365bet娱乐

During this period, the elementary or primary education was imparted through the large numbers of pathasalas patroned by wealthy chieftains scattered over the different parts of the country. In spite of certain inevitable variations in keeping with the regional needs, the curriculum followed in general comprised instruction in the alphabet, vowels and consonants, combinations of words, spelling, vyakarana, lessons in reading and elementary arithmetic. In those days, the use of slate, pencil and blackboard were unknown in the pathasalas. At this stage, palm-leaves and Bhurjapatra served the purpose of paper and on them or bamboo-twigs or quills of birds like those of peacocks and geese were used as pens to write with. Locally made inks were in use. Kashmiri ink was very famous.

45 A pathasala would either have a separate building of its own or would be a spacious building attached to a rich man's house. In these schools, the students sat on the floor on their own mats, while the teacher sat on a footstool, being surrounded by his pupil. There were various kinds of punishments which were meant for those students who either came late or neglected their duties etc. The boys in the elementary schools were given a number of holiday for celebrating certain important festivals. The institutions of elementary education were patronized and endowed by the rich and students generally enjoyed free education. Sometimes fees were also paid to the teacher, mostly in kind. Sanskrit language and literature formed a very important subject of study. Generally, the curriculum in these institution included lessons kavya, vyakarana, jyotisa, nyaya, darsana, administration, art of warfare, law, tantra, mantra etc. A reference to the study of the vedas, the puranas and the sastras has also been made by the celebtrated hindi poet, Tulsidas AD 1532 in his Ramacaritamanasa, Abdul Fazil, while referring to Akbar's interest in the reorganization of Hindu learning mentions that those who wanted to learn Sanskrit had to study, Vyakarana, Nyaya and Vedanta. Varanasi was the most famous centre of higher Hindu learning in North. India. Referring to Varanasi Abdul Fazil writes, "From time immemorial it has been the chief seat of learning in Hindustan. Crowds of people flock

46 to it from the most distant parts of the country for receiving instruction to which they apply themselves with the most devoted assiduity".58 Usually students learn 10 to 12 years under their teachers. Bernier says that the town of Varanasi was the 'Athens of India' Number of other institutions of higher learning were situated in the different parts of the country. Navadvipa in Bengal, the birth place of Caitanya, was a very important centre of learning. Nyaya was the special subject of learning. Bhagavatgita, Bhagavata and works on Bhakti were held in high esteem. Mithila, in the North Bihar, was another very important centre of Sanskrit learning. Kashmir was a famous centre of Sanskrit scholarship and learning. The Sanskrit education was generally helped by the state, The Hindu rajas or chiefs stipends were fixed for the students and teachers. Usually each seat of learning specialized in one particular branch of learning. This accounts for the facts that the students constantly migrated from one place to another in search of a suitable teacher. The teachers were self sacrificing and sincere. The pupils imbibed the wisdom of their teachers and widened their horizons of knowledge. The student apprentice lived with the master craftsman to learn and assimilate the secrets of his master's art, which were revealed in an informal and casual manner.

47 There was no regular system of examination in those days. The students were not required to pass so many examinations every year. They were promoted from a lower to the higher class on the basis of the opinion of the teacher concerned, who took into account of the total academic or vocational achievements of his students whom he knew thoroughly. During the medieval period regional languages made progress. Hindi which was originated from prakrt became the language of the masses in northern India. Religious leaders made use of Hindi. Some philosopher poets such as Kabir, Nanak, and Thulasidas encouraged and motivated the people to honour all the religions. It helped the fusion of various creeds and faith on the basis of Bhakti and led to the enlightenment and integration of the society. The Buddhist religion had become almost extinct in India by this period. This was naturally followed by the disappearance of Buddhist system of education and its place had been taken over by the renewed Bhrahmanical education. The orthodox hindu centres of education kept themselves remote from the Mohammedan influence. Sanskrit education in the north during this period did not enjoy much state patronage as before. However, commendable works in Sanskrit and regional languages were written during this period. The regional languages were becoming

48 more and more influenced by the incoming Islamic culture and education. Consequently religious and philosophical literature made marked progress during the medieval period. As the part of education several commentaries were written upon different texts in Sanskrit during the medieval times. There were progress of literature in different branches of knowledge. Hindi and other languages had began to grow and these languages were used as the media of education. Students learnt Sanskrit in order to read religious and theological works. During the medieval period many eminent works were produced in these languages. Sanskrit education was prevalent not only in north India but also in the southern parts of the country as well. Vijayanagar was an important centre of that period. Raja Krishna Deva Raya of Vijayanagar made much effort for the progress of education and literature. He motivated and favoured eminent artists and poets. The Vedic scholars Sayana and his brother Madhava vidyaranya wrote commentaries on the Vedas. During the 13th & 14th centuries the Saiva Bhakti movement started and it gave birth to literary production in Telugu and Sanskrit. The Islamic education was established during the medieval age in India. But at the same time traditional educational system was also continuing. Although the Hindu system of education faced challenge from

49 Islamic education, the Vedic pattern was able to survive. The ancient aims and ideals were not forgotten and the old mode of education held its influence through out the country. The traditional modes of education coexisted with Islamic education during the medieval age. The Tughlag dynasty contributed much to the growth of education. In the period of Firoz Shah, Delhi had grown into a famous educational centre. He had got a very big library well stocked with many valuable Sanskrit works. After the death of Firoz Shah many of the provincial rulers became independent. They too made many efforts to promote education in their own small states. During the Mughal period Akbar marks the beginning of a new era in the history of medieval education. His period records immense progress in education; fine arts, literature, philosophy and history. He framed rules and curricula for mass education with the help of his counselors. He introduced improvement in the traditional system of education through state order. He got many Sanskrit volumes translated in to Persian and he used to listen to the recitation of the Mahabharatha, Ramayana, Atharva Veda. Madrassas were established by the Muslim rulers to promote Arabic, Persian and religious studies. Jahangir had a love for books and was a great protector of the art of painting. Shajahan preserved the policy of his fore fathers. His son Dara

50 Shikoh was a great scholar and well-versed in Hindu philosophy. He had a thorough knowledge of Arabic, Persian and Sanskrit. He had translated the Upanisads, Gita, Yogavasisstha and Ramayana. Aurangazeb did propagate Muslim education, but he was not sympathetic towards Sanskrit education.' 59 Some of the Muslim scholars were learned scholars in Sanskrit literature. Albiruni (10th century AD.) was an eminent scholar of Sanskrit and he translated Sanskrit works on philosophy and astronomy into Arabic work Tarikh-I-Hindu shows sufficient light on Indian culture. Firozshah (14th century A.D) got translated a Sanskrit work dealing with philosophy, tantra and science of Omens into Persian and named it Dalail-Firozshah. During the period of Sikandar Lodi Sanskrit works on medicine were translated into Persian. Abdul Fazal the great court poet of Akbar translated Sanskrit works into Persian language. Abdul Badauni translated some chapters from the Ramayana and Mahabharata into Persian. Hazi Ibrahim sarhindi translated the Atharvaveda. Faizi translated Lilavati, a famous work on Arithmetic in to Persian.