English
It is interesting to record here what Abul Fazl, the author of Ayeen Akbari writes on the point: “They (the Hindus), one and all, believe in the unity of the God-head: and although they hold images in high veneration, yet they are by no means idolatoi’s, as the ignorant suppose. * * * * the images are only representa¬ tions of celestial beings, to whom they turn themselves whilst at prayer, to prevent their thoughts from wandering.” 2. The Mediaeval Period :—We have found that the Ancient Period came to a close with the fall of the kingdom of Harsha (647 a.d.). This marks the beginning of the mediaeval period which, as we have seen, extends to the middle of the 18th century. This period ushered in all the characteristics which now mark off Hindu society from the modern institutions of the rest of the civilized world. The chief of these were (i) the rigid caste sjnstem, (ii) idol worship, (iii) the early marriage of girls, (iv) seclusion ot women and (v) want of literacy among women. The Mediaeval Period, like the Ancient Period, also divides itself into two epochs: the first extends from a.d. 647 to 1200, while the second embraces the rest of the period. After Harsha there remained no supreme authority in northern India to restrain the disruptive forces which were ready to operate there. Consequently the different states assumed independence and became engaged in unceasing internecine war. Learning, how¬ ever, did not sink to a low ebb. Yasovarman MINfSr^ EDUCATION IN ANCIENT INDIA. who reigned in Kanouj in the 8th century " a.d. encouraged Sanskrit learning. He was the patron of Bhavabhuti, the famous author of Malati Madhava. This together with the story that five Brahmins were sent from Kanouj to Bengal to revive orthodox Hindu customs there, shows that Kanouj was a oentre of Brahmanieal learning. Again, the great Vedantist scholar Sankaracharya (9 tli century a. d.) is said to have studied at Benares. Further, the Ghoserabau inscrip¬ tion 1 states that one Biradev after havin'* O completed the study of all the different Vedas repaired (in the 9th century a. d ) to Kanishka Mahavihara in the neighbourhood of Peshwar for further study. It thus appears that Kanouj, Benares and Peshwar were the seats of learning in those days. But for four centuries (9th to 12th century a.d.) the principal seat of learning was in Behar where, besides the N aland a Univer¬ sity which did not disappear even then, urose on the Ganges the famous monastery of Vikramasila. This was founded by • See Gauralekhamala or the Inscriptions of Gaur. GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS. harmapala and is said to have included 107 temples and six colleges. This monas¬ tery was the centre of Tantric Buddhism -and disappeared with the advent of the Muhammadans in a.d. 1200. Navadwip in Bengal became a seat of Hindu learning under the Sen kings of Bengal. Jayadeva, the famous author of the Gitagovinda , seems to have been the court-poet of Lakshmana Sena, the last king of Bengal. Navadwip. however, survived the shock of Muham¬ madan attack and is still renowned as the principal seat of Hindu learning organised after the ancient manner. Also, from a reference to Ayeen-Akbari, it appears that Benares was a famous seat of Hindu learn¬ ing even in the 16th century. 1 Thus it appears that the torch of learn¬ ing was kept burning in the middle ages in the various parts of India. But, says V. A. Smith, ‘literature although actively cultivated and liberally patronised at many local courts, sank far below the level attain¬ ted by Kalidasa.’ This epoch was, however 1 Ayeen Akbari translated by F. Gladwin—p. 560* 2 misr^ EDUCATION IN ANCIENT INDIA. remarkable for the productions of a few notable commentaries : Rumania (about a d. 700) wrote a commentary on the Karma Mimdmsd Sutras of Jaimini. The great Hindu reformer Sankara who gave the Vedanta philosophy its final form, wrote his brilliant commentaries on the Vedanta Sutras and the Bhdgavatgild. Another com¬ mentary on the Vedanta Sutras was written by Ramanuja (about a.d. 1100). The culti¬ vation of sciences, however, did not cease. Mathematics seems to have been actively cultivated, as we find the great Indian astro¬ nomer and mathematician Bhaskara (born 1114) flourishing in this epoch. He wrote several books on Algebra and Astronomy. The second epoch of the mediaeval period (a.d. 1200-1764) marks the rise of the Muhammadans and the fall of the Hindu Kingdoms in northern India. The religious O , zeal of the Muhammadans made them, in general, intolerant towards the Hindus. t The emperor Akbar, however, encouraged Hindu learning and patronized Hindu scholars. His great-grand.son Dara also took an interest in the religious and philosophical works of tho Hindus. misty,. GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS. With the withdrawal of the patronage of the kings and the forfeiture of temple lands, schools, monasteries and priests were left without income. Hence Sanskrit and Hindu learning made very little progress in northern India for a very long time. This period therefore, was a striking contrast to the ancient period. But as the ancient period saw the highest development in Sanskrit literature, this epoch was remarkable for the highest distinction it attained in Verna¬ cular literature in the different parts of India. ‘ Vidyapati wrote many beautiful lyrics in the dialect of Behar ; Chandidas wrote similar works in Bengali ; and in Raj- putana, Mira Bai, a princess, wrote beautiful songs which were extremely popular.’ The achievements of the Hindus in the field of literature in the Middle ages thus compare very unfavourably indeed with what their ancestors had attained in this field in the past ages but they far outshone them in point of the perfection they reached in sculpture and architecture . 1 This is borne Edition 3 p. 358.) V ‘ A ' Smith ~ Earl y HUtor y of ^ (3rd EDUCATION IN ANCIENT INDIA. out by the following quotation from Havell’s The Ideals of Indian Art (p. 132). “The art of India up to the fourth cen¬ tury a.d. was purely eclectic and transi¬ tional. The spirit of Indian thought was struggling to find definite artistic expression in sculpture and in painting, but the form of expression ' was not artistically perfected until about the seventh or eighth centuries, when most of the great sculpture and paint¬ ing of India was produced. From the seventh or eighth to the fourteenth century was the great period of Indian Art, corres¬ ponding to the highest development of Gothic Art in Europe, and it is by the achievements of this epoch, rather than by those of Mogul Hindustan, that India’s place in the art-history of the world will eventually be resolved.” The different arts, says the same autho¬ rity, continued to be cultivated in India with much vigour till the 17th century when Aurangzeb expelled all the Hindu artists and craftsmen whom his father and grandfather had the good-will to attract to GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS. 2 the service of the state ; consequently, ‘the art of the Moguls in India was struck with a blight from which it never recovered'. o In the field of religion the mediaeval period marks the steady rise of the modern Hinduism to supremacy and the correspon¬ ding decline of Buddhism which has gradua¬ lly become merged in the former. The period also saw the exaltation of the priests and the introduction of the caste-rules in their modern rigid form. This revival of Hinduism was largely due to the influence of ‘the foreign immigrants into Rajputana and the upper Gangetic provinces’ who had established their power in northern India during the first epoch of the Middle Ages. These foreigners yielded to the wonderful assimilative power of Hinduism and rapidly became Hinduized. Those amongst them who succeeded in winning chieftainship were admitted readily into the frame-work of Hindu polity as Kshatriyas or Rajputs. Like all converts, they espoused Hinduism with exceptional zeal and directed their whole energy to the perpetuation of the supremacy of the Brahmins who gave them an exalted position in society. We therefore see that besides the foreign domination which characterized this period, priestly monopoly in its closest form was the prominent feature which marked it off from the ancient period. The effect that these two had on the Hindu character was far- reaching. The domination of the priests added to that of the Musalman rulers served to make the Hindus generally docile, gentle, peaceable and less ambitious and enterpris¬ ing. Hence instead of adding much to their heritage the Hindus lost most of what had been transmitted to them. The Hindu civilisation during the period was therefore not very progressive and education, to a great extent, became a more or less formal Recapitulation of the Past. 3. The Modern Period This period inaugurates an age of regeneration. Thanks to the patient researches of the European and Oriental Scholars who have not only cleared up-the mists making later researches possible but have created in the people of GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS. 2 India an intense desire to know her ancient civilisation. Besides, under the vivifying influences of modern civilisation and the fostering care of the British Crown the new India is not only becoming conscious of her national life but is trying to revive all that was best in ancient India. The present age may, therefore, be called the age of Renais¬ sance of Hindu Education. The following •extract from Indian Educational Policy (1913) shows clearly that the retention and furtherance rather than the suppres¬ sion of the ancient and indigenous systems of instruction marks the present policy of the Br itish Government.