period from the 14th to the 17th century, considered the bridge
between the Middle Agesand modern history. It started as a cultural
movement in Italy in the Late Medieval period, later spread to the rest
of Europeand finally ended in the Early Modern Age.

19. • Although on the other hand, the Islamicworld was growing largerand
more powerful. Afterthe prophet Muhammad’s death in 632 CE,
Muslim armies conquered large parts of the Middle East, uniting them
under the rule. At its height, the medieval Islamicworld was more than
three times bigger than all of Christendom.

20. th
EDUCATION IN THE MEDEVIAL INDIA
• Education in medieval Indiaexpressed a new
perspective in the 11 century .
• The Muslims established elementary and
secondary schools .
• This further let to the commencementof
universities like Delhi, Luck nowand
Allahabad .
• There was a fresh interaction between Indian
and Islamic traditions in the fields of
knowledge like theology ,religion , philosophy
,finearts ,painting ,architecture, mathematics
,medicineand astronomy.

21. • Muslim rulers promoted urban education by building librariesand literary
societies
• Primary schools called maktabswereestablished and reading basic Islamic
prayerswere taught.
• Secondaryschools called Madrasas taughtadvanced language skills .
• Theseweresetup by sultans noblesand other influential ladies.
• Scholars from Madrasawould be eligible forcivil services.
• Womeneducation in India during the medieval period was prevalent.
• Muslim girlsof affluent familiesstudied at homeand moreover, as Persian
was the court languageof the period, elite boys could attend Persian schools
to learn literature, history, ethics, law, administration.

22. FOUNDATION OF UNIVERSITIES
• The first millennium and the few centuries preceding it saw the
flourishing of highereducation such as Nalanda, Takshila, Ujjain, &
Vikramshila Universities.
• Subjects such as Art, Architecture, Painting, Logic, Grammar,
Philosophy, Astronomy, Literature, Buddhism, Hinduism, Arthashastra
(Economics & Politics), Law, and Medicinewere taught.
• Takshila specialized in the studyof medicine, while Ujjain laid
emphasis on astronomy.
• Nalanda, being the biggest center, handled all branches of knowledge,
and housed up to 10,000 students at its peak.

24. TAKSHASHILA UNIVERSITY

25. FIRST EDUCATION INSTITUES
-The Calcutta Madrasa
-Sanskrit College
-Fort William College

26. THE CALCUTTA MADRASA
• Set up in/at: 1781 / Calcutta
• Set up by :Warner Hastings
• Purpose : For the studyof Muslim law and related subjects

27. SANSKRIT COLLEGE
• Set up in/at : 1791 /Banaras
• Set up by : Jonathan Duncan
• Purpose : For the purposeof Hindu Law and philosophy

28. EDUCATION IN MORDERN INDIA
• Theeducational system which the British introduced
teaching of English language was given greater
emphasis and the study of languages like Arabic,
Persian and Sanskrit were left to individual efforts .

29. MORDERN EDUCATION AND ITS OBJECTIVES
• The English introduced modern education
• Toreduce theexpenditureon administration
• Toencourage the studyof English language
• Toexpand market for English goods
• Tospread Christianity
• According to Lord Macaulay after receiving modern education Indians
would remain Indians only in theircolor while their interests, ideas ,
morals and Intelligence would change.

32. INTRODUCTION OF WESTERN EDUCATION •
Introduction of Western Education in Indiawas led by two causes: •
East India Company
• Christian Missionaries

33. EAST INDIA COMPANY
• East India Company showed very little interest in the promotion of
education in India.
• The only purposeof seeing upeducation systems in India was toensure
a steady supplyof Indians to law courts by the company.
• India’s knowledge of classical was used toestablish correspondence
with the native states by the East India Company.

34. STEPS TAKEN BYTHE BRITISH TO INTRODUCE
WESTERN EDUCATION IN INDIA
• 1784 A.D. Asiatic society of Bengal was founded by sir .William Jones
this society started several English Schools and Colleges .
• The missionaries started Wilson College at Bombay , Christian College
at Madras, St. John’s College at Agra .
• Progressive Indians like Raja ram Mohan Royalso started colleges
where English was taught.

35. • Charter actof 1813A.D. paved way forsetting aside 1
lakh of rupees forpromoting the knowledgeof
modern sciences.
• But sadly this money was not used for many years
and there was a controversy about the medium of
learning .
• Between 1828 and 1835 A.D. William Bentinck along
with Lord Macaulay and Raja ram Mohan Roy
encouraged English learning .

36. • Lord Harding decided that only Indians with English
knowledgewill be appointed in government jobs .
• The Raj, often working with local philanthropists,
opened 186 universities and collegesof higher
education by 1911; they enrolled 36,000 students. By
1939 the numberof institutions had doubled and
enrollment reached 145,000.
• The curriculum followed classical British standards
of the sort set by Oxford and Cambridge and stressed
English literatureand European history.
• Nevertheless by the 1920s the student bodies had
become hotbeds of Indian nationalism.

37. EDUCATION IN THE POST INDEPENDENT ERA

38. THE POST INDEPENDENT ERA
• Under the British rule in India, education was imparted through the medium
of English. The pattern of education developed in Indiaduring the British
rulewas totally unplanned.
• So after Independence, the leaders thought to bring achange in education
system.
• 1949- Dr. S. Radhakrishnan
• 1953- Dr. Lakshman Swami Mudaliar for Secondary Education.
• 1964-66- The National Education Commission
• 1986- National Policy of Education
• 2000-01- Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan

39. • After independence, education became the responsibilityof the
states.
• The Central Government's only obligation was toco-ordinate in
technical and highereducation and specifies standards.
• This continued till 1976, when theeducation became a joint
responsibilityof the stateand the Centre.
• Education in India falls under thecontrol of both the Union
Government and the states, with some responsibilities lying with
the Union and the states having autonomy forothers.

40. •Value based education is a three fold
development of any individual of any
genderand age, but most importantly
of achild. Education tries todevelop
threeaspects: physique, mentalityand
character.

41. • Thevariousarticles of the Indian Constitution provide foreducation as
a fundamental right. Most universities in Indiaare controlled by the
Union or the State Government.
• India has made progress in terms of increasing primaryeducation
attendance rateand expanding literacy toapproximately two thirdsof
the population.
• India's improved education system is often cited as one of the main
contributors to the economic rise of India.
• As of 2011 there are 1522 degree-granting engineering colleges in India
with an annual student intake of 582,000, plus 1,244 polytechnics with
an annual intake of 265,000.

42. CONCLUSION
• In conclusion, we feel thateveryone has the right to be educated.
Although education may not solveall our problems, we must intensify
ourefforts toeducateall children. Weshould carry on the traditionof
providing children the education that theywill need in order to meet
the challenge of a constantly changing world. Education helps us to
develop lifelong skills such as treatothers as you would want to be
treated and care about others as you care aboutyourself. By instilling
just these two simpleconcepts, just think how wonderful ourchanging
world would be.